NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/22/18

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Mar 22nd, 2018
Our projections are down on Jae Crowder as he plays in a game that owns by far the worst over/under on the slate. Who else should you shy away from tonight?

In daily fantasy basketball, finding players you want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.

You can find a ton of great information and research on guys you might want to include in your DFS NBA lineups, but what about guys you may want to lessen your exposure to, or even fade altogether?

Avoiding players whose matchups or situations aren't as great as they seem can often be just as important as finding the best targets. After all, it takes only one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference between winning and losing your contests. Which players should we avoid tonight?

Ish Smith, PG, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Price: $5,300

Ish Smith has filled in very well for the Detroit Pistons since Reggie Jackson went down. But Jackson made his return to the starting lineup on Tuesday, and even though Jackson will likely still be on a strict minutes limit tonight, his presence in the starting lineup hurts Smith's fantasy appeal against the Houston Rockets.

On top of that, the Rockets have been solid against point guards, holding them to 0.85 FanDuel points per minute. Even though Smith should still see around 30 minutes, his stats dip significantly on the road overall this season. When you combine that with Jackson being back, it makes Smith a tough guy to stomach tonight.

Jae Crowder, PF, Utah Jazz

FanDuel Price: $5,100

Jae Crowder has played well for the Utah Jazz since coming over in a trade at the deadline, but he draws a tough road meeting against the Dallas Mavericks, which is far from a great fantasy matchup.

While the Mavs haven't been playing much defense this season, their pace and poor offense are big reasons why this game has an ugly 199.0-point over/under -- 13.5 points less than any other game on the slate. Utah's implied total of 103.75 ranks eighth out of the 12 teams on the slate tonight. This has our models pretty sour on Crowder, projecting him for just 20.0 FanDuel points.

Eric Gordon, SG, Houston Rockets

FanDuel Price: $4,700

The last time Eric Gordon played the Detroit Pistons, he put up 15 points and 7 assists across 34 minutes in a road loss. However, James Harden was out during that game, and Gordon was in the starting lineup. Gordon might actually be in the starting lineup again tonight if Chris Paul (questionable) sits out, but that may also make him an even more dangerous play as he'll likely be a popular cash-game value target if CP3 sits.

The Pistons play strong wing defense, holding shooting guards to just 0.79 FanDuel points per minute, so Gordon might not be worth the risk in cash games tonight. He is certainly a much stronger tournament play if Paul sits. But even in that scenario, Gordon's likely popularity means it's at least worth considering fading him.

Jordan Sharp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jordan Sharp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TEHSHARP. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.