NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 4/9/18

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Apr 9th, 2018
In a meaningless game on the second night of a back-to-back, Kyle Lowry is a fade on Monday, if he plays at all. Who else should you avoid in DFS?

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?

Kyle Lowry, PG, Toronto Raptors

FanDuel Price: $7,500

Kyle Lowry and the Toronto Raptors are coming off a win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, and now they will play on the second night of a back-to-back Monday against the Detroit Pistons. After the Raptors rested DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas on Sunday, there's always a chance Lowry gets a rest tonight to avoid strain and injury so close to the playoffs.

Even if Lowry does play, there is a good chance his minutes are limited with the Raptors locked into the top seed in the East. Lowry has been really slumping lately, shooting just 25-for-76 (32.9%) over his last seven games, and in a meaningless game on the second night of a back-to-back, Lowry is an outright fade Monday.

Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat

FanDuel Price: $6,900

The Miami Heat are in a strange position. They are locked into the playoffs, but they also might not not be trying to win much down the stretch. With Kyrie Irving going down for the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors historically slow starters in the playoffs, the Heat might want to drop down to the 7th or 8th seed to avoid the Philadelphia 76ers or Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the postseason.

The evidence of this can be found in their starters' minutes over the last few games -- most notably those of Hassan Whiteside. The Heat center has played no more than 21 minutes in four of the last five games, and that could continue Monday against a strong Oklahoma City Thunder defense. If that's the case, Whiteside can be avoided in DFS.

Justin Holiday, SG, Chicago Bulls

FanDuel Price: $4,500

The Chicago Bulls have started giving Justin Holiday minutes again, and it's led to a couple of strong fantasy nights for the veteran guard. On Monday, Holiday and the Bulls are playing against the Nets again after hosting Brooklyn on Saturday, but this one being on the road could lead to some struggles for Holiday.

Holiday is shooting just 32.5% from the floor away from home this season, and the Nets are actually pretty good against shooting guards this season, limiting them to 0.77 FanDuel points per minute. All of this makes Holiday a vey risky play coming off a good game against the Nets two nights ago.

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.