NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/1/17

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 only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Andrew Wiggins, SF, Minnesota Timberwolves

FanDuel Price: $8,100

Andrew Wiggins has been a machine since Zach LaVine went down with a torn ACL. He may run into trouble on Wednesday with one of the night's toughest matchups, though, as the Minnesota Timberwolves hit the road to face the Utah Jazz.

Playing in Salt Lake City is tough enough, but Wiggins has had very little success against Gordon Hayward and the Jazz defense during his career -- he is shooting 40% from the field in nine career games against them.

Utah is holding opposing small forwards to just 0.66 FanDuel points per minute, and Hayward is limiting players he defends to just 41.6% shooting, including 33.3% from downtown. With his price tag above $8,000, it's hard to trust Wiggins with other good options available on today's 11-game slate.

Jameer Nelson, PG, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $5,600

Jameer Nelson has seen his price tag rise a lot since before the All Star Break, but after a string of 30-plus FanDuel point games, his salary and matchup have turned him into a player to avoid on Wednesday.

His case isn't helped by the fact that the Milwaukee Bucks have been very good at slowing down opposing guards -- players at the point are averaging just 0.82 FanDuel points per minute against them.

The defense of either Matthew Dellavedova or Malcolm Brogdon has been integral to their success. So far this season, Dellavedova is allowing just 42.9% shooting from the floor, and with the Denver Nuggets healthy, Nelson isn't needed to take as many shots as he did a few weeks ago.

Jahlil Okafor, C, Philadelphia 76ers

FanDuel Price: $5,300

Jahlil Okafor looks to be the Philadelphia 76ers starting center for the rest of the year, but that doesn't mean he's a great DFS option. In his last four games, he posted one performance of 40-plus FanDuel points and three others that were fewer than 17 FanDuel points.

This kind of inconsistency both in his level of play and minutes in the rotation makes it hard to roster him with confidence. Richaun Holmes has also been outplaying him, so combine the volatility with a bad matchup against the Miami Heat and Hassan Whiteside -- who are holding opposing centers to just 0.96 FanDuel points per minute -- and it's not a good situation for him to produce.

With Okafor's minutes seemingly very fluid right now, you can't roster him in anything other than tournaments, which is already risky enough.