NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/6/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Mar 6th, 2017
DeMarcus Cousins has one of the toughest matchups of any player on Monday against Rudy Gobert and the Jazz. Who else should you be avoiding in NBA DFS contests on Monday?

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.

DeMarcus Cousins, C, New Orleans Pelicans

FanDuel Price: $10,300

Last night, the New Orleans Pelicans got their first win with DeMarcus Cousins in uniform. While it came at the expense of the tanking Los Angeles Lakers, they face a much tougher matchup on Monday, as they head into Salt Lake City to meet the Utah Jazz.

Utah is also on the second end of a back-to-back with a win last night over Cousins' former team, and since that game also went into overtime, both teams will likely be a little worn out.

When looking at his past two games against Rudy Gobert this year, things haven't ended well for Cousins. He failed to score more than 35 FanDuel points in both instances and shot 12-for-40 from the floor.

The Jazz are holding opposing centers to 0.89 FanDuel points per minute, and while Cousins has played well at times on no rest, his performances against Utah earlier this year with the Sacramento Kings were played on no rest and in Utah. With tons of options available at center, it's time to temporarily jump off the Boogie train.

Brook Lopez, C, Brooklyn Nets

FanDuel Price: $7,200

Speaking of centers with tough matchups, we faded Brook Lopez successfully on Friday against Gobert. He is in another avoidable matchup on Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies and Marc Gasol.

Lopez scored just 28.1 FanDuel points in his last game against Gasol, and tonight's contest could offer the same kind of result. The Grizzlies are holding centers to just 0.84 FanDuel points per minute, and with Lopez shooting only 45.7% on the road this year, it's best to lay off him tonight.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Charlotte Hornets

FanDuel Price: $5,400

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's performances have been almost impossible to predict this season, but he does have landmine potential against a slower Indiana Pacers squad while being matched up with Paul George

The Pacers have really slowed their pace since the All-Star break, playing at just 95.7 possessions per 48 minutes since February 15, which will only hurt the fantasy value for the Charlotte Hornets -- we have them with an implied team total of 104.75.

This could be a tough matchup for both MKG and George when looking at their head-to-head game log, but it's a better idea to fade Kidd-Gilchrist in this one.