NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 4/4/19

Coming off a multi-game absence, Khris Middleton is hard to trust in a tough matchup with the 76ers. Who else are we staying away from on Thursday's three-game slate?

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?

Khris Middleton, SG, Milwaukee Bucks

FanDuel Price: $6,900

With Khris Middleton coming off a multi-game absence with a groin injury, the Milwaukee Bucks' wing makes for a risky play on Thursday.

Middleton is considered probable to play on Thursday, but with the Bucks already wrapping up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, there is no reason to push him in an essentially meaningless game. That leaves the chance for limited minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers a real possibility tonight.

Even if Middleton is allowed to go all out against the Sixers, the matchup is a daunting one for him. Facing the stingy perimeter defense of Jimmy Butler could put a damper on Middleton's night as Butler limits those he guards to 33.1% shooting from three -- 3.3 percentage points lower than expected. In their last meeting, Butler held Middleton to 4-for-10 shooting (40.0%) on the 52 possessions he defended him.

Overall, Philly allows the third-fewest Fanduel points per minute to shooting guards and seventh-fewest to small forwards, the two spots Middleton splits his minutes for the Bucks.

Cedi Osman, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers

FanDuel Price: $5,800

Over the last week-plus, Cedi Osman has been the poster boy for disappointment in DFS. The Cleveland Cavaliers' forward is capable of big games, like the full stat line he posted on Saturday where he finished with 41.5 FanDuel points. However, in five of his last seven games, Osman amassed 17 or fewer FanDuel points. Over those seven games, he has averaged just 19.94 FanDuel points in 32.8 minutes per game. That leaves him with a sad rate of 0.61 FanDuel points per minute. His last game of 3 points, 3 assists, and 1 steal for 10.5 FanDuel points even came with Kevin Love sitting out, who will be sidelined again on Thursday.

Even in a seemingly favorable spot in an uptempo game against the Sacramento Kings, Osman is hard to trust on Thursday's small three-game slate. In the Cavs' previous meeting with the Kings this season, Osman posted a modest line of 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for 25.7 FanDuel points. With the way he has been playing lately, those who choose to play Osman Thursday would be thankful for a line like that.

Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Sacramento Kings

FanDuel Price: $5,600

The emergence of Marvin Bagley III in Sacramento has limited the workload of Willie Cauley-Stein in recent games. In four of the last six games that Bagley has played, WCS has played fewer than 24.5 minutes, including two games with under 18 minutes. He finished with fewer than 15 FanDuel points in three of those games with reduced minutes. His last time out, Cauley-Stein had a severe flop, posting just 8.0 FanDuel points in 20.6 minutes of action. The Kings' center went 1-for-7 from the field for just 2 points to go along with his 5 rebounds.

Thursday's matchup against the Cavs is not as generous as one would think, either, as the Cavs have allowed the 12th-fewest FanDuel points per minute to opposing centers, the second-lowest rate of the six teams in action tonight.