NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 4/5/19

Klay Thompson's minutes have been trending downward, and an expected blowout against the Cavs isn't likely to change that. Who else are we avoiding in NBA DFS 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?

Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Price: $7,500

As the Golden State Warriors cruise to the regular season finish line, Klay Thompson has seen his playing time reduced to keep him fresh for the playoffs.

Over his last three games, Thompson has been on the court for under 30 minutes in each contest, averaging just 28.6 per game. Fewer minutes have led to fewer fantasy points, as one would expect, with Thompson maxing out at 23.3 FanDuel points in any of the three games.

In fact, over the last two weeks, Thompson has also seen significantly lighter offensive volume, taking an average of 14.6 shots per game, down from his season-long average of 18.2. Over his last seven games, Thompson is averaging only 21.8 FanDuel points per game. That makes his $7,500 price tag hard to swallow on a jam-packed 13-game slate on Friday.

Making matters worse for Thomspon tonight is the matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Cavs are one of the softest D's in the league, the Dubs are 16-point favorites on Friday, leaving a ton of blowout risk too. That provides a good chance Thompson sees even fewer minutes tonight exaggerating the bust potential.

Marvin Bagley, PF, Sacramento Kings

FanDuel Price: $6,600

With their season headed nowhere, it appears the Sacramento Kings are ready to take it easy on Marvin Bagley III in the last few games of the season.

Over his last five games played, Bagley is averaging just 25.4 minutes per game. That includes a 20.6 minutes night on Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The reduced minutes have left the rookie forward posting 28.1 FanDuel points or fewer in three of those games. If that trend continues, and Bagley sees even fewer minutes tonight, that spells doom in DFS tonight.

The Kings are facing the Utah Jazz, who not only rank second in the league in defensive rating (105.0) and limit opponents to just 106.0 points per game, they have also held power forwards down in fantasy. The position has averaged only 0.92 FanDuel points per minute, the fourth-lowest rate in the league this year.

That leaves the Kings with a low implied point total of 107.0 points on Friday a bottom-eight total tonight.

Tyus Jones, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves

FanDuel Price: $5,700

Tyus Jones has been a useful fantasy weapon since taking over point guard duties for the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, over his last five games, Jones has been more inconsistent than we would like as he collected 25.4 or fewer FanDuel points in four of five games including two with 19.2 or fewer. Jones is averaging just 12.6 points, 6.8 assists, and 25.5 FanDuel points in 29.3 minutes per game. Those performances came against some mediocre defenses too, making it that much more important to stay away from Jones in a difficult matchup with the Miami Heat on Friday.

The Heat limit opposing point guards to 0.87 FanDuel points per minute, the third-lowest rate in the NBA this season. Miami has also been able to maintain a top-tier defense despite facing multiple injuries since the All-Star break. They rank fifth in opponents field goal percentage (43.9%) and fourth in points allowed (105.9), since the break.

While he may appear to be a modestly priced option on a busy slate, Jones' inconsistencies and poor matchup tonight give him the look of fool's gold on Friday.