You did it. You drafted well. Set your lineup (almost) every week. Dodged catastrophic injuries. Scavenged the waiver wire. What’s left in your fantasy basketball journey, but securing the championship that you deserve. There’s obviously no formula that will guarantee you a championship, but this article is here to remind you of three keys that you’ve done/need to continue to do, to secure that ring.
Three Keys to NBA Fantasy Playoff Strategy
Schedule Opportunity:
Forget about playing your favorite players, or the ones you can trust. Just like the regular season, your best chance of winning your matchup is maximizing the number of games the players on your team play in a given week. I’m obviously not telling you to drop/bench Dame Lillard in favor of Jordan Nwora, because the Pacers play more games than the Blazers in a given week. The point of this is to say that if you’re deciding between a couple of different players to start in your utility spots, you should start Jordan Nwora over Matisse Thybulle, because the Pacers play more games than the Blazers, and the two players have comparable ceilings and MPG.
Monitor Incentive:
This key is all about understanding incentive for the players and their respective teams. For instance, let’s look at the Lakers. As they are winding down on their season, every game counts. Anthony Davis isn’t going to have any more rest days and will play through every injury he can play through, in order to ensure that the Lakers make it to the playoffs and get a chance to compete with a healthy LeBron. The Bucks on the other hand are solidly in the playoffs and likely could care less about seeding. It’s more important to them that Giannis is healthy and rested for the playoffs, rather than making sure they win a random game in March. It’s important that you aren’t caught off guard by these incentives because if you’re counting on Giannis to lead you to a win in your matchup the week he sits a game or two, you’re going to be fuming. Keep up to date on team news!
Waiver Wire Hunting:
By now you’re well accustomed to the players on the waiver wire, and how critical it is in winning each matchup. During the regular season, the waiver wire is meant for filling gaps in playing days on your roster, and replenishing your roster if you catch the injury bug. This remains true for the playoffs. However, at this point in the season, the waiver wire might provide actual star power. For instance, last year, the tanking teams would rest players that they already knew were going to be part of their roster for years to come, in favor of bench players that didn’t get much playing time during the season (e.g. Josh Giddey benched for Lindy Waters III). Use the waiver wire as you did during the season, but keep in mind, there are plenty of Lindy Waters IIIs on benches across the NBA. Tanking teams have a lot of incentive to see what they have in their depth.