Daily Fantasy Basketball Playoff Strategy
NBA Fantasy Playoffs
The format and game types of daily NBA fantasy basketball events remains the same once the playoffs begin. The only difference between playoff daily fantasy basketball and fantasy basketball during the regular season is player selection. There are less players for you to choose from when drafting and the average quality of each player is a bit better than during the regular season.
A reduced player pool is not the only thing you should take note of when playing daily fantasy basketball during the NBA playoffs, as there are plenty of other factors that may alter the outcome of any game.
Take Note of Home Court Advantage
Home Court Advantage During The Playoffs
In my life I have never been a big proponent of home court advantage having any real effect on the outcome of basketball games, but through time even my opinion has changed. The fact of the matter is that home court advantage, especially during the NBA playoffs, definitely does play a major role in the outcome of a given game, or series.
For this reason, taking note of whether a player you are considering drafting is playing at home or away is of vital importance. While player matchups weigh much more heavily on a given player’s performance, playing in front of a home crowd has been known to propel certain players to have incredible home court performances. Keep in mind, though, that some players tend to rise to the occasion away from home; eg. Jordan’s 63 points at Boston Garden.
Role Players Are Everything
Picking Players – Pick Me, Pick Me
Whether it is during the regular season or during the NBA playoffs, certain role players can pay dividends for your daily fantasy basketball teams. In my opinion, role players are relied upon in the playoffs more than at any other point during the year. In the playoffs, the defender guarding your star player will naturally be better than the random sorting of players that may be guarding that same player on any given night during the regular season. When a star player is not able to produce as expected, teams often look to their role players in order to fill the stat gap. It’s players like Chris “Birdman” Andersen and Nick Collison that can pop off for unreal stats to help keep their team afloat.
It’s not always so easy to determine which role players are going to shine and which ones will spend most of the game on the bench, but a little bit of research will most likely undo most confusion or unsureness. As is always the case in daily fantasy basketball, matchups are incredibly vital to determining how well a player will perform.
In most cases, the type of strategy you pursue when playing daily fantasy basketball is only as strong as the research you put in before ever drafting a single player. Knowledge is one of the most underrated assets a daily fantasy basketball player can possess.
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