Things You Need to Know to Win Your Daily Fantasy Basketball League sample

Streaming

The controversial practice of streaming occurs when an owner cycles players on and off their team on a daily basis in order to maximize the games played. The objective of streaming is to physically beat your opponent to death in all of the counting categories by completing as many games played as possible over the week, resulting in a huge advantage in the number of games over your opponent. Teams that have a weekly transaction cap are not going to be able to stream effectively, but if you play in a daily changes league without a transaction cap, well, the commissioner has just given you an unrestricted access to stream as much as p
ossible.

But first, a warning: You are not going to make any friends with this strategy. In fact, there is very likely that the league will hate you by the end of the playoffs. But as long as it is within the boundaries of the league, then streaming is the easiest way for a team with lesser talent to beat a stronger opponent.

Say No to Injured Players

Injuries are one of the most difficult things to deal with during the playoffs in your daily fantasy basketball league because of the uncertainly that surrounds them.

If you’re currently sitting on an injured player, then you need to evaluate how it will affect your team’s ability to win in the short-term. Can you afford to play a man down and still have a better than average chance at winning the week? The goal during the playoffs is to do everything possible to move to the next round, so a player who is out for the week is basically a dead weight liability to your team. In a weekly changes league, you may be able to sit on an injured player or two, but in a daily fantasy basketball league, you’ll have to make the tough decision whether or not to drop a player who is not contributing to your team.

Shutdown Candidates

Why is it a smart move to drop injured players this time of year? Because nagging injuries often turn into day-to-day for the rest of the season. It is a waste of a roster spot to sit on a player for weeks only to have them eventually be shut down for the season.

Breakout Candidates

Injuries lead to opportunities for others. Every year, there are a few players who go completely out of their minds the last month of the season and usually get drafted way to soon as a result the following season.

Generally, these breakout players are guys who get an opportunity to play because of injuries, or possibly because a bad team out of playoff contention wants to give their young guys some playing time. Someone like Jordan Crawford is a little bit of both. He saw his playing time increase into the mid-20’s a game after a trade to the Wizards, and then a knee injury to Nick Young gave him a starting place in the Wizards’ last game. Crawford played all 48 minutes in that game and finished with 27 points.

If it’s only possible to accurately predict breakout players, I wouldn’t be writing this piece for free. But this time of year, crappy teams will often give extra run to young players. And if a starter gets injured, don’t hesitate to go for his backup even if the injury seems minor.