Fantasy Playoffs

Posted by Dan Dragicevich.

A few tips to keep in mind as you approach your playoffs matchup…. If you made it.

It has been a long and tiresome season for fantasy basketball owners and all that hard work is about to pay off as the playoffs approach. Depending on what type of league you are in depends on how many people are able to reach the playoffs. For most leagues, it is usually just 4 teams; the top 2 teams in each division and then 2 wild card teams with the best records. For those lucky few teams your decisions will either make or break you and will determine whether you advance or not. For those poor souls who spent hour after hour on the waiver wire trying to improve their teams but just couldn’t; don’t fret because there is still the consolation ladder.

First off the best way to handle the playoffs is to act like it is just another week. Don’t stray away from the norm and stay with what has gotten you there. Just because a player or two is not putting up the numbers they are capable of doesn’t mean you have to drop them and try and pick someone up who has had a few good games in a row. Stay with what works and what has gotten you there and you should be in the fight.

Another thing that most people forget is that the playoff matchups are two weeks long rather than the traditional one week matchup. What this means is that you can afford to be extra patient and if someone has an injury that has kept them out of a game or two and they are an important piece to the team then you can sub them out if you can but there is no need to drop them, just wait.

A third thing that most people forget is that since this is the playoffs, one absence of a player could be the difference so you need to make sure that you are consistently checking your lineups every night in case of an injury or someone is out on rest. This sort of thing really comes into play when you have a full lineup and there are still players on your bench who have a game that night. One thing that can kill you is if you have someone sitting out and you have a fully capable player on the bench who you forgot to sub in.

Basically, the key to winning the playoffs or the consolation ladder is to make sure you are checking your lineups every night and to not worry if someone is playing poorly because more than likely they will pick it up for you. Good luck and may the best team win.