Fantasy Basketball: It’s Never Too Early to Think About Playoffs
By Alpine
Playoffs? Don’t talk about fantasy basketball playoffs! (In my best Jim Mora Sr. voice)
Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
It is never too early to think about the postseason, but only a few members of your league will have the luxury of positioning themselves for the big dance. If you are scrapping for a top six finish, you have to improve your team at all costs just to give yourself a fighting chance.
If you can acquire a few players from favorably scheduled NBA teams, it will greatly improve your chances even if you have inferior players going into the playoffs.
Here is my simple formula. A team receives one point per game during the playoff weeks. If a team plays on an “odd” night (a night where there are six games or less), the team receive 0.25 bonus points. This benefits head-to-head league competitors more than anyone because of the night-to-night flexibility. If you need the entire rationale, I wrote a whole article about it before the season began right here. For the advanced players, you might want to reference Basketball Monster’s Ease Rankings which analyzes team-to-team matchups. If you want to simply look at how many times your star players play during your playoff dates, check out the Basketball Monster Schedule Grid.
March 10 – 16
| Mil | Phi | Sac | Was | Mem | Den | Bos | Cha | GS | LAC | Mia | Pho | Por | SA | Tor | Uta |
| 5.5 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
March 17 – 23
| Cle | Was | Atl | Mia | Orl | Tor | Bkn | Chi | Dal | Den | Ind | Phi | Pho |
| 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
March 24 – 30
| Por | Atl | LAC | LAL | Cle | Det | Mia | NO | NYK | OKC | SA | Tor |
| 5.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 |
March 31 – April 6
| Bos | Dal | BKN | Cha | Chi | Det | GS | Hou | LAC | LAL | Mil | Min | Phi | SA | Tor | Was |
| 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 | 4.25 |
What do you do with this information? You start trading for players on these teams right now. If you anticipate getting a bye, trade for players with favorable Week 2 and 3 schedules. If you are just a standard playoff team, you have to consider the Week 1 teams. Another variable to consider is coaches sitting stars. Beware of the Heat, Spurs, Pacers, Portland, and Thunder. If they are battling for home court advantage, expect coaches to play their marquee players, but if they have the opportunity to get them some rest, history has shown that they will do so.
I hesitate to release this information because many of my league members read my material, but I am gradually maturing as a fantasy philanthropist. Good luck, and start trading. Let me hear from you at alpinefantasy@yahoo.com.