Fantasy Basketball Tips: Know Which Players to Start

Unlike Head to Head leagues, Roto leagues are tougher (in my opinion) since where you will finish will not only be decided by your actions but also the actions of the other managers in your league. Some managers do not play once they see that their team is in the bottom of the league. What they don't know is that their actions are affecting the rankings of others in your league. Let's say the top team right now is number 3 in steals while the bottom team is 5th and might have players like Artest, Ronnie Brewer and Allen Iverson but all are stuck in his bench. What if this guy fixed his lineup everyday? Would he be number one in steals and pull down the first team and help you get to top place? There's also the question, who do you use in your lineup for this week/day? As we know, there are a maximum number of allowed games per position. We want to get the best games out of our players right?

There are just too many questions you'll have to find the answer to during the course of the year but let me share with you a tip that sure to help you in setting your fantasy basketball rosters and in putting you in a better position to win your league. Since there's a maximum number of games allowed per position, we should be very choosy in who to use and not just add/drop players (like what some people do in head to head).

How do we do this? Of course you have to read news about the players if they will play or not. But one of the most important things that people often overlook is who their players are up against. Why? Some teams just have defenses that can limit the production or stats of your players offensively, defensively or both. Some teams are great in creating turnovers. Some are just excellent in forcing bad shots that lead to poor fg%, which leads to lesser points, 3s and even ftm and ft%. Let's break down the categories to get a better picture. I chose Points, FG%, Rebounds and TOs since they're the stats that, I think, are affected greatly by the other team's defense.

Here are the stats for the top and the worst teams per category (As of November 19,2008):

FG%

Best

Boston Celtics

39.9

LA Lakers

41.5

Indiana Pacers

42.3

Cleveland Cavaliers

42.3

Dallas Mavericks

42.4

Worst

New York Knicks

48.7

Washington Wizards

48.4

Portland Trailblazers

47.4

Sacramento Kings

47.3

Charlotte Bobcats

46.6

A career 45.4% shooter, Richard "Rip" Hamilton scored only 3 points and was 0-8 from the field in a game against Boston. Against the Lakers, he went 3-10 from the field and finishing with only 12 points. These are some of the top defensive teams in the league and they win not only because of good offense but also because of excellent defense.

If you're looking for some lift in your fg%, playing against the New York Knicks or even the Bobcats will help you significantly. Russell Westbrook, is averaging 31.7% from the field and has only shot 50% once in his young career and that was against the Knicks. Against the Memphis Grizzlies, New York won by 29 points but allowed a shooting of 48.8% from the field. That would have been great if you had used your Grizzlies players that day.

TO

Best

LA Lakers

17.8

Miami Heat

16.6

Boston Celtics

15.8

Milwaukee Bucks

15.8

Denver Nuggets

15.6

Worst

San Antonio Spurs

10.7

LA Clippers

12.0

Phoenix Suns

12.1

Dallas Mavericks

12.2

Minnesota Timberwolves

12.6

The Lakers and the Celtics have two of the best records in the NBA and this largely because of their way of forcing their opponents to turn the ball over. In a game against the Pistons, the Lakers may have lost that game but they forced the Pistons to more turnovers (18 against 11), which is bad for owners of the Detroit players.

With Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili injured, the Spurs are having a hard time creating pressure in the backcourt, thus, leading to lesser turnovers and of course fewer wins. Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks averages 3 turnovers a game but against the Spurs he had none. On top of that, he had 10 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists and his team won.

Points

Best

Houston Rockets

88.9

Boston Celtics

90.7

LA Lakers

91.3

New Orleans Hornets

91.6

Cleveland Cavaliers

92.6

Worst

New York Knicks

105.9

Golden State Warriors

105.3

Sacramento Kings

103.6

Washington Wizards

102.8

LA Clippers

102.0

In their last 5 games, the Houston Rockets have limited their opponents to an average of just 83.2 points per game. That means lesser productions from teams playing against Houston.

Good for you if you have players going up against the Knicks and go ahead and insert them in your lineup. Most probably your players will have a good fantasy game with nice fg% too. With Camby back, the Clippers somehow improved defensively. In their past 5 games, they've only allowed their opponents to reach the 100 point mark twice and one of those team were the high scoring Warriors.

Rebounds

Best

Cleveland Cavaliers

37.5

Milwaukee Bucks

38.1

Utah Jazz

38.1

Portland Trailblazers

38.2

New Orleans Hornets

39.0

Worst

New York Knicks

49.0

LA Clippers

46.6

Oklahoma City Thunder

46.6

Golden State Warriors

45.4

Dallas Mavericks

44.4

It's just fun to have Knicks players right now and to go up against their team. If you need points you'll get it, if you need a boost in rebounds you'll also get it. With their style of play under D'Antoni, the Knicks will run and try to outscore their opponents. More shots may lead to more misses and that lead to more opportunities to rebound. The seldom used Robert Swift had 13 rebounds against them recently but you have to make sure that your big men can run with them. If you have Erick Dampier who couldn't run against them then that would be a problem.

As they say, head to head is a sprint while roto is a marathon. You have to pace yourself throughout the year in roto. You'll have to know when to use or bench your players and try to get the best games out of them as much as possible. Using your top players is still a must start in your games but use this guide as a means to know when to use your role players especially those for rebounding and 3 point shooting purposes. It's still your call on who you want to start and I hope this roto guide helps you understand how other teams can affect your players.

It's still a long season and I wish you all the luck. Let me know if you have any comments.