NBA Fantasy Sports Betting Guide
Basketball is perfectly suited to fantasy sports betting as the games come thick and fast and points scoring is relentless. It is a key component of all the major daily fantasy sports sites as players enter into contests centered around the latest NBA games.
You will need to select a lineup, typically consisting of eight or nine players depending on the site, but only a certain number can come from the same real-life team and your options will be categorized by position, such as point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards. Some sites, such as DraftKings, let you pick a utility player who can take up any position. Most sites will have a salary cap and each player is given a price, so it is your task to stick to a set budget as you make your selections.
For some people, fantasy NBA is all about drafting your favorite players wherever possible and seeing how they perform, but the biggest part of the fun is testing your knowledge and trying to work out a winning strategy that will put you in line for a huge payday. The more you play the more tricks you will pick up for yourself, but there are a few ideas which may come in handy.
Get into the Scoring System
Each fantasy sports site will have subtle differences with regards to how points are won or lost, so before you play you will need to have a full understanding of the scoring system. Read through the rules carefully, learn how teams have to be constructed and play in free contests initially to build some experience. As you understand how various points of play in the game can affect how you perform in a contest, you’ll create a better form for player selection in each contest.
For example, turnovers can be especially dangerous, as you’ll lose points throughout a contest every time your player loses possession of the ball, but assists and rebounds can help you get back on top. Look closely at a player’s recent stats and form before adding them to your roster and you can avoid going into the red on game day.
Every Minute Counts
One of the major benefits of daily fantasy sports is that you don’t get stuck with injured players in your team like you would during a season-long competition. Or, at least, you won’t if you play the game properly, so always make sure to check the fitness of each member of your roster before making your selections. The aim of the game is to pick players who are getting as many minutes as possible, so when a front-line performer is missing due to injury their regular backup will have a big chance to shine and they could be snapped up for cheap. Keep track of player status and starting lineups for real games via social media and major news sites so you can make changes to your roster before everything is locked down.
Be Aware of Match-Ups
This is all about looking at who your players are going to be up against on a given night. It is not simply a case of thinking about whether they will be facing the weakest side in the conference but more about specific battles. Defense vs Position stats are used on some sites and show how successful teams are in defending against the various positions on the court. Checking season-long DvP rankings and more recent statistics can help you to spot developing trends with players.
Hot and Cold Streaks
Selecting players in good form is one of most obvious techniques in fantasy sports betting, but in basketball it can be particularly effective. Players who are full of confidence have been known to sustain hot streaks for quite some time and are definitely worth selecting if they have not been overpriced. Likewise, players who are struggling are usually to be avoided, but that will mean their salary might have dropped and they could be worth targeting with the hope that they will show signs of a resurgence. Ultimately, one of the key skills in fantasy basketball betting is judging when a player’s level of performance might be about to shift up or down.
Pace Yourself
A team’s pace in NBA is classed as how many offensive possessions they have in a game, and the higher the better for fantasy sports as it simply means that there will be more opportunities to pick up points. Again, it is worth looking at recent pace and season-long pace to find out if a team and its players are coming into form.
Monitor the Schedule
The NBA fixture list is gruelling as teams play 82 games in less than six months before the playoffs even begin. It might seem a great idea to pick a player who has just been a star performer in the last game, but if they played a lot of minutes it might be better to leave them out, as they may be tired and less likely to perform at their personal best. Also, the schedule often demands that teams make long trips from one side of the country to another, and such flights can take their toll as the season wears on.
Bargain Shopping
Astute fantasy NBA players are always on the lookout for bargains. There are lots of experts and blog posts out there which can be very helpful as you look for the best possible value, and it may be worth coming up with a system of your own to simplify the process and discover whether players are actually worth their salary. For example, you could divide the points a player scores for your team by their salary to see whether you excel at picking cheap options who go on to impress or are too focused on grabbing the superstars to see the bigger picture.