This article is part of our DFS Basketball 101 series.
Daily fantasy has grown immensely in recent years, but many users have yet to discover the fact that there's more than just football on most major DFS sites. Basketball is my favorite DFS sport, and this article will be a guide to show exactly why. The goal here is to break down DFS as simply as possible for novice players and there are some very simple rules to follow in order to be successful.
A Variety of Websites
The growth of fantasy in recent years has led to increased options when it comes to where to play. Not only are the big sites like FanDuel and DraftKings offering NBA contests, but other outlets -- Yahoo!, FantasyDraft, Fanball, Head2Head -- have also thrown their hats into the ring . The scoring and salaries vary from site to site, so the key is to test them all out and see which one best suits you. Most sites offer bonuses for first-time deposits, thus making your initial investment much less risky and, potentially, much more profitable.
Basics of DFS Basketball
The basic objective for success in daily fantasy is to create an optimal lineup, while also remaining under the permitted salary. What almost all of these sites have in common is that they require you to pick players from each position.
For example, a FanDuel lineup includes: two point guards, two shooting guards, two small forwards, two power forwards and a center. You must fill these positions while staying under the $60,000 salary ceiling -- so an average of roughly $6,666 per player The best players are typically priced at over $10,000, with minimum-priced players often checking in at less than $5,000. Constructing a perfect lineup within those parameters can be challenging, but that's the point of the game, after all.
Unlike season-long leagues, there are several ways to come away a winner in a DFS contest. Most sites offer a variety of contest styles, including tournaments, head-to-head matchups, 50/50's and qualifiers.
Tournaments are the most popular option due to the possibility of turning a small buy-in into a monster payday. An common example of this is a $50,000 guarantee for a $5 buy-in. What that means is the contests is going to have more than 10,000 entries, with about 1,000 people cashing and a top prize of about $5,000. The higher your total, the bigger the cash.
The 50/50's and head-to-heads are much safer, because the odds aren't so gargantuan. Head-to-head means that you square off against just one opponent for a predetermined price and the winner takes all. The 50/50's are tournaments in which the top half of the field earn twice their money back -- essentially a head-to-head contest on a much larger scale. Just as you should test out several DFS sites, the best way to approach these different formats is to try all of these game styles out and see which suits your style.
Tips for DFS Success
Know the Site You're Using
All the DFS sites have different rules and understanding their respective subtleties is vital to success. Some sites offer more for defensive stats than other sites, while others offer double-double bonuses. Knowing these rules and capitalizing on them will keep you a step ahead.
2Follow Rotations
In order to be successful, you need to know teams' rotations. The best way to accumulate fantasy points is to get as many minutes into your lineup as possible within your salary. One way to take advantage of the system is to stay up-to-date on injuries. Being able to use a backup, who's filling in for a starter, at a much lower price is the easiest way to generate fantasy points at an affordable price. Matching these sort of players with some low-risk studs is my favorite way to build lineups on FanDuel and DraftKings, and it's led me to some sizable cashes.
Set a Goal
My favorite site to play on is FanDuel, and a simple key for success on the site is the 5X baseline rule. This means that each one of your player should earn roughly five times value on his particular price. With a $60,000 salary, that means you'll aim to reach at least 300 points if every player returns 5X value, which is about the baseline to cash in most tournaments. For example, if you use Paul George at $10,000, that means 50 fantasy points would give you 5X value. When picking a player, ask yourself: does this guy have a floor of 5X value?. If the answer is yes, he's generally going to be a safe and reliable option.
Use Every Tool Available
RotoWire provides some fantastic tools for DFS success and it's extremely easy to access these game changers to build an optimal lineup. My favorite tool is the NBA Defense vs. Positions page on RotoWire. This is a list of all 30 teams and how they perform defensively against each position, in terms of fantasy points. It allows you to see where teams struggle and gives you the knowledge to pounce on those weaknesses. Another tool that RotoWire provides is the Lineup Optimizer. This page employs a formula to project every player's fantasy production, and it can be tweaked to utilize the settings for individual DFS sites.
In addition to these tools, it's also imperative to check players' usage rates and teams' paces of play. Usage rate is a great way to understand which players are most integral to their respective offenses, while pace can help you decide which specific teams to target. Faster pace equals more possessions; and more possessions equals more potential for fantasy production.
