Strategy for Week 1 of NBA Fantasy

Hey everyone! I’m back with a written piece after a bit of a delay. Moving forward, at least 1 piece a week will be sent on Tuesday!

In this post, I cover some essential tips that I’ve seen work for myself when navigating week 1 of NBA fantasy and winning leagues.

1. Don’t overreact.

This is straightforward enough. A lot of interesting things happen in the first week, with lineups, coaching decisions, off-the-radar players having good games, elite players having a slow start etc, etc. The last thing you want to do is overreact and drop a player in a good role with a clear pathway due to a few bad games, or conversely overreact to a player having a good game which may be a one-off, and pick him up at all costs.

2. Know the schedule.

If you want to maximize week 1, which is a lighter week in terms of games given we’re starting on Tuesday, you need to know the schedule. Wednesday and Friday this week are high-volume game days, which means nearly all of your active roster spots will be full. Knowing which teams are playing on low-volume days, can give you the edge in streaming. For example for this week, the Suns, Lakers, and 76ers are all playing on days wherein you may have an active roster spot open. Streaming players from those teams can help you get a quick start.

3. It is okay to lose in the first few weeks.

If your team has some fliers or injured players or players on new teams figuring out their roles, you could have a slow start. This is okay. I’ve been in many leagues wherein I’ve lost the first two or three game weeks because I have held on to the players I believe will be impactful, regardless of the slow start to the season.

Lastly, just relish and enjoy the moment we’ve all been waiting for, NBA is back!

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