Tip-off to the 2012-13 NBA season is mere hours away and your fantasy rosters should be locked in for opening night. For those of you who play in daily fantasy leagues, salary cap leagues or even weekly leagues; there is a trick to maximizing your fantasy roster value.
We all know that each team plays 82 games, so if you draft Lebron James and keep him on your roster year round then you will get 82 games worth of stats. If you draft Lebron James during certain weeks and drop him in others, you will actually get more than 82 games out of your small forward roster spot.
Case in point, opening week in the NBA sees nine teams play only two games during the entire week while one team, the Los Angeles Lakers plays four games during the same seven day span. It stands to reason that in four games, Dwight Howard will produce more fantasy points during this week than any one player off of a team who plays only twice.
If you look at the NBA in the same fashion as the NFL then there are 25 weeks of NBA action. By breaking down each week and analyzing team schedules you can load your roster with players playing more games and sit those who are playing fewer games.
If all this sounds like a lot of work then you need not worry; because we are going to do the leg work for you. We will post a weekly NBA start em’ and sit em’ fantasy guide. This will assist you in maximizing your fantasy roster potential.
WEEK 1 – START EM’
As mentioned there is only team this week that plays four games and that is the Los Angeles Lakers. So not surprisingly we are going to load up on Lakers and toping our list of players you must start is of course number 24.
Kobe Bryant – LA LAKERS
According to every Los Angeles media outlet, Kobe Bryant is going to be a game-time decision. I don’t believe that for one second. There is no way that Kobe Bryant will miss a home opener against the Dallas Mavericks; it flat out isn’t going to happen. He might not be 100% and that ankle might be bothering him but, I’ll bank on Bryant playing at 80% in four games to give my team some solid fantasy points.
Dwight Howard – LA LAKERS
The big man looks ready to go. His last preseason game saw him get 33 minutes and post 19 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. If this is going to be indicative of the early season stat lines then I’ll take it. Should Kobe falter at all with his ankle then Howard’s touches will go up even more. He might not be as dominant this early in the season as he could be later on; however, he is still a fantasy producer and will grab those boards and block those shots.
WEEK 1 – SIT EM’
All Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks squad plays only two games this week; they open at home against the Houston Rockets then travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder. Neither of these games are good matchups for the Hawks and no one Hawk is likely to give you any fantasy value here. Not that the Hawks will represent much value as the season progresses, their worth here is extremely low.
Andrew Bynum – Philadelphia 76ers
While he hasn’t been ruled out for action yet on opening night, he hasn’t been cleared to play either. The 76ers are slated for only two games during the opening week and should Bynum get held out of action on opening night he would then get an additional four days of rest, rehab and practise before a road game into Madison Square Garden. I don’t think the 76ers will chance further injury by pushing Bynum back before he is pain free, therefore sit em’ till he’s healthy.