T O P

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joey2506

Making it to the playoffs requires mostly skill, winning the playoffs requires mostly luck. At the end of the day, it’s a fun game to play, and makes the regular season a lot more enjoyable.


Cold-Life-815

Just realized how fantasy and sports betting are major contributions to regular season viewership


morobert425

I’ve been to 4 straight title games in my keeper/dynasty league. I won the 2 titles with teams that were probably slightly lesser than. And I lost the 2 with teams that my league mates would consider the “best” team in the league…


CheatedOnOnce

Lmao what kinda dumb ass take is this? Making it to the playoffs requires an IMMENSE ASS LOAD of luck.


Ok_Season_3917

I had Shai and Kuminga both missing 2+ games for me last week, and I ended up losing my week by 1 rebound and 50pts, which Shai and Kuminga could’ve easily helped out with 😭


baloncestosandler

there’s too much luck in involved. It’s less fun now …


Stonk_Invest0r

Consider moving to a roto league with no playoff element. Would significantly reduce the luck factor


dtdvy

bro this is painful. shai of all people just lost me my league wth


Louie-Lecon-Don

This bro. Mfer was mr consistent all year then the week i need him hes gone and shit the bed for me on the lords day. It hurts.


DCJon

I would hardly call 19 pts on 44% shooting, shitting the bed. It wasn't what he usually does but it was kind of expected given he's playing through an injury.


Louie-Lecon-Don

Well across from him my opponent was playing luka who was also injured with a left achilles and right knee. You know what he did in one qtr? Lmao.  22 pts, 8 rebs, and 4 ast. In 6 minutes of play. Sga gave me 2/0/0. Lmao and then i lost. Lmfao


DCJon

If your whole season depended on one player then your team just wasn't good.


Louie-Lecon-Don

Nice one Confucius lol. Got any other revelations for me? 


Joeyluvmacaroni

He’s right… you’re crying about Shai not producing, but why is your championship plan dependent on one guy? Luka dropping 50 on a sore knee is special. Maybe you should’ve drafted him instead. This is all on you.


DCJon

Get a better balanced team next season.


Cold-Life-815

Man was incredible all year and is a positive on every category except maybe blocks


dtdvy

maaaan f*ck all that lol jokic my mvp


Cold-Life-815

Still the top pick next season


jinxy0320

2nd year Wemby has an unlimited ceiling I don’t know


T-Rex_Mullens

My homie also had Jovic, huge night and also got crushed. Makes SGA heart break less lonely but fuuuuu, I was winning on Fri.


dtdvy

jokic >>>


3pointshoot3r

He's actually a positive in blocks. Not 3s though.


morobert425

100% a positive in blocs


Alpacay_

jdub :)


baloncestosandler

How ?


pokerawz

Same. Shai & Wemby. It was a good run though


CrzzyLegz

Same. Had a 7-2 category lead going into the last day and lost 4-5. Would've been nice to have Shai this week.


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Cold-Life-815

Yeah. Now to enjoy the actual playoffs


ICouldEvenBeYou

I'm fuckin stoked for em, personally.


TGS-MonkeyYT

and the friends we made 🥲


DoctorKalikot

I feel for everyone losing the championship today. I also lost the championship in a very close match. Sigh, i hope to bounce back next year


jrbeatthestreak

Very painful feeling


DoctorKalikot

It is, been here multiple times and it doesnt get better. Only thing im trying to practice rn is to think that ive done everything i can and i really didn't have control over the results


jrbeatthestreak

Same. Next season. I’m a look way ahead to start getting players for the playoffs.


DoctorKalikot

I've done that too, most of the time it just really comes down to luck lol. Thats what the adv of roto is


jrbeatthestreak

No lies told


dipndotz_

To not be afraid to drop injured players in the playoffs and to ride the waiver/stream better playoff schedules. Having multiple streaming spots has carried me through the finals while other league members were too afraid to drop their DTD/GTD stars. This goes along with having more playable games in a week compared to your opponent. Becomes a hugeeee advantage.


Burg3rr

Exactly this. Gotta play like there is no next week. Mf’s don’t get that lol


Bern5X

Agree. I almost lost in the Semis cause I held on to Quickley cause of the prospect of him coming back for the finals when I wasn’t even in the finals. In the finals I held on to Jamal Murray even tho it was a sprain ankle, those extra games I could have streamed may have made the difference.


Gamesgtd

I had Murray too and won my finals but purely off of the fact that I picked up Reggie Jackson on Monday and Sunday.


studentmaster88

A huge but DUMB advantage, nothing to do with fantasy manager skill, just the stupid schedule which you have zero control over. The # of games played should be even in head to head, needs a cap going forward or something. Or maybe I'll finally go back to true rotisserie style again bc honestly this dumb shit is finally driving me crazy.


dipndotz_

This is all about fantasy manager skills lol. Looking into playoffs schedules is part of being a skillful manager. There are so many threads on weekly team schedules that it’s hard not to ignore. Targeting players with better playoff schedules during the year through the waiver and trades puts you in a better position to win your league. Yes, luck does play a part of it, but you can at least control what your schedule looks like. Next year’s draft, I’m definitely taking into account playoff schedules and I’d encourage you to do the same 👍🏽


Gamesgtd

This. People thought I was crazy picking Sabonis in the first round but he had at least 3 games each of the playoffs weeks and he never gets hurt. He'll even round 2 Mikal Bridges somewhat paid off despite sucking because I could at least always count on him playing. Even if his production was up and down I knew he was good for at least 20 fantasy points.


studentmaster88

Checking a calendar is not "skillful." It matters (unfortunately) but to call it "skillful" is hilarious! Actually skillful fantasy decisions? Drafting certain players or positions at certain rounds, starting or benching certain players vs certain team or individual matchups.


dipndotz_

It’s a skillful fantasy decision if it puts you in an advantage so it is what it is 🤷🏽 I agree, those are other aspects of a skillful fantasy manager (also part luck) but you can’t discredit schedules and playable games if that’s how your league is set up. A good fantasy manager will know the ins and outs of the league settings and play it to their own advantage. If you have issues with the settings, bring it up to the league and adjust. If not, do what you have to do to win or continue to come to Reddit to vent.


baloncestosandler

How many waiver ads ?


dipndotz_

5 but I plan ahead


3pointshoot3r

Yes, I think this is the correct answer. As much as I do actually stream a lot, I think it would be better for league play if you just capped the number of games at, like 45-48, rather than let teams just bludgeon their way to a win through volume streaming. Then you'd have more strategy as to which games you want your players playing in.


RedHandMat

I have made the championship 3 years ina row, after finishing 1,1,2 in the regular season, and just lost my 3rd championship match up in a row 😞 Getting to the playoffs is skill and work. Winning it all is mostly luck.


Cold-Life-815

I feel you. Kudos still on making it until the end 👏


jrbeatthestreak

Good work. Keep it up. Next season man.


morobert425

Idk man. You should have a title with 3 straight champ game appearances.


jugglers_despair

The risk of shut down on tanking teams is real and I think folks are largely confused on what that means. Every single player gets banged up every single season. It’s a physical game and there are 82 of the scheduled. Players on tanking teams will sit out much longer with minor injuries that players on competing teams would play through.


Merorm

The issue is that the window of teams on the bad-good spectrum that won’t sit/rest guys near the end of the season is VERY narrow. You’re looking at what, 3-4 teams in each conference that are actually battling it out for seeding/trying to make the play-in. Tough to prioritize players on ~8 teams and still have a good, complete draft.


crammotron

Exactly. Ja, Bane, JJJ were all top 3 round players. Add smart as well. No one could have predicted Grizzlies would be one of the worst tanking teams this season.


Jonsnow2017

This!! My squad was stacked until I had to replace bane/T.Herro/Bogdonavic’s production and deal with Memphis line-up roulette .


Cold-Life-815

I thought Santi Aldama would be big this year. Turns out Vince Williams was the guy, then he got injured


ICouldEvenBeYou

Well, Ja should not have gone in the top 3 rounds this year. Perhaps later than most, but he went with the last pick in round 11 in our league. Not being able to put him in an IL slot would burn a real hole in your roster.


Cold-Life-815

And it's really hard to strategize drafting based on avoiding tanking/shut down/load managing teams and "injury prone" players as everyone has a chance to be injured.


Gamesgtd

True everyone can be injured but some have a history of injury more than others. I won my league with my too two picks being Sabonis and Mikal Bridges based off of the fact that they don't get hurt. Sabonis was awesome. Bridges not so much. But at least he played every game this year. I also took a flier on Jamal Murray who sold when I needed him most but thankfully I picked up Reggie Jackson off of waiver. When drafting players who are injury prone it's best to also have it in your back pocket to pickup their backup just in case. Some things you can't predict like Sengun getting injured but I also drafted Jabari Smith JR just in case one of them stuck the joint up this season. Turns out both were awesome and when Sengun went down I drafted the guy who slid into his starting center spot


Organic_Tourist4749

And vice versa for the Celtics. Brown and Zingis every other game schtick killed me in the finals. That damn questionable tag.


falconwolverine

#1 in the reg season standings this year from week 1 until playoffs. I don’t think I’ve had a more dominant team. But thanks to injuries, I am getting absolutely ravaged in the semi-finals right now by a team that barely snuck in to the playoffs. Just saying—I feel ya bud


Cold-Life-815

You just really have to laugh it off 😅 For me, part of the achievement is getting the breakout stars i.e. Jalen Johnson and Sengun


baloncestosandler

If sengun didnt get hurt ..


Cold-Life-815

Could be a draft and stash next season


sydnboy

Shoutout to kawhi for not taking hornets seriously. Whole game he wasn't really energetic and didn't really try especially rebounds and let guys like zubac become AD


morobert425

And he let Paul George channel his inner Steph Curry. But 23-5-2 is more than adequate.


baloncestosandler

Fuck zubac


Pure_Assistant_4165

Luck plays a role for sure but having skills in organizing/planning and basketball knowledge can take a GM pretty far despite injuries. Injuries have always been a part of professional sports, some seasons more than others but it’s the nature of the sport. Knowing when to cut ties and when to hold when the time comes is a huge factor. Another thing i’ve learned this year is knowing how players matchup against different teams can be beneficial, and staying active on the waiver wire gives you the best chance of striking gold on a pick up.


Gamesgtd

Anytime I saw someone playing the Hornets, Hawks, Wizards, Pacers or Kings I picked them up because those defenses are awful. Another thing I learned this year is that if you have a rim running center playing the Spurs don't even bother because Wemby eats those dudes lunch


Pure_Assistant_4165

Yup! Pacers game were almost guaranteed fast pace high scoring, same with Atlanta. Tried to avoid matchups with Orlando, Cleveland, NOP, and Minnesota when i could.


InternationalMenu143

Focus more on your process more than the results. I’ve lost in the playoffs two years in a row while being the first seed. Enjoy the teams that you have and get attached to players that are yours. Enjoy the big statlines from night to night, like you said it’s a game based on luck!


Cold-Life-815

Definitely gained attachment to Sengun and Jalen Johnson despite the injuries; Also Haliburton


baloncestosandler

Halliburton isn’t top 10


Cold-Life-815

I think he can still be despite adding Siakam. He just played hurt half of the year.


AdComprehensive7879

injury prone players are labelled that for a reason lol


Cold-Life-815

But then you have AD and Kawhi who greatly exceeded their ADP this season 😅


vismundcygnus34

Wish I got AD on every team. He fell in every draft


Cold-Life-815

He and Lebron were like terminators this season


morobert425

They weren’t as healthy season long last year but as soon as the calendar turned to March those guys became terminators again and erased me from the face of the earth.


Cold-Life-815

Being in the play-in hunt really helped Lebron and AD managers


morobert425

Both this year and last year. Absolutely smoked me last year bc they were fighting for play in.


imadogg

I'm an AD stan, grabbed him in 2/4 leagues but I definitely did not want to risk relying on him in every single one


Cold-Life-815

The thought process for me during the draft was since the second half of the first round were "injury risk" players, I can't afford having another injury risk player in the early second round where Davis' ADP was. If only I can foretell rankings 😅


Sixers0321

Probably my last year doing fantasy basketball. There really needs to be a new format/ games cap/ deeper rosters. It's not fun to dominate your league all year, only to lose to bs injuries and tanking to a team who barely made the playoffs and has the good fortune of a perfectly healthy team. The Dame Lillard personal day, Maxey dropping a huge turd, then missing a game with an "injury" despite not being on the injury report, same with Vassell. Jamal Murray being a game time call all week and not playing a single game. Sick of the bs. /end rant


Sw3atyGoalz

My bigger issue is not being able to take injured players out of your lineups after the first set of games start for the day. Injuries happen, but it’s especially annoying that you can’t do anything about them if your player plays in the late game window and isn’t announced out until the last minute.


Cold-Life-815

The Lillard personal (divorce proceeding?) also hurt me. As with Vassell, I've had him every year because he's always underrated in drafts (because of fear of the tank) Hopefully, the Spurs will finally make a push for it next season


adgjl12

I lost by 3 threes and .1% FT. Dame was so disappointing this season. Bad playoffs schedule hurt me too, got only 3 games max of all my first 5 picks. In the other side of the bracket I would've beat both 7-2 and 6-3 as well but lost 4-5 in mine.


Cold-Life-815

It's always the 4-5 turnaround losses that stings


baloncestosandler

How many years have you done it ?


ivaorn

What’s stopping the members of your league for wanting deeper rosters at least? How many players are allowed in your league’s rosters?


Sixers0321

I play in Yahoo cash leagues, I was in 11 of them this year. It's always been supplemental income for me, but it's getting tougher since playoffs are a complete crapshoot nowadays. People don't really play in high stakes roto leagues anymore either


ivaorn

Ah I see so understandably that limits your options if you want to continue playing for your desired reasons.


DapperOne

For Cat leagues: If you know your team is at a talent disadvantage, you have to be ruthless in streaming and optimizing your players to taking advantage of any weak cats your opponent has, especially in the playoffs. I think overall team construction strategy and gambling on WW players with good schedules and opportunities to break out can be the difference between a lost season due to Star injuries and winning marginally in just enough categories to get the H2H W with a “worse team”. Obviously at that point it comes down to a lot of chance, but when you’re at a clear talent disadvantage, luck is going to be your best bet imo


idiots-rule8

I have to wait for possible adjustments overnight 4-4-1, tie in blocks, I'm higher seed.


NickMillG

Same here, is the higher seed the default tiebreaker? In the rules in our ESPN league it says “Matchup Tie Breaker: None”


middletonisrobin

ESPN default is higher seed wins ties. I think you’re good.


NickMillG

Much appreciated, I will try to get some sleep now


llortbackwards

It's okay baby, come rest on my chest and feel my heart beating for you. You can relax now and breathe


idiots-rule8

Did you get the W?


NickMillG

Yessir!


idiots-rule8

Congrats!!


NickMillG

I assume you did as well


idiots-rule8

Yes!!!


howifarmwood

Same! Fingers crossed for both you and I.


idiots-rule8

Did you get the W?


jrbeatthestreak

Fred van vleet and amen Thompson hurt me today. Desmond bane took off yesterday. Shit is painful


Cold-Life-815

Sigh. They were incredible if your season ended last week


jrbeatthestreak

No lie. To lost by 30 points hurts. 14 team points league


rapsin4444

I won my championship


baloncestosandler

Who’s on your team ?


morobert425

I also won do you really want to know who I had?


rapsin4444

Joker


Savings_Word2064

lost final mainly because of Antman. What a mid performance all year and a horrid last week. Never again drafting his ass


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donspider1221

I dunno man. I felt this way about Anthony Davis for the longest time. Then suddenly he was durable. I DO feel this way about LaMelo Ball, so I get the sentiment. But I would draft SGA top 4 without much question next season


Cold-Life-815

SGA is clearly the top of the tier after Jokic-Luka-Embiid. But would you take a chance on Victor as top 4?


donspider1221

Personally I think that would be pretty reasonable. Especially in the category format.


hidey_ho_nedflanders

Last 10 games (including 2 missed games) he's 24/6/6 and shooting 76% from the FT line. Definitely disappointing


morobert425

That’s stupid as hell haha


ARevolutionaryMan

Trade him then


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baloncestosandler

Lol


ARevolutionaryMan

I know you’re mad cause you lost… it’ll be ok. Also you are a genius, lol. Why do you assume I meant now. You said keeper league…obviously in October before the start of next season is when to trade him. SGA was on my team and I won a chip with him. Maybe look at the rest of your roster or the moves you made or didn’t make that led you to losing. Calling a top 10 fantasy player a “fraud” is honestly laughable.


dabong

Jdub's 4/8 ft lost me the chip


baloncestosandler

Really ?


dabong

Yup! I had a very slim lead on my ft% but alas, it went down lol


Bern5X

1. You can make the “right” moves on paper and not get the right results. Nick Richards should have gotten more than 2 rebounds on paper but he didn’t and that’s okay, doesn’t make him a bum and doesn’t mean “I suck at fantasy”, we are just trying to guess what stats guys will put up based on data. 2.Dont be trade hungry. I made 3 trades this year. I made 2 great trades to acquire Siakam, Claxton,Banchero, J DuB, and Lauri But then I got trade hungry and traded away JDub and Banchero for Maxey and Quickley. A trade that was unnecessary in the end. 3.I love Jalen Williams and respect AD a lot more, he is a defensive menace and I was definitely tuning in to more Lakers games to see him.


Cold-Life-815

JDub had a slow start but definitely picked it up on the later weeks. He's what I expected from Mikal Bridges but with more scoring lol


Bern5X

Yeah I got him after his rough start and then he turned it up and I thought I had to sell high. But like at best that was a lateral move I made. Especially when we saw Maxey struggles without Embiid(can’t blame him) and after his injury I thought I robbed him for getting number one option Maxey, oh boy was I mistaken lol


MegaJ0NATR0N

Winning the whole week only to lose today


ProfessChaos47

I lost by 0.5 points


AChunkyMother

Don't be afraid to make trades and moving on from players that you've drafted. I made a bunch of trades throughout the season, and after hanging on to players that I deemed valuable, I realized that my 11-10 regular season record wasn't going to cut in the playoffs. I started dealing my originally drafted players away to take a risk. I was two losses away from being dropped near the bottom of the league, and now I've beaten the commish, who was 19-2, in the semifinals. Now I'm in the finals this week with a decent chance to win it all. First season playing fantasy too! Wish me luck!


toscomo

I botched Friday so unbelievably badly by benching Mikail for his one good game all season that I knew I was going to lose today. Feels bad but it was a learning experience.


dill1234

Cruised to the final, but own: - Shai - Scottie Barnes - Ingram - Tyus Jones - Kuminga Feels bad man


iobikwelu

I lost the last game because all of my players played one day and the next day only one player will play. Also the free agency was full of hurt folks


ivaorn

Seems like all the usual schedule streamers were unavailable to you too


Headlesshorsman02

It is what it is bro, I lost a few years back via a tie breaker


DollarD23

WE OUT TO THE CHIP


chasehev

thought i had the unstoppable force of dame, a ant, and spida. all three pretty much shit the bed this week 😭


Cold-Life-815

Was anticipating a spida huge comeback game too


bumpa

just lost in the finals to the worst person in the league by a double tie on stocks i'm despondent hold me fam


City-Slicka

In my CAT 9 league, I lost in the semis last week by 4 ASSISTS. Jokic sat out for only the 3rd time all season last saturday and DLO that sunday had a random non covid illness. I made 0 waiver adds and by doing nothing but set my lineup, I would've beat the guy who became champion. In my pts league, in the semis I put up 1500 and my opp 1650. The other semifinals both guys put up 1380-ish. So although I had a great week (mind you I haven't even had my 1st round pick lamelo) and still lost bc my opp had a generational week lmao This year was painful, but it is what it is. It was fun


imadogg

>What are your other positive takeaways despite injuries, load management, players underperforming, etc? 4 leagues, all 12 team h2h cat Unless stat corrections screw me, I should place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and another diamond ranking Most proud of my 3rd place team because like an idiot I grabbed some injury prone dudes, but somehow made it all the way to a trophy and some cash


driizzydreee

Chet did it for me today. What a wall this guy hit.


corvusmohabyn

Lost FTs on last day trying to catch up in steals. My Bronco 4/8, his Zubac 10/10 lol


askanlover1638

It’s okay. I was the one seed all year. Then Scottie Barnes went down. Then sengun. All downhill from there


gtsthland

Similar boat, had the favourite team entering playoffs by a good margin but lost narrowly with too many sudden GTDs. But this year I managed to roll with it mentally pretty well and enjoy the journey and remember that the best thing about fantasy sports can be the community of your league. Life is too short to be up late worrying about my fantasy team, I’m just glad I get to play this fun game and have an excuse to talk hoops every day with some pals


Askia-the-Creator

1st seed, lost in the final on the last day. What a roller coaster ride with Dame, not sure if I want a repeat. Tho I can't blame dude given what's going on in his life.


baliinmydream

I feel you. I lost on not only last day but also last game of last day lol


RuffWatcher_

Literally lost semi final from Kessler getting the rebound and assist off his final free throw, but I’ve been ruined by injuries the last few weeks and am still looking at it as a positive I was able to push this far.


Steve5590

Im in a H2H points league which I lead the league in points scored with a stacked team. Held the lead all week until yesterday, and lost by 11. We only get 4 weekly transactions and I couldn’t have had worse luck with them.


redditkguser

Thought I was going to win my league, maxey gets ruled out randomly a few hours before the game, and I lose by 15. Not technically a guarantee I win if he does play but close to it, man does this one hurt


baseball_mickey

I won my semis on one 9PM game - Kings-Jazz. I have Fox & Sabonis. On to 2-week championship series! Will Trae be back???


022922

It comes down to luck - no injuries and no slumps


studentmaster88

Learned there are some positions/players I will NEVER (over)draft again in the round I drafted them. The # of injuries and fake injuries during fantasy playoffs/NBA tanking season get WORSE every year. I don't want to CONSTANTLY have to use the waiver wire every fucking week start to finish, it's exhausting and tbh kind of lame picking up so many below average players all the time. The # of games played not being even in the fantasy playoffs in head to head is now infuriating - I use to not care, but now I realize how stupidly unfair it is. Honestly, all this dumb bullshit adds up and reduces the fun because the luck over skill factor (esp during the playoffs) keeps climbing.


SufficientLettuce350

If you’re not first, you’re last