Roto Newb here and I am just curious about how you go about managing games played? Do you have your set starters and only rotate your bench players when your starter gets injured? Do you play every player ranked in the top 100 even if it means getting a bit ahead in pace? When do you start hunting for stats that you need to build up rather than going for the best value? Thanks for any input!
I prefer to lag behind my games pace early in the season. With as many off days as there are in the NBA, it's very easy to make them up later in the season. So I only start guys who feel safe to me. Once you use up a game, you never get it back. (This is in contrast to fantasy baseball, where there are so few off days that I prefer to get ahead of my pace early.)
I focused in on the "best value" part of your question here, because I personally try to build my strategy around that. Fantasy bball is a weekly game, and focusing on winning that week at the END of the week usually leads to the best results. Not sure what your start/sit and waiver wire situation is in your league, but play the best value that you have on any given night and worry about making up for any lost categories near the end of the week. It's easy to find yourself without any great waiver adds at the end of the week (either to win your current match up or prepare for the next week) if you go chasing stats on Tuesday and Wednesday. Good luck!
@david yea i had a few wasted games playing inconsistent guys early. I guess my problem is for guys like darren collison for example, he’s rolling right now but has a chance to have a dud on any given night. Do i just keep him on my bench and only play him when my top tier guys get injured?
Yeah a guy like Collison is in the tough judgment call area. As long as you're confident that his final stat line at the end of the season will be one that you'll be glad to have used for 82 games, then just start him every game and don't worry about the ups and downs, because they'll even out. That's basically the question you have to ask yourself about every player on your roster, and why it's more important to make decisions based on the player's minutes and role rather than on hot or cold streaks. As long as the role/minutes are safe, don't overreact to bad games.
But yeah, if you've got 10 guys (or however many starting lineup slots there are in your league) that you trust right now more than him, then roll with those 10 and just keep him on your bench.
