Last Updated on March 3, 2026 5:44 pm by Mike Passador | Published: March 3, 2026

The playoffs are here in the vast majority of head-to-head leagues, which does a few things that are important to grasp as you make your next moves.

Most leagues will lock the non-playoff teams from making moves. Even in leagues that don’t, unless there’s future penalties for finishing at the very bottom, many managers who are not competing for the title will cease to be active. That means you have a smaller pool of competition for the available players on waivers.

Perhaps the most important change now is that you can be increasingly targeted in your pickups. Winning 5-4 is just as valid as winning 8-1, and you can scout your matchups very seriously. Go to your league’s standings page and sort by stats. Find out where you stack up compared to your opponent. Forget about any categories with wide gaps, unless there are pressing injury situations that have taken a major contributor out of the picture. Hunt out the categories that are going to be close and attack them. If you finished second in your league in assists and your opponent was 11th but you sit 6th and 4th in blocks, drop one of your assist-specialist types for someone who can grab more steals. You need to win this week.

What that also does is throw some conventional wisdom out the window. We have been operating with loose roster percentage guidelines all year but from now on we’re taking a category-based approach. If you need steals in a 14-team league, the guy who is 0% rostered is absolutely in play if he grabs some steals. You’re going to see some funny-looking transactions this time of year but it’s all in service of getting through the week and coming out on top. Don’t be afraid to be bold. You know your teams’ needs.

Overall Adds

As always, here’s a quick rundown of guys who are rostered near the 25% ballpark who have enough wind in their sails to be viable in 12-team leagues. That means they’re obviously in play in deeper formats, so give them a look if they’re available to you:

Julian Champagnie (17%), Gui Santos (27%), De’Anthony Melton (18%), Jay Huff (19%), Brook Lopez (21%), Nique Clifford (22%), Scotty Pippen Jr. (13%), Tre Jones (14%), Precious Achiuwa (27%), Moses Moody (22%), Davion Mitchell (17%), Brandon Williams (17%), Scoot Henderson (16%), Jaylon Tyson (20%), Nolan Traore (11%), Will Riley (17%), Day’Ron Sharpe (16%)

Beyond that, here are some players we would make sure a rostered in deep leagues in general for their overall production.

Micah Potter (14%)

Potter is somehow up to top-70 value in the last month of action. The Pacers trimming their center rotation to just two players has done wonders for both him and Jay Huff, and Potter has been a steady source of points, 3-pointers and rebounds on a good mark from the field. He’s an easy add for any managers who aren’t loaded in the frontcourt even if he doesn’t have a traditional stat set for a center.

Danny Wolf (5%)

Want full access to Mike’s Deep League Pickups? You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required  

  Join our Discord:  Click Here to Join!

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

Mike Passador

Mike graduated from Boston University’s Dual Degree Program with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business with Concentrations in Marketing and Operations Management. He is a faithful supporter of Toronto sports and the Detroit Lions and is always ready to be let down. Tweet to him @Mike_Pandador, but if you badmouth Jose Calderon you might get blocked.

• Deep League Pickups: Playoff Time is Here
• Fantasy Basketball Daily Cheat Sheet: Saturday, February 28th Streamers & Adds
• Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Best Pickups of Week 19