Introduction: Getting Your Mind Right for NBA DFS GPPs
What is up, everyone? Thanks for reading my NBA strategy course. I will be breaking down what gives me an edge in NBA daily fantasy. I put a lot of time into this and hope it helps everyone with their daily lineups. Keep in mind this is not your normal writeup. All minds are unique, and this is what I would be telling myself a few years ago when I first started. We should all know by now that I am strictly a tournament player, so if you are reading this remember that. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I played a cash game and I do not want to steer anyone in the wrong direction. Thankfully, I have been successful in every sport, but it all started with NBA, which is truly my bread and butter! I believe there is a huge mental side to DFS that some may disagree with. In this introduction, I will explain how to get your mind ready for NBA and how to attack with confidence.
This intro is broken down into 4 parts.
1. Two Minds are Better Than One
Everyone around the industry has their own opinion day in and day out. Some know more than others, and some just say whatever pops into their heads. Studying the industry was always one of my favorite things to do. Once I had a feeling on each tout, I was comfortable on who to trust and who had no idea what day it was. Any advice you hear throughout the day is good. The more you hear and observe, the more it can be used to your benefit. People can get so one-sided and become blind to the most obvious plays. The more you hear everyone’s opinion around the industry, the better off you will be. That way, you can decipher what information makes sense to you. Some of my best nights have been when I took advice from numerous touts while putting my own spin on their ideas. Your own spin is what will help you climb the leader boards. If you feel confident in your plays, then play them! Too many people get talked off their plays. You want people to say ‘do not play this guy,’ because now you just gained an edge on the field. Always take everyone’s advice into consideration while building your lineups, but make sure you have the final say!
2. How to Attack NBA Night in and Night Out
We can all agree that NBA has to be one of the most frustrating daily fantasy sports out there with resting, rotations, injuries, late scratches, etc. With that knowledge, attacking NBA can become very strategic. At the beginning of the season I always limit my bank roll. It is very hard to hit the ground running when all these variables are in play. Once I start to get a feel for each team and what their rotations are, I can attack my lineups with a lot more confidence than I would in the beginning of the season. Now that my bankroll is limited, I am able to attack the last three quarters of the season a lot harder. For most teams, we all know their game plans early in the season, but a slow and steady attack is always key to staying consistent throughout the long NBA grind. Once you get a good feel for every team, you can start to build lineups in your sleep that you feel confident in.
3. To Script or Not to Script, That Is the Question?
Most days you will hear people say that they want to script this slate. For anyone who does not know what scripting is, it is using a lineup generator while plugging in certain percentages you want on each player. I do not understand why people script half of the slates while hand-building the other half; if you do not have enough time for lineups just take the night off. If I were to script, I would recommend to do it on every slate and not pick and choose, since I think consistency is key, and I’ll talk more about consistency later. Personally, I prefer to hand-build my lineups so I can work on improving my lineup construction. Yes, you can put a higher volume of lineups in if you script, but you also might burn your bankroll in the process. There are always pros and cons to any decision. There is nothing wrong with scripting, but also keep in mind that most scripters have their own projection models and lineup builders. All in all, I recommend to make your mind up on which type of player you are and stick to it because bouncing back and forth is not a good recipe for success.
4. Getting in That GPP-“Wining” Mindset
Here is the most important part of the introduction: Getting your mind right for tournaments. When it comes to large-field tournaments a player like LeBron James is not going to win it for you. Yes, they can help, but big-name players are not going to be the reason you take down a large GPP. One of my favorite things to implement in big GPPs is a 2v2 swap, which is switching out two players for two other players who add up to virtually the same salary. That small move has been the difference maker in so many tournament lineups. It can be the difference between a lineup that just makes the money and one that finished in the top 10, especially when switch to players who have similar upside but lower ownership. So when you are building a tournament lineup keep that in mind. When it comes to smaller tournaments, any well-constructed lineup has the ability to take it down. You do not always need those crazy punt plays that everyone is searching for. We have all seen the chalkiest of lineups take those down and that should be no surprise. So just make sure that your plan for tournaments with over 10,000 entries is different than your game plan for tournaments of only 1,000. As obvious as that may sound, you would be surprised at the number of people who do not change up their game plan for smaller tournaments.