I will not waste your time. Because this is your time.
your imaginary time. Even better: fantasy basketball time.
And now…is a pivotal time in your season. It’s time to do the playoff push. It’s time for you to take some extra time to look, plan…then act.
(Just an extra 10 or 15 minutes or so. Don’t overdo it. Or the antagonistic forces of imagination in your life can demand temporary redress. Strange, scary demands. Tango lessons. Game night. Third child.)
If you dominate and move on? You should even consider a little post-season maintenance.
Because things happen. Because everyone below you in the ranking is coming for you. Up and down in every league, every season, the 2007 Warriors upset the 2007 Mavericks in the first round.
In a one-week fantasy window? Or a two-week window? Anything can happen.
In the NBA Playoffs, and the NBA Playoffs, David beats Goliath with shocking regularity.
Hey fourth place team. Sixth place. ninth place. I tell you: you all have a chance. In the fantasy playoffs, a hitter’s chance is all it takes.
So. what are you going to do
I know. It’s hard to take decisive, game-changing action in a playoff. Because everyone else is trying to do the same. It is difficult to convince a competitor to do something in your best interests.
But highly unlikely and unbalanced deals do happen. You just have to be creative. Flex that right brain!
Imagine Coca-Cola calling out Pepsi, bidding for Mello Yellow for the rights to Mountain Dew… and somehow pulling it off.
Or imagine charging Robert CovingtonJared Bellis Dario Sarek A second-round pick for Jimmy Butler.
that happened. (Second thing.) You can do that too!
Here is where I bring you the good stuff.
ready?
The best way to make a playoff changeover deal is to have the deals designed explicitly for playoffs.
Moves where the immediate benefits of the regular season are less clear. Maybe even non-existent.
But it’s game time, sixth-placed team? Moves that suddenly reveal the hidden game-changing benefit you’ve been hiding since Deadline.
Your dope rope. Your “checkmate”.
(These moves at first, only look like your janitor is tricking you into washing his car and doing the gardening. But come on All Valley Under 18 Karate Championships, those moves totally take out Cobra Kai!)
This could be you!
You can make a business pitch that inspires you in the short term “What? Really? Okay.” From the first place team. This first place makes because they think you are a sucker.
But in late March, this “meh” reaches precocious puberty and becomes a “RAWR” subwoofer. A “Where did that come from?”
(Yes. That could be you leveling Johnny on one leg in the finals and sending him into an existential 30-year slump! While becoming the monster he killed those last several years!)
But I digress. I hear you. “What kind of trade do you describe, old man?”
A trade that, given the right timing, can temporarily cause your team’s production to increase in the short term.
Trade in for an insanely inconsistent influencer.
In head-to-head leagues? These are the smart players that owners avoid. But each team ends up with one or two of them.
Because in all, over the course of 82 games, these inconsistent stars post statistics that are totally desirable, even drool-worthy.
But within short stretches? Their numbers swing wildly from “meh” to “RAWR”.
Even stars and stars are hot and cold.
Star wings that live off a high score and 3-point production go through slumps.
The star point guard’s assist total decreases when the Wings get cold.
The big star men who hit three shots a night in the 12th row were suddenly bumped off the bench when the game required 30 minutes of small-ball.
An entire small-town team comes here to play the Clippers and Lakers, and has Howlin’ Rays for lunch and dinner two days in a row.
But then… the polarity reversed. On a dime.
This suite is suddenly a can’t miss. This point guard is going in a series of double-doubles. This hulking gets home against missiles and blocks 11 shots in 48 hours.
And the cycle starts over. But if you get a couple of these inconsistent stars peaking at the right time? match time? When you are matched against the No. 1 seed?
David could overthrow Goliath.
But I hear you again. “Fork out the names. My time to remember?”
Fine. I started with the problem. Now here are some solutions. Players who have very inconsistent seasons, for fantasy effect…
But don’t you want to know how it got these names? amazing.
match score. This is the result that I keep reminding myself of every week. Easily obtainable stats that best match fantasy production. You use that.
You look at a player’s game scores over time. Track the ups and downs of their game score. Select the average. Calculate the mean standard deviation from this mean.
Or I could… Well, here are the names…
another thing! A higher mean standard deviation is lower when a player achieves a sky-high average game score. Just like a low average means more when a player’s average is lower.
Sorry! Here you are…
Guards / Wings
Donovan Mitchell
Devin Booker
Kyrie Irving
Paul George
Daron Fox
Dijonte Murray
Zack Lavigne
Desmond Bean
Kyle Kuzma
Spencer Dinwiddie
Big
Paolo Panchero
Alperin will survive
Pascal Siakam
Draymond Green
Wendell Carter Jr.
Christian Wood
Evan Mobley
Clint Capella