NBA Fantasy Basketball can be a very exciting time especially when you make it to the playoffs. It takes a lot of time, strategy and patience to qualify for a chance to win the title. There are definitely some tips you can use to advance through the playoffs and eventually get a shot to take home the crown.

Tip #1 is to finish as high as you can in the rankings so that you end up facing easier opponents or if your league allows it, getting a first round bye. It is important to finish closer to the top of the competition so that you don’t end up facing teams that are stacked with great players. Although this is a difficult task to complete, it is definitely a great tactic to help you advance through the playoffs.

Tip #2 is to trade away players who are known to be rested by their coaches come closer to the playoffs. It is extremely annoying to have one of your star players being benched for rest when he is a vital cog on your team. Try your best to trade away players such as Wade, Duncan, Parker, James and so forth. You may not be able to get too much value for the first three knowing that they will get rested, but if you have James, I would suggest trading him now to get high value.

Tip #3 is to assess which categories your opponent dominates in. This is one of the best ways to beat your opponent. Most of the time GMs think they can just get away with playing their best players throughout the entire playoffs, but this can prove to be risky. Why bother trying to compete with the categories your opponent dominates in? You have a better shot, playing for the other categories he’s weaker in and use your players who give you a lot of production in those categories to defeat your opponent. You see, it’s not always about playing your best players, but playing those who give you the best chance to beat them. If my opponent usually wins blocks and field goal percentage, then I would consider not using players such as Ibaka and focus my attention on the other categories. This works especially well if you only have one or two players that give you production in the categories you’re not so strong at.

Tip #4 is to set your lineups. This may seem like a “DUH” moment, but a lot of GMs out there forget to set up their lineups. Even in the more competitive leagues it happens. Life gets busy and sometimes GMs will forget, so make sure that this isn’t you. To play it safe, just set up your lineup for the whole week on Monday and then fix it up as the days go by. You’re better off having your lineup set than missing the chance to use key players.

Tip #5 is to check daily updates on your players in case there is a last minute change. Many times players will get sick or leave for personal reasons so it’s in your best interest to monitor the status of your players who you have playing. Sometimes the status won’t update until after your game starts, which puts a huge bummer on your night, but try to prevent that from happening.

These are just 5 tips that can help improve your chances in winning NBA Fantasy Basketball so feel free to use them to your advantage. If your league is competitive, chances are they are all already using these tips. Either way, use them to keep up with the pack.