by Mo Siddiq

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: June 15, 2008

Fantasy Basketball 101

Every fan has done it-jumped and screamed in the waning moments of a game when their team's coach makes seemingly blind decisions that allow the opponent to exploit a mismatch and steal the win that was already locked away. Too often, these fans find themselves wondering, "What if I was the manager?" To fulfill the imagination of these individuals, there is a 21st century on-line phenomena: fantasy sports, an institution that continues to decrease workplace-efficiency for all who employ sports fans.

Fantasy basketball, in concept, is fairly simple: a group of individuals form a fantasy league and draft players to be on their fantasy teams. Out of all the drafted players, managers (you) select a lineup of players that will be "playing." This is usually done on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the league. The rest of the players are considered to be "benched." Based on the performance of those playing, the team gains points-none of the benched players can contribute to a team until they are instated in the active lineup. This is the basic briefing of fantasy basketball. To be successful, however, one must follow the four fundamentals of the game.

1.Categories and Scoring-Before a fantasy season beings, all participants can view the categories that will determine the scoring. A team wins points by performing well in categories. These categories, which serve as the scoring criteria, are crucial to consider when constructing a team. For example, if technical fouls, a category in which you want to have the lowest number, is counter, hot-headed individuals such as Rasheed Wallace should be acquired with caution. On the flip side, if 3-Pointers Made is a category, long-range specialists such as Kyle Korver should be given a closer look over similar players who get their points from inside the arc. A successful manager builds a team based on its ability to contribute the categories that are scored.

2.Draft-This is the single most important, and, without a doubt, the most exciting day of a fantasy season. Imagine being a manager with every player you know available to play under you, imagine assembling your own dream team. Of course, since there will be other managers wanting the top prizes too, you have to pick who is most important to you and roll the dice. Though your team will change some throughout the season, its foundation should be built on draft-day.

Draft day strategy is simple-look over your scoring criteria and then get the guys

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