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The Statistics
Home » Fantasy Sports » Fantasy Sports: Basketball » The StatisticsPosted by Your Guide on May 2, 2006 8:34 PM
Positions in fantasy basketball differ from league to league, like all fantasy sports. Some of the standard positions are point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center, and flex (any player). Most leagues also leave one position open as a guard (either a point guard or a shooting guard) and one as a forward (either a small forward or a power forward).
Balance is incredibly important in fantasy basketball, maybe more so than in any other fantasy sport. All other major fantasy sports have two categories: for football they are offense and defense, for baseball offense and pitching, and so forth. But in basketball, all players play both ends of the floor, so all players are scored for both offensive and defensive categories. This is what makes having a balanced roster so crucial. If you select a player who is an offensive specialist and collects points for you by scoring and shooting a high percentage, you will be trailing your competitors in some of the defensive categories like blocked shots and steals. On the other hand, if you choose a player like Ben Wallace, who blocks a number of shots and collects more rebounds than anyone in the league but doesn’t score much and shoots a terrible percentage from the free throw line, you will trail your competitors in the other categories. This is why players like Kevin Garnett, Shawn Marion and Kobe Bryant are so valuable, because they contribute at both ends of the floor.
There are a number of statistical categories available for basketball leagues: points, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three point percentage, three pointers made, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, and assists. There are other statistical categories available as well, but these are the most frequently used.
It’s important that you keep a close eye on statistical deviations which custom leagues (as opposed to standard or default leagues). For example, some custom leagues may decide to value offensive categories over defensive categories, assigning more points to the offensive statistical modifiers. If this is the case in your league, you will need to adjust your draft strategy accordingly. Keep in mind that you should never completely give up on a category, even if it carries less weight in your league, but instead you should try to find players who contribute across the board, again remembering to maintain a balanced roster.
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