What's punting in fantasy basketball?
Punting means deliberately giving up on one category all season so you can dominate the rest. If you're never going to win assists, stop spending picks on point guards and load up on bigs instead.
Punting only works if you commit. Half-punting — taking a mid-tier point guard "just in case" — is how you finish sixth in everything.
What's a punt build?
A punt build is a roster constructed around a punt from draft day, not one you fell into in January. A punt-FT% build takes the elite bigs everyone else avoids because of free throws; a punt-assists build takes centers and wings and never looks back.
The build is the plan. The punt is the consequence.
What's streaming in fantasy basketball?
Streaming is cycling low-value players through your last roster spot to grab extra games. A player who suits up four times this week beats a better player who plays twice — counting stats don't care how good someone is, only how often he plays.
This is where most managers leave the easiest points on the table. The schedule grid is the tool for it.
What's FAAB in fantasy basketball?
FAAB stands for Free Agent Acquisition Budget. Instead of a pickup order, everyone gets a fixed budget for the season and bids blind on free agents. Highest bid wins and the money is gone.
Overpay in October and you'll be watching the good pickups go to someone else in March.
What's waiver priority?
The non-FAAB system: a ranked list that decides who gets a claimed player. Use yours and you drop to the back of the queue.
It's a one-shot resource, so burning the top spot on a streamer in week three usually stings later.
What's a z-score in fantasy basketball?
A z-score says how far above or below league average a player is in one category, measured in standard deviations. A +2.0 in blocks means he is genuinely rare there; +0.2 means he is fine.
It's the honest way to compare a rebounder with a three-point shooter, because it grades both against their own category instead of against raw counting stats.
What's usage rate?
Usage rate is the share of his team's possessions a player finishes while he is on the floor — shots, free throw trips and turnovers.
High usage means the offense runs through him, which is why usage jumps are the first sign a bench player is about to matter. Watch it when a starter goes down.
What's pace, and why does it matter for fantasy?
Pace is how many possessions a team plays per 48 minutes. Fast teams create more of everything: points, rebounds, assists, turnovers.
A middling player on a fast team can out-produce a better player on a slow one, which matters most when you're picking between two similar streamers.
What's a back-to-back and should I worry about it?
A back-to-back is two games on consecutive nights. Veterans and injury-prone players increasingly sit the second one, and coaches announce it late.
If your player is on the wrong end of one, check his status before lineups lock rather than after. More on that in how to make a close start-sit call.
What's a keeper league?
A keeper league lets you hold onto a few players into next season, usually at a draft-pick cost. It changes trade value completely: a young player on a cheap keeper price is worth more than his current stats suggest, and a 34-year-old star is worth less.
What's a dynasty league?
Dynasty is keeper taken to its conclusion — you keep your whole roster indefinitely and draft only rookies.
Rebuilding is a real strategy here, and trading a productive 30-year-old for a 21-year-old who barely plays is a normal move rather than a mistake.
What's the difference between H2H, roto and points leagues?
Head-to-head pairs you against one opponent each week and you win categories one by one. Roto ranks every team in every category across the whole season, so one bad week barely registers. Points formats convert everything to a single number, which makes them the simplest and the least strategic.
Your format decides whether streaming and punting are clever or pointless.
What's the difference between 8-cat and 9-cat?
Nine-category leagues count turnovers against you; eight-category leagues ignore them. That single difference reshapes value: high-usage playmakers who cough it up five times a night are far better in 8-cat, and low-usage bigs gain in 9-cat.
Check which one you're in before you trust anyone's rankings — including ours.