Welcome to your 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat. New legacies are on the line as either Nikola Jokic or Jimmy Butler will be leaving with their first career ring.
In terms of strategy, at this stage you are just picking your best remaining players. The main consideration you need to make is what order you pick them in. There are two trains of thought here:
Option 1: Pick them based on when you think they will perform best
This strategy is relatively simple: Pick the players you think will perform the best in a given situation. Do you think Jamal Murray is going to start the series strong, or is he going to be better later in the series demanding the ball in his hands to help close out? Is Jokic better early or later in the series?
Option 2: Pick them from best player available and go down from there
This is an injury risk management strategy. Pick the best players early, in case they get hurt. If one does get hurt, you got their points AND you can pick another player at an increased role. The biggest disadvantage to this option is that the best players can often be their best selves when the series is on the line. See James, LeBron.
Option 3: Follow what you expect the crowd to do
Are you nursing a lead in Drive to the Finals and hoping to maintain it? Picking Nikola Jokic on the same day everyone else is can help maintain that lead. It's hard to have perfect prediction but you can expect Jokic will be popular on either Game 1 or when a team has 3 wins in a potential close-out game.
Option 4: Be a contrarian
If you are quite a bit behind, you can't catch up making the same picks everyone else does. Consider picking players in unusual ways. Jokic in the first road game in Miami? That's not something many others are going to do. Road players are a good contrarian play, or even starting with a pick like Michael Porter Jr when you expect Jokic and Murray will be the popular play.
Best of luck in the Finals everyone! Who do you have winning it all? I'm thinking Denver wins but it is hard to count out Jimmy Butler after doing so at the beginning of three straight rounds.
Sage advice! More than a decade of this blog manifesting in you 👍
ReplyDeleteI got Jokic in G1, both as an injury precaution, and also because he starts rounds off strong assuming the Heat will try to play their game early in this series instead of disrupting Nuggets’. Adjustments made later.
Got Murray G2, both as best remaining player at that point, and also because of home game.
Got Caleb Martin, same as the above reasons. Not sure if Caleb can be as effective in this series as the previous. Can switch this to either Struss or Duncan depending how this series goes.
Good luck all in this sprint round!
Very good advice indeed! I tend to trust my guts, so my option is the first one. But always having 3rd and 4th ones in mind.
ReplyDeleteMy pick is Jamal Murray. Not only as my gut pick, but I also saw his numbers are usually higher after some days of rest. Maybe too long of a rest this time? We'll see... I also think his numbers are slightly better at home in this Playoffs, while Jokic has been better away from home. This is the Finals, and different rivals, but everything led me to the same pick.
Good luck everyone, enjoy the Finals!!!
Ah the dilemma of when to pick... but it only matters to the top 8 or 9 on GD and the top 3-5 on FP. I'm 3 digits back on both as usual.
ReplyDelete1-1, we got a series.
ReplyDeleteSeems now another 7-game stretch :D
Changing G3 pick to Struss. Caleb seem still affected by sniffles.
Correction: G3 pick Gabe Vincent
DeleteUgh, 7 PRA for early foul-troubled Gabe. Bad for my DTTF game.
DeleteNuggets 2-1, back on track.
Next pick: G4 Aaron Gordon. Let me not try changing my mind this time :D
Taong you did the same as me. Gabe last game and now Gordon coming up tonight. Gabe and Porter Jr (the game prior) have been terrible for me. I’ve still got Murray in hand but man if I gone Murray last game I’d be a happy guy. Or if I had saved Joker for that exact contrarian plan that Jason described and gone with him Game 3. Just historic. Oh well… bad luck finally sit in for me after I was up in first place in FPS for several days.
DeleteGordon excellent for us tonight.
DeleteNuggets! One win away!
G5 pick: MPJ. Been hooping poorly lately, but hoping he can rekindle his G1 groove at home on a potential trophy night 👍
i forgot to swich bultler last round probly cost me placing top 4 oh well ..i also didnt realize it was round multiplier until late 2nd eound Considering that i didnt do too bad and will win my other money league thats not round multiplier and so far 10th out of 388 in another free league But happy with winning 600 in the one league so Im up 575
ReplyDeleteAfter the NBA postseason concludes, the management team of Frank, Bill, and Kevin will be moving on. We appreciate your support over the last 15 years and hope that our service made the playoffs more entertaining.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a quote from fantasypostseason.com . Truly grateful for allowing us this fun playing this DTTF game on their platform. Hope somebody takes it up.
DeleteIf nothing else comes up, we still have Tangent’s Google Drive To The Finals 💪