By now, just about everyone playing daily fantasy sports understands the importance of targeting players in advantageous matchups. Occasionally, there are game scripts to target players in sub-optimal matchups four tournaments, but for the most part, finding ideal matchups is key to profitability.
While defense versus position (DvP) charts can help, digging a bit deeper is crucial, especially when examining today's positionless NBA.
For example, take look at one of the first-round matchups. A plus-matchup for Giannis Antetokounmpo may not be advantageous (or as advantageous) for teammate John Henson, yet both fill the power forward slot in a DvP chart. While Giannis plays multiple positions, Henson is primarily locked into traditional center minutes. Therefore, it's important to find matchups that suit each individual, rather than just a player's position on paper.
It is a lot easier said than done, especially during the grind of an 82-game season. That's what makes playoff NBA DFS so beautiful. We get four to seven consecutive games to provide us with the player-versus-player matchups and resulting trends, rather than having to research a new set of teams and matchups every day in the regular season.
With that in mind, let's examine a few noteworthy stats that could play important roles in who you want to roster for the remainder of the first round.