Fantasy Basketball: Head to Head vs Roto, Frazier, Lillard, Pressey and Connaughton

The dog days of summer for the NBA are nearing an end. That means more and more of you are either preparing for your Fantasy Basketball drafts and maybe in some cases embarking on your first Fantasy Basketball journey. This week I will take a break from my reasons for optimism and instead use this space to answer some of your Fantasy Basketball questions.

Dear Phil.

You haven't spoken very much at all about new Portland Trail Blazers Pat Connaughton, Phil Pressey and Tim Frazier. Do you see them having any Fantasy Basketball value this season?

Thanks for the question!

In order for any of the three to have Fantasy value they have to be on the court and right now I don't see any of them at least initially getting much floor time.

Frazier is listed #2 on the PG depth chart but I think C.J. McCollum will be getting some minutes at PG so that would cut into his minutes for sure. He might give the Trail Blazers some great minutes in a limited role but his numbers don't exactly entice me to want to draft him.

Phil Pressey does have some experience as and his numbers have slowly improved but are they worth taking a late round flyer on? I don't think so. Plus like with Frazier I think he'll be fighting for some minutes with McCollum so if he makes the squad at all he won't get enough playing time for any Fantasy value.

Connaughton by all accounts is a good shooter but will he be able to get that shot off against NBA players? That's the million dollar question isn't it? Plus he has a couple of others like Gerald Henderson and McCollum standing in his way and I don't think he'll get much playing time this season.

Dear Phil,

I'm entering a Fantasy Basketball League for the very first time. What is the difference between a Roto League and a Head to Head League and what is the best league for me to join?

Thanks for the question!

Let's begin with Head to Head leagues; since the Internet age Head to Head Leagues are probably the most popular ones at sites like ESPN, Yahoo and CBS Sports. Essentially you are playing a weekly matchup against another owner and you accrue points in the various scoring categories with your goal being to win as many of those categories as you can for that week. At the end of the week you either get a win or a loss for each category that goes towards a running win-loss tally to determine which teams make your league playoffs. Generally those playoffs run during the last month of the regular NBA season with a Championship Round involving the top 50 percent of the teams and a consolation playoff for those teams finishing at the bottom half of the league.  That's the basics but you will need to consult the league rules for any special scoring or other nuances that the league commissioner decides to add.

Rotisserie or "Roto" leagues are the way Fantasy Sports used to be done prior to the Internet age. They are still very popular and very different from a Head to Head league. Here's how Roto leagues differ.

Unlike Head to Head leagues where you play a weekly matchup against another owner in Roto leagues you will be competing daily against every other owner in your league. Points are awarded in each scoring category based on how you rank against the other owners scores that determines  a daily leaderboard.

In most Roto leagues the season lasts the entire NBA regular season and the team with the most points wins the league. There usually aren't playoffs in Roto leagues but you will need to check your league rules just in case the commissioner has set your league up this way.

In most Roto leagues there is a limit of 82 games per position. When your 82 games per position is up you aren't allowed to use that position for the remainder of the season. If you look at the screenshot below you will see that I used up my limits for the SG, PF, C, G and utility spots. I still won my league but it went down to the wire so if your Roto league has limits pay careful attention to those things.

Which one is best? I like them both but if I were just starting out I would probably join a league with a Head to Head format. The scoring is easier to understand, you can take more chances on draft night and it will be easier to navigate your roster in terms of needs your team has.

I hope that helps and over the next few weeks I'll be talking about draft night strategies that should at least help you get started.

On this week's Phil's Fantasy Sports Rotowire NBA writer Alex Rikleen and I open the show and discuss Damian Lillard's Fantasy Basketball value as well as other Fantasy Basketball topics plus on segment 5 Fasketball curator Daniel Grezlak joins me to talk about his brand new Fantasy Basketball stats site Fasketball. The other segments discuss Fantasy Baseball, DFS Fantasy Baseball strategy and Fantasy Football wide receivers! You can download the show from my site or listen below.