Head-to-head is the most popular scoring format in fantasy basketball. It typically involves eight categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and 3-pointers) but can include others such as turnovers, double-doubles and triple-doubles. Managers compete in all categories and either win a week if they are higher in more categories (1-0 record if they win five of the eight categories) or earn a victory for each category they win (5-3 record if they win five of the eight categories). Knowing how to read these rankings is critical for a successful NBA fantasy draft.
Head-to-head is much different than a Rotisserie league, which combines your overall standing in each category and assigns points at the end of the season. In a 12-team Roto league, the manager with the most points earns 12 points, the owner with the fewest total points earns one point, and so on. We're just focused on head-to-head here, and we'll dive into how you can create a NBA fantasy draft cheat sheet that leads to success.
What Are Fantasy Basketball Head-to-Head Rankings?
Fantasy basketball head-to-head rankings are built off the categories that your players will compile over a week against a single opponent. All leagues have different settings, but the traditional eight categories are where fantasy basketball managers will want to spend most of their time.
These rankings should be built off a number of factors, including NBA starting lineups and projections to build a team that can compete in enough categories to earn you weekly wins. While data such as NBA fantasy ADP will be important, fantasy basketball managers will want to consider the handful of categories they want to target and adjust their rankings to fit that strategy.
The goal isn't necessarily to be great everywhere, but to be strong in enough categories that you can beat your opponent each week.
How Weekly Matchups Affect Head-to-Head Rankings
Whereas Rotisserie leagues compile stats over an entire season, head-to-head matchups occur each week and reset each Monday with a new opponent. That will change how managers approach their rankings and fantasy basketball auction values.
It may mean looking at players who have games on lower-volume days like Tuesdays and Thursdays or who have four games each week during the head-to-head fantasy playoffs (check your league's settings to cross-reference this). Keep scheduling in mind when using your fantasy basketball draft kit.
Key Categories to Watch in H2H Rankings
Points, rebounds, and assists will always garner the most headlines, but all categories are weighted equally in head-to-head leagues. Points are just as important as steals, and free throw percentage matters as much as blocks.
Keep in mind when sifting through NBA projections that it's harder to come by niche stats like steals and blocks than it is finding late 3-pointers or backup bigs who can rebound well.
Using Head-to-Head Rankings to Build a Winning Strategy
An increasingly popular strategy in head-to-head is tanking one or two categories. For example, if Giannis Antetokounmpo is your first round pick, you can disregard free throw percentage when drafting the rest of your team and instead focus on building around points, rebounds, assists, and blocks, four categories where Antetokounmpo is elite.
You can then target guards who have poor free throw percentage because it won't hurt you as much; losing free throw percentage by a little or a lot is irrelevant. Examples include Jaylen Brown, CJ McCollum and Dyson Daniels. Also make sure to check the NBA injury report to see if there are players that fit your build and can be drafted cheaply because of their status.
Tweaking your fantasy basketball rankings to focus on the categories where you're strongest is advisable. Your team doesn't need to be great in all categories to win head-to-head leagues. You may need to alter your strategy based on who your first few picks are. Using Rotowire's custom draft software will let you know how you stack up against the competition following those early selections.
Head-to-head rankings are critical for draft day, and you'll learn more about your team as the draft goes on. Fantasy basketball managers who subscribe to RotoWire can start to formulate a strategy on which categories to target by checking out the different tools available to them as they build their rankings.
