Not every fantasy basketball playoff is won the same way. High Score, points leagues and 9-cat all require different strategies to achieve a championship run. This primer breaks down what actually moves the needle in each format as you approach the playoffs — the roster decisions, the waiver logic, and the schedule awareness to last through the fantasy postseason.
High Score
🙌 Forget the floor, it's all about upside
We're big-game hunting over here. The consistent, high-floor guys won't increase your chances of winning High Score — and unlike standard points leagues or nine-cat, the schedule doesn't matter as much here either. You're not building toward a string of games that stack up raw production or efficiency numbers. You need one explosion. One spike game wins your week, and that changes everything about how you build your roster.
😏 Hunt bad defenses
The edge in this format isn't identifying stars — it's finding the complementary players who can deliver one game of elite production at any point in the week. The waiver wire is stocked with depth pieces whose roles have quietly expanded over the last month, guys now seeing 30 minutes a night with a green light and nothing to lose (but real-life wins). When one of those players draws a tanking, bottom-10 defense, take your swing.
Defensive quality is the only matchup context worth tracking in High Score. A resource to use is FantasyPros' defensive vs. position tool, where you can filter by team performance for the past 7, 15 and 30 days. That way, you can gauge how bad certain teams have been over different time periods. It’s a good way to take advantage of schedule matchups where the game total could sail over market expectations.
💥 Move the reliable, chase the volatile
Before your playoffs start, trade your high-floor, low-ceiling guys to the league managers who overvalue them (the Yahoo default trade deadline is March 5). Use that capital to acquire volatile players who have already proven their blow-up potential. While the trade deadline hasn’t expired yet, I'd try 2-for-1 deals to shed some roster depth to free up one streaming spot to capitalize on any notable absences or injuries around the league. I know the benches are short, but don’t hamstring yourself with guys who aren’t even getting into your lineup.
🤔 Where do you stand?
Suppose you have a bye; scout and trade with zero pressure. Identify the boom candidates with increased playing time. And make the moves before your opponents come up for air after their first-round matchup — stay active!
If you're on the bubble, you can't play conservative and survive; aggressive, ceiling-first lineups are exactly what the format rewards, so take advantage of the small slate opportunities to plug in players who have 45+ fantasy-point ceilings. Remember, upside matters more than volume here.
Standard points leagues
😌 Volume matters, but quality does too
Points leagues live and die on games played because winning is all about accumulating more points than your opponent. The general sentiment is, "play more games, score more points," but not all games are created equal. Small slates — nights on which the NBA runs seven games or fewer — are the place where you can get more value (quality games). Just because a team plays four games in a given week doesn't mean you'll be able to fit everyone into your lineup for every game.
The big slates are unavoidable, and you can't start everyone. So, the best way to get those extra games in and use the depth of your bench to rack up more games is to review the schedule ahead of your matchups. I utilize Hashtag Basketball's Advanced Schedule Grid. It's an excellent resource for planning both the regular season and the playoffs. And be sure to identify those nights in your playoff window now, and fill the added depth with players who can play on smaller slates.
✌️ Deuces to the unavailable and unreliable
Begin the process of offloading players who will be load-managed or who will lose minutes over the next two months. These are roster spot liabilities; instead, target players on teams competing for seeding or tanking, which gives younger players additional run and opportunity. Tons of injury news dropped on Wednesday and it'll only continue for the weeks to come. Be ready to act and hit waivers at a moment's notice.
🤔 Where do you stand?
If you're trending toward a bye, I'd take a similar approach to High Score. Plot a week ahead and assess your team to identify any players who are playing a high number of games in the final two weeks of the playoffs. Also, it's worth stashing high-upside players who may have been dropped, or opponents in the heat of battle who aren't able to scoop them up.
For those on the bubble in points leagues, be honest about whether your adds help you get in or help you go deep — ideally, both. Prioritize players on strong playoff schedules who are also producing now. A hot streamer on a load-managed team can carry you in, but disappear on you in Week 21.
Focus on the highest-game-total teams and target the depth contributors getting guaranteed minutes — volume is everything in points leagues.
9-cat leagues
5️⃣ > 9️⃣ The goal is five wins — not nine
The managers who lose nine-cat championships are almost always the ones who try to compete everywhere. Know your five categories, build a firm grip on them and selectively concede the rest. A roster watered down across all nine categories will likely lose to a team that dominates five of them every time.
How do you determine what you're good at? Check your league page:
Go to: Standings -> Current standings -> Head-to-Head Stats -> Win-Loss
Which categories did you consistently win? Unless you make a trade in the next couple of weeks, those categories are your identity. Every waiver add should compound those strengths. However, assessing other opponents' squads could expose weaknesses that you can counter via waivers. I've done it before on turnovers — grabbing bigs who don't carry a high usage rate and don’t commit turnovers. Know what you are and build toward it.
😅 Don't just add to add, think it through
The most common way nine-cat managers mess up their own run? Chasing volume. The quality-of-games rule still applies, like in points leagues, but you have to be more selective about your waiver adds. Add a high-volume, low-efficiency scorer and watch your FG% crater for the entire week. Think it through to maximize your strengths.
🤔 Where do you stand?
If you're jockeying for a bye, do the category audit you haven't had time for. Find the one waiver add that shores up your thinnest winning category and makes you harder to beat. Also, scout your likely second-round opponent — know their weaknesses before you play a single game.
And for those bubbling, temporarily abandon your category identity. You need wins this week, which might mean swinging for categories you don't normally contest. Get in the room first, then return to playing your game once you're in the bracket.
In nine-cat, target teams with 11-12 games over the course of your playoff start date (Week 19, 20 or 21) with some quality games mixed in. Add players whose stat profile compounds your strongest categories — not just any warm body with volume.
That's Part I of my fantasy playoff primer. Be on the lookout for a deeper schedule breakdown soon!