This will be my last post for the next couple weeks, as I’m going on vacation.  (Later, suckas!)  But before I leave, I just wanted to point out an important date coming up in 10 days: March 4, the trade deadline for most Yahoo leagues.  And if you own LeBron James, this might be your last chance to trade for Kevin Durant.

Hold on, WTF?!?!

I’ll explain further down below, but first: If you’re in a H2H league — and this post is primarily for H2H leaguers — this is your last chance to make your team as bulletproof as possible for the fantasy playoffs.  I’ve already done so for my own teams, but I suggest you click forward on your team’s weekly schedule to see if there are any particular weeks where the NBA scheduling gods have screwed you over.  These next 10 days are your best bet to make the schedule work in your favor.

Even if CP3 comes back at full strength and LeBron continues to dominate, Durant might be the fantasy MVP of H2H leagues. (Getty)

For example, skip ahead to Week 22 (Mar 22-28), the first or second week of most leagues’ fantasy playoffs.  You might notice that all (or almost all) of your players play on Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun, while nobody (or close to nobody) plays on Tues/Thur/Sat.  Well, if you’re only allowed to start 6, 8, or even 10 players per day, that means some of your players — maybe even some of your studs — might be riding the bench on Mon/Wed/Fri or Sun of that week.

Somehow, that’s what happened in one of my leagues, and I partially corrected the situation by making a trade I probably would’ve done anyway, by shipping out Al Jefferson and Brandon Jennings for Nene Hilario and Mike Miller.

Let’s ignore the fact that Big Al has been losing minutes to Darko (Darko?!) Milicic lately, or that Jennings’ FG% has amazingly declined every single month, or that Josh Howard is out for the year, perhaps rejuvenating Miller’s season.  Even if the players involved were exactly even, I just gained 3 extra games for that week because Miller has a Tues/Wed/Fri/Sat sked that week, while Nene has a Tues/Wed/Fri/Sun sked.  Meanwhile, Big Al and Jennings both have Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun skeds, like nearly everyone else on my squad, and I possibly wouldn’t even have used either that week.  (This particular league only has 6 starting spots per day.)  In other words, I just made my road to a three-peat in this league a little bit more manageable.  (Yes, that’s me kissing my own ass.)

Every league has different settings, so check to see when your playoffs start.  The first round is usually Week 22.  Before the season began, I actually did an analysis of which teams have the best playoff schedules — factoring in both total games played and if these games occur on “Off-Days”, or days with only a few games on the NBA schedule.  (Although, again, double-check your own schedule against the NBA schedule to see where you need help.)  This might help you get started though:

BEST PLAYOFF SCHEDULES

[Note: The specific numbers below are for leagues with playoffs from Mar 22 to Apr 14.  Apparently the Yahoo default is Mar 15 to Apr 4 this year.  Most of this still applies, but use it as a general guide, and I'll point out any big discrepancies.  For games by week (without the Off-Days), check out Basketball Monster's Schedule Grid.]

Chicago — plays 13 times over the last 3.5 weeks, and in leagues where you can only start 6-8 per night, CHI is especially useful as they have games on 3 Off-Days, 2 of which are during the finals.  How can you use this info for your benefit?  Well if you’re ballsy, buy low on Joakim Noah.  He’s a gamble, but if you’ve already secured a first round bye (and even more time for him to heal), he might be worth it.

There's a good chance all of the guys above will be in play during the fantasy playoffs. (Getty

Dallas — plays 13 times with 3 Off-Days.  I’ve been targeting Jason Kidd for a while…

[Note: In leagues where the playoffs begin Mar 15: DAL only has 2 games the first week.  In other words, only make a deal for Kidd if you're almost guaranteed of a first round bye.]

Houston — plays 14 times with 1 Off-Day.  As Trevor Ariza becomes option #3 or 3.5 in that HOU offense, I like his efficiency to increase, making him a potentially cheap addition this late in the season.  Kevin Martin is a good buy low target as well.

Washington — plays 14 times with 1 Off-Day.  By the way, yes, this fantasy-friendly playoff schedule is yet another reason why I’ve been so big on Andray Blatche.  When your opponent scrambles for spot starts from guys like David Andersen in Week 22, you’ll especially enjoy Blatche’s double-doubles.

Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Toronto — all play 14 times, but none on Off-Days.

Which brings us back to our initial topic: Why trading LeBron* might deliver you a H2H Championship.  Well, that asterisk has Durant’s name written all over it.  I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that KD will be on a higher percentage of H2H champion rosters than LBJ.  OKC’s fantasy playoff schedule is a big part of the reason; keep reading for the other half of the story…

[Note: In leagues where the playoffs begin Mar 15: WAS, HOU, and SA are the only teams to play 4 games each week.]

WORST PLAYOFF SCHEDULES

Cleveland and New Orleans — they both only play 11 times over the last 3.5 weeks.  But it’s not like you’d ever trade LeBron away…  Right?  Well, maaaaybe for Durant? Talk about ballsy, but 3 extra games over the entirety of the playoffs — one extra game per week — just might be worth it.  (Although in fairness, this is more like comparing 3 LeBron games + 1 ‘To be determined’ game vs. 4 Durant games.  But on the other hand, if you did decide to trade LeBron for Durant, you could probably get a pretty nice upgrade on another player — probably a PG to make up for the assists.  So many factors…)

[Note: In leagues where the playoffs begin Mar 15, CLE actually has a 4-game week for the first week, whereas OKC only has a 3-game week.  However, those of you with LeBron probably have a first round bye anyway.  So, for rounds 2 and 3 of your playoffs, you're actually comparing 3 LBJ games to 4 KD games each week.]

Also, New Orlean’s hideous fantasy schedule, including only 4 games during the finals (one and a half weeks in most leagues) is one reason why I didn’t gamble and trade for Chris Paul.

[Note: In leagues where the playoffs begin Mar 15, NO actually has a nice schedule, starting with a 4-game week.  While CP3 is a risky play for that week, he does have a nice 4-game week in the finals for these leagues.  If you have a first-round bye, Kidd or CP3 are nice gambles, with Kidd being safer of course.]

MIXED BAG PLAYOFF SCHEDULES

Denver — only plays 12 times, but 4 of those games come on Off-Days, including 2 during the finals.  Again, the Off-Days are more important in leagues starting less than 10 players per night, but this is a big reason why I targeted Nene in that specific league.

[Note: In leagues where the playoffs begin Mar 15, DEN is a great play.]

Portland — only plays 11 times, but 2 of those games come on Off-Days.

[Note: In leagues where the playoffs begin Mar 15, POR is still tricky, with only 8 games over 3 weeks, but 2 of those games on Off-Days.  Meanwhile, ORL is also tricky, with only 9 games over 3 weeks, but 2 of those games on Off-Days as well.]

And here, again, is the Off-Days chart, if I haven’t made this confusing enough already.  (No, this isn’t a Verizon 3G coverage chart.  “4G” means the team is playing on a night with only four NBA games on the schedule.  For example, take Week 1 of the fantasy playoffs (Week 22 overall, NOT Week 21).  Of Dallas’ 4 games that week, it plays one of them on a night with only 4 games on the schedule and another on a night with only 3 games on the schedule.)

Happy shopping.

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