Here are some things you should do and things you shouldn’t do if you want to stay relevant in your fantasy league. Most of them should be implemented before your league draft but you would be surprised how many people realize this stuff half way through the season. In some cases you can still use them to fix your team if it is not already too late.

I’m going to start with lineup changes first because I forgot to set my lineups last night for two out of four leagues that I am in. How I set them for the other two but not the first two, I’ll never know. In my first league I lost out on stats for Stephen Jackson and Andris Biedrins. That was 33 pts, 21 reb, 8 asst, 1 st and 1 blk. Those are stats that I can’t afford to lose. In my other league I missed out on T.J. Ford, Corey Maggette and Rudy Gay for 39 pts, 14 reb, 9 asst, 3 st and 1 blk. Now this is just plain stupidity here. Make sure you set your lineups.

If you have max games violations in your league, make sure you keep track of your games played. A lot of times guys don’t even realize that they have max games played in their league. It takes more than just throwing a player in an available roster spot to win a league like this. You have to be aware of what positions you have a lot of and who really should be playing and who should be sitting. Games played can be a very valuable asset toward the end of the season. It also dictates possible trades down the road. If you have a ton of guards but are struggling at one of the forward or center positions, you know that you can afford to get rid of a guard or two to pick up a stud for a position of need.

This one sounds stupid but make sure you know what categories are in your league. Some players might normally be a 2nd or 3rd round pick in most leagues but if you take a category or two out, that same player becomes a 1st rounder or top 5 pick. Take Dwight Howard for instance. How much more is he worth if you are in a league that counts just points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and doesn’t include free throw %? Take a look at your roster and I bet you’ll find at least one player on your team that does not fit your league categories.

In weekly lineup lock head to head leagues, you need to look at your opponents weaknesses and strengths before you set your lineup. Are you really going to stand a chance at winning assists and steals if you are going up against a guy who has Chauncey Billups, Jason Kidd and Rajon Rondo for 4 games on the week? Probably not, so focus on the categories you are strong in. More often than not, you’ll find that your opponent will start the best overall players he has and not shoot for specific categories. These are the guys that are most vulnerable to pick off with clever category specific attacks.

These are just a few things that should help you out in your fantasy basketball league. Some are obvious but they are necessary and tend to be overlooked.