DFS: Is Stacking Viable in Daily Fantasy Basketball?

Stacking is a strategy used by DFSers where multiple players are picked from the same team with the idea that if one player has a great fantasy night, two or three of their teammates might have the same success.

In sports like baseball and hockey there is a direct correlation making stacking an obvious choice. In hockey, if one linemate has three goals, chances are one, or both of his linemates tacked on a few assists.

In baseball, if the whole team is hitting the ball that night, it's going to lead to more at bats, more RBI chances and more run scoring chances for all players in the lineup.

Many DFS players avoid stacking at all costs when playing NBA daily fantasy with the thinking that if one shooter has the hot hand, another shooter may not get many opportunities. However, if executed correctly in the right situations, stacking can pay huge dividends in daily fantasy basketball.

Finding the right matchup to exploit

Stacking for NBA daily fantasy can only be done against certain teams. A team like the Philadelphia 76ers are great to stack against. They averaged a league-leading 16.9 turnovers per game and also averaged the seventh-most possessions per game.

This means their fast-paced, turnover-prone offense can lead to a lot of fast breaks and easy buckets for opposing teams, without killing the clock.

Other teams that run fast-paced, turnover-prone offenses include the Phoenix Suns (fifth-most turnovers per game and fourth-most possessions per game), Sacramento Kings (fourth and eighth) and the Houston Rockets (third and first).

Obviously teams make offseason adjustments, but these are teams you'll want to stack against early on in the season.

Using the Vegas odds

The Vegas odds can tell you a lot about any given sporting event. What you'll want to look for when considering an NBA stack, is a matchup with an extremely high over/under, and a low point spread.

Oddsmakers do this for a living, meaning they take every piece of information out there to be as accurate as they possibly can. While sports are impossible to predict (why we watch the games) oddsmakers can be spot on sometimes.

A high over/under projects that the game is going to be high-scoring, giving your players a good chance to rack up points. The low point spread not only indicates that teams will be going at it all night, but increases the chances of the game being tied after regulation.

Overtime is the holy grail for daily fantasy basketball stacking. If you stack three players from each team in an overtime game, that's six players getting at least five more minutes of play that your opponents won't have.

While it can be extremely difficult to predict overtime games, it's worth routinely stacking players from high over/under, low point spread games. If you do it enough, some of your stacks will eventually go to overtime.

Which teams are viable stack options?

Team's can have any given trio light the lamp on any night if all things go right, but there's only a handful of teams you can consistently stack.

While it's possible to have four or five players on a team go off, I would recommend keeping your stacks to three players per team.

To be clear, stacking is only recommend in tournament play, as it's far too risky to bank on for cash games. But with a little bit of research and a little bit of luck, stacking can go a long way in daily fantasy basketball.