Daily Fantasy Basketball: An Introduction to Using Vegas Lines and Odds

Perhaps the biggest mistake of my fantasy sports career is not realizing how useful odds and lines from Vegas bookmakers can be when making decisions.

For far too long (back in my early teens when I started playing fantasy sports semi seriously), I didn't know any better than to trust what a player had done recently and expect similar results the next game, basically regardless of matchup.

Fantasy football players know why this is dangerous. You don't want to play your fringe running back against an elite rushing defense. But the more you play, the more you realize that even matchup alone isn't enough to consider.

You need to factor in opportunity and context and game script (how a game is going to play out). What if a fringe running back has a great matchup against a weak rushing defense but is playing on a team projected to lose by double-digits? Not many carries can be expected.

When it comes to basketball, the same theories can be applied.

So what should you know about Vegas lines and odds while setting your daily fantasy basketball lineups?