. Last week’s Dime Day summarized each NBA team’s playoff schedule as fantasy owners prepare for the fantasy post-season. This week, the head-to-head format itself is placed under the microscope. Roto lovers always point to the “luck factor” in h2h leagues as a negative. For example, perhaps your masterpiece of a roster was led by Dwyane Wade, as awesome a player as there is playing in the league today. Well, you are in tough now, aren’t you? A second half injury can chop down your first half success so fast. Yet nothing beats the week to week match-ups and the competition that thrives with this action.

Perhaps a few tweaks of the head-to-head system is all the format requires to 1) retain the week-to-week rush that keeps owners interested throughout the season and 2) rewards the best and most consistent fantasy teams a little more.

If you play in on a site like Yahoo!, a 10-12 team league employs a 21 week “regular season” followed by a three round playoff. The top two teams receive a first team bye, with the top six teams making the playoffs.
Pros: The best two teams are rewarded with a guaranteed top four finish. Also, the knock-out nature of this playoff structure more or less mirrors the NBA separating the regular season from the post-season.
Cons: You could have the best team and lapping the league by more than 20 games, but a few bad breaks late in the season (e.g. see Ron Artest, Joe Johnson, etc.) and a first round bye feels like small forward for a good year. A late surging team that sneaks into the playoffs often takes home the glory instead. So what options are there?

Pros: If only the top four teams make the playoffs, the wild cards that stank to start by are enjoying a late season run are forced to stay home. Doing well in the regular season becomes more important. I am not sure whether an 8-team league on Yahoo! employs this already, but if not, six out of eight teams making the playoffs sounds riduculous.
Cons: The cost of ensuring a top four team wins the league comes at the price of fewer teams being in the playoff hunt late in the season. Interest could wane as a result.

Pros: I read an article by Rick Kamla years ago, who introduced this concept to me. The fantasy schedule would become 24 1/2 weeks of head-to-head matchups. Whoever stands on top at the end rules. I believe this is similar to what some professional soccer leagues do. This certainly rewards consistency.
Cons: The fun of playoff play is palpable, even in fantasy circles. This rule completely takes that away.

Pros: Over two weeks of play instead of one, the better team should finish on top nine times out of ten. This theoretically puts the better teams from the regular team at an advantage. Some football leagues have two-week match-ups for the championship. If your team was good early on, but has reached some bumps in the road, you have extra time to right the ship. It also reduces the uncertainty fantasy owners face when NBA teams rest their players in preparation for the grind of the real playoffs.
Cons: If six teams still make the post-season, the regular season becomes significantly shortened. And if byes are still awarded, two weeks is a long time to sit on the sideline.

Pros: I know, I know, curling does not exactly make the highlight reels. However, their playoff system is worth looking at. The first seed plays the second seed, with the winner making the finals directly. The loser though, gets a second chance by playing the winner of the third place vs. fourth place team. That second chance is worth more than a bye in my eyes. This format could be tinkered with to involve six teams, if desired.
Cons: No standard format currently employs this. So, if you were to go to this type of playoff, you are on your own. Plus most people are used to the “lose and you’re gone” style of playoff play.

So, if you have been burned in the past in head-to-head play, discuss the issue with your league mates. Perhaps a different playoff format would better suit your league’s style of play. Good luck!