Which game to circle

Last updated October 30, 2026

In Circled Hoops each starter counts for exactly one game a week, the one you circle. Picking the player is half the job. Picking the night is the other half, and it is where most weeks are won or lost.

One game is the whole decision

In a regular weekly points league, a player with four games almost always beats a player with two, so the schedule decides a lot of matchups. Here a four-game week only gives you more nights to choose from. The player’s best night still counts once, so a two-game star can beat a four-game role player easily.

That changes the question you ask on Sunday night. It is no longer “who plays the most?” but “which of his games is most likely to be a big one?”

What moves a single game

A few things reliably push one game above another for the same player:

Rest. The second night of a back-to-back is when coaches rest veterans and trim minutes. The first night is usually the safer circle. Our back-to-back guide goes further.
The opponent. A fast team gives everyone more possessions, and a weak defense gives cleaner shots. Because every missed shot costs a point in the default scoring, a game against a strong defense can hurt a volume shooter twice.
Teammates who sit. When a team’s second scorer is out, the shots and assists go somewhere. A starter often has his biggest games on the nights a teammate is ruled out.
Blowout risk. A heavy favorite may sit its starters in the fourth quarter. A close game keeps them on the floor.

Early or late in the week

Lineups lock on Monday at 7 PM in your league’s time zone, and after that the circled games stay as they are. So the choice between an early and a late game is really a choice about risk.

An early circle (Monday to Wednesday) leaves the rest of the week open for a bench backup. A backup’s game has to come on or after the starter’s, so if your starter is ruled out on Tuesday, a backup who plays on Thursday or Saturday can still save the slot. A Sunday circle leaves no room for that.

A late circle is fine for a player who rarely misses games, and it can catch a matchup that looks better later in the week. For anyone with an injury tag, circle early and name a backup. The bench backups guide explains how.

Using the projections

When you circle a game, each of the player’s games shows a projection in your league’s scoring. Auto-set uses the same numbers to fill a lineup with your best projected players and their best games, and it sets your lineup for you if you forget, so a missed week never becomes a forfeit.

Treat projections as a starting point. They know the schedule, recent form and the default scoring. They can’t know about a coach’s decision announced an hour before tip-off.

A quick checklist

Start from Auto-set, then look at each starter’s games one by one.
Move any second-night-of-a-back-to-back circle to another night if you can.
Check the injury report for teammates who are out: their usage goes to your player.
For players with an injury tag, circle early in the week and name a bench backup.
Lock in before Monday at 7 PM. After that, the week is set.

More guides

The full rules are on How to play, and every guide is listed on the guides page.