Brian Hanson was last year's Virtual GM daily game champion, winning a grand prize trip to the 2002 NBA Finals. Now he shares his tips and strategies for putting together and maintaining a quality lineup going into the 2002-03 season.

PRESEASON STRATEGY
Going into the season, I plan on sticking mainly with the big shots to start with. Rookies are generally pretty risky picks. I'd give the rookies a week or two at least to prove what they can do before you start giving them a spot on your squad.

Surprise rookies like Pau Gasol are valuable to your VGM squad. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty Images

I'd also look for players who have either switched teams in the offseason or lost teammates to trades and free agency in the offseason. It's these players who will see a sudden jump or decline in their minutes, and getting playing time is half the battle to getting a good VGM score. Guys that go from 10 minutes per game to 25 minutes or more per game can become pretty valuable picks. (See Chauncey Billups from last year).

After that, keep a close eye on injuries, especially at the point guard and center positions.

EXAMINING MATCHUPS
In picking players for the daily game, don't even think about keeping a guy on his day off. It's not worth it. Other than that, I look at whether a player is at home or away, whether they are playing a second straight night, and the opponent's style/defense. The Dallas Mavericks are a great team, but their run-and-gun style of play tends to yield a lot of points to their opponent.

Also, poor teams can also yield some good VGM picks, but be very careful about picking a player from a poor team when they are playing a good team. You might be on the losing end of a blowout, and your player's minutes and production could be a casualty.

On most nights, you're not going to be able to get EVERY player you want at each position, so finding those cheap, productive players will be a big key to success. I generally make a lineup with the guys I feel have the best chance of scoring big for their positions. If you're over the cap, take a second look at your squad and pick out two or three of your guys that you feel you could part with. Check for cheaper players at their position that have favorable match-ups and/or have a larger role on their team than they have had in the past. Surprise rookies can help get you under the cap, too (see Pau Gasol from last year).

I've found in the past that any position can produce good cheap players, so be alert for injuries and playing time changes.

DREAM TEAMS AND PLAYERS TO WATCH
Some of the guys I took a lot last year were Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Shaq (when healthy). To help stay under the salary cap and still put up some points, I also took guys like Gasol, Billups, Ben Wallace, and Richard Hamilton.

I like Darius Miles' chances of having a breakout year. The talent is certainly there, and it looks like this year the minutes will be, too. Watch out for Troy Hudson. Although he's never been a great shooter, his amazing quickness could open up some passes and subsequent KG dunks. Ricky Davis could also turn some heads in Cleveland.

On the flip side, don't count on guys like Scottie Pippen, Shawn Kemp, Toni Kukoc, Anfernee Hardaway, and even Michael Jordan to regain old form. It's just not likely to happen.

One guy I wouldn't go near right now is Nick Van Exel. He'll have the occasional outstanding game, but barring an injury to Steve Nash or Michael Finley, his opportunities will be limited. He's one guy, though, who could put up nice numbers given the opportunity.