Basketball 201

I'm a long time user on PC in baseball and a computer scientist - so understand both the game and the sim. Now I'm trying out basketball for the first time and understand the game and stats but have no idea what the sim values. Can y'all share some keys to team building / strategy / settings in basketball?

I created a quick draft and simmed a bunch of games. In a league with prime LeBron, Barkley and the Admiral, Jamal Murray ran away with the MVP. That seemed surprising...(maybe it's the MVP formula?)

Hi, I'll chime in my two cents, but would love to see other fans of the hoops sim chime in, as I know it's a small but passionate group... I really like the bball game, but like most sims it's going to be an acquired taste. And like most sims, it's going to shine the most in realistic settings and have its quirks in "All-time roster" scenarios.

That said, a big part of basketball is how many shots someone is going to get. So for example, with Barkley being #3 in FGA on his team, it's not a shock he didn't win MVP. Jamal was clear top dog of his team and edged Barkley out, but that's likely due to being the most dominant on his particular team. Put Lebron with a bunch of scrubs who don't shoot, he'll probably run away with MVP but his team will stink.

Anyway, MVP not being all that important, what does the sim itself value? My experience has been balance and finding studs in all categories - a roster with 5 scorers is probably going to lose to a team with 1 or 2 great scorers, some great defenders, a great rebounder, etc. And to me, that's how it should be.

Steals per 36 min, rebounds per 36 min, blocks per 36, and high DWS all crucial IMO.

Having a great scorer is important in a lot of formats, especially if they can get to the line a lot.

Maybe most important of all is managing your waves (subs) and ensuring guys are NOT on the floor while tired.

Awesome thanks Guy - great stuff and I'm excited to learn by playing. Also interested in the what the bdavids of the world have to say.

@krtyler11 Here's a few quick pointers: For win shares, I would value DWS way more than OWS. You want as many players above 4 DWS as possible. The sim uses DWS to create "DS" (Defensive Stops). Essentially that means that good defense made the offensive player miss. If you have a bunch of good DWS players on your team the opponent will be more likely to have a really poor shooting percentage. For offense shooting percentage matters a lot. Look for 2pt % above .500 and 3pt % above .350.

Strategy like tempo doesn't really matter in my experience. However, defensive assignments and waves matter a ton, especially in the playoffs. To start for simplicity you can just set your lineup and have the sim create your waves, but it gets really fun and gives a competitive edge to figure out how to do it yourself. There are a lot of good strategies for minutes allocation in the waves. Personally I have my best lineup in the 4th quarter and work backwards from there. You want your best players to be as close as possible to their real minutes played per game without going over. If they go over they get a hefty penalty reduction to their stats. A super helpful thing to know is that they can play out of position by 1 position up or down. So for example, Magic Johnson is listed as a PG, so he can play PG/SG. Kevin Garnett is a PF, so he can play SF/PF/C. I like to run 2 Centers at C/PF, and a PF at SF so you maximize defense, blocks, and rebounds. For example, on the Timberwolves you could start Gobert/Love/Garnett at C/PF/SF. Just one example.

The best tip is to try it out and find out for yourself what works and what doesn't. Experiment! Try crazy things! While you experiment you'll be surprised at things that work way better or worse than you expected. It's a game after all so it's meant to be fun. Also look at the best rosters in the standings and try to figure out what makes them good. Even look at the worst teams and see why they are struggling. Best of luck!

thanks so much @Shp73256 - this is exactly what I was looking for! Great to know about positions and DWS. I'm excited to get a team and mess with waves. Thanks again