If I can get more shot attempts than my opponent and shoot a better percentage in those attempts with more threes without bailing them out by hacking them, I think I'll win 70%+ of the time.  I've spoken of the shooting struggle & possession battle before... and as for which has priority over the other... that's tough.  Here's how I think, though... it's very linear between the two.


1. efg% (with threes in mind being a huge component of efg%).  I want at least one guy with a huge efg% (55% or more) that does it from the paint/2s.  This person has to be at least a 4th tier usage guy, preferably a 2nd or 3rd (Mailman is only full-minute 1st tier usage guy that qualifies).  Then I want everyone else to give me threes (one or two specialists aside - aka the Rodman factor)

2. reb% (both offensive and defensive almost equally important - limit their 2nd shot opportunities while giving me extras).  One guy (maybe two depending on how I spread my usage) can give me nothing except rebounds.

3. tov% - duh.

4. ast% (helps my efg%) / def (hurts their efg%)

5. fp48 & fta/poss (keep them off the line while getting them in foul trouble)



Usage is a given.  Unless I'm doing something special, I'm going to aim to have between 12.5 & 15 usage points, with my current "ideal" mark at 14.5.  Everything has to fall within that usage range for me.

I've started paying a little more attention to def/blks than I have in a while

to me it's all about balancing all the elements in relation to your opponents (and given whatever constraints and parameters are set by the theme youre playing)

ash, how do you determine "usage points"? for example.. penny hardaway has 25.4% usage, how does that equate into points? 2.5?

i know, felonius, about "balance." totally agree with you, still, that's too ambigious for me at this stage.

Posted by ashamael on 2/10/2011 10:46:00 PM (view original):
Some of you may have heard vets talking about usage tiers. This is how it's broken down.

1st tier usage (8 points) 32.5%+
2nd tier usage (6 points) 27.2% - 32.5%
3rd tier usage (4 points) 22.1% - 27.2%
4th tier usage (2 points) 17.5% - 22.1%
5th tier usage (1 point) 13.7% - 17.5%
bottom tier (0.5 points) less than 13.7%

this should help

thanks, chris!!

I would like to venture that the usage tiering system is garbage, but understanding it and using it as is is essential to mastery of the sim IMO.

1a. Usage
1b. eFG%
3. Reb
4. Def/Stl/Blk
5. Ast

Generally speaking, I don't pay much attention to FTA, FT%, or TO.

ah, nc's insight. can't argue with your sim success, that's for sure. interesting that you do not pay much attention to t.o.'s (nor tov%), and also ft%, fta's. usage and efg% hold your focus the most.

i just hate to lose free points during games because i have a player with high usage who can't hit them (shaq, wilt, some pippen versions,howard, etc). 

I hate losing free points because my high usage player only shoots 52% from the field instead of 60%.  Compare TS% of Shaq & Dream.  Now apply the fact that many high fta-trippers don't go to the line near as much in the sim (thus their sim TS% will be higher than IRL).  Then consider that you're paying less than the player's worth because of that poor ft%.

That, my friend, is a bargain.

I like picking a bunch of players that I would have loved to have seen play together and stopped caring about winning, more fun for me that way. I don't mind getting my sim *** kicked by you fellas

nah, if i wanna get that kind of feeling, i'll just read a dick vitale book or watch some dream team footage. i'm here for the competition. 

i understand your logic, ash, about garnering more total points from high usage, efficient players, rather than worrying about free throws, but there are players who do both, as uva did. he was big on drafting players who could shoot from the line. he had opportunities to draft shaq, howard, and others, but he never did. his teams consisted of: marion, bird, garnett, porter, bobby jones, some big man with strong boards and great fg% (zelmo, willis reed, etc), frazier, moncrief, etc. all solid ft-shooters.

but i'll have to digest what you said more closely. you've got a firm handle on all this, that's for damn sure.

It's very cap relevant, too.  uva did better at higher caps than I did.  I did better at the lower ones.  Salary structure has changed a lot since his dominance, but I bet he'd still be right at the tip top of all levels.  That guy sure knew how to build a fantastic squad.

He used a lot of low turnover guys, by the way.  Like... really low.  That very first one you said, for example.  He was the king of the Matrix.

So now you want to know my secrets after kicking my A$$ all of these years??? I'll thinik about it just because I like you and all of your stories about China.