https://www.whatifsports.com/hd/TeamProfile/Ratings.aspx?tid=6574

I currently coach W. New England in IBA and currently have the highest team average PE rating in all of D3 by a margin of 6 (8 players with a 77+ PE rating). I obviously want to shoot a lot of 3's, but I've been struggling with which guys to set to 0, +1, and +2 along with which guys deserve the highest play distribution. I have seen and will continue to see a lot defenses play me with +3 or higher defensive positioning, but want to optimize everything so that my team still takes an appropriate amount of 2-pointers. I typically run an uptempo flex offense given the depth that I have. Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

Also, I'm curious what the highest average PE rating you've seen any team have at D3?

First, welcome to HD and congrats on your early success. Few coaches come in and achieve what you have on your first few seasons in HD.

I always think about this types of questions in terms of how many 3 pointers a team is taking relative to their told FGs. Lets call that stat 3FGA (FG3A/FGA). I always want my team to be somewhere between in the 25-35% range and can sometimes accept a range of 20-40%. Anything outside of those bounds, smart coaches get a very strong gameplanning advantage against you. Even in the extreme end (20 and 40), coaches basically get a free advantage. You are sitting at 55% which is simply put WAY too much. I would lower your distribution for your shooters across the board and knock back alot of the shooters down a peg on the -2-+2 scale, not because they cant shoot (they very much can) but because you want to re-balance the shot selection. I would check your shooting each game and see if you can get it closer to 35% 3FGA. Reeves also should be close to your leading scorer so opponents are forced to respect the paint.

I would be very weary of running uptempo with 3 true posts. Your players are tired at the end of games and it's hurting your output. You have a (very) strong team for new coach so you should be proud of that. But being balanced in recruiting will help you down the road. If you traded one of your shooters for a true PG and one for a post, you'd have a pretty unstoppable team (not to say yours currently isnt quite good).

I use this chart to decide what defense to play .. using the stat that texashick used above (FG3A/FGA):

Recommended	Basis	Max	Min
Positioning
+3	NA	100.00%	48.00%
+2	40.92%	48.00%	38.81%
+1	36.71%	38.81%	35.13%
0	33.56%	35.13%	31.67%
-1	29.78%	31.67%	25.48%
-2	21.19%	25.48%	18.86%
-3	16.54%	18.86%	8.27%
-4	NA	8.27%	0.00%

The basis I calculated by looking at what the top 4 teams at seasons end played against non sim teams during their season. I did this in 6 worlds over 4 seasons and came up with the 'Basis' number for each. I then came up with a + or - and created the lookup chart.

I don't really have any problem with the small, fast shoot the 3 team.

You have put together a very good team at D3, good stamina for the press. Good ATH, Def and SPD as well.

Since you are playing press, I probably would not also go uptempo in the flex.

As far as the + and - .. I routinely put players with PE above 70 as +1, and people with PE less than 30 at -2. But remember, 0 in that rating depends on a calculation by the computer that is based on how well your player shoots 3-point shots. So a zero for a guy with 85 PE and 5 LP will shoot more 3's that a 0 for a guy with 5 PE and 85 LP.

A little known fact .. if you set the 'Player Game Plan' sheet to all 0 for distribution and 3pt and set Normal for foul trouble, the computer will calculate what it THINKS those should be. You can then look at the boxscores for those games and decide who should get more or less shots and who shoul dshoot more 3pt shots.

NOTE: The numbers stay at zero, but based on number of shots [plus (free throws / 2)] will give you shot attempts and you can calculate a percentage based on total shots. This can tell you who the computer thinks should take shots as a point of reference.

Posted by hughesjr on 12/13/2022 3:24:00 PM (view original):
I use this chart to decide what defense to play .. using the stat that texashick used above (FG3A/FGA):

Recommended	Basis	Max	Min
Positioning
+3	NA	100.00%	48.00%
+2	40.92%	48.00%	38.81%
+1	36.71%	38.81%	35.13%
0	33.56%	35.13%	31.67%
-1	29.78%	31.67%	25.48%
-2	21.19%	25.48%	18.86%
-3	16.54%	18.86%	8.27%
-4	NA	8.27%	0.00%

The basis I calculated by looking at what the top 4 teams at seasons end played against non sim teams during their season. I did this in 6 worlds over 4 seasons and came up with the 'Basis' number for each. I then came up with a + or - and created the lookup chart.

This is great, thank you.

For a bit more nuance, does the spread of 3PA by player influence your decision in which positioning to set?
Basic example:
- Team A has a 30% 3PA rate, but 6 players account for a near-even distribution of those 3PA
- Team B has a 35% 3PA rate, but 2 players account for the nearly all of those 3PA

Posted by jackhabegger on 12/13/2022 4:38:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hughesjr on 12/13/2022 3:24:00 PM (view original):
I use this chart to decide what defense to play .. using the stat that texashick used above (FG3A/FGA):

Recommended	Basis	Max	Min
Positioning
+3	NA	100.00%	48.00%
+2	40.92%	48.00%	38.81%
+1	36.71%	38.81%	35.13%
0	33.56%	35.13%	31.67%
-1	29.78%	31.67%	25.48%
-2	21.19%	25.48%	18.86%
-3	16.54%	18.86%	8.27%
-4	NA	8.27%	0.00%

The basis I calculated by looking at what the top 4 teams at seasons end played against non sim teams during their season. I did this in 6 worlds over 4 seasons and came up with the 'Basis' number for each. I then came up with a + or - and created the lookup chart.

This is great, thank you.

For a bit more nuance, does the spread of 3PA by player influence your decision in which positioning to set?
Basic example:
- Team A has a 30% 3PA rate, but 6 players account for a near-even distribution of those 3PA
- Team B has a 35% 3PA rate, but 2 players account for the nearly all of those 3PA

I use a similar type table to Hughes although the exact numbers very a bit and I also adjust for the defense Im playing. Heres my write up from my guide which tackles your question

Positioning - I primarily set my positioning based the number of 3s taken by the opposing team relative to their total field goals (I’ll refer to that stat as “3FGA”). The below table is loosely based on something I took from the message board (sorry I don’t remember who created it!) that triangulates your defense with your opponent’s 3FGAs and recommends a positioning. The below table works (for me) on the following assumptions 1) no more than 75% of the 3s come from 1 player 2) the team is shooting around .375 from 3. For point 1, see the double team section for what that changes. For point 2, about every .025% increase/decrease in 3-point FG percentage, I’d increase/decrease my positioning by 1. For end of game situations, I increase my positioning by 1 when Im winning and decrease by 1 when Im losing.

3FGA	Man	Press	3-2	2-3
50%+	+5	+3	+3	+5
43-50%	+4	+3	+3	+4
37-42%	+3	+2	+2	+3
33-36%	+2	+1	+1	+2
30-32%	+1	+0	+0	+1
28-31%	+0	+0	-1	+0
26-27%	-1	+0	-2	-1
22-25%	-2	-1	-2	-2
19-22%	-3	-1	-3	-2
10-18%	-4	-2	-4	-3
10%-	-5	-2	-5	-3

Note that zone teams that have the SF to play both 3-2 and 2-3 should switch back and forth depending on where the scoring is coming from. If the opposing teams’ guards are the primary scorers, use 3-2. If the posts are the primary scorer, use 2-3. HCP/Zone teams are generally more suited to a 3-2 but can bounce back and forth if you have the players.

Double team - A team with a very high percentage (around 75%) of their 3s from one player OR from one starter and one bench player get an auto-double on that/those players and then I play WAY under (at least -3). This defense is as close to a cheat code as there is in this game. Outside of that situation, I’ll generally start to consider a double when a player is accounting for about 25% of their team’s shots. The larger the disparity is between that player and the next highest distribution as well as how good my defender that I expect to be covering that person is will also influence my decision. I rarely double two players, but I will if they account for about 60%+ of a team’s shots. Occasionally you will also see a team who is letting a bench player take nearly all of the 2nd unit’s shots. I like the “double if leading scorer” button in that situation.

Posted by texashick on 12/13/2022 4:59:00 PM (view original):

Posted by jackhabegger on 12/13/2022 4:38:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hughesjr on 12/13/2022 3:24:00 PM (view original):
I use this chart to decide what defense to play .. using the stat that texashick used above (FG3A/FGA):

Recommended	Basis	Max	Min
Positioning
+3	NA	100.00%	48.00%
+2	40.92%	48.00%	38.81%
+1	36.71%	38.81%	35.13%
0	33.56%	35.13%	31.67%
-1	29.78%	31.67%	25.48%
-2	21.19%	25.48%	18.86%
-3	16.54%	18.86%	8.27%
-4	NA	8.27%	0.00%

The basis I calculated by looking at what the top 4 teams at seasons end played against non sim teams during their season. I did this in 6 worlds over 4 seasons and came up with the 'Basis' number for each. I then came up with a + or - and created the lookup chart.

This is great, thank you.

For a bit more nuance, does the spread of 3PA by player influence your decision in which positioning to set?
Basic example:
- Team A has a 30% 3PA rate, but 6 players account for a near-even distribution of those 3PA
- Team B has a 35% 3PA rate, but 2 players account for the nearly all of those 3PA

I use a similar type table to Hughes although the exact numbers very a bit and I also adjust for the defense Im playing. Heres my write up from my guide which tackles your question

Positioning - I primarily set my positioning based the number of 3s taken by the opposing team relative to their total field goals (I’ll refer to that stat as “3FGA”). The below table is loosely based on something I took from the message board (sorry I don’t remember who created it!) that triangulates your defense with your opponent’s 3FGAs and recommends a positioning. The below table works (for me) on the following assumptions 1) no more than 75% of the 3s come from 1 player 2) the team is shooting around .375 from 3. For point 1, see the double team section for what that changes. For point 2, about every .025% increase/decrease in 3-point FG percentage, I’d increase/decrease my positioning by 1. For end of game situations, I increase my positioning by 1 when Im winning and decrease by 1 when Im losing.

3FGA	Man	Press	3-2	2-3
50%+	+5	+3	+3	+5
43-50%	+4	+3	+3	+4
37-42%	+3	+2	+2	+3
33-36%	+2	+1	+1	+2
30-32%	+1	+0	+0	+1
28-31%	+0	+0	-1	+0
26-27%	-1	+0	-2	-1
22-25%	-2	-1	-2	-2
19-22%	-3	-1	-3	-2
10-18%	-4	-2	-4	-3
10%-	-5	-2	-5	-3

Note that zone teams that have the SF to play both 3-2 and 2-3 should switch back and forth depending on where the scoring is coming from. If the opposing teams’ guards are the primary scorers, use 3-2. If the posts are the primary scorer, use 2-3. HCP/Zone teams are generally more suited to a 3-2 but can bounce back and forth if you have the players.

Double team - A team with a very high percentage (around 75%) of their 3s from one player OR from one starter and one bench player get an auto-double on that/those players and then I play WAY under (at least -3). This defense is as close to a cheat code as there is in this game. Outside of that situation, I’ll generally start to consider a double when a player is accounting for about 25% of their team’s shots. The larger the disparity is between that player and the next highest distribution as well as how good my defender that I expect to be covering that person is will also influence my decision. I rarely double two players, but I will if they account for about 60%+ of a team’s shots. Occasionally you will also see a team who is letting a bench player take nearly all of the 2nd unit’s shots. I like the “double if leading scorer” button in that situation.

What do you set the "halftime adjustment" to for any given matchup? (e.g., anytime, never, if losing, if winning, etc.)

I use "if losing". "If losing by 5 or more" also makes sense to me

I do not use a different setting depending on spread of shots .. because I am looking at total 3 pts taken vs regular shots for the team.

For my table, that is man and press. For zone .. I use the same percentages. but for 3-2 .. I subtract 2 (os if it says 0 .. and I am in 3-2, I would use -2). If in 2-3 I would add 2, so if it said 0 in my table and my team is playing 2-3 zone, I would use +2.

WRT auto halftime adjustments, I almost always use never. I might use a halftime adjustment in the post season, IF the team makes major adjustments to number of 3's taken on offense. Or if they have large variations in their halftime adjustments in the post season. But usually, I still pick what I think are the best settings and don't use halftime adjustments.

For doubleteam .. the coach would have to be very blatant in using only 1 or 2 players for me to use a double team. That is obviously not applicable to teams I have if they play press defense as you can't double team out of press (or you always double team regardless of setting, however you want to look at it).

I look at +/- a little differently. More of actual points vs potential points.

Rather than 3pt as a percent of total shot attempts, I view as a % of total points scored. FT's are usually viewed as being linked to inside shots.

Which team would you play a greater + setting against? A team that shoots 25% (5/20 per game), or a team that shoots 43% (7/16 per game).

I won't ignore the 20 attempts per game, but I'm not going to sell out on the perimeter because 20 shots might be 40% of attempts, while 16 attempts is closer to 30% of attempts.
When looking at overall points (assume 60 pts per game) 5/20, 15 points is 25% of total points scored. 7/16, 21 points is 35% of points scored from three.

i agree with everyone more or less on the defensive +/-. during the regular season i use the 3pta/fga as a proxy during the 10 second game plan. during the post season or if i am actually game planning, i definitely take into account defensive efficiency. if someone is bad at 3s and takes a lot, i let them (but i don't necessarily go - to encourage it because that can come back to bite you. sometimes though. depends on my odds of winning, in the NT field in d1 normally folks aren't taking lots of 3s while bad at them, so kind of moot, but in the reg season and in d2/d3 there should be some).

i think the original question was more about the 3pt aggressiveness, the player distro +2 to -2 3pt setting. it depends on my team, but normally i put the elite level 3pta guys, which is like 90 per/spd/bh a- iq equivalent or better in d1, on +2, with most of my team on -2 for all the crap guys, and somewhere in the middle for the 80 per types. i don't know how to translate this to today's d2/d3, but basically, elite 3pt scorers in d2/d3 should usually be +2. however there are deviations. if i have tons of 3pta i am more likely to use +1s. i occasionally am more likely to go +1 on a 95 ath 50 lp guy who is also an elite per scorer, but on +2 those guys take a decent bit of 2s anyway, more than a 1 lp guy, so its usually not needed.

note that the 3pt aggressiveness setting just changes the liklihood of 3s off the baseline. the baseline meaning the sim engine default with a 0 3pt setting, already takes into account the players' lp and per ratings and the defense.

i am also more likely to use +1 when i expect a 3-2 +2 etc.

on the if losing settings, i tend to do if losing by 5 in the regular season because i don't pay much attention and will use the same game plan for days on end. so some adjustment at half is typically better than the nothing i might be doing. but the +/- adjustment logic is basically terrible, it used to be decent but somehow along the way it went to ****. i almost always turn this off completely in the post season.

I personally just use FG3A/FGA and my table. My thinking is, in general, they will take X outside shots and Y inside shots. If more than 48% of their shots are 3pt, I am playing them at +3. If 8.27% to 16.54% are 3pt shots, I am playing them at -3. My spreadsheet actually tells me the recommended + or -.

BUT .. I do also look at something I call my d40 :)

It looks like this:

Opponent's Scoring
Pos	Points		%		d40
Guard	29.6		45.3		-5.3
SF	13.0		19.8
Big	22.8		34.9		5.1
Total	65.4				0.5

So for that team, Guards score 45.3% of their points, Bigs score 34.9% and SFs score 19.8%. The difference, in percentage in this case is +10.4 between guards and bigs (guards shooting more). If bigs scored more, the number would be negative. I take that overall number divided by 20 and add it to the other recommendation from my table. So, I do also have a scoring feedback loop.