Hi y'all-

I'm steamrolling SIM opponents with my team Trinity (TX) in DIII, Phelan. Currently ranked No. 16. Have made 3 consecutive sweet 16s but can't get past that because I lose to teams that pack it in with a -5 defense, because they see my preference to get to the line as much as possible and shoot limited threes. Goal is always to keep team FG over 50%.

Question: What's the best way to counteract the -5 defense when teams play that against me?

My guess is to just shoot more 3s, but that seems counter-productive. Thoughts!?

Well the answer really is - shoot some 3s. Personally I LOVE playing teams that don't shoot 3s. Easy -5 decision and likely easy win for me.

RosenDahl needs to shoot more 3s. Period. He's too good not to. Crank up his usage and 3pt tendency.

Also, you're playing motion/man. That's really not the best scheme to play the style that you want to play. If you want to just live at the FT line then you'd be better off building a fb/press team.

The last thing I'd add - you don't really even have great LP. It's passable. But if you want to just pound it inside and score reliably against good defensive teams, you're gonna have to focus more on high LP players.

Thanks for that Benis!

Side note and correct me if I'm wrong, but them playing -5 should create more fouls due to inside positioning. At least that's what the FAQ says. Theoretically it would feed more into what you're doing, but you would be wholly reliant on those free throws.

A: Fouls are normally related to a player's defensive IQ, defense rating, speed, and athleticism. On top of that, you'll have more fouls if you are pressing and/or playing your defense inside or double-teaming.

I'm with Benis on this. I also love putting together a defensive game-plan for predictable teams. You don't have to take a ton of threes to keep defenses a bit more on their toes. Just make sure you've got enough players that can do it.

Posted by rugburn on 3/12/2022 11:17:00 AM (view original):
Side note and correct me if I'm wrong, but them playing -5 should create more fouls due to inside positioning. At least that's what the FAQ says. Theoretically it would feed more into what you're doing, but you would be wholly reliant on those free throws.

A: Fouls are normally related to a player's defensive IQ, defense rating, speed, and athleticism. On top of that, you'll have more fouls if you are pressing and/or playing your defense inside or double-teaming.

"They" say that. And i used to believe that. But I don't think -5 creates THAT big of an issue when it comes to "more fouls". Especially if your opponent has better, or somewhat equal talent. If you're way better than your opponent athletically, then yes if they play -5 they will foul a lot.

Back to OP, playing a style of ball that you "want" to play isn't necessarily a good strategy if your team isn't built for it. As benis touched on, you'd need lots of scorers with high LP, also some high ATH. Great teams are balanced teams often. Teams that can do it all, defend, shoot 3s, and pound the paint. The only reason you should be "trying to pound the paint and not shoot 3s" is if your forced into that situation (losing rolls for PER players, your PER players are leaving school early for NBA, your PER ratings are turning colors earlier than you need, etc). Building a team intentionally without 3pt shooting is just limiting your options.

I didn't look at your team. I was just responding to what was written. Hope this is helpful

its basically impossible in this game to push the fouls too hard. even a 0 3pta fb/pr team does not draw enough fouls to reliably get your opponent in serious foul trouble. having a somewhat balanced offense where you can make 3s when the opponent goes -5, its more or less the only answer.

the - defenses do slightly increase fouls in my opinion, but this is not a strong enough effect to build around. you can't plan to counteract the -5 by getting your opponent in crazy foul trouble. its more just something to be slightly aware of. when i run a team who is sensitive to foul trouble, and i'm on the fence between a -2 and a -3 for example, maybe i play the -2 because of the fouls. its not a big effect and you won't get hurt much just ignoring it completely.