I've been dabbling with the NFL sim - the NBA sim community is much more active and helpful - open leagues fill pretty fast and theme leagues (don't go by the 'existing league' panel in the draft center - go by the theme ad forums) remain vital

defense does matter but currently, there is an assist exploit that obviates all other stat categories (which is why a lot of people have flocked to theme leagues where you can avoid seeing the same cookie-cutter squads all the time)

Defense absolutely matters. You're not going to see 83-79 games very often, however. Remember, this is a fantasy situation and most people really supe up their offenses. So you have to look at it in perspective: how is your defense doing relative to the league? You can see this by going to team rankings, select opposing stats, and then sort by fg%. Typically people who complain that defense doesn't do anything (or doesn't do much) have the idea in their heads that they won't give up a lot of points or will give up a really low fg%, but that is almost never going to happen in a normal league. When you look relative to the league, however, you usually see you're doing well. If not, really look at other teams and examine yours. Three lockdown defenders does not a great defense make in this sim. Great defensive teams (depending on league type) typically have above average (60+) defenders for most of their rotation and elite (80+) defenders for a majority of that (who can also cover for the weak defenders; for example, a 90 d and a 60 d who are both 100% at PF/C). It's easy to think you should have a great defense when you look at your SL and see 100, 80, 60, 90, 100, but if they (typically) only play 60% of the game. When the guys replacing them are like 40, 50, 50, 40, 60 ... your overall numbers will drop off significantly.

Also, when it comes to defensive scores, remember there are many other factors when it comes to points allowed: If you're getting killed on the boards or turn the ball over a ton, even if you are limiting your opponent to 40% fg (you won't over a season in a normal league), you're still going to allow a ton of extra points. Same with fouls. If you're sending your opponent to the line a ton, it doesn't matter if you have ALL 100 defenders, that defense doesn't to jack against a free throw.

So, yeah... defense matters a ton. You just have to adjust your expectations of it, compare your results to other teams, then compare your team makeup to others and figure out what you want.

Thank you

Oh boy, we have another one of these guys on our hands.

I'm not engaging in debates about this sim with you. You've come from nowhere, know next to nothing about how it actually operates, make absurd suggestions and act like you're being crucified when people immediately react negatively to them (injury thread), and then bombard a guide that has helped literally thousands of people learn this game about something you actually don't understand with pedantic arguments. I've dealt with you numerous times over the past 15 years - different user names, same tired **** - and I'm not going to deal with you again.

Okay, so I came back to maybe give you the benefit of the doubt, but you continue to engage in troll-like behavior. With the slimmest margin that you might actually be someone interested in doing something and not just picking out extremely technical details and missing the big picture, let me break it down for you:

You're hung up on the word possession. Stop doing that. What you want is extra shots. That was pretty clearly outlined in the "Possession Battle" part of the guide; you get an offensive rebound and now you have the opportunity for an extra shot. You get a steal, you end the opponent's possession without them ever getting a shot. You fail to get a defensive rebound, and their possession almost always ends in points. You get enough of these advantages over a game, you end up with extra shots, and if you make a decent amount of those extra shots, your chance for winning goes up.

This sim is not basketball. It's a series of die-rolls. Everything that happens goes through a series of random events that are influenced by advanced stats & settings. So if you want it by the letter of the law, no, you're not getting extra possessions by having higher steals or offensive rebounds, you're getting extra opportunities to have die rolls go in your favor. Almost anybody who has ever read this guide understood it, and you're either being intentionally thick, trolling, or just, as I said earlier, missing the forest for the trees.

As for the user name thing, you again fail to understand (or are trolling) - I've dealt with people like what I just described previously over and over in my fifteen years here. They either thought they were smarter than me, wanted people to think they were smarter than me, were just trolls, or were absolutely oblivious individuals who have no hope for rational thinking. Or maybe a combination of those traits; they are not mutually exclusive. Maybe you're not one of those people, but everything I've read from you thus far leads me to believe you fall into one of those categories, so yes, I've dealt with you before. Maybe not you personally, but someone just like you. But you understood that, right? You're just trolling. You bust into this more than a decade old thread, pick out a pedantic detail and go all

Good job.


I'm not going down the rabbit hole of injuries here. There's a thread about that. I made it clear why they were a bad idea then got the **** out of that trollfest and won't be sucked back into it.

I rarely give coaching advice, so I'm not sure where got that I told you to press, but perhaps at some point someone asked when you press, and I probably said you could try it vs a high turnover team. I almost never press, as it's a recipe for high fouls and easier shots given up, but I guess that in fifteen years & 11k posts, you probably could have found a post saying what I said I might have said. It's whatever.

Now, if you're genuine and were confused about something, I apologize. If you're the troll I think you are, I'll just redline future troll attempts in this thread. It is to help people, not engage in senseless debates with ignorant trolls.

Posted by savoybg on 7/29/2022 9:28:00 AM (view original):
A steal does not give you an "extra dice roll." What is does, which is very valuable, is end your opponent's chance for the dice roll at the end of his possession that may give him some points. You get the ball either way. It's just a matter of getting it after he scores, or getting it before he has a shot attempt or gets fouled.

There's 4 seconds on the shot clock, I go for a steal and get the ball. My opponent loses a chance for an extra dice roll to end his possession.

There's the same 4 seconds on the shot clock. I go for the steal and don't get the ball, and my man now makes an open jumper. Either way I am getting the ball, so I do not get an extra dice roll. The opponent could miss the jump shot and then we go for the rebound, but either way the steal does not get YOU an extra dice roll.

Semantics.

A steal does not give you an "extra dice roll." What is does, which is very valuable, is end your opponent's chance for the dice roll at the end of his possession that may give him some points.

You gain an extra die roll by denying them one. Opportunity cost is an important factor here.

Opponent shoots a fga. You get ball and shoot a fga. You each shot a fga - same number of die rolls.

You steal ball from opponent. You get the ball and shoot a fga. They're never getting that opportunity to shoot again. You didn't get an extra shot, but you denied them one, so you're now ahead by one die roll. So, no, technically it doesn't get you the extra die roll, but you come out ahead in the number of total die rolls, so it accomplishes the same thing.

You steal ball from opponent. You turn the ball over before getting a shot. Neither of you ever have that shot opportunity again & are even on die rolls.

So if you get seven more steals than the opponent, in theory, you've provided yourself seven more opportunities to get an extra shot. It's not a concrete certainty, and if you notice, it's stated mostly as an afterthought after the meat of that section (rebounds). I almost never am looking at a player's stl% to determine if I'm drafting them or not, because it is such a minor advantage when you stumble into it.

So we've spent all of this time debating over the semantics of an almost meaningless thing. Thanks for wasting both of our time.

you are, actually, in other threads - acting like a 'know it all' while arguing with the most successful dudes at this at the moment while they roll their eyes at you... BUT let us make sure that the noobs understand the difference shouldn't we? I mean let's not lead new guys on. right? {people have been banned for far less} {toothy grinch smile} {{I was the one banned - but much more funny}}

I thought you were banned for saying the Earth revolved around the Sun.

NO - the opposite! The Sun revolved around the earth! Can you belive it? Wait is that what you said?

Posted by copernicus on 7/29/2022 9:52:00 PM (view original):
We really want your energy and we really want your teams in our leagues WELCOME!

I can't wait, Nick!

Maybe you should try Gresham's Law with your next team!

I had a team once where I started three Archie Clarks and had two more coming in off the bench and I won my division. My team was 38-44, but they won their division, that’s the only thing that matters.

Posted by savoybg on 7/29/2022 9:25:00 PM (view original):
In that league where I am in the conf semis, one hall of famer owner claimed that my third round pick of 72 Archie Clark was a "terrible pick." He made the all star team and had a 32 MVP score, good for about 27th on the MVP list. I took him with the 64th pick.

I had to read this more than once to make sure I read it right. You are bragging because your guy finished “about 27th” in the MVP voting? What if he actually finished about 28th? Would you be just as keen on him? Of course, we don’t know for sure that he finished about 27th, since they only list the top 25. Maybe, just maybe, he was in a 14 way tie for 32nd in the MVP voting.

Posted by savoybg on 7/29/2022 4:50:00 PM (view original):
So you define "a dice roll" as a shot attempt or going to the line?

It's also a "dice roll" when you turn the ball over.

A steal has nothing to do with an extra anything for your team. It's totally a defensive occurrence that ends the opponent's possession or "dice roll" in the best possible way for your team. It is NOT part of gaining possessions.

Yeah, see, this is why I said at first I wouldn't engage with you and you were just a troll. I've seen your act before over & over again. As for the last correspondence quoted post & my final correspondence with you in this thread: You are gaining a competitive advantage when your opponent's possession ends without a shot. You do this ten times in a game, and that's ten times he didn't get a shot as a result. If they do it twelve times back to you, then that's twelve times you didn't get up a shot and are now behind by a potential 2 die rolls of the most important die roll there is: taking a shot. You want more shot attempts than your opponent (actually, you want more shot makes than your opponent, but it's easier to do that if you have more shot attempts as well).

I will no longer engage with you because you are the definition of an attention-seeking troll & are spamming a guide thread with non-sense. Redlining all of your posts from this point out as well as all of this irrelevant, off topic nonsense you've spewed.