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Note: This article has
been posted with permission from Somworld's
Will Kolodzie. For more high quality
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Somworld
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Hidden
Basketball Drafting Secrets
By
Will Kolodzie
Everyone carries a theoretical construct regarding the successful basketball
draft league experience. Obtain the best possible cards in the areas of
shooting, passing, and defense and provide the opportunity for draft league
success. There are crucial considerations often overlooked in this process.
Minutes
This category can make or break the Strat-O-Matic basketball draft league
team. Providing a sufficient number of minutes on your roster enhance
in-game decisions and influences rest/fatigue factors over a given season.
Draft as many 6-minute and 12-minute players as possible. This shortens the
number of reserves necessary for fielding a team. Having a 6-minute player,
theoretically, requires only one substitute or replacement for a position.
Having a 18-minute player as your starter requires two replacements, or in
other words, more roster management decisions over the course of a game.
This assumption doesn't hold as much validity in the middle and latter
stages of the draft, where coaches obtain replacement players or undervalued
or sleeper candidates, but in the draft's early stages, it sets the tone or
movement for all subsequent player decisions.
The Player Profile
Using the computer manager for enhancing team effectiveness holds the second
secret. Many draft league managers do not take full advantage of their
computer managers, as evidenced in the baseball game where you'll find 20 to
30 percent of teams without the Super Hal Bullpen settings.
Sometimes, you may have five or six forwards on a team, but you may not have
a satisfactory amount of minutes for the left forward spot. This provides
one reason for altering the "Player Profile" section of your team's computer
manager. There are several others.
Coaches can alter the profiles of individual players for the following
areas.
GP - games played
GS - games started
INPCT - percentage player positioned inside
STLSHT - percentage a player takes a fastbreak shot from a steal
PG - minutes at point guard
SG - minutes at shooting guard
SF - minutes at small forward
PF - minutes at power forward
C - minutes at center
Games Played and Started
The GP category works only if a draft league has Auto Rest set for "Full."
Most draft leagues will have rules governing any modifications, particularly
for GP or GS. So, it's best to look at your league constitution or playing
instructions before modifying these two sections.
The GS category influences the computer-generated game plan. Altering this
field controls which player starts or rides the bench.
Setting the GP and GS sections as matching the number of games scheduled in
the league allows the definition of a starting player. A draft league team
with Alvin Williams and Richard Hamilton may wish to alter the GS category
for one of these players.
Inside Percentage and Steal Shoot
Modifying the frequency of inside positioning increases the effectiveness of
your team. Use the "stock" or real-life tendencies as your guide, then make
changes based on roster requirements. Shawn Bradley plays inside 80 percent
of the time for the Dallas Mavericks. You might set his percentage at 100%
depending on the needs of your team.
As some fastbreak opportunities follow steal occurrences, this modification
should add a number of shots for your team. Strat-O-Matic "stock" teams have
a pre-defined percentage, but you'll make adaptations based on card
strengths and weaknesses. Building a fastbreak team, leaving this
modification unattended, produces poor results and compromises
effectiveness.
Position Minutes
The computer manager examines these settings for determining the placement
of a player in the game. For realistic results, Strat-O-Matic advises not
altering the total minutes. Adding playing time to the SF position requires
taking the same amount away from another position.
Important - You should set the position minutes in draft leagues even if you
don't use the computer manager. The game's fatigue system uses the position
minutes for making its determinations.
Let's take a look at Paul Pierce's position minutes - 1 PG, 35 SG, 3 SF.
Pierce may play small forward exclusively on your team. You'd need to revise
his minutes as - 39 SF.
Your changes result in permanent ones. This doesn't present too many
difficulties in draft leagues but can raise all sorts of havoc in the
"stock" replay. Exert caution in this area.
Reading the Strat-O-Matic "help" files actually produces better results for
your team. Knowing how position minutes impact a team roster, not only in
terms of rotation, but also fatigue, makes the in-game decisions much easier
and less detrimental regarding proposed strategy initiatives. |
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