SimLeague Basketball: Back to the future
by Special to FOXSports.com
This game will appeal to those who love basketball, appreciate its rich history or dream of running a franchise. Not only does SimLeague Basketball provide an opportunity to learn about and play with greats, but it also pits users against other competitors in full 82-game seasons.
Want to load up on scoring? How about a duo of Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain? Like to pound the boards? How about placing Dennis Rodman along with Bill Russell and Elgin Baylor up front? Love the Celtics? Start Bob Cousy, John "Hondo" Havlicek, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Russell. But you may just run into a team of Lakers with Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Use any professional player from 1951 to the present — you choose the team, style, defensive matchups, playing time and tempo.
To start, users are given $42 million in salary cap money to build a team of 12 players. Each player is given actual stats, approximated statistics and a new defensive rating that measures on-the-ball defense. This puts players from the early days on even footing with current ones and means that low-scorers like Doug Christie and Bruce Bowen are still quite valuable.
After making crucial decisions on some of the final roster spots (Jack Haley or Andrew Gaze, anyone?), users will be assigned to a league with 23 other owners. Leagues are then randomly broken into two conferences, each with two divisions of six. A schedule is generated, and the user becomes the team's head coach.
Coaches are given the opportunity to set depth charts, target minutes at each position, pick an offensive tempo and a defensive style, strategize through defensive matchups and double-team opportunities, manage through injuries and more. Two games are simulated each day for 41 days to comprise the 82-game regular season. During the season, every team and individual statistic is recorded to better track performance, assess the success of different strategies and provide insight in to league leaders, All-Stars and MVP candidates.
After the regular season, the top six teams in each conference will enter the playoffs to vie for a championship — not to mention pride and prizes — in one of the internet's largest and most knowledgeable sports communities.
The further users advance in the postseason, the better the prizes. Just making the playoffs reduces the price of the user's next SimLeague team by a $1. Making it to the Finals increases that savings to $4. The league champion also wins Reward Points that can be redeemed for other SimLeague teams, t-shirts, gift certificates and more.
WhatIfSports.com's newly updated basketball simulation engine uses every available stat to simulate all the possessions in each game to the second. Comprehensive research uncovers the exact probabilities of nearly every occurrence in a game, and focuses on the player and team attributes that cause them. The most detailed statistical modeling is then used to ensure that SimLeague Basketball provides the most comprehensive and accurate simulation available.
Still, it doesn't take a math wizard to play or win. Anyone can build and coach a team of basketball greats. Six-team, 10-game exhibition leagues are always available for free at WhatIfSports.com, while a full season costs just $9.95.
There's no need to wait for the future. The ultimate basketball fantasy is here. And it has everything to do with the past.
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