#SLOE: People's Basketball Sim League

As the commissioner, and an article writer or pod guest, you all have to hear from me (or read from me) all the time. Many of you know my opinions on just about everything sim league related, and if you dont, well, just ask. Now, I want to try something new to get the opinions about various topics from everyone else! Or, ya know, as many of you as I can get to participate.

Though this will be a short trial run, what I will be doing for Season 63 is creating a thread where each sim I (or someone I nominate) will ask a league-based question for everyone/anyone else to answer. For every genuinely thoughtful response you give to each question you'll be able to earn one point.

12 Sims

12 Questions

(Up to) 12 Points


I am not putting some word limit on this, but I won't be awarding the points for 1-word or 1 sentence responses. Doesn't have to be an essay, but just give me something real (or fun) to read.

I have not decided if this will be part of the media points cap or separate. I'm on the fence because 12 points is a lot of extra possible points for someone (like me) who already maxes his media BUT I also want to encourage as many responses as possible. Maybe that'll be a question I ask during this playoff trial run.

For this first go-around though it'll all be entirely separate from normal media points. However successful this is, I'll still give it a full go next season then decide after that if it is worth the extra effort.


TRIAL RUN RULES!

3 Questions (posted individually before rounds 1-3)

1 for each round of the first 3 rounds of the playoffs until the FINALS

(Up to) 3 points

Responses due by the due date of the Games 1 & 2 sim of each round.

(QUESTION 1 WILL BE BELOW)

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QUESTION #1: WHICH PLAYER DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON THE S62 PLAYOFFS?

*Responses due by the start of round 2*

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MexicanMamba wrote:QUESTION #1: WHICH PLAYER DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON THE S62 PLAYOFFS?

*Responses due by the start of round 2*

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There are a number of great players in these playoffs, but the one name that leaps out to me regarding his potential impact in these playoffs is GENARO MONTOYA.

The Bulls have been ravaged by injury this season and yet still find themselves with their playoff destiny firmly in their hands as they are currently the #1 seed in their conference and with 2 home games vs. The #2 seed to close the season out.

The one constant? Genaro Montoya. He is the most versatile player in the league, being capable of playing, defending and dominating at all 5 positions.

Scoring- 16th
Rebounding- 8th
Steals- Top 25
3P%- 7th

And throwing in 3 assists and 1 block per game. His versatility is going to be crucial through the Bulls playoff run due to the different styles they'll face and Montoya gives flexibility while being able to drop 40 on anyone at any time.

If the Bulls grab another championship, he'll be the reason.

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MexicanMamba wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:41 am QUESTION #1: WHICH PLAYER DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON THE S62 PLAYOFFS?

*Responses due by the start of round 2*

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TL;DR: Johnny Davis because his growth in the playoffs is key to advancement.

I will say Johnny Davis.

He is the clear head of the table for the Nuggets, and they will only go as far as Davis takes them.

I truly believe that a player is completely different in the playoffs then they are in the regular season (a big reason I traded who was never as effective in the playoffs like he was in the regular season). Looking at Davis historically in the playoffs, granted it is a small statistic pool to gather from due to first round exits, he also is a player that has not lived up to his hype in the playoffs. Davis has had a negative +/- every playoffs he has played. He did show signs of improvement in his last outing, scoring 23 PPG, but was still fouling at 3 times a game.

I say all this, to point out that he and the team are young and has shown signs of development.

To go back to last playoffs, Davis also had all of his stats mostly went up, with even his FT% going up to a .927FT%. Davis is apart of a young team that is only further developing around potential MVP candidate Davis too. Where if he were to face the Grizzlies again this season in the playoffs it would not be a 4-1 gentleman's sweep again.

The only thing that will potentially effect Davis' ability will be the GM, Panda. As long as he builds the game plans and depth charts to get the most out of Davis, then he will be a star. Where playing teams like the Raptors in the first round will allow Davis to ball out.

The predicted stat lines I see for Davis in the playoffs of note will be

23 PPG
4 AST
3.5 REB
on a .472/.912/.312 shooting line
PER of 22
+/- of 9

Love this question- too many to throw out there! But I can't believe these two BUMS were mentioned before SADDIQ 'BAE' BEY.

Guys, stfu. Bey is going to dominate in the playoffs for as long as RPF's Nets are in it. Last year, the Bucks were a great team, and their focal point was always Bey. This year, the Nets are a great team, with lots of support around Bey, specifically James Andrews and Alex Caruso. Flanked by these two guys, Bey can sit comfortably in his natural forward role without getting pushed over to PG where Jose Alvarado has held it down.

I have yet to see RPF push in his chips like this in my PBSL career. Bey was the biggest get of any team in any trade, for pretty much the entirety of Bey's career (Bucks to Lakers, Lakers to Denver, Denver back to Milwaukee, all blockbuster deals). RPF went and got him in his prime. He averaged 29ppg last playoffs. While Caruso and Alvarado handle the perimeter offense, Bey can dabble with them and drop a low pass off to Andrews if he's guarded well down low, too. Bey is a playmaker and a difference maker, and an unfortunate test for the Lakers when they meet in the semis. While I'm not calling an upset, I do think this is a tough team, and very tough because of Bey.

I think Bey is hungry for a 'ship. It's incredible that he does not have one yet. Seeing Bey's increase in productivity from 2049 playoffs to 2050, I think Bey knows his window is closing, and he will give these games all he's got, and give the (not yet a) dynasty Lakers a run for their money.

I'm going to go with Antonio Blakeney for this one. Once Quincy Johnson stopped taking shots that Blakeney could've had, AB really came alive. Quincy Johnson cost him an MVP. Definitely not max-worthy.

But AB's proven before that Antonio Blakeney can elevate a team that isn't stacked. The Bulls are stacked. The Lakers are stacked. The Grizzlies? The Nuggets? The Nets? Stocked. Stocked. Stocked. Blakeney has an EWA of 24, which according to Mr. Show, is the highest number. Bey's might be higher, but that's with the Bucks most of the season where he was responsible for every win and the players the Bucks kept were responsible for negative wins. Looking at the last box scores, Andrews and Caruso are playing better with Bey, and Bey's able to step back and take less of a leadership role. Good for the Nets, but bad for the answer to this question.

Blakeney, meanwhile, since getting rid of Sandoval and Johnson, is back to his normal self. Without Blakeney, the Celtics are not in the playoffs at all. There aren't many players you can say that about on a team that isn't squeaking in with such confidence.

I am going to go with Montoya. Having had him on my team in the past, he's the guy the steps up his game come post season. He can play all 5 positions if needed. Even at his age he's still dominant in every aspect. He can Score, Rebound, Assist, can play and defend positions 1-5 if needed. He has championship experience and know what it takes to win. He's also durable, meaning he'll be available. Potentially having round 1 off will help him rest up and get ready for the grind of the playoffs. Even if the Bulls end up having to play in round 1 Montoya will be a matchup nightmare, even at age 33. I am sure the Bulls are going to use him at whatever position best suit their team in their pursuit for a championship this season. Not too many teams if any has a guy at his height with that skillset.

This will be the first playoffs of a new era, and a new king will be crowned. This player will be the MVP of the finals. The first challenge will come in the form of the trio of Saddiq Bey, Jose Alvarado, Alex Caruso. They will be a problem. They will be a bigger problem in the future, but they will be defeated in this year's playoffs. Herbert Jones, along with He Hor will then come for the crown. Herbert Jones will get his, but it won't be enough. He Hor will try to prove to his old team, he should have never lost his starting spot. He will try to prove the league is not in a new era, but he will fail. The last challenger for the crown will be DeJuan Baker. But after surviving the stronger and bloodier Alpha league, DeJuan Baker and his squad will look less like a contender for the crown and more like fresh meat and will be summarily torn apart. Much like the trio, Baker will have to wait for an era yet to come.

He will be scoring 30 points every playoff game dominating these playoffs. He'll shut down opposing point guards. Get ready for 12 points from 3-pointers every playoff game. From these playoffs forward, Safi Fino-A-Laself is the King. The Lakers are going to win the title, and Safi will lead the way. Over the next 5-8 years, other people will win MVPs, but in the back of everyone's mind will be, "well Safi could have/should have won it." These playoffs are the start of the Safi Era.

Lots of great players above. I'll do one player for each conference.

Alpha Conference: Gary Cunningham (Utah Jazz)
http://pbsl.ijbl.net/players/player89.htm

The Utah Jazz flipped the switch after logging back into the game at day 60 and submitted "Jazz recommend". They soon took over the division lead from the Sacramento Kings and despite Brooklyn/Boston's best efforts, the Jazz never looked back. This is incredible and GM digiskunk should be proud. Cunningham is still playing SF but at this point in his career is more a point forward than a wing. Cunningham is an elite perimeter defender and an outstanding scorer. I think this will be on full display in Round 1 against the depleted Minnesota Timberwolves, and especially so since the Utah Jazz have their own injury woes with Albert Myers in concussion protocol ending his season. The Jazz will be able to start Cunningham at PG and wont miss a beat. The Jazz have several great defenders and they will make sure to prove to the league their #2 finish was no fluke this season.

Omega Conference: Harold Schiff (Orlando Magic)
http://pbsl.ijbl.net/players/player337.htm

The Orlando Magic are my dark horse to win the Omega conference this season all thanks to their super big man, Harold Schiff. The 1st Team All-League Center averaged a double-double this season and finished in 5th place overall for blocks. The Magic frontcourt is the best in the league and should give the Wizards fits in Round 1. If the Magic advance, Schiff will quickly show Mason Dixon and the Nuggets what a real Center looks like. The Raptors expect to beat Chicago in Round 1 but if the Raptors lose to the Bulls, then the aging frontcourts of the Miami/Memphis/Chicago winner will still get outplayed by the Magic bigs. I'm all-in on Orlando this season. You will all soon see why.

QUESTION #2: WHO WOULD WIN: ALL-LEAGUE 1ST TEAM VS ALL-LEAGUE 2ND TEAM.
*BONUS: The 6th men for both squads comes from the 3rd Team. 1st: Herb Jones, 2nd: Safi Fino-A-Laself.


** Responses for question #1 closed.**

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MexicanMamba wrote:QUESTION #2: WHO WOULD WIN: ALL-LEAGUE 1ST TEAM VS ALL-LEAGUE 2ND TEAM.
*BONUS: The 6th men for both squads comes from the 3rd Team. 1st: Herb Jones, 2nd: Safi Fino-A-Laself.


** Responses for question #1 closed.**

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Let's go position by position!

Center

Harold Schiff vs Victor Wembanyama
- I love what Big Vic can still become but Schiff is already there. There's probably no better legit big in the game at the moment and I'm not thinking Wembanyama can keep up.

Advantage: 1st Team

Power Forward

Evan Mobley vs Ken Dirks
- My first instinct was to go immediately to Mobley cause of his top tier offensive prowess. It's not easy to average 27.8 ppg. Overall though, I kind of feel like Dirks offers more to the game and if not for Bone and Schiff, he's show even more of his scoring. Slightly, but I'll take Dirks.

Advantage: 2nd Team


Small Forward

Emoni Bates vs Genaro Montoya
- I like Bates but this is a mismatch in favor of Genaro.

Advantage: 2nd Team


Shooting Guard

Antonio Blakeney vs. Johnny Davis
- While I think JD is a great player in his own right and a dynamite scorer, Blakeney might be the best player in the league.

Advantage: 1st Team


Point Guard

Saddiq Bey vs Alex Caruso
- Teammate battle! Caruso is strong and as he showed in game 1 of this current round, he's still capable of going nuclear. Still, Bey is Bey and at PG especially has a size Advantage over everyone.

Advantage: 1st Team


6th Man

Herb Jones vs Safi Fino-A-Laself
- I am always inclined to give Safi the nod but looking at the playoffs to this point, he's having major struggles regardless who is defending him while Herb is averaging 28 points 10 assists and 8 rebounds.

Advantage: Herb Jones


WINNER: 1ST TEAM due to having the 2 best players on this list and the 6th man who is elevating his game in the playoffs.

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I'm going first team here. There's a reason why they're the first team, and the stats show it. Overall, the 1st team's starting lineup racks in 18 more ppg than the 2nd team. Defensively, the 1st team is better, too. While you could argue that some of the players on the 2nd team had their stats hurt by being on more stacked teams, there's a Magic player on each team and a Nets player on each team. The dropoff in the Center position between Schiff and Wembanyama is substantial, too as Center (not point guard) is the position in the league that's hardest to fill with a game changing player (Wembanyama isn't there yet). And as good as Montoya is, Bey and Blakeney are the league's two best players right now, so no matter who you put around them, it's hard to top that.

I took a Roberto-like approach here with matchups, but didn't match up everyone the same as he did.

Schiff > Wembanyama (1st)
Mobley < Montoya (2nd)
Bates < Dirks (2nd)
Saddiq Bey > Johnny Davis (1st)
Antonio Blakeney > Alex Caruso (1st)

Then, for sixth man:

Herb Jones < Safi (2nd)

Schiff is clearly better than Wembanyama. Mobley carried a huge load for Toronto this season, avg'ing over 21 shots per game. I definitely think that, while awesome, Mobley's stats were juiced here. The only other stat where Mobley prevailed was an extra block per game. Give Montoya as many shots per game as Mobley and I think that evens out the PPG argument, so gimme Montoya there. Dirks and Bates is a weird match. I simply prefer Dirks, but they're very different forwards. Even though Bates steals and blocks are more than Dirks, Dirks is the better defensive player overall, thus the better two-way player, thus gimme Dirks.

Do we need to talk about the guards? Nah

Whereas we have Bey and Blakeney as top talent now, I think Herb and Safi are the next gen top talent. I think Safi wins long term; while Mamba closely evaluates Safi's lackluster playoff performance, I can't help but take Safi as the more versatile player overall. So what if his post-D sucks? He's better all around defensively than Jones. Herb might slide by Safi one on one, but Safi might also check him with a good hard foul and change Herb's game plan.

Gimme Safi.

3-3 split on picks, but the 1st team picks far outweigh the quality of the competition, and the 2nd team picks barely eke out the 1st team picks. 1st team wins.

QUESTION #3: SUGGESTION BOX!

IF YOU COULD ADD/SUBTRACT/CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT SIM LEAGUE, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

** Question 2 responses closed **

I'll take responses for #3 here until Tuesday at 4pm Central *

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1. I'd change the finals back to a 2-2-2-1 format (instead of simming 1 game at a time). I think this game is too random for 1 game to be helpful to either team in terms of game planning, and it just becomes nuts to have to run sims 1 game at a time.

2. I'd force Wig to fix the Import FTP and nodes and run a team again and possibly run the league again when Roberto gets sick of it.

3. I'd revamp training so the purple pipeline was shut off. Maybe increasing the points it takes to boost athleticism traits needs to be raised.

4. No free TC insurance. Maybe 5 points per insuree?

garbageman wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 1:22 pm
3. I'd revamp training so the purple pipeline was shut off. Maybe increasing the points it takes to boost athleticism traits needs to be raised.

Really curious to hear more about this...

Yes, it would be nice to get nodes going again. Ideally the league could migrate to a tech savvy active GM so that, when these problems arise, they could be resolved more quickly. Theoretically.

I'm not the most creative person about setting rules / standards, more so someone who likes to know what they are and abide by them. Or, if some aspect of sim league is not netting appropriate results (pressers q's and a's, or purple pipeline training), modifying rules to net better results. Ultimately increasing and incentivizing engagement is the top priority.

I like the idea of having nodes, but really all I want is access to player current band sheets. Mamba has been cool about providing me current bands sheets when I ask. But honestly, I would look up every player that I have considered trading for, which would be like half the league.

First of all I’d eliminate paid trainings and the draft lottery. Both of those things need to go. The lottery is a joke and has been a joke for a long time. Paid trainings are the cheap way out to getting players up to being blues and purples without a natural progression. Also I’d eliminate the playoff byes and expand it back to 8 teams per conference. No cheap byes or breaks on the way to the championship for anybody.

drkavarga wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 8:55 pm First of all I’d eliminate paid trainings and the draft lottery. Both of those things need to go. The lottery is a joke and has been a joke for a long time. Paid trainings are the cheap way out to getting players up to being blues and purples without a natural progression. Also I’d eliminate the playoff byes and expand it back to 8 teams per conference. No cheap byes or breaks on the way to the championship for anybody.

I like the direction of this post. Finding tools to weaken the top of the league and strengthen the bottom would make for a most interesting league. Maybe, higher taxes or you can't sign your own players if you have unpaid taxes. Or limit trades if you have unpaid taxes.

LazyTitanSmash wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:12 pm

drkavarga wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 8:55 pm First of all I’d eliminate paid trainings and the draft lottery. Both of those things need to go. The lottery is a joke and has been a joke for a long time. Paid trainings are the cheap way out to getting players up to being blues and purples without a natural progression. Also I’d eliminate the playoff byes and expand it back to 8 teams per conference. No cheap byes or breaks on the way to the championship for anybody.

I like the direction of this post. Finding tools to weaken the top of the league and strengthen the bottom would make for a most interesting league. Maybe, higher taxes or you can't sign your own players if you have unpaid taxes. Or limit trades if you have unpaid taxes.

Thank you. And no trading if you have unpaid taxes would be the way to go. You don’t pay, you can’t trade.

garbageman wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 1:22 pm 1. I'd change the finals back to a 2-2-2-1 format (instead of simming 1 game at a time). I think this game is too random for 1 game to be helpful to either team in terms of game planning, and it just becomes nuts to have to run sims 1 game at a time.

2. I'd force Wig to fix the Import FTP and nodes and run a team again and possibly run the league again when Roberto gets sick of it.

3. I'd revamp training so the purple pipeline was shut off. Maybe increasing the points it takes to boost athleticism traits needs to be raised.

4. No free TC insurance. Maybe 5 points per insuree?

All good ideas except for #4. Unless you significantly nerf training player. If you get rid of training you could raise insurance way past 5 points per player.

I really like #3, Folse winning his 6th in a row is Micheal Jordan like. Not sure there should be another one.

drkavarga wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 10:34 pm
Thank you. And no trading if you have unpaid taxes would be the way to go. You don’t pay, you can’t trade.

Well this is certainly something I'd say is worth a discussion. I like bold ideas. But you and I both used trades as a way to get points the last time we had unpaid taxes, so I'm curious why the sudden 180 nowadays?

And much smarter people before me have certainly tried to tackle this thorny issue since the last sim league CBA as you will see below, but since Mamba has opened the floor...

Let's talk about debt, baby

K-100 wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 5:51 am

drkavarga wrote: Thu Feb 23, 2023 10:34 pm
Thank you. And no trading if you have unpaid taxes would be the way to go. You don’t pay, you can’t trade.

Well this is certainly something I'd say is worth a discussion. I like bold ideas. But you and I both used trades as a way to get points the last time we had unpaid taxes, so I'm curious why the sudden 180 nowadays?

And much smarter people before me have certainly tried to tackle this thorny issue since the last sim league CBA as you will see below, but since Mamba has opened the floor...

Let's talk about debt, baby

The tax system is broken. Teams having over 100 points in unpaid taxes is part of it. Hell anything over 60 is ridiculous and then add to it being over $60-$100+ million over in salary. The whole thing needs to be reworked. The league always is very top or bottom heavy, this is a way to create equilibrium instead of allowing loopholes for the rich to get rich and the poor to keep bottom dwelling or selling off their best players to the top teams when greed...I mean trade season happens.

#1: Get rid of paid training. I'd be happy to expand on it if wanted.

#2: Distribution of tax bill payments to other teams. Where the pot would be broken up every year that is paid and then distributed out to teams with the worst records that are not in debt. This would help promote teams that are struggling in a rebuild have more ability to build their teams up.

#3: Applying a bill TC like Josh suggested.

AngryBanana wrote: Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:08 am #1: Get rid of paid training. I'd be happy to expand on it if wanted.

#2: Distribution of tax bill payments to other teams. Where the pot would be broken up every year that is paid and then distributed out to teams with the worst records that are not in debt. This would help promote teams that are struggling in a rebuild have more ability to build their teams up.

#3: Applying a bill TC like Josh suggested.

I LOVE #2, put it to a vote