Help with setting up Fantasy NBA League with just 3-4 people (1 Viewer)

[Mark Giles]

Ok, this is our first time playing Fantasy (any sport) and we are trying to find a way to challenge each other thru the duration of a regular season with the following rules:

-We start by drafting 8 players each 2 centers, 3 guards and 3 forwards. At end of season, we choose our 5 best players with the best stats given there is 1 center, 2 guards, and 2 forwards. (3 extras are in case of injuries, etc)

-We want to track multiple stats (points, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, etc)

-We do not want to have to track stats week by week.

-We want to be able to look up stats at any time during the year and figure out where we are. (no weekly head to head competition)

-Winner takes all (this is where I'm running into the problem of how do we determine winner?)


Ok, with these rules, obviously we can have a tie if, for instance, one player leads in pnts and assists, and another player leads in rebounds and blocks. So I'm trying to make it so at the end of the season, there is a clear winner, but at the same time, we want to take advantage more than one stat and also avoid tracking week by week (we just dont have the time to do that). The easy way is just to track one stat but it takes some of the strategy away if it just a all high scoring draft when we start.

Any ideas on how there can be one clear winner at the end? Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I would suggest using an online service to organize and keep track of your league. Some sites are free, while many of the better ones with more flexible scoring options will cost $$$. If you are just starting out, Yahoo offers some free services that will allow you to get your feet wet. I've never used them for basketball, but I have been in some fantasy football leagues on Yahoo.

Another suggestion would be to recruit a few more team owners. Four team leagues are not very interesting -- everyone will have only superstars on their roster. The real challenge of fantasy sports is to be able to find those hidden gem players to fill out your roster.

 

[Justin Lane]

Use Yahoo when fantasy basketball for next year becomes available. It is free and easy.

You can set up a custom points league, and choose the stats you want to count towards overall scoring. The number of players determines the max number of points in each category.

Set the positions for the 8 you are drafting. Yahoo will tally up total earned stats for the year for these 8 players, then you can figure out who had the best 5 (or just score based on 8 players).

Using the default Yahoo points league league settings will work as well, though you will have a few extra players.

Points leagues are not that fun, as typically one team runs away with the championship.

J

 

[Mark Giles]

To Justin and Scott

ok cool...so that means that we can elimate the rule:

-We want to be able to look up stats at any time during the year and figure out where we are. (no weekly head to head competition)

cause yahoo will track this for us, correct?

I believe the main way to play fantasy head to head is to play the best 3 out of 5 (if using 5 stats) per week when matching up two players. Then the winner will get one point. The one with the most points wins the season. So will Yahoo keep track of matchups between, say two of us one week, then another match up the next week?

This was the one thing that we know we will not have time to track week by week, but would be nice to go back after a month and check to see how our matchups played out for the last several weeks.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yahoo should keep track of everything for you automatically once you have setup your rules and point system. It should generate a schedule for you, keep track of points, roster transactions, standings, etc.

I have never played fantasy basketball, but for the hockey leagues I was in we setup two head-to-head matches per week (M-Th, then Fri-Sun). We also put limits on how many games each position played, but allowed each team to change its starting lineup every day. You were only allowed 82 games for each forward skating position (LW, RW, C), 164 games for the two defensemen, 82 for the goalie, etc. We also had a couple of "flex" positions that could be any skater position. Scoring was done by category -- whichever team had more goals got a point, whichever team got more assists got a point, etc. So, final scores would be something like 10-8 (can't remember how many stat categories we scored on).

Football is much simpler, since there is only one match per week, and you only need to set your lineup and make roster moves (not including trades) once per week.

 

[Mark Giles]

I will give the yahoo thing a try. This sounds like it will work perfect.

I'm not sure how the trades and roster moves works but I'm sure I'll figure it out. If it's not too complicated then we might work that in too.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

You'll definitely need to incorporate roster moves and trades. That's one of the most fun parts of fantasy sports. Since the website software manages everything for you, it's pretty easy to deal with.

 

[Mark Giles]

Scott, do you know where I can find documentation on rules on trades etc?

 

[Hunter P]

Well, I know this is not the "traditional" type of fantasy league you are seeking but I like to use:

SportingNews.com Fantasy League

They do not have basketball posted up at the moment because it is not in season. I love this fantasy league. I have played it on and off for several years now. It was called smallworld.com before SN bought it.

Anyways, what makes this game different is that you are more like a GM working under a salary cap. You start off with $50 mil and must fill out your roster. I think you get 8 ppl on your team just like you described, 2 centers, 3 forwards, and 3 guards. Points are awarded for the usual stuff: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, etc. And you get negative points for turnovers and missed shots. I'm going from memory so there might be stuff I'm missing.

Each player has a set value and you just pick your team, spending your $50 mil budget. Stats (and points) are updated daily. And every week is a major update. During this update, you are given 2 new trades to modify your team if you wish. In addition each player's value rises or lowers according to the previous week's trade activities.

For example, if Shag gets hurt and everyone on the site drops him then next week his value might drop by $1 mil or whatever. A rookie might get hot one week and go from $500k in value to $2 mil.

It's just like playing the stock market which is why I like it better than the other type of fantasy leagues. With smart trading your team could almost double in value by season's end, which would allow you to afford more superstars.

There is a free version of the game and you can set up your own private league or join a random one. The free version does allow you to purchase extra trades for $1 each. Just tell everyone not to "cheat."

 

[Hunter P]

Another nice thing about the site is that its "season" is only half of the NBA season. So there can be two "seasons" for the year. The break off point is the All-Star break.

I prefer only doing half a regular NBA season because it is hard to hold interest for 82 games spread out over several long months. Plus, the last month in an NBA season is tough for fantasy owners. Playoff teams might be taking it easy on their stars to prepare for the playoffs. Lottery teams might be mailing in their season and playing their bench more to give them more playing time.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Mark,

Everything regarding roster and trading rules should be found on the service's website. It looks like Yahoo doesn't have their NBA fantasy site up now, either, since it's offseason. You can check www.fantasysports.yahoo.com later this summer to see when it is available again.