The "What If" Draft - Discussion

[durantbird]

I wasn’t in the top 2?

Defintely time to take a break. I’ve obviously lost the plot. I was stunned to see that this thread existed and I wasn’t quoted.

I had you first. Usually I don't reveal the rankings until the end to avoid prejudice for the finals matchup. But this time I can say me and GM were tied for first place, while you were 5 points short of first place, with Dr P also in the mix.

Though for me to say why some people put you lower. But I thought Magic George McGrady Walton was a killer four. Maybe starting Caruso? You're the one who always claims he should come off the bench lol. Maybe Magic at PF? I can't speak for others, because as I mentioned I put you first

[Snakebites]

I wasn’t in the top 2?

Defintely time to take a break. I’ve obviously lost the plot. I was stunned to see that this thread existed and I wasn’t quoted.

I had you first. Usually I don't reveal the rankings until the end to avoid prejudice for the finals matchup. But this time I can say me and GM were tied for first place, while you were 5 points short of first place, with Dr P also in the mix.

Yeah, I dunno. I thought I had the best team in this. I didn’t think it was all that close.

It’s a recurring pattern of my teams consistently doing worse than I expect. My approach hasn’t changed. The voting has, and it’s clearly drifted away from what I value. And that’s okay. People vote the way they do. But the shift is impacting my enjoyment.

I think Fade had the right idea. Time to take some time off.

[Laimbeer]

I wasn’t in the top 2?

Defintely time to take a break. I’ve obviously lost the plot. I was stunned to see that this thread existed and I wasn’t quoted.

I ranked you 3rd but FWIW these rankings were super difficult for me, especially at the top. I know this is nit-picky but 2 of my reasons were:
1) TMac wasn't quite in 02 form during his chosen season
2) As talented as TMac/PG are, I'm not entirely convinced they'd both be in their element playing in a Magic-led offense. I may have been a little biased with PG based on hist recent stint with the Clippers (Magic would generate a more free-flowing offense than Harden but it seemed PG struggled to find his rhythm in a more off-ball heavy role)

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but yeah, I absolutely don’t think it’s fair to penalize PG for his clipper years when I was using a season half a decade before that.

TMAC was still an MVP candidate and all NBA first teammer.

That said, everyone is absolutely free to vote how they choose. I’d never begrudge anyone their vote even if I disagree with it.

The facts remains my teams have consistently underperformed expectations for a long time now, and it’s clear that the way people are voting has simply moved away from how I build teams. And again, that’s fine. But I have to weigh whether these games are still enjoyable enough to devote time to. And I’m not sure they are.

I’m out for a while. These games have lost their luster for me. Maybe I’ve just been doing them too long.

Posting here since I don't think it should be done in the title game thread.

Most everyone thinks their teams under perform, at least at times. Though you and Larry seem to be a little more vocal.

I think it's overdone, but TMac gets dinged pretty hard for not using his peak season (like Shaq). For me, George is closer to a Kawhi than most here seem to think. I draft him a lot. George and off-peak TMac are two players with large variances in how they're valued.

I don't think this case is an example of talent over fit, though. I'd probably sum the talent on your team higher than DB's, but if I had to build the ultimate prototypical team for these games, it would look a lot like DB's. Paul, Sheed, Kawhi, and Dwight are about as stock as it gets.

[Larry_Russell]

I ranked you 3rd but FWIW these rankings were super difficult for me, especially at the top. I know this is nit-picky but 2 of my reasons were:
1) TMac wasn't quite in 02 form during his chosen season
2) As talented as TMac/PG are, I'm not entirely convinced they'd both be in their element playing in a Magic-led offense. I may have been a little biased with PG based on hist recent stint with the Clippers (Magic would generate a more free-flowing offense than Harden but it seemed PG struggled to find his rhythm in a more off-ball heavy role)

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but yeah, I absolutely don’t think it’s fair to penalize PG for his clipper years when I was using a season half a decade before that.

TMAC was still an MVP candidate and all NBA first teammer.

That said, everyone is absolutely free to vote how they choose. I’d never begrudge anyone their vote even if I disagree with it.

The facts remains my teams have consistently underperformed expectations for a long time now, and it’s clear that the way people are voting has simply moved away from how I build teams. And again, that’s fine. But I have to weigh whether these games are still enjoyable enough to devote time to. And I’m not sure they are.

I’m out for a while. These games have lost their luster for me. Maybe I’ve just been doing them too long.

Posting here since I don't think it should be done in the title game thread.

Most everyone thinks their teams under perform, at least at times. Though you and Larry seem to be a little more vocal.

I think it's overdone, but TMac gets dinged pretty hard for not using his peak season (like Shaq). For me, George is closer to a Kawhi than most here seem to think. I draft him a lot. George and off-peak TMac are two players with large variances in how they're valued.

I don't think this case is an example of talent over fit, though. I'd probably sum the talent on your team higher than DB's, but if I had to build the ultimate prototypical team for these games, it would look a lot like DB's. Paul, Sheed, Kawhi, and Dwight are about as stock as it gets.

Sometimes I feel like a certain brand of basketball gets overlooked for the analytics of spacing.

That said, I really leaned into the 90s on this one and just didnt see my team in the top half of rankings even though it is truthfully a pretty stacked team offensively and defensively. I think there was 4 even more stacked teams than mine.

[durantbird]

Full votes

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pdvuhQf2s7_25XLgP4sbLg3Gjvlf_sDqNLlIaLodat0/edit?usp=drivesdk

[Larry_Russell]

Full votes

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pdvuhQf2s7_25XLgP4sbLg3Gjvlf_sDqNLlIaLodat0/edit?usp=drivesdk

Not shared I think?

Says need to request access to it when you click the link

[durantbird]

Full votes

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pdvuhQf2s7_25XLgP4sbLg3Gjvlf_sDqNLlIaLodat0/edit?usp=drivesdk

Not shared I think?

Says need to request access to it when you click the link

Sorry fixed

[ReggiesKnicks]

Full votes

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pdvuhQf2s7_25XLgP4sbLg3Gjvlf_sDqNLlIaLodat0/edit?usp=drivesdk

Not shared I think?

Says need to request access to it when you click the link

Sorry fixed

Looks like there was a type. You had GeorgeMarcus ranking himself instead of Hoopsfan.

[durantbird]

Not shared I think?

Says need to request access to it when you click the link

Sorry fixed

Looks like there was a type. You had GeorgeMarcus ranking himself instead of Hoopsfan.

Thanks, fortunately doesn't affect the outcome