1975; That was the year that wasn
Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:17 pm
“1975; That was the year that wasn’t.”
Why did I pick 1975? This is the year that the ABA finally achieved virtual parity in terms of average talent with the NBA. So, you have two rival leagues, each with their own stars. In addition, this is a seriously bad year for Kareem, the best player in basketball, so there is not nearly as big a gap between top talent and second tier talent. The theory is that the two league merge and contract with the weaker teams being cannon fodder or contracted out and their players split up in a dispersal draft among the stronger teams.
A few rules to make this ATL unique:
(1) You choose a team which gives you a coach and core of players (50 game minimum, all players play for the team they ended the season with). It also gives you a team culture and identity which might or might not be important.
(2) There are only 4 rounds of the draft. Teams pick in reverse order of their winning percentage each round with ABA teams who played 84 games each subtracting 2 wins from their total. Ties are broken by B-R.com’s SRS rating (higher rating picks later). This should give teams 2-3 new starters and at least 4 rotation players, moving the weaker players down the depth charts or onto the waiver wires. Since weaker teams pick first, they should be strengthened more than the teams with better records so it should even things up. This should also speed up the drafting process.
(3) Then there will be one week for initial writeups. After that comes the regular season. Posters will have two weeks to write up each head to head matchup (please pick a winner -- no ties) for every pair of teams not involving their own. Each writeup that is turned in (must have at least a short explanation of reasons) counts as finishing one home game over .500; each writeup that the writer favors your team counts as finishing one away game over .500 while each writeup that you lose counts as finishing one away game under .500. Thus doing the writeups is rewarded as well as having a good team. And, there is no set number of teams that are required to be in the league.
(4) Finally, the top 4 records in the league go head to head in the playoffs (1 v. 4, 2 v. 3) with home court advantage to the higher seeds. Ties will be determined by head to head record in the writeups. If desired, we can get outside judges for the playoffs since the GMs have all done more than their share of writeups. This should be done within two weeks, one for each round.
Total: 5 weeks. NBA RULES (ie. No 3 point shot), ABA REFS (by paying better, they had raided many of the NBA’s best referees and this way the ABA stars also get star treatment)
Let me know what team you want to play if you are interested.
Plus . . . Comments? Problems? Suggestions?
As an example, I will choose either Milwaukee or Kentucky as my team. Milwaukee has one great player, one outstanding support player, but no one else on the roster is more than a rotation caliber reserve. So, if I choose to run an 8 man rotation, I will need to draft a starting PF, 2 starting guards, and a 6th man. Then I will have to convince people that the new players can turn around Milwaukee’s culture (coach, Kareem’s alienation, etc.). If someone really wants Milwaukee and no one else wants Kentucky I will play them instead. They also have a top center, plus a terrific PF. Dampier was a good PG but without the 3 pt rule, he might be better as a reserve; Wil Jones is a solid defensive 3; my top priority would be upgrading the guards. They had a winning culture and will pick 4th to last if the 3 teams with better records (Denver, Washington, Boston) are playing. Downside is convincing people how well the ABA numbers will hold up in interleague play and the value of their 3 point shooters.
1. Bob McAdoo
2. George McGinnis
Why did I pick 1975? This is the year that the ABA finally achieved virtual parity in terms of average talent with the NBA. So, you have two rival leagues, each with their own stars. In addition, this is a seriously bad year for Kareem, the best player in basketball, so there is not nearly as big a gap between top talent and second tier talent. The theory is that the two league merge and contract with the weaker teams being cannon fodder or contracted out and their players split up in a dispersal draft among the stronger teams.
A few rules to make this ATL unique:
(1) You choose a team which gives you a coach and core of players (50 game minimum, all players play for the team they ended the season with). It also gives you a team culture and identity which might or might not be important.
(2) There are only 4 rounds of the draft. Teams pick in reverse order of their winning percentage each round with ABA teams who played 84 games each subtracting 2 wins from their total. Ties are broken by B-R.com’s SRS rating (higher rating picks later). This should give teams 2-3 new starters and at least 4 rotation players, moving the weaker players down the depth charts or onto the waiver wires. Since weaker teams pick first, they should be strengthened more than the teams with better records so it should even things up. This should also speed up the drafting process.
(3) Then there will be one week for initial writeups. After that comes the regular season. Posters will have two weeks to write up each head to head matchup (please pick a winner -- no ties) for every pair of teams not involving their own. Each writeup that is turned in (must have at least a short explanation of reasons) counts as finishing one home game over .500; each writeup that the writer favors your team counts as finishing one away game over .500 while each writeup that you lose counts as finishing one away game under .500. Thus doing the writeups is rewarded as well as having a good team. And, there is no set number of teams that are required to be in the league.
(4) Finally, the top 4 records in the league go head to head in the playoffs (1 v. 4, 2 v. 3) with home court advantage to the higher seeds. Ties will be determined by head to head record in the writeups. If desired, we can get outside judges for the playoffs since the GMs have all done more than their share of writeups. This should be done within two weeks, one for each round.
Total: 5 weeks. NBA RULES (ie. No 3 point shot), ABA REFS (by paying better, they had raided many of the NBA’s best referees and this way the ABA stars also get star treatment)
Let me know what team you want to play if you are interested.
Plus . . . Comments? Problems? Suggestions?
As an example, I will choose either Milwaukee or Kentucky as my team. Milwaukee has one great player, one outstanding support player, but no one else on the roster is more than a rotation caliber reserve. So, if I choose to run an 8 man rotation, I will need to draft a starting PF, 2 starting guards, and a 6th man. Then I will have to convince people that the new players can turn around Milwaukee’s culture (coach, Kareem’s alienation, etc.). If someone really wants Milwaukee and no one else wants Kentucky I will play them instead. They also have a top center, plus a terrific PF. Dampier was a good PG but without the 3 pt rule, he might be better as a reserve; Wil Jones is a solid defensive 3; my top priority would be upgrading the guards. They had a winning culture and will pick 4th to last if the 3 teams with better records (Denver, Washington, Boston) are playing. Downside is convincing people how well the ABA numbers will hold up in interleague play and the value of their 3 point shooters.
1. Bob McAdoo
2. George McGinnis
