I have just started getting back into SL Basketball, and recently finished reading the page from the knowledge base on how the SimEngine works. I'm wondering if anyone can clarify some of the things that are said on this page. I attached a link to the page I am talking about below. 

(1) When it talks about possession percentage/rate, is this the same as usage percentage?

And (2) When it talks about an "over-possession" penalty, does this mean that if a player's possession/usage percentage relative to who else is on the floor is greater than his actual poss/usage %, he incurs a reduction in efficiency? (ie. FG%, TO%, etc.). So, if a player has 30% usage, but the aggregate usage on the floor (including his) is 80%, he will incur an efficiency penalty since his relative usage % (37.5%) is greater than his actual usage % (30%)? Does this imply the opposite, that if a player's usage is 30%, but the total usage % on the floor is 110, he will be more efficient (I don't think this would be the case)?

I have an idea about the team under-possession penalty as I have read that commonly circulated thread discussing usage %.

 

Thanks.

 

www.whatifsports.com/knowledgebase/KB_Article_Details.aspx

Posted by paladn24 on 5/22/2011 12:31:00 PM (view original):

I have just started getting back into SL Basketball, and recently finished reading the page from the knowledge base on how the SimEngine works. I'm wondering if anyone can clarify some of the things that are said on this page. I attached a link to the page I am talking about below. 

(1) When it talks about possession percentage/rate, is this the same as usage percentage?

And (2) When it talks about an "over-possession" penalty, does this mean that if a player's possession/usage percentage relative to who else is on the floor is greater than his actual poss/usage %, he incurs a reduction in efficiency? (ie. FG%, TO%, etc.). So, if a player has 30% usage, but the aggregate usage on the floor (including his) is 80%, he will incur an efficiency penalty since his relative usage % (37.5%) is greater than his actual usage % (30%)? Does this imply the opposite, that if a player's usage is 30%, but the total usage % on the floor is 110, he will be more efficient (I don't think this would be the case)?

I have an idea about the team under-possession penalty as I have read that commonly circulated thread discussing usage %.

 

Thanks.

 

www.whatifsports.com/knowledgebase/KB_Article_Details.aspx

1)  Yes.  They just never updated the terminology in their data base when they started applying the name 'usage%'.  Imagine that.

2)  You're over-complicating it.  If a player has significantly more possessions in a sim game than he would have had IRL (based on usage%), then he'll suffer a possession penalty, much like the team possession penalty described in the thread Malone linked.  If he doesn't, then he won't.

For example:

89-90 Charles Barkley has a usage% of 24.0%.  At some point in the fourth quarter, let's say Chuck has attempted 35 field goals and 16 free throws.  He has 4 turnovers already.  This is pretty significantly higher than his 24% usage would indicate for a game that season.  Every time a possession ends with him from this point out (and probably before with this extreme example), he'll have  a higher chance of turning the ball over than he normally would have.

The only way to control this is to make sure you have enough usage on your team so that you avoid both the team & individual penalties... and even then, WIS will force a bottom-tier usage% guy to attempt 20 fgas when you have three guys in the 3rd tier or above on the floor just to **** you off and screw everything up.

Haha, thanks ashamael, good information. I was over-complicating it, but I still don't understand how teams were able to be successful then with all low usage guys. In other words, what advantage does it give you to have all low usage guys (I guess before they implemented the tier structure for usage and over-possession penalties)? Or am I making that up that teams were doing that?

There was a bug where they weren't enforcing the possession penalty.  So guys would load up on people with huge efg% that had low usage and would suffer very little if any penalties for it.  Guys like Bo Outlaw & Brent Barry were the gods.  Barry still is, but he can't be your team's leading scorer.

I don't believe any team can win a championship with all low usage guys.  I just proved you can with 11 usage points, though.