NBA Supercoach Spy Talk | Building a starting squad

Troops,

We are 1 week away, so we need to really make some decisions now, and I’m here with my guide on what I think you need to do to set up a near ideal team for the season.

Picking the right players is the tricky part, but this will at least give a guide on how I’m doing it.

Let me know if you have a different way of setting things up!

Topics include:

1 – Schedule is Everything (Maximizing schedule/amount of games of the elite scorers)

2 – Finding underpriced guys to build value and upgrade your squad asap

3 – Bench thoughts

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Schedule

Regardless of how good someone is, if they only play 8 games in the first 3 weeks and someone else plays 11, then they are going to struggle to outscore them. 

Additionally, if you are deciding between 2 guys who typically average similar, then it’s a no-brainer to pick the player with the most games in the early weeks.

I’ll give some examples below based on last year’s averages.

Projected early-season scoring totals based on last season’s average

Elite tier

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($22m)

Last season average = 35.4 points per game (PPG)

Games across opening 2 weeks = 7

Projected total based average = 248 Points

Nikola Jokić ($28M)

Last season average = 45.2 PPG

Games across opening 2 weeks = 5

Projected total based  average = 226

Verdict – SGA gets more points in the opening fortnight, and you save $6M to spend elsewhere on upgrades.

Decision time then comes when Jokic’s schedule improves in week 3.

An easy 2-week look at his minutes and hopefully reduced value.

Mid Tier

Anthony Edwards ($16m)

Last season averages = 26.1PPG

Games across opening 5 weeks = 16

Projected total based on average = 418 points

Evan Mobley ($16M)

Last season averages = 27PPG

Games across opening 5 weeks = 18

Projected total based on average = 486

Verdict – Same price but 68 more points for Mobley.

Different position, I know, but just an example to demonstrate how to accrue extra points without needing to make guessing decisions.

Special mention

Victor Wembanyama ($21M)

Last season averages = 35.2PPG

Games across opening 7 weeks = 22

Projected total based on average = 774

V

Jalen Johnson ($17M)

Last season averages = 27.7PPG

Games across opening 7 weeks = 25

Projected total based on average = 692

V

Giannis Antetokounmpo ($23M)

Last season averages = 37.6PPG

Games across opening 7 weeks = 25

Projected total based on average = 940

Verdict – In this, Giannis is a CLEAR selection over Wemby based solely on numbers, whereas Jalen Johnson can get within 80 points (based only on last yr) and you can upgrade the $4M saved to another position who has max games.

It makes Wemby a riskier start, but not out of the question if he can go to another level.

Consensus

Don’t let this be the be all but it’s a great way to look at it.

I’m personally looking at as many games as possible for the guys who I think are either undervalued, especially mid-rangers, or that won’t lose value (for the more elite guys), who I’m banking on for the big points and for captaincy options.

It’s a great way to tie-break between guys at a similar price.

The next phase of that would be to project out long term, knowing you have 3 trades per week plus boosts, and how to maximise games in the long run, and particularly maximise games for your best players because 4 games of Jokic on any given week at 45PPG = 180 x2 as captain 360 points!

Must-have stuff if he is doing that.

Therefore, I’ll be looking to make trades on my big dogs and not play around much with the cheaper guys who might get me an extra few points if we were to use a trade on them (say an extra 2 games over 2 weeks of 20PPG = 40 total).

Not necessarily worth it in my opinion unless they also make you money, and if you’re elite squad members are already set and you have trades spare.

My Formula = Max games for the elite scoring players is the key, it seems built around a squad of cheaper and mid-range guys with good schedules who can score ok but crucially make you money early to upgrade your squad asap.

The caveat would be a gun must have cheapie like Cooper Flagg, who you would start at his price regardless of the game’s schedule (it just so happens to be ok schedule for him).

The tough call on the cheap, exciting rookies is whether to play them in your starting side or sit them on your bench.

Again, the game schedule for each week is big here, but starting 1 or 2 does open up big spending elsewhere.

Final thoughts – Bench players

I want to spend as little money here as possible in order to spend up on my starters, especially considering you can use 3 trades a week if injuries strike, and your bench players will rarely be used as auto subs for injured players.

This is because as soon as one of your guys plays 3 minutes in a week, their score is locked in, even if they don’t play again.

However, if you can find guys who can step in in the case of an emergency and score ok as well as make money, that’s gold!

You can then either hold them as cover long-term or downgrade them later to free up cash to upgrade your starting side.

This is the part I’m trying to figure out still, with regard to how much to spend, and I’m open to discussion and thoughts!

Luckily, I have a week to decide still.

Thanks Legends!