UBA LINEUP SETTINGS
The following is a general explanation of the UBA lineup settings, and some advice on how to use them.
CONDITION:
Each player basically has three separate lineups (Normal, Crunch, and Blowout). Which lineup is being used at any time depends on the the parameters you use to trigger the Crunch and Blowout conditions for the entire team.
Crunch: If your team is up by the number of points indicated or fewer, or down by the number of points indicated or fewer AND there is less time in the game than there is in the Time setting, then the team is in Crunch Condition.
This is generally the lineup you want on the floor when the game is on the line at the end of the 4th quarter.
Blowout: If your team is up by the number of points indicated or more, or down by the number of points indicated or more AND there is less time in the game than there is in the Time setting, then the team is in Blowout Condition.
This is generally the lineup you want on the floor when the game is out of hand and you want to rest injury prone players, or just want to give the scrubs some playing time.
Normal: If your team does not qualify for Crunch or Blowout, it is in Normal Condition.
This is the lineup used throughout most of the game.
PRIORITY:
Indicates the priority this player will receive when being considered for this position. "1" is the best priority number you can have. Players with lower priority numbers will be inserted into the lineup ahead of players with higher priority numbers. The priority number you give each player at each position determines which Rotation Tier they will be in for that position.
The three separate tiers are:
Primary: Priority numbers 1-9. Players with priority numbers of 1-9 for each position are in the Primary rotation for that position. Players in this tier will be given first consideration to be inserted into the lineup at this position.
Secondary: Priority numbers 11-19. Players with priority numbers of 11-19 for each position are in the Secondary rotation for that position. Players in this tier will be considered to be inserted into that lineup at this position only if all the Primary Tier players are unavailable due to:
a) Foul Trouble -- The player's FT2 setting has been triggered. b) Fatigue -- The player has fatigued well beyond his FAT setting. c) Injury, fouled out, or has received two technical fouls.
Emergency: Priority numbers 21-29. Players with priority numbers of 21-29 for each position are in the Emergency rotation for that position. Players in this tier will never get into the lineup at that position unless all players in the Primary and Secondary Tier are unavailable due to Injury, fouling out, or having received two technical fouls. Notes: You can have two players with the same priority at a position. This is a good way to have 3 players cover 2 positions when you want them to all get plenty of playing time.
FATIGUE:
The FAT setting determines when you want a player to take a breather on the bench. When the player reaches a fatigue rating higher than his FAT setting, he will be subbed for another player (providing that a likely candidate exists). The player will usually return when his fatigue rating returns to three below his FAT setting (but it sometimes varies depending on the other players available at his position).
Each player on the floor will fatigue based on their actual minutes played per game, and each player will also rest according to their actual minutes played per game. Players that averaged more minutes per game will fatigue slower and rest faster than other players.
The Fatigue ratings are:
1-7 Not Fatigued 8 Sligtly Fatigued 9 Fatigued 10 Out of Gas
Players that are fatigued suffer in several aspects of the game (FG%, FT%, 3P%, rebounding, assist rate, steal rate, and blocked shot rate).
Notes: For realistic lineup rotations, try selecting 5-7 for a player's Normal FAT settings, and 8-10 for their Crunch settings. Be careful putting players at FAT 9 or 10 though. Unless the talent gap is large between players, a rested player is usually more effective than an extremely fatigued player -- even if the fatigued player is better than the rested player.
SETTING THE RIGHT OI NUMBERS:
Next to using the Priority and Fatigue system, the OI is probably the most important part of the lineup. With OI, you control your teams overall FG% and turnover rate.
In general, you want to set the OI for each player so that he helps the team get a better fg%, without sacraficing too much in the turnover department. Too often, coaches will assign an OI of 4 or 5 to a high scoring player, just to get him to score more points. The result is, the player may score more points per game, but the overall effectiveness of the team's offense is decreased due to the star player's decreased fg% and assist rate. However, some stars actually do help the offense with an OI of 4 or 5; so how do you know when it's right? Here's a guideline as to which types of players do better with each type of OI:
OI = 1: Not many players fall under this category since it decreases fg% and increases turnovers. But, point guards that have a lousy fg% and a good assist rate could do very well -- as long as their turnover rate isn't too bad. Otherwise, unless the players assist rate is good, the player may do better with an OI of 2 since this will give them a better fg%.
OI = 2: There are two types of players that will benefit from this. 1. The player with a lower than desired fg%, but a good assist rate (again, as long as the turnover rate isn't too bad). Most points guards are ideal for an OI of 2. Not only will their fg% get better, but their increased assist rate will help the entire team, usually outweighing the negative side of increased turnovers. 2. A player with a lower than desired fg% along with a low turnover rate -- regardless of assist rate. If the players turnover rate is low, it's a no lose situation.
OI = 3: Anyone who doesn't fit the profile of 1,2,4,5. Three is usually a safe bet if altering the OI will have too many bad side effects. For example, a player with a low fg%, decent assist rate, but high turnover rate would be better off left at 3 since an OI of 2 may result in too many turnovers. Or a player with a good fg%, good assist rate, and low turnover rate may be better off at 3 than 4 or 5 since his assist rate may come in handy at 3 -- since turnovers aren't that bad.
OI = 4: A player with a good fg%, low assist rate, high turnover rate would be ideal for an OI of 4. Their fg% would suffer, but if it's good in the first place, it shouldn't be too much worse -- especially if some of your point guards are dishing him some assists. Assist rate is already low so it doesn't matter much, and turnovers would also decrease.
OI = 5: Same as 4, but only for players with an excellent fg%.
DI AND RI:
The main thing to remember about these settings is to maximize them against the player's foul rate. If a player is a good rebounder, but fouls alot, it may be better to leave him at 3. If he's not a very good rebounder, but fouls very little, it probably wouldn't hurt to increase his RI to 4 or 5 anyways.
If a player is a poor defender, but good rebounder and has a fairly high foul rate, it would be a good idea to lower his DI and raise his RI.
FOUL TROUBLE SETTINGS:
There are three separate Foul Trouble Settings, which are used in conjunction to try to keep a player from fouling out of a game.
FT (Foul Trouble) -- A rating from 1 to 10 (1 being the most cautious) that indicates when you want to "Tone Down"a player (have him back off on defense and rebounding). TD (Tone Down) -- A rating from 1 to 4 indicating the amount you want to tone a player's DI and RI down once he has set off the FT rating described above.
FT2 (Foul Trouble 2) -- A rating from 1 to 10 (1 being the most cautious) that indicates when you want to bench a player to prevent him from picking up another foul.
The program constantly checks how much foul trouble a player is in based on how many fouls they have committed and how much time is left in the game. If a player is determined to be in enough foul trouble to trigger FT or FT2, the program will Tone the player Down, or take him out of the game, depending on which setting is triggered.
For example: Player A has an FT setting of 5, a TD of 2, and an FT2 of 7. If at any time during the game the program determines that Player A's actual foul trouble is 5 or 6, then Player A's DI and RI will be reduced by 2 (but no lower than 1). If Player A gets into further foul trouble (7 or greater) then he will be taken out of the game until his actual foul trouble drops below 7.
Note: Availability of an appropriate sub will sometimes determine if a player is taken out of the game, even if his FT2 setting is triggered.
In general, the more valuable a player is (and the higher is foul rate), the more you want to protect him with the FT settings. Players that are essential to your lineup but not necessarily foul prone can usually get by with and FT of 7, a Tone of 1, and an FT2 of 9. Players that are valuable but foul prone are usually better off at FT of 5, Tone of 2 or 3, and FT2 of 7. These are just general guidlines though -- your mileage may vary.