‘DAY DREAM’ TEAM

‘DAY DREAM’ TEAM


I will admit that I am a big ‘Fantasy Sport’ fan. For the uninitiated, fantasy sport is a game where competitors act as ‘owners’ and aim to construct a team that play against others. The scoring of these games is based on the real statistics accumulated by the individual players in elite sport across the world.

A wide range of mobile apps now allow fantasy owners to track their players and teams in real time, and this has given fans a bigger chance to forge a greater individual connection to professional sport, potentially at the expense of ones’ social life!

One of the best parts about being a fantasy sports owner is actually drafting the players. Deciding who to lay your hopes on, and how to construct the perfect team from a range of criteria is highly engaging for a dedicated fantasy team owner.

Recently I have been thinking of a quick statistical formula that I could apply to some of the performances of our superstars in the MSBL, and try use this to construct a MSBL fantasy team comprising of five players.

Those that are familiar to fantasy sports know that a ‘salary cap’ or ‘points cap’ is required to make team selections when drafting players. This makes the game more challenging, and consequently engages each owner to make more complex decisions and also prevents the ‘stacking’ of teams.

I have used the average stats per game of the selected individual players up to the start of Round 13 of the 2015 MSBL season, and using a basic fantasy sport scoring system turned these stats into a total for each player. This has created a final score to help me ‘point cap’ each player. I used the following statistical criteria obtained from the ‘Fox Sports Pulse’ SBL Website, which can be found at: http://www.sbl.asn.au

Here is the fantasy scoring system I have used:

1 point per game=1 fantasy point

1 rebound per game=1.5

1 assist per game=2

1 steal per game=2

1 block per game=1.5

1 turnover per game= I took 3 points off each players total

 

* I rounded each player’s per game stats up or down to the nearest whole number.

 

Players with a higher total score within each group have been allocated a greater number of points to the left of their name (point cap) on the following ‘Draft Board.’ Please let me state that these ‘point caps’ again were derived and ordered from statistical information obtained from the formula previously stated.

In no way have I deliberately tried to rank who I believe are the ‘better’ players or have more ‘worth’ than others. I truly believe that all of the players in the SBL are highly talented and play an equal part in the team game of basketball. It is not my intention either to discredit any player not included, as I had to draw a line somewhere with total numbers of players used!

I understand that people will have different perceptions of the players that are included in the following lists. I appreciate that others will have better or smarter means of classifying stats as I have not considered minutes played, fouls, shooting percentages or double /doubles etc. I have only used the statistical information from this season, and not from entire playing careers of each individual.

I encourage SBL fans to form their own line-ups, fitting five total players under a maximum of 15 points, and by doing so, only choosing one player from each column.

 

Here is my ‘Draft Board’ for the MSBL:

 

Rules:

 

*Pick one player from each column

*Five players must be chosen

*The total ‘points’ for each fantasy team must not exceed 15 points

 

5. Nichols (South West)

5. Lane

(Cockburn)

5. Field

(Cockburn)

5. Voelkel

(South West)

5. Turner

(Perth)

4. Hobbs

(Perry Lakes)

4. Lewis

(Geraldton)

4. Swing

(Lakeside)

4. C. Land

(Rockingham)

4. Phillip

(Kalamunda)

3. T. Land

(Rockingham)

3. Harrelson

(South West)

3. Lindbergh

(Stirling)

3. Ellis

(Stirling)

3. Holmen

(Goldfields)

2. Armour

(Willetton)

2. Iliadis

(Joondalup)

2. Salinas

(Joondalup)

2. Smith

(Mandurah)

2. Davis

(Joondalup)

1. Wagner

(Perth)

1. Dech

(East Perth)

1. Purser

(Perry Lakes)

1. Cook

(Geraldton)

1. Prue

(Lakeside)

 

My picks:

 

1. Wagner             4. Lewis               1. Purser             4. C. Land            5. Turner

 

Total= 15 points

 

For my line-up I was looking for a pass first playmaker. Wagner is exactly this and he is a fierce competitor in my eyes. Benny Lewis fits nicely into my line-up as he adds instant offense from beyond the perimeter and attacking the rim. Ben Purser is one of the most balanced players in the league in my opinion as he possesses speed, strength, and can finish with finesse around the bucket. I think he is a steadfast defender with an incredible work ethic. Cooper Land is one of the most consistent players I believe in the league, and Ray Turner is an automatic choice for me as he is a basketball scoring and rebounding machine!

 

I look forward to reading through the different team choices and selections on the SBL Facebook page, but please remember that the page is intended to be a positive medium for fans to share their thoughts and ideas. When you list your team I invite you to take the time to explain your choices, I for one would be very interested. Most importantly I hope you enjoy the varied opinions of all the other SBL fans. Please be reminded that if I have ranked ‘Player A’ with a ‘1’ next to their name and you believe he should be a ‘2’ or any other similar scenario, I will kindly refer you back to my formula based on the current stats for season 2015. However any shortcomings in my maths should certainly be pointed out!

 

Before I conclude this week, I would like to congratulate all of the people involved with the organisation and running of the SBL All Star Games. It was a fantastic turnout from the fans, who in the majority donated so generously to a very worthy cause. All of the sponsors, volunteers, administrators, players, coaches and support staff represented our league in a highly professional manner. I would like to say a personal thankyou to Adam Bowler and the SBL for allowing me to contribute on the day; it is amazing to be part of the wonderful basketball community here in Western Australia.

 

I look forward to another action-packed weekend of the State Basketball League. Enjoy the games!

 

Matt Cecins

 

‘SBL Slam’: Airing Monday Evenings 9-10 pm on 98five Sonshine FM

 

http://www.98five.com/shows/other-shows/sblslam/

 

Follow Matt on Twitter @matt_cecins

 




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