More Information about the IBA One of the best ways to get a handle on what the IBA is about is to tool around in the IBA archive. For example, have a look at the home page for IBA 2009 League 1. Though the IBA 2009 season is over, you can navigate the links and see some of the IBA utilities for yourself. During the discussion that follows, links back to the IBA 2009 web site are used to illustrate the general functionality of a specific utility (when applicable). The differences between the 2009 and 2010 utilities are minor. The Draft Once you sign up for the IBA, you will be invited to participate in the interactive draft. In the draft, you will be allowed to hand pick your first five players (the rest of which will be assigned to you by the draft scripting engine). The draft is done on-line and at a time that each coach in the league mutually agrees upon. The order of the draft is based upon the previous years regular season finish, i.e. those teams that finished with the worst record pick first (just like in the NBA). If you didn't play in the IBA last year, your draft pick will be inserted between 1) those teams who played last year and did not make the playoffs, and 2) those teams who played last year and did make the playoffs. The first pick of the first round of the draft is made by the team in the #1 drafting spot. The last pick of the first round of the draft is made by the team with the #16 drafting spot. The subsequent rounds of the draft then alternate 16->1, 1->16, etc. So the #1 drafting team gets the #1 and #32 picks in the draft overall, whereas the #16 drafting team gets the #16 and #17 picks in the draft overall. The draft is set up well before the season starts and each player is given a generous amount of time (within reason) to make their picks. The "slow" format of the draft allows for each coach to make their picks without disrupting their non-fanstasy-basketball commitments. Typically, only the first 10 rounds are done manually by the IBA coaches. Though sometimes the draft rounds are extended or shortened depending on how much time is available. Please see the IBA 2009 League 2 Draft Board for an example of how an IBA draft unfolds. The players you see in the draft are ordered by their TENDEX ratio sorted from highest to lowest. The TENDEX is a ratio computed from several key statistical data points: 1) points scored, 2) assists, 3) steals, 4) rebounds, 5) blocks, 6) turnovers, 7) field goals attempted, 8) field goals made, 9) free throws attempted, 10) free throws made, and 11) minutes played. The player's number of fouls is also considered but isn't used in the ratio itself; instead it is used in the gameplay as an IBA game is played ... but tsk tsk, don't worry about that for now (the curious reader is referred to the presentation of IBA gameplay minutiae; but try and come back here and pick up where you left off). Here is the formula used to compute the TENDEX ratio: pts + asst + steal + reb + blck - to - (fga - fgm) - (fta - ftm) TENDEX = ------------------------------------------------------------------ minutes played Before the draft begins, you should prepare for the draft by reviewing the TENDEX leaders for the current year. But perhaps more important, is the historical data of players for previous years (see TENDEX leaders for 2009, TENDEX leaders for 2008). On each of the leader pages you can follow the player name links to review the statistical information for a specific player (for example, see Chris Paul). On these player stats pages, a summary of year by year statistical information is available as well as game by game statistical data for the games played in the last few days. Other useful links on the player stat pages include a player statistical graphs link (for example, see Chris Paul), and links to Roto News sites. As a general rule, you should attempt to draft players with the highest TENDEX ratio. There are exceptions of course, for example, you may consider the age of a player, the liklihood of injury, or the promise of a newly found starting role as a reason to overlook a player with a higher TENDEX in favor of another with a lower TENDEX. Remember that once you select or overlook a player, your decision is final... and as always, hindsight is 20/20. Botching a pick in the IBA draft can leave you with a hollow feeling inside; a feeling comparable to getting your stock portfolio value sliced in half in a single day (depending on the size of your portfolio). The Lineup, Gameplay Overview, and Scouting Reports Once the draft is complete, your new recruits can be managed using the IBA lineup management wizard (see example). Like the NBA, you will need to pare your lineup down to 12 active players. You are also allowed (like the NBA) to put 3 players on injured reserve. You will note that there are links on the lineup management wizard that allow you to shuffle your players up and down in the depth chart. You can also place players on the IL, activate players from the IL, change the active position of players (if applicable), cut players, and sign new players. You can also review your upcoming schedule, previous team results, your transaction history, and scouting reports (see links at top of the example page). You'll also want to take note that in addition to the 12-person limit of active players on your roster and the 3-person IL maximum, there are other restrictions placed on your lineup. For example, if you sign on a new player, you must keep that player on your roster for a minimum of 10 days. This mimics the 10-day contract minimum the NBA places on all NBA franchises. A player after he is signed must also undergo a 24-hour "examination process" before that player can actively play for your IBA team. This is meant to mimic the NBA in that once a player is signed typically that player must undergo a physical examination. It is also in place to discourage "ringer" action. You must also leave a player on the IL for a minimum of 1 day. This loosely mimics the 1-game requirement that is found in the NBA. The main function of the lineup management wizard is to order your players for your upcoming IBA contests. The goal, of course, is to try and set your lineup such that you produce a maxiumum amount of points which hopefully is more points then your opponent will score. Setting your lineup is in part scientific and in part a feeling deep down in your gut (yes, that far down) -- it is the yin and the yang at the core of the IBA experience. Of course, you cannot efficiently set your lineup without first having an understanding of how the gameplay works. A brief overview is presented here (the curious reader is referred to the presentation of IBA gameplay minutiae). Each IBA contest is split into minutes, 240 minutes of gamplay for each team (why 240? 5 players * 4 quarters * 12 minutes/quarter). Of those 240 minutes, 48 of which are designated as "Center" minutes, 96 are designated as "Forward" minutes, and 96 are designated as "Guard" minutes. You can look at it this way: your starting center plays 38 minutes; your backup center plays 10 your two starting forwards play 38 minutes each; your backup forward plays 20 minutes your two starting guards play 38 minutes each; your backup guard plays 20 minutes This is just a general rule. Sometimes the centers, forwards, or guards you have in your lineup may not have played enough minutes in their NBA game or perhaps fouled out. When your starting players foul out or can't field minutes, then the backups start picking up the extra time. Points are scored in IBA games by multiplying a player's TENDEX (see the formula listed above) by the number of minutes that player plays in an IBA game. For example, consider the following line for Chris Paul: MIN FGM/FGA FTM/FTA 3PM/3PA REB AST STL BLK TO PTS PF 34 10/21 6/8 2/4 3 11 4 2 6 28 2 The TENDEX is computed by taking the good stats (pts + asst + reb + stl + blck); subtracting the bad (missed ft + missed fg + to); and dividing my minutes played. In this case it would be (28+3+11+4+2-11-2-6) / 34 or 0.853. Since the IBA contest would play Chris Paul for 38 minutes, a fraction of the numbers from Paul's previous game would also be computed and averaged into the numbers. But for the sake of this example, let's assume that the numbers for the NBA game Paul played in before the example above were a little poorer and his effective 38 minute TENDEX was dragged down to 0.825. His IBA gameplay productivity would then be computed as 38 IBA minutes mulitple by his TENDEX (0.825) to compute to 31.35 points for the IBA game. Each player that you position in your lineup for your IBA game is treated in this same manner. The gameplay engine first decides how many IBA game minutes are available for the player (38, or 20, or 10, or whatever); then the gameplay engine determines what that player's effective TENDEX would be for that amount of minutes by looking at that players last NBA game performances (the gameplay engine only looks back three games for player data); then the gameplay engine multiplies that effective TENDEX value by the number of IBA game minutes to produce the IBA points scored. Then obviously, each player's IBA points are summed to produced your total IBA game score. The same process is repeated for your opponent and whoever scores the most points wins. Please refer to the following examples from the IBA 2009 season to help you get a general feel for how IBA contests are scored: Nov 12 2008: Celtics at 76ers Nov 12 2008: Raptors at Wizards Nov 12 2008: Jazz at Nuggets Nov 12 2008: Warriors at Spurs Now that you have a handle on how the IBA games are scored, you can effectively set your lineup for your own games. When setting your lineup, you want to place your players with the best stats at the top of your lineup order. But, don't look at the overall season stats first, look at the stats for their most recent three games. This is neatly summarized using the "Scouting Reports" link provided near the upper left of your lineup listing (see example page). On your scouting report you can see a summary of the stats for each of the games your players most recently participated in. You can also use the left hand menu items on your scouting report to view the projected theoretical gameplay (see example page). The scouting report is a convenient and valuable tool that you should consult on each day of your IBA contests. One thing that the scouting reports are particularly useful for is to allow you to quickly isolate the 'idle' players on your lineup, or those players which do not participate in an NBA contest on the same day as your IBA game. The stats that these idle players had in their previous NBA games will determine where you place that player in your lineup for your IBA game. If the 'idle' player had good stats, you would do well to put that player at the top of your lineup since you will be guaranteed those corresponding points in your IBA game. Conversely, you will want to place an 'idle' player with bad stats in his previous game low on your lineup order. Obviously, the scouting reports cannot project data for those 'non-idle' players on your lineup (i.e. those who participate in an NBA game on the same day as your IBA game), so you'll need to use your own good judgement (your gut feelings) when ordering those players in your lineups. You might base your decision on a number of factors: including what the opponent they will be facing; whether the player is playing at home or on the road; whether the player is playing back to back games; and of course, the overall TENDEX ratio of the player should probably be considered. One thing you will want to note about your lineup and your scheduled IBA contests. On the days of your scheduled IBA games, you must have your lineup set by 6:15pm MST (5:15pm PST, 8:15pm EST). At this time the lineups are "frozen", or more correctly, a snapshot is saved of your lineup configuration to be used for the IBA gameplay engine. The IBA games are not played on the day they are scheduled per se, they are actually played the following morning at around 7:45am MST (6:45am PST, 9:45am EST) since the NBA stats cannot be downloaded until the following morning. Player Transactions So your promising draft pick turned out to be a flash in the pan eh? Your old veteran gave his kidney up to a former college alum and is out 6-8 weeks? Don't worry, in the IBA there are always players available to sign to a 10-day contract. If things work out, you can keep the player on for the rest of the season. There are many 'journeymen' in the IBA; players that play for 10 days on a team, are cut, and then picked up by another team for 10 days. Finding these journeymen by watching cable or the internet as the games unfold can be a tedious process (though it is often done by the more zealous IBA coaches). But the reward of finding that rare journeyman gem after starring bug-eyed at the TV or a monitor can be unbelievably fulfilling. The opportunity alone to gloat over your find to the IBA coaches mailing list is reason enough for many to hunt. For those that keep regular sleeping hours, the "Available Players" statistical report (see example) can be used to isolate possible players that could help your team out in a pinch. Once found, these journeyman can be signed to your lineup for a 10-day contract using your lineup management wizards. Of course, in order to make room for your newly signed player, you may need to cut a player from your lineup. This utility is available in your lineup management wizard (see example lineup wizard). You can also make trades with other willing IBA coaches. Simply contact a fellow coach and make your offer. If the coaches involved in the trade mutually consent, send the trade to the league commissioner to have it approved and finalized. Your transaction history is tracked and can be reviewed at any time using the link provided in your lineup management wizard (see example). Player acquisitions, player releases, injured reserve activations, and placements on the injured list are all tracked. Your micromanagement skills can reap you rewards in terms of W's, so keep a close eye on your lineup and your eyes open for any available players that have a good night (followed by a few days of not playing <wink>). Season Schedule A rigorous 82 game schedule is built for each IBA league. The schedule is composed of 8 contests with each of your three division rivals (24 games), 6 contests with your other four conference opponents (24 games), and 4 contests with each of your non-conference foes (32 games). You are also scheduled an additional 2 contests with one of your non-conference foes to make the total add up to 82. Team Results League Standings Team Ranking and Coaching Efficiency Ratings Post-season Playoffs Credits The Wonder Twins originally conceived the IBA. Over the course of many years, the IBA evolved from a single on-paper fantasy league to the multiple on-line fantasy leagues today. Most of the code for the IBA is currently maintained by Space Ghost.