Tuning BasketballCoach Logic + In Season Player Updates

Happy New Year. I hope people have been enjoying the 2024-25 season, as have I. There’s been a number of interesting trends taking place this year – most notably the increase in three-point attempts. It feels like every team is trying to make half of all shot attempts come from behind the arc. I’m looking to tune the frequency of three-point attempts in Basketball Coach to reflect this.

We’ve also seen some interesting trades:

1. Dennis Schroeder to the Warriors, De’Anthony Melton to the Nets (already updated in Basketball Coach). I expected Schroeder to be a backup for Stephen Curry, but he’s started every game so far. His shooting has been terrible so far, but I think his ability to handle the ball makes for interesting lineup possibilities for the Warriors.

Both in real life and in simulation, the Warriors offense collapses with Curry on the bench. The lack of another playmaker that can also score was glaring, and I end up playing Steph for ~40 minutes each game to stay competitive with good teams. With Schroeder now, you can run lineups with them together or separate and still maintain some good passing ability and offensive IQ. The Nets, on the other hand, became much worse after losing their best playmaker for others. Lucky for them, they might’ve found their replacement in the next trade.

– D’Angelo Russell to the Nets, Dorian Finney-Smith to the Lakers (will be updated sometime after this post). I believe this trade will be really good for the Lakers. DFS provides great shooting, versatile defense and overall solid decision-making on both ends of the court. Lebron and Anthony Davis are still star level players, and Austin Reaves has been an excellent third option (recently upgraded in player tier).

Their main issue seems to be depth, especially on the defensive end. Russell was a big component of their poor defense, and this trade should benefit the Lakers greatly on that end. They might miss his playmaking a bit, and will need to rely even more on Reaves for playmaking. For Russell, I’m expecting him to have a heavily expanded offensive role in Brooklyn, and potentially even get back to his original stats as a Net. However, the backcourt of Russell and Cam Thomas will probably be the worst defensively in the league.

I’m interested in seeing what happens next, and what other changes in the NBA this season that I should integrate into the Basketball Coach simulation experience. I can’t always get around to every single G League or 10 day signing, but I’m happy to accommodate any specific requests for updates. This includes roster updates, or even team performance updates. Do you think your favorite team is too bad? Maybe some teams are too good? Feel free to let me know.

As always, thanks for playing.