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Not naming any names, some people have asked how to maximize our games despite being in the league for three years. See the little "Game Limits (Cur/Max)* --/22 games played" thing during your head-to-head matchups? That's where you can see games played each week. A quick primer for the rest.
Why have a weekly games limit cap?In its conception, SlamNation should mirror a NBA team, with eight players in the playing rotation -- five starters and three subs -- and the four bench spots are mostly unused bench players. That's why our game limits cap is so low. 29 games per week works out to about 3.625 games for each of the eight main players, which is about how many games each NBA player averages per week during their regular season. Note: Last year we adjusted the games max cap higher because of the compressed lockout schedule.
The idea around having a cap is to prevent streaming free agents and making fantasy basketball just about who gets to play more guys.
What is the soft versus hard cap?
The soft cap is 22, while the hard cap is 29. This is because it's possible to exceed the soft cap by remaining one game under 22 and then putting in up to eight players the next day, to get to 29 total (21+8). The hard cap is the real number of games counted each week, while the soft cap is just what we have to use because ESPN's system is weird like that. [Changed to 21 soft, 28 hard, in 2019]
The reason ESPN doesn't count individual games that last day is because who's to say which games are worth more on that final day so ESPN counts them all. Power tip: As a savvy coach, you're supposed to try to get to 29 games played.
How do I use the soft cap to my advantage?
As long as you are under the 22 game cap, you can throw in all of the next day's games. So ideally you want to hit Saturday night at 21 games, then put in eight players for Sunday's games. That gives you 21+8 to equal 29 games total. You'll see 29/22 games played. Success!
Also, it doesn't have to be Saturday that you try to be one under the cap. If you don't have a lot of games coming up on a Sunday, sometimes you'll go for under the cap on Friday and then jam in all the games on Saturday. Make sense?
What's the easiest way to do this?
Just count each week how many games your top eight are going to play. I like to start on Saturday and count back to twenty one, then jam in everyone I can on Sunday. Figure out whatever method works for you.
In theory you don't have to touch your lineup each week because the bench can just sit there, but injuries, players' ups and downs, and weekly matchups will affect your actual playing rotation.
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"ESPN fantasy leagues utilize a 'soft cap' games limit rule, capping total games played in a matchup, but allowing a team to exceed the cap on the final day if they start it under the limit. Once the cap is hit, players in subsequent days (or the rest of the match) do not earn points, typically after the final day's games finish, providing a 'soft' cap that allows for huge Sunday."
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