A GUIDE ON PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS
Disclaimer: we’ve been around DDS22 long enough to understand how it might work. And this could work as a guide for new GMs on how to properly use instructions and set up player floor ranges and ball actions, but could also help whoever struggles with to understand how the engine works overall.
Everyone will have its own understanding on how to properly instruct players, but it’s well known those player tendencies have massive impact in their performance, and correctly instructing a player means the difference between having a guy who hurts your team offensively or someone who can be of good help even on lower usage, if necessary. Not every player has the shooting or scoring ratings to be a scoring machine and that’s all right, as long as they can contribute somewhere else, they can benefit from improved efficiency and lower volume.
So, here are some thoughts on this and how to build good, efficient players. Keep in mind some of these are still being tested out but there are ways to experiment and things that haven’t been discovered as a league overall.
1- PLAYER LIMITATIONS
What I usually do is I look at some specific player ratings such as FGI, FGJ, SCR, HDL, ORB, DRFL plus player potential database and it’s shooting ratings to understand what a player SHOULDN’T be doing on the court. If you have past scouts on that player, even better, but it’s not 100% necessary.
Mitigating the negative effects of bad shots is more important than trying to up volume of good ones and can fix a lot of CSL player who have trouble with efficiency. Not every player was created to score from the post or from mid range for example, so understanding what a player cannot do and eliminating it is the first step towards adjusting player preferences.
2- FLOOR RANGES
After understanding what a player can’t do, it’s time to understand how it impacts floor ranges. Keep in mind those does not means which kind of shots your players will take, that also depends on ball actions which will be explained after, but rather the areas of the court a player will look to be.
For example, if a player cannot score from inside (paint / rim) but is an excellent offensive rebounder, he should still have some post floor range so he can utilize his good ORB rating, as there are ways to mitigate his shots from inside.
Players who are constantly above the break seems to get more touches than others, as they tend to initiate the offense, even if they are not PGs.
Now, an example of how to properly set ball actions of three players:
PLAYER A has great inside game and rebounding capabilities, and can’t shoot at all. This player should be as close to the post as possible, as he does not offer good spacing and his likely ball actions will benefit massively from initiating his actions closer to the rim.
PLAYER B can’t score inside to justify being there, but has solid shooting across both mid range and from deep at all levels. It would only make sense for this player to be around the post on offense if his ORB rating is good enough for him to attack the boards. If not, he should stay away from the post as much as possible and initiate his ball actions from the break / corner / mid range areas only. How much each area can have is extremely dependent on the playmaking ability (passing and handling), the need for more touches, and most important of all, shooting ratings, which will show how good a player can shoot.
PLAYER C is someone who has excellent shooting ratings from all three levels. That means that player can be spending time on all four areas (post / mid / corner / break) without hurting his shooting efficiency. With the way DDS22 works, the more versatile the player is, the more areas he can score from, the more floor ranges he can have points in, will naturally increase his shooting volume, as progression isn’t likely to be linear. A one trick pony with all 100 points located in the corner won’t get the same amount of three point attempts than another player who has points distributed between corner and above the break. Scoring rating also takes a part here as naturally gifted scorers might have some boosts in mid range and post efficiency, increasing the likelyhood of being versatile, high volume players. But if he shooting rating is not good enough, not even a good scoring rating can save the player from inefficient shots from any area.
Spacing matters in DDS22 as it opens up driving lanes, making it easier to reach the rim, where usually the most efficient shots are. So having players on the perimeter / mid range and outside of the paint can be very helpful. But it’s more important to have and efficient player than a floor spacer, even if that means packing the paint with multiple guys there at once if your players can’t score efficiently from mid / deep.
3- PASS PERCENTAGE
The most important aspect of ball actions is the passing percentage. In the CSL, every player preference can be change, except for pass %, which is fixed once the player gets created and drafted and will stay the same for his whole career. This will determine how many points a player can distribute for his other five ball actions (drive and pass, drive and shoot, post up, catch and shoot, pull up jumpers). A higher pass % means the player can naturally take less shots, but that also means each ball action point is even more impactful and important on how a player will behave. A player with high scoring rating and low pass % will benefit a lot from all the points he can distribute in all other ball actions as he can naturally create his own shot, so he can take advantage of all the high volume he can generate.
4- BALL ACTIONS
Here it gets more complex as outside of pass percentage, there are other 5 ball actions mentioned above which will determine what kind of action (and shots) a player will take. Ball actions must take into account floor ranges as they work together. For example, a player with high catch & shoot but no corner / above the break floor range points will not be able to shoot from deep as they won’t be on the perimeter at all times during possession, even off the ball. What works here is finding the right combinations that will maximize a player’s volume and efficiency from areas he can score.
Going back to PLAYER A from floor ranges, since he’s always around the rim (100 post) what works better for him to take shots are either post up or drive and shot ball actions. If that player has good enough DRFL, that means he should be driving as much as possible to generate contact and get to the line, but it will generate more turnovers as well, so good HDL ais important. If not, posting up will always give that player lots of touches and shots both at the rim (0-3ft) and in the paint (3-10ft). Catch and shoot or pull ups likely won’t generate more shots for that player, but that’s not 100% confirmed.
Player B, on the other hand, who’s a perimeter based player with lots of troubles getting to the rim, should only have points in drive and shoot if his ability to draw contact is very good. Otherwise, that will only generate more shots inside the arc, specially in the paint, where the player cannot score efficiently. Post ups are not the way to go either. Catch & shoot for guys who doesn’t have high scoring or good mid range game and pull ups for those who can create their own shots can be good ways of getting perimeter or mid range shots, and drive & pass can be a great option if the player has tight enough handles for the position and good passing ability, as it will generate even more three pointers and good shots for other players.
PLAYER C, who can score from everywhere, can have a massive range of ball actions: he can be like player A (all post), player B (all perimeter), he can have points in all areas becoming as versatile as he can and maximizing his volume… The possibilities are endless and will happen according to his floor ranges and ratings (both shooting and skill ratings).
5- BALL ACTIONS LIMITATIONS
It’s important to notice some ball actions does not work well together except for when the player has an specific skill or rating.
If the player is a post oriented player who can shoot from the perimeter, driving and shooting too much will generate lots of looks from in between and can harm efficiency more than the perimeter shooting could help. So, unless that player has a smooth shot from both mid range (10-23ft) and in the paint (3-10ft) for when his drives are stopped and he still fires away shots, he cannot have points in drive & shoot. Pulling up isn’t really the way to go for those who can’t shoot from mid also as it generates some looks from just inside the arc. A post & 3 offensive guy without a good in between game can be done by having points in catch & shoot (for the 3 ball) and post up (for close range shots).
It’s basically a pick your poison scenario that helps for lots of archetypes, and sometimes just because a player can shoot from somewhere it doesn’t mean he should be taking shots from there, as he could be way more efficient from other areas, in other styles, and this shot can generate trouble in efficiency instead of helping.
Players who can’t shoot could be given any kind of floor ranges with low or no ball actions points everywhere except for drive and pass to generate as little shots as possible, working as someone who will attempt to pass all the offensive touches he gets.
A player who can’t score from inside, do example, but is a fantastic offensive rebounder, can be around the post with his floor ranges for rebounding opportunities while not shooting from there as long as that player does not have drive and shoot or post up ball actions, which are actions that generates shots from the paint.
So, the idea is pretty clear: understand where your player can score from (by understand where he cannot score at all), then think about where he needs to be on the floor to maximize his touches and impact (based on shooting and skill ratings), and least think about how to generate shots from the areas he’s good at (and instructed to be at) without generating bad shots in the process.
Not everything has been discovered by CSL GMs and everyone is always willing to help each other bring the best out of their players as this increases competition across the league and overall game experience for all GMs.
Good luck with instructing players to be the best versions of themselves and just what each team needs!
2020, 2023, 2027
