Anyone got tips on how you stay commited in Association?

[Armor and Sword]

Amazingly I am playing all 82 and loving it. I have not done this since Live 2005. I think this game is just that addicting and the week to week management of minutes and rotations has me hook line and sinker.

But a lot of great ideas here. If I were not going to play all 82 I would play the entire first month then only play marque matchups and division rival games.

[Pitfighter87]

Build through the draft if your a weaker team and dont blow a team up in the first year.I sim alot so i dont get burnt out on the guys im playin with and i dont ever make superstar trades.Only time i get a superstar is through free agency.And alot of the time if im a team like the wolves i make it even more challenging and only offer guys contracts in FA that would actually sign in real life. For ex i wouldnt go after Carmelo cause i know there is no way he would sign with the wolves and the same goes for other big name free agents.Thus makin me have to build through the draft and before i know it im 6 or 7 years in and sometimes i havent even made it to the post season. Doesnt sound like fun but once you build a team up and make the playofs the first time if fels so much better then 2 years NBA champs.

[algeron04]

I had a 3 years Asst going with Raptors, I simmed the first year, made some moves and ended up with 2 top 5 draft picks which ended up being really good players. Now they are superstars and it's so fun playing with them, just because I drafted them and I want to make them great. I have to sked on 82 games but I sim every 3rd game and the 2nd game of a back to back. This takes about 30 games off the sked that I have to play so I end up with 40+ which is still a lot but so much better than 82.

[matthewj]

I cant play 82 games though so what I did in one association was only played home games. Ive since changed to only play away games.

I do change that every now and then so I can play the Heat or Celtics at home. But it means I only have to play about 41 games depending on how many extra games u play

[seemoe]

Quote: Originally Posted by timbeau0805

If I didn't have some weird problem that required me to play every game, it'd be a lot easier for me.

You and me both man, I can't sim a game....just doesn't feel right...

[Boling4Humor]

I can't sim a game either. I play with the default rosters and get a feel for every player for about 20 games and thats when I make my roster adjustments. This also makes it more fun because I've had a large share of injuries happen to my team in the game and I always know who I can count on to fill in that rotation. In my New Jersey Nets association, I lost Devin Harris for the entire season with a torn MCL six games in it. I put Farmer in as the starter and trade for Shannon Brown. My result: Farmer is currently 4th on the list for MVP, he made the All Star Team, and is probably going to win The Most Improved Player of the Year award. Now I face a dilemma with Harris. I obviously will keep Farmer because I've molded him into the perfect PG of my taste so the future for Harris is up in the air. This is what makes me play every game, so I can experience every detail, every drama, every injury, every stat.

I think playing all 82 games helps me develop my own story of whats going on in my sports world and the details of the journey is more so the best part than the end result.

Hope that inspires and helps you want to commit more to it bro. Good luck!

[minelevation]

Well to me the thing to keep the association going is make it competitive I felt that dwade lebron and bosh was unreal until they ended up in Miami. This is what happen I brought back old players to compete with the current players
For example
Thunder Gary payton Shawn kemp Kevin Durant
Jazz Deron williams Karl Malone Al Jefferson Hornecek
Pacers Reggie Miller Granger Roy Hibbert
Magic Nelson Penny Hardaway Dwight Howard

A what if scenario with the twolves Kevin Garnett Stephn Marbury Kevin Love
Chicago bulls D rose Michael Jordan 90'91 mike Scottie Pippen
I'm playing with Pistons so Isaih Thomas Bil lambeer James Edwards mixed with rip and tayshaun prince
Houston Tmac prime Yao Ming
Kings chris webber Kevin Martin and Tyrike Evans
Lakers Magic Johnson Kobe Bryant Paul Gasol

Etc balanced mixture of classic players and new players it keeps it interesting I rolled back players ages so they do not retire it's competitive in every division with this system I used for my Franchise u can see the new additions they added to the computer trade ai

[SOBAY310]

This thread has been a great read for me. I've been one of those guys who has had a hard time simming, but to fully enjoy a true Association you've got to do that. Before this year I also thought it was nuts to play 12 minute quarters, but the authenticity of doing that is such a pay off. Plus the game is just so damn fun to play.

I am currently playing with the default sliders on superstar difficulty and the game is kicking my ***...even though I am the Lakers. The CPU just doesn't miss a damn shot with the default settings but I am determined to beat them with these settings.