Scenarioballin' on a Thursday

Kobe Bryant hosted the Bulls for a final time last night. On the court he finished with 10 points. In a game of Scenarioball, his 2-7 shooting from outside and 2 turnovers saw him finish the night with -1 points.

Yesterday I told you about a game I started playing to make the games I watch more interactive. I named it "Scenarioball", which may not be the most inventive sport name, but we're just going to roll with it. I decided to try out my game on TNT's Thursday Night doubleheader. Last night's slate consisted of the undermanned Knicks taking on the Raptors in Toronto, followed by the Bulls visiting Kobe for the final time as they took on the Lakers in LA. Here are my results:

The Knicks were able to keep the game somewhat close, losing 93-103 despite being without Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jose Calderon. The Knicks were mostly blah outside of Afflalo going 3-for-3 from three and Vujacic going 3-for-6 from outside with 2 steals. The Raptors on the other hand were pretty fun to watch. Kyle Lowry knocked down a few treys and got a few steals, James Johnson got 4(!) blocks, and DeRozan, Ross, and Biyombo threw down a dunk each.

As a Bulls fan, it felt good to see them not play down to an opponent. This was a free win coming in and they took advantage with the decisive 114-91 victory. Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson rose to the Scenarioball occasion by notching double-figures. They both had three dunks each, with Butler receiving two alley-oops. Butler also swiped four steals. The Lakers, though they were blown out in Scenarioball and in real life, defied my expectations. Brandon Bass, a guy I largely ignore, led the way with 5 points. D'Angelo Russell, a guy I'm really hoping pans out as an NBA player, was at the bottom with -3 points in 24 minutes of play.

Scenarioball: Focusing on the "Important" Things in Basketball

Let's play a game.

When you're watching a game, give a player a point or points every time they do something you like. Take away a point or points when a player does something you dislike. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the basic gist of Scenarioball.

I assume I'm not the first person to do this: drinking games do this already, but with alcohol instead of pen and paper. I call it "Scenarioball" only because any games I do this with will utilize my scoring system. The system is based off of what I like and dislike about the game of basketball. Feel free to make up your own scoring system and name it what you please.

I spent this past week testing the system on a couple of games. After practicing on these games, I have a good idea of what I'm trying to do. I've worked out some variations of this system that work across different codes of the game.

First is the basic game. This is the hierarchy of things I enjoy about all forms of basketball that are normally recorded in box scores and play-by-play accounts across versions of the game. I can use this both for live games, to review old games or ones I missed, and to double-check my work:

+3 for Dunks

+2 for Made Three-Pointers

+1 for Blocks and Steals

-1 for Missed Three-Pointers and Turnovers

Here are the more advanced points. These are points I can give out when I'm watching games live, since these things always or ever recorded in a box score or play-by-play account. However, thanks to video box scores and archived games, I can also give out these points when I review old NBA games.

+5 for Half-court shots and all game winners
+5 for Alley-Oop Dunks (+2 to the passer, +3 to the recipient)
+2 for Forcing 24 Second Violations (Points go to the team)
+1 for any additional style points such as a flashy pass, dope crossover move, or hard screen
-1 for any missed dunk
-1 for an ugly missed shot
-2 for a 24 Second Violation (Points go to the team, last man with the ball gets a -1 for the turnover)
-2 for an air ball or missed uncontested lay-up
-3 for a Flagrant 2 foul

This is all subject to change, of course, but I feel this does a great job of covering what I want out of a good game of baloncesto.

With this point system in mind, here is an example Scenarioball box score from last night's DePaul-Butler game that was aired on CBS Sports Network:

I thought up this specific system around New Year's. I ran a rudimentary test on the Bulls/Raptors game where Jimmy Butler scored 40 points in the second half. The actual origins of the game came several years ago when I started wondering rather I was getting the most out of the college basketball teams I invest my time and viewership into. I have certain fandoms that will last no matter what (Bulls for the NBA, Sky for the WNBA, Western Illinois & Creighton in the NCAA). However, there are other teams I invest in for various reasons. This system may help me figure out which teams I should really be looking into, and which ones I should kick to the curb.

Give it a shot. Put together your own scoring system, or use mine if you want, and tally up the points. Is the team you're infatuated with giving you what you truly want? Or will you discover that a different team is the one you wanted all along?

Moving forward, I will be Scenarioballin' pro and college games whenever the time feels right. I will then tabulate the results and post them with a recap. I'm really excited to get into this and start exploring teams from across the landscape.

Leave a comment below or in any other Scenarioball posts and tell me your results. Below are the final tallies from my "practice" games this past week. Next up for me: tonight's Bulls-Lakers matchup on TNT.

Looking Back at LeBron's 1st Game

LeBron dunk's during the first quarter of his 2003 NBA regular season debut. Photo courtesy Washington Post

Times are scressful in Cleveland. The team is underperforming despite sitting atop the Eastern Conference at 31-12, and the front office fired the head coach in favor of the assistant that was more popular among the players. The Cavs are trying to find some cohesion so that they can make a title run and compete against the likes of the Warriors and Spurs.

The other night I was thinking about the current state of the Cavaliers and eventually started getting nostalgic. With all of the controversy happening right now, have you taken time out recently to remember where it all started?

October 29, 2003, Sacramento, California. I still remember this commercial coming out ahead of his regular season debut. I got a good laugh out of it back then, but I also noticed at the time that he's standing there for more than 24 seconds. I don't care if it is just an advert: that's a shot clock violation, refs! You gotta call that!

But yes, Sacramento, against the Kings. The Cavs weren't all that great, winning only 17 games the previous season. The Kings were all that great, winning a Pacific Division championship in '03.

With all the hype that came with LeBron since high school, he lived up to it in his first game: 25 points on 12 of 20 shooting, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals in a 92-106 loss. He lived up to the hype that season: 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists and Rookie of the Year honors on a not-so-great team that went 35-47 and missed the playoffs. And LeBron has lived up to the hype ever since.

Video is courtesy of SCGoal. Enjoy!