aka “Managing teams the NBA Live way”

If you’ve played NBA Live, or any of the related video games, for more than just a couple Dynasty-mode seasons, then you’ve probably already figured out the key to success. Acquire loads of cap space or trade up for 3-4 amazing young players, then fill the rest of your roster with a bunch of cheap players costing the minimum salary.

And in NBA Live, it works. Where else do you seem teams routinely go 82-0. In fact 96-0.

Case study #1: The 2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers

After starting out the new millenium with a three-peat that cemented the Lakers as a dynasty, the Lakers didn’t advance to the Finals in 2003. Looking to make a return to the Finals, the team added aging legends Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Sure, nobody expected Malone and Payton to play to the same level as they once did in their prime, but the Lakers had high expectations heading into the 2003-04 season.

And the “experiment” worked at first, and for quite some time. Kobe Bryant and a still-impressive Shaquille O’Neal were able to return to the Finals.

We all know how the final outcome turned out. The Lakers got crushed, losing the series 1-4 to the Detroit Pistons. The key component was clearly team chemistry, not salaries or hall-of-famers. The Lakers collapsed — big-time — while the Pistons won a championship with hard work, physical defense, and team play.

Case study #2: Your NBA Champion 2007-08 Boston Celtics

As had been discussed many times these past few months, the Boston Celtics made the largest turnaround in NBA history. One of the largest in the history of all major American sports. The team won 42 more games than the season before, and won a championship a single-year after finished with the second-worst record in the league. Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers, who jobs had been threatened, have suddenly become a lot of more popular.

If you remember, at the beginning of this sudden turnaround, there was some concern about the depth of the Celtics. After all, the team traded nine players for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, including next year’s 2009 draft pick. And while depth still isn’t their strength, they had enough players step up to the challenge.

How to build a video game team in real-life

Here are some conclusions that can be made, when comparing the results of our two case studies and the rest of NBA history.

1. You’ve got to be ready to pull the trigger. There’s got to be a high-turnover rate. No, not basketball turnovers. Make lots of moves. Only a handful of championship Celtics played on the team before last season.
2. Your new building blocks can’t be on the verge of retirement. Sam Cassell hasn’t made much noise with the Celtics, has he? Karl Malone and Gary Payton couldn’t get it done. While Garnett and Allen may only have a couple high-caliber years left, they aren’t nursing tendonitis. Don’t look for “all-stars” looking to ride along for a championship.
3. Let your team captain orchestrate the deals. After all, he’ll be one of the only players left with prior experience with the organization. Paul Pierce knew he couldn’t take all of the shots, nor would he be the team’s best player. But when Danny Ainge involved Paul Pierce in the trade market, “The Truth” became accountable for his team’s success.
4. They filled in the gaps. Aside from a weak bench, one of the major knocks against the Celtics was that they were too weak defensively. Going with the cliché, “turn your weaknesses into strengths,” the Boston Celtics held their opponents to 90.3 points per game — second only to the Pistons.
5. Every player found their niche. Kevin Garnett brought it on himself to fill that defensive gap to the best of his ability, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. Aside from the leadership of Pierce and Allen, James Posey also found a nice role on the team. Notably, Rajon Rondo introduced a new phrase into the English language.

Those are five main components. Obviously, there’s no official blueprint to win a championship. As there can only be one champion, there’s a bit of “luck” involved, in terms of health and peaking at the right time.

Will Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers be able to bring another championship trophy to Boston? Which team will next take an extreme approach to rebuilding their roster?