Alright peepz! NBA.com's Drive To The Finals may not be with us this year. This fantasy game has been wholly sponsored by AutoTrader.com in the past via TNT, but I don't think they'll continue with it this year. As viewers know, TNT NBA Tip-Off is now presented by State Farm (was AutoTrader.com in previous years), and that could spell the absence of DTTF this year. If State Farm can sponsor that fantasy game or another version of it, we will definitely be thrilled.
I've seen signs. Prior to March, NBA.com shut down the URL http://fantasy.nba.com/drive . Many external websites point to that URL and maybe AutoTrader owns the fantasy game itself and took it with them. Only the URL http://www.nba.com/drive/desktop.html is giving me hope.
So... just in case we lose DTTF this year, I am imploring your help. Let's find alternatives! It may be a pick-one daily format like DTTF and 1-N-Done (Hello ESPN!), traditional roto leagues or whatever. Let's post them in the comments below and see how the others feel about playing it. We'll pick one (or two with similar format) coz I definitely will be playing a fantasy game this playoffs season. And posting about it.
Let's do it :)
I've seen signs. Prior to March, NBA.com shut down the URL http://fantasy.nba.com/drive . Many external websites point to that URL and maybe AutoTrader owns the fantasy game itself and took it with them. Only the URL http://www.nba.com/drive/desktop.html is giving me hope.
So... just in case we lose DTTF this year, I am imploring your help. Let's find alternatives! It may be a pick-one daily format like DTTF and 1-N-Done (Hello ESPN!), traditional roto leagues or whatever. Let's post them in the comments below and see how the others feel about playing it. We'll pick one (or two with similar format) coz I definitely will be playing a fantasy game this playoffs season. And posting about it.
Let's do it :)
http://www.fantasypostseason.com/playoff-fantasy-basketball
ReplyDeleteThe good: it's a playoffs fantasy game
The bad: it requires drafting at the very start. limited by it thereafter
Rotos may not be the best format for the playoffs as prople will be gunning for Warriors/Cavs/Spurs players. I may play it, but will only post about the drafting part.
How do you feel about this?
Off to looking for more options...
Per user requests, we've added a new option at FantasyPostseason.com named 'Pick One Daily' to better accommodate this format. We also added a 'No Draft' option. Enjoy!
DeleteI wrote NBA.com a couple of days ago about bringing back DTTF and the response was that AutoTrader is now sponsoring another game called "Perfect Match". This is unfortunate and nothing like DTTF!
ReplyDeleteIf my interpretation of this is correct, AutoTrader is not bringing back DTTF. Perfect Match is a regular season game and is unfortunately not suited for the playoffs (Seed 1 vs Seed 8) and is too simple. Can you give us a favor Taj? Can you reply back specifically asking for any fantasy game for the playoffs? From NBA? From TNT? From Farm State? Thanks!
DeleteThat's weird as back in October it specifically states in this article that Autotrader would be doing DTTF again in 2016.
Deletehttp://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/turner-s-nba-ad-sales-pacing-ahead-last-season-s/145278
"AutoTrader recently renewed a multiyear partnership with the NBA and Turner Sports and will continue to have a significant presence across the TNT and NBA TV telecasts throughout the season, beginning with opening night.
DeleteAutoTrader will sponsor TNT Opening Night and NBA on TNT Premiere Week. The brand will also sponsor both the TNT and NBA TV pre-game shows – NBA Tip-Off Presented by AutoTrader on TNT and NBA TV’s AutoTrader Pregame Show.
AutoTrader will also continue its All-Star Drive & Drive to the Finals consumer sweepstakes with on-air, digital and social media extensions."
@ Taong I thought the same thing too that Perfect Match was a regular season game only but I just seen the commercial for it during tonight's Bulls & Heat game. They are still offering the 25,000 prize but not for DTTF. I emailed a Senior Manager at Auto Trader to see if it's still possible. I emailed him at Lou.Laste@Autotrader.com
DeleteMaybe if enough of us email him, we can get it back...if not this year, definitely for next year!
Taj, I had my wife send the email. I hope he responds better to her ;)
DeleteJerry, that article may have been promise-broken, as I didn't see All-Star Drive this year.
Cool Thanks!
DeleteHe replied, "Glad you loved the program. I’ll let out consumer ,marketing department know this."
DeleteWith 4 working days to go, can they pull it off? :) Hope so.
Thanks for the update Taong, I also wrote other members in their team and I received this email today:
DeleteThank you for reaching out. We appreciate you letting us know how much you, your friends, and your family enjoyed playing the Drive to the Finals game every year. We will keep this in mind as we think about the structure of a game for the 16/17 NBA season. In the meantime, we encourage you to play the Perfect Match game during the NBA Playoffs and enter for a chance to win $25,000 towards a new car listed on Autotrader.
Thanks!
Kristin
--
Kristin Keener
Consumer Marketing | Cox Automotive
O: 404-568-7955 | C: 404-805-3793
Do we know if ESPN will be doing 1-N-Done? That was definitely the closest to DTTF as I remember playing it one year. Very similar but with multipliers. That's what I would surely prefer. Love your blog and love the DTTF format. We need something similar! I wish they would give us more of a heads up on offering DTTF. If I would have known it wasn't happening I would have looked into hiring a company to basically make that same game! I love it that much.
ReplyDeleteI now see that ESPN game hasn't existed for awhile. In regards to the game you mentioned Taong, it seems that there are at least some customization options to make things interesting. Top entry here on their blog: http://blog.fantasypostseason.com/
DeleteESPN has pretty much disbanded all of their extra fantasy games. All that exists now is their Streak for the Cash game, a couple of soccer games, and tournament brackets for the NCAA basketball tournament. Pretty much anything not being a traditional fantasy league (football, baseball, basketball, and hockey) no longer exists in their stable of games, which also barely exists now.
DeleteWell I guess this settles it. No DTTF. Such a bummer.
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/SmokeyCloud/status/717841357348294656
Well, it doesn't sound promising that it will officially be back. I'm still playing DTTF regardless, since I have a group of people I play with every year, it will just have to be done on our own. with that in mind, if it's not back, my vote is for people to still play, perhaps with their own group of friends, or perhaps we all make our picks (and post in the comments if we so choose), keep track of our own progress (because asking Taong to do that could be brutal depending on how many people are in), and then compare how we did at the end. Something to think about. I think enough people visit this site and regularly post that it could definitely work.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. How do you and your group of friends plan to play? Do you just use a spreadsheet? I have a good 10-20 friends that would always play in my DTTF league, of course using the NBA site, & I'm sure they'd still love to play somehow, but I just don't know how to provide an interface / keep up with stats accordingly & I'm afraid it will hurt the fun of it without any website, live updating stats, etc.
DeleteYeah, I'm thinking spreadsheet, although perhaps we can brainstorm a way to plan the game on this blog (like perhaps there is an internet site that we can make it work on). It definitely will hurt the fun of it not having the interface, but to me it comes down to what's better: A lesser DTTF experience, or no DTTF. I choose the former.
DeleteCool, I'd definitely like to be involved. I don't have a ton of time on my hands, but I'm willing to dedicate whatever I can to helping along the process. The playoffs are coming up soon. Maybe we somehow have a shared spreadsheet that locks at a certain time daily (someone locks it from editing at the exact time) and then we find the best live stats interface to track our players (would be cool if there's a site somewhere that would let us hide all players except for the ones we've collectively picked so we can see the player stats battling one another)
DeleteMy group has created an idea using Google Sheets. It's really useful because everyone can edit the spreadsheet document, and you can also see the revision history, so if there is something suspicious, it can be caught (e.g. someone changing their pick 10 minutes into the game). The one we created is for us, but it seems like a great way to do it for anyone who wants to create their own for their own group. If somebody is brave enough to create a "Drive to the Finals Blog" one, that would be awesome, although it also might come with a lot of work managing it.
DeleteGoogle spreadsheets are a great idea for small leagues. I'll create one if we don't find an alternative.
DeleteI'm still scouring the net for similar games.
Hey guys I worked my magic and talked with post season on their Facebook page
DeleteWe've added the new option: http://blog.fantasypostseason.com/2016/04/pick-one-daily.html
They just made it literally like 4 hours after I asked this could be a good alternative however there is a fee 15 bucks for 20 and I'm not sure the prices for the others ( it's depending on league size)
DeleteDetails are below:
Friday, April 8, 2016
Pick One Daily
After a few requests to accommodate a format similar to the popular 'Drive to the Finals' NBA Playoffs fantasy game, we've added a new league format named 'Pick One Daily' (currently for NBA, NHL, and MLB leagues only). Main concepts:
There is no draft.
Scoring options are configurable (i.e. points, rebounds, assists).
Commissioners should activate the league only after all managers have joined.
Teams consist of only one player. Note: Bench slots can be added to allow for lineup setting for days in advance.
Once the league is activated, managers need to add one player to their team on each game day via free agency.
Players can only be used once. Once used, that player must be replaced with another one to generate additional scoring.
Leagues are forming now:
Create an account: https://www.fantasypostseason.com/user/register
Create a league: http://www.fantasypostseason.com/fantasy_games
Thank you Adjette and FPS!
DeleteIf someone wants to create a league, post em here. I'll cover that league in this blog if I can join it. That, and...
Wait it for it, I found another one. Let me figure it out first ;) ;)
What's the latest here? This Pick One Daily Adjete linked to seems like it's as close as we're going to get to a website run version of the game we're looking for. I'm also not opposed to a game or league involving a google docs spreadsheet. Just let me know how I can help!
DeleteOnly thing is someone has to pay $15 to activate the league (up to 20 people) or $30 to activate a league with up to 200 people right?
DeleteTaong, if you do end up creating a league using a Google Drive spreadsheet, let me know, I can modify the one I set up for Tangent's league. All the formulas are done, formatting, everything, so it will save a bunch of time.
ReplyDeleteUsing Google Drive also allows us to slightly modify the game title to "Google Drive to the Finals" ;)
Hi, our little group would like to set up a small league for a DTTF like post season, is there a chance you can share your spreadsheet so we can set up one based on it ?
Deleteso no Drive To The Finals? that is for sure?
ReplyDeleteI will make a league on postseason fantasy and ill invite you but let me know Taong if you find anything else
ReplyDeleteI'm totally down to be in whatever league or league(s) we decide. Let's do this!
DeleteAdjete, did you end up starting a league?
DeleteAdjete, how did it work out for u ?
DeleteI will be very interested too with 2 friends, can we participate?
ReplyDeleteYes. You have 3 options:
Delete1. Go to Drive & Slam at drive.ganaca.com.au and join a league with your friends, and/or
2. Message mfari and ask for access to our Google Drive, and/or
3. fantasypostseason.com and create a league with your friends
Thanks! Go to Drive and slam!
DeleteGuys, i créated a league on ur site but i am lost with the google druid thing. What is it all about ?
ReplyDeleteOther question : i can't seem to find The game interface ?
Guys, i créated a league on ur site but i am lost with the google druid thing. What is it all about ?
ReplyDeleteOther question : i can't seem to find The game interface ?