Sports like lacrosse, basketball, baseball, etc... are somehow less predictable because only the final score actually matters, so during the game, you can have pretty much anything happening.
I'm not seeing how those are less predictable. Either the main team wins on their way to nationals or they lose and the season is over. Chances are they are going to win every game unless there is a loser's bracket they can climb out of. There might be problems with individual players but there will always be a net positive in results, if someone is bringing the team down then another player will bring them back up. If they are losing they WILL comeback, most likely the person who had the recent flashback will make the key play. If they are winning then they will struggling to keep the lead. The way Saki is structured isn't all that different, just like how Koyori has to play a match Saki will either end up struggling not to lose too many points or have to find some way to come back. When it comes time for Saki to sit down we have an idea on what is about to happen.
My point is that just like Saki you never really know how well individual players will do up to a point. Like with the current match, we don't know if MuneMune and the captain will win. After the flashback and the pep talk you expect them to win, but if they do that Agari has to lose for Koyori to play. And if Agari loses then she might never get that match with Kumami because she will look too weak. But if MuneMune and the captain lose then at least we don't get the cliche that a flashback/pep talk means a comeback victory. They are allowed two losses before anything can be said with certainty. And just like you said, it's possible for Agari and Koyori to not have to play in a match if the rest of the team runs the table. Which is probably what happens in every match we don't get to see.
I could be wrong about all this but that uncertainty feels fresh to me compared to something like Soccer or Basketball where the main team is guaranteed to win. And they will enjoy that win as a team, in SPPG they will enjoy the team win together but they might be more affected by their own round results than a normal team sport.
last edited at Feb 21, 2017 6:00AM