Do you play ON-BALL DEFENSE? Say why or why not

[EarvGotti]

In the next week or so, I am going to be putting together a tips/tutorial video on how to play on-ball defense and why it is effective. But first I wanted to see what is it about playing on ball that gives people the most trouble.

When playing online, it is good to mix in some zone and offball here and there depending on how your opponent plays. But IMHO, playing onball is the most effective way to defend shots and it is more fun than sitting back offball. 2K also confirmed that user controlled defense gives an added percentage in successfully defending the shot.

Do you primarily play onball? Why or why not?

[keshunleon]

It really depend on what mode I am playing:

Online:

I don't play quick or ranked matches in 2K13 because of how bad it was in 2K12 and they didn't address most of the problems I had with it with 2K13.

Team up - of course you have to play OBD. The issue with OBD is the sliding and bad animations. There is a delay online and it is extremely challenging playing it. I rarely jump to block shots on jumpers outside of the paint, I just use the aggressive button.
In the paint I will try to block the shot if I see the beginning of an animation that is slow or less explosive.

I also try to anticipate the pass because of the delay and rarely go for on ball steals unless the dribbler is a big.

Offline:

I initially start off playing off ball defense, guarding the weakest offensive player to sag off and double a great scorer. If I am playing with a dominate C; I play OffBD majority of the time to contest shots in the paint.

If a player starts scoring a lot in the 1st half I will guard that player.

If a player is getting hot and I'm playing OffBD I will switch to that player and guard them until they cool off.

[chrispaul33333]

Quote: Originally Posted by keshunleon

It really depend on what mode I am playing: Online: I don't play quick or ranked matches in 2K13 because of how bad it was in 2K12 and they didn't address most of the problems I had with it with 2K13. Team up - of course you have to play OBD. The issue with OBD is the sliding and bad animations. There is a delay online and it is extremely challenging playing it. I rarely jump to block shots on jumpers outside of the paint, I just use the aggressive button. In the paint I will try to block the shot if I see the beginning of an animation that is slow or less explosive. Offline: I initially start off playing off ball defense, guarding the weakest offensive player to sag off and double a great scorer. If I am playing with a dominate C; I play OffBD majority of the time to contest shots in the paint. If a player starts scoring a lot in the 1st half I will guard that player. If a player is getting hot and I'm playing OffBD I will switch to that player and guard them until they cool off.

lol u play off ball offline. loser

[keshunleon]

Quote: Originally Posted by chrispaul33333

lol u play off ball offline. loser

This coming from a guy who is using a NBA players name At least I'm original internet tough guy.

Back to the topic CP3 * 1

[diehardknicksfan]

I play on ball majority of the time. Basically because its fun to shut down some1 and knowing that u did it. Stopping LBJ with melo. I lock down everyone with shump. Only play offball when the situation demands it. Oppurtunity for a block or strng help defense.

[Fakename22]

My scouting report showed I play on ball d 87% of the time. Sounds about right.

[Optik]

When I'm playing on quick ranked or My Team, I switch every once in a while between playing on-ball and off-ball defense depending on what I think is most effective at that time. Sometimes I'll switch after a quarter.

The main reason I play off-ball is because of course, 2k's help defense is terrible. When I'm playing off-ball, and I set off ball defensive settings to sag off for the opponent's big men, it doesn't do anything. My big men will still cling to them as if I set it to tight. This becomes particularly problematic, when the perimeter defender I'm controlling, is beaten. Since my help D doesn't have the intelligence to know when to stay with his man and when to focus on the ball handler, he will just follow his man wherever, even if that means the paint is wide open, which of course my opponent immediately exploits.

Another reason I play off-ball is because, quite simply, why on earth should I D my opponent straight up, when he isn't even running plays and is just charging to paint like a headless chicken? He should earn the right for me to play him straight up by playing legitimately, at least run a pick and roll or something. The closest thing you could call this a play would be like a "multiple dribble-pitch", or something. So pride IS linked to it.

The reason I play on-ball is because playing off-ball means that you expose your perimeter defenders to threes. I think it was a bad decision by 2K to make CPU shot contests less effective than human shot contests because this, along with the absurd decision to automatically move players who are shooting on the three point line to behind the three point line, has encouraged people to shoot threes in particular areas with a defender only 1 foot away from them and drain it consistently. For some reason, CPU defenders can never stay close, and I have to do it myself by sticking to the ball-handler like glue.

On-ball shouldn't be necessarily be the preferred defense, that's not how it is in the NBA and 2K shouldn't reward people more for playing on-ball instead of off-ball, they should be equal.

[crazybandit2000]

it depends on who the defender is in the situation.. if i have tony allen, shumpert, george, or any other good defender in the league i strap up and play defense.. but if the person i'm playing is extremely good at dribbling and getting to the basket i play off ball and just bring the help because the computer is horrible with help defense.. either they over help and give up the three or they dont help at all