1) Add an optional controller setting for manual hand-switching while dribbling. With this option enabled, the user would keep the ball in the same hand at all times unless he performs a right joystick dribble move like a crossover or behind-the-back. The automated hand-switching animations that 2K18 added while you're just walking around with the left joystick made it much tougher to consistently chain right joystick dribble moves together. Too often in 2K18, your dribble combo would get "dropped" (to use a fighting game term) because the game forced your player to change hands mid-combo, and you'd end up performing a move that you didn't intend to do.
2) A basketball player's preferred handedness should matter more during gameplay. A predominantly left-handed player like Julius Randle should have lower ball control, speed with ball, passing, and finishing ratings while using his right hand. Being able to dribble, pass, finish, and score equally well with both hands should be a more rare and valuable trait than it currently is in 2K18, where player handedness doesn't matter at all. FIFA and MLB The Show are two sports games that already do a decent job of differentiating athletes who are ambidextrous from those who are only skilled with their strong hand/strong foot. 2K19's emphasis on handedness could also extend to MyCareer, where one of the first choices you'd be asked to make when you create a MyPlayer would be whether you want your ratings to be equal (but lower rated) with both hands, or tilted in favor of your strong hand. A playmaker, for instance, could pick between having maximum ball control, speed with ball, and passing ratings of 95 for his dominant hand and 75 for his weak hand, or he could choose to have both hands rated at an 85. The letter L (lefty), R (righty), or A (ambidextrous) could appear underneath the dribbler's feet to let defenders know which direction their defensive stance should be blocking off.
3) Passing is the only offensive action in 2K18 that doesn't already have left-hand/right-hand controls. But if the right joystick passing that's already in the game (activated by holding the right bumper) was altered, that problem could be solved for 2K19.
If you imagine that your right joystick is a clock:
6:00 = a two-hand chest pass (travels faster, straighter, and shorter than an overhead pass)
12:00 = a two-hand overhead pass (travels slower, higher, and farther than a chest pass)
1:30 = a right-hand lob pass
10:30 = a left-hand lob pass
3:00 = a right-hand zip pass (a hard and straight pass à la John Stockton)
9:00 = a left-hand zip pass (a hard and straight pass à la John Stockton)
4:30 = a right-hand bounce pass
7:30 = a left-hand bounce pass
Two-handed passes would provide the most accurate animations, but to compensate for that accuracy, they would also be the slowest to animate (and therefore, the easiest to intercept). You could "preload" your pass and turn it into a touch pass by holding the right joystick in the desired direction before the ball hits your hands. The left joystick would still be used to move your on-court target circle and select your pass recipient, just like any other form of directional passing. To make the target circle easier to see during gameplay, users should be able to adjust the circle's color and brightness.
4) Reassign all of the on-ball defensive actions (except for jumping and boxing out) to the right joystick:
Flick right = steal the ball when it's in the dribbler's right hand
Flick left = steal the ball when it's in the dribbler's left hand
Flick down = steal the ball when the dribbler is holding onto the ball with both hands
Press or hold up on the right joystick = put your hands up and contest a shot
Press and hold in the right joystick (R3) = set up for a charge
These control changes would also free up the B button (currently used for charges) and the X button (currently used for steals) for other actions that could potentially add more depth to the defensive side of the game.
All on-ball steal attempts should make the "late," "early," "good," or "excellent" timing feedback that shooters currently get pop up in the right corner of the screen. "Excellent" timing should result in a clean strip and a "stun" animation for the dribbler, to ensure that he cannot easily recover the loose ball; "good" timing should cause the dribbler to fumble (but not completely lose) the ball and pick up his dribble, creating a tie-up opportunity for the defender if the dribbler does not immediately pass or call a timeout after regaining control of the ball; "late" or "early" timing should either result in a foul or a long recovery animation for the defender, depending on whether or not the defender's hand/arm makes contact with the dribbler's limbs/body. The timing window for getting an "excellent" or "good" steal attempt should shrink/expand depending on the defender's steal rating, which should be partially determined by the defender's handedness (right-handed defenders should steal better with their strong hand). Just as shooters have a color-coded shot meter displayed next to their head, defenders should have a color-coded steal meter to help judge their steal timing.
5) Let us equip a player's animations individually instead of being forced to use animation "packages" that contain a dozen different animations of varying effectiveness. With hook shots, for example, the "hook 2" package only has one animation that creates a good amount of separation (I'd describe it as a leaning backwards "fadeaway" hook shot), but during gameplay, that animation can't be used consistently because there are so many other ineffective hook shot animations in that "hook 2" package that might trigger instead of the effective "fadeaway" hook shot. The same problem also exists for dunk packages, layup packages, and moving jump shot packages. A dunk package might have two or three effective animations, but the presence of other, less effective animations that are automatically lumped into the same dunk package can make it frustratingly difficult to trigger one of the desired dunk animations. For NBA 2K19, let us pick and choose individual animations instead of limiting us to equipping these bloated animation packages.
6) Watching Rajon Rondo and Ben Simmons in the playoffs this year has reminded me how of 2K still limits users to just one simplistic pass fake animation (press Y + B simultaneously) and gives users no control over which flashy pass animations they want to trigger.
If passing was moved to the right joystick like I described in bullet point #3, then it would create an opportunity for 2K to add "pass fake combos" to the game, plus provide a way for users to specify which flashy pass animations they want to perform, instead of having no idea which pass animation is going to come out when you double tap the B button.
Assuming that 3:00 is your ball hand, and you're holding down the right bumper to transform the right joystick from a "dribble/shot stick" to a "pass stick":
Drag right joystick clockwise from 3:00 to 6:00 = flashy pass 1
Drag right joystick clockwise from 3:00 to 9:00 = flashy pass 2
Drag right joystick clockwise from 3:00 to 12:00 = flashy pass 3
Drag right joystick clockwise from 3:00 to 3:00 = flashy pass 4
Drag right joystick counter-clockwise from 3:00 to 12:00 = flashy pass 5
Drag right joystick counter-clockwise from 3:00 to 9:00 = flashy pass 6
Drag right joystick counter-clockwise from 3:00 to 6:00 = flashy pass 7
Drag right joystick counter-clockwise from 3:00 to 3:00 = flashy pass 8
You could put whichever flashy pass animation you want into each of these slots, so that you know exactly which animation you're going to get every time you decide to throw a flashy pass.
7) Here are some pass fake combos that could also be mapped to the right joystick, again, assuming that your right hand is your ball hand, and the right bumper is being held down:
Quickly tap 3:00 then tap any other direction = fake pass to the right, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 4:30 then tap any other direction = fake bounce pass, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 6:00 then tap any other direction = fake behind the back pass, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 7:30 then tap any other direction = fake between the legs pass, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 9:00 then tap any other direction = fake pass to the left, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 10:30 then tap any other direction = fake behind the head pass, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 12:00 then tap any other direction = fake pass straight ahead, then perform any other pass type
Quickly tap 1:30 then tap any other direction = fake lob pass, then perform any other pass type
These animations should work while moving with a live dribble or while standing still in a triple threat position.
8) 2K19 should also give users access to icon flashy passes and icon alley oops while they're holding down the right bumper:
-- Make two quick taps (tap + tap) to send one of the flashy passes from your character's animation list to the teammate whose icon you pressed.
-- Make one quick tap and then hold down the second button press (tap + hold) to send an alley oop to the teammate whose icon you pressed.
9) Eliminate the animation delay that happens with skip passes
Holding down the pass button to throw a skip pass is one of the best ideas that 2K18 introduced. But its execution was marred by having a noticeable delay between the moment you press & hold the pass button and the moment that your pass animation finally begins. In 2K18, that second-long delay is often the difference between a teammate potentially being able to catch a pass before a closeout can reach him or (what usually happens) catching a pass that arrives too late, with the defender already in range to contest the shot into a sure miss. That input delay needs to disappear for 2K19.
10) Apply the skip pass system to all right joystick passes
Again, I really like the tap/hold system that 2K18 introduced as a way to differentiate between a close-range pass and a cross-court pass. So let's have 2K19 apply this same targeting system to these new right joystick passes, since they're going to have to be aimed with the left joystick, and you'll need a way to tell the game whether you want to pass to a nearby/far away teammate.
So for the two-input pass fake combos that I listed above, if the second command is tapped then released, it becomes a close-range pass, and if the second command is pressed then held down, it becomes a cross-court pass.
And for the flashy pass right joystick drag motions, if you release the joystick back to neutral after completing the motion, it would become a close-range pass, but if you kept the joystick held down at the end point of your drag motion, then you'd get a cross-court pass.
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