Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

**Okafor_In_04** · 04-14-2006, 07:35 PM

Re: Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

The Art Of CAP Making by GrnDynsty

This thread was started to help people understand all of the elements and work necessary to create players for EA's Live series. Accuracy means different things to different people, since it's mostly subjective I'll leave that up to the particular reader. I will reveal my methods of CAP creation and further explain step by step how to create them, make edits, assign numbers for skill levels, and eventually discuss advanced techniques for creating CAP's for players from other eras/basketball genres.

I've received hundreds of questions about my CAP's over the last year and I realized that I would EVENTUALLY have to create an outlet/venue that would allow a dialogue to occur between myself and other users. Before I launch into anything else I have to explain the different types of CAP's that can be created. First there are SEASON CAP's, these refer to the CAP's that are on your Live game. They can also be made for legends (ex. Kevin McHale 86-87 season). The reason so many people want edits is because a player is under/overated in comparison to how they're playing NOW. Edits can become problematic because you can make as many of them as you want since a season stretches for 100 games and players go through valleys and peaks throughout one. There are CAREER CAP's which account for the best seasons of a players career compiled and smashed together to make it illustrate the player at his peak years in the league (ex. Larry Johnson & Arvydas Sabonis pre-injuries). There are PROJECTION CAP's, in which you take a player that is in high school, or college and make a CAP based on what they'll be like by the time they're league ready (ex. Jianghua Chen). The reason you'd do this is because a 14 year old REALISTICALLY cannot play with grown men, but if you want to make the CAP for novelty/entertainment purposes then he should at least be able to contribute/score. The Jianghua Chen I made at FIRST was a projection, after his showing at the Adidas Asia Superstar Camp this summer it became a season/current one. What kind of CAP you make or the twist you put on it will differ from CAP to CAP. For instance, you generally want to make a streetball player's CAP good enough that he can get minutes and contribute, but not SO good that he'll be a superstarƒunless, of course, they're legends (ex. Pee Wee Kirkland, Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond, Billy "The Kid" Harris, Ray "The Phantom" Lewis, Earl "Goat" Manigault, or Demetrius "Hook" Mitchell) otherwise WHY HAVE THEM?

The first step to making a CAP is the "line". The line is what I write in the Update List of CAP's before I post it so users know what's coming (ex. Antwan "Anti Freeze" Dobie 6Í3 195 LIU). The jump off point for any CAP is the line. Without one, you have NO place to start. Some players can't be made because not enough info can be found about the subject. The advanced line comes next. The advanced line consists of the following:

Name Height Weight Birthplace/Hometown College/Country Position(s) Number Appearance/Accessories

(Example)
Orlando Woolridge 6'9 215 Bernice, LA Notre Dame #0 Body 3 Face 28 Short w/line Goatee 2 Black Old School Goggles

In order to create a player you need several tools to find the info you need to fill an advanced line. Try Yahoo! Sports (NBA/College), BasketballReference.com, APBR.org, Rivals.com and NBA.com to start. There are many other sites/sources that I'll reveal in the advanced section. The final (and hardest) part is to assign a rating (number) to a players individual skill level. This is almost ALL objective and depending on what kind of Live player/user you are they can differ from 10 to 25 points in a category. Before I launch into this, please remember that I completely REJECT Live's current rating system first (Antonio McDyess with a 56 FG rating? PLEASE!). Now let's begin.

There are 20 attributes available in a CAP that are separated into 10 groups, they are, in order:

Field Goals/3 Pointers
Free Throws/Dunking
Inside Scoring/Offensive Rebounds
Jumping/Strength
Quickness/Speed
Passing/Dribbling
Offensive Awareness/Defensive Rebounds
Stealing/Blocking
Defensive Awareness/Stamina
Hardiness/Primacy

In order to assign a number or rating for these categories, you have to know what they mean FIRST. Otherwise, your ratings will be WAY OFF. Some of the most BASIC categories have been disputed as to what they ACTUALLY rate, but I'll explain that in depth later on.

Field Goal rating rates how well the created player shoots up to a specificied range. It was ONCE considered to rate a players shooting ability while the RANGE rating that was available with older versions of the Live series was phased out along with the Clutch rating (ex. Shaq has a 99 FG rating 0 3pt rating in Live). I'd give him an 80 FG 0 3pt rating and a 99 Inside Scoring rating with a 12 foot range since THAT would ACTUALLY make sense! Now your players FG rating raises his range and his 3pt rating expands it FUTHER (1 foot every ten points). Without this knowledge, a player that routinely knocks down 18 footers in real life's CAP would make you want to pull your d**n hair out! Field Goal shooting should be rated differently depending on different factors: First factor: Position. The trifectas are in effect here PG/SG/SF are rated under different criteria than PF's and C's since they are traditionally power positions. Of course, you must FIRST recognize whether of not that player you wish to make into a CAP is an anomaly or not. Anomalies are players that play a position that is traditionally played one way but have a varied or advanced skill set and play it differently (Kevin Garnett, Baron Davis, Steve Francis, Jason Kidd, Antoine Walker, Chris Webber, etc.). Few power forwards shoot threes like Antoine Walker (NONE shoot as many!), PG's don't usually grab rebounds and dunk on people from the dotted line like Baron Davis. This means that the CAP has to be made differently than a regular one and that it's OVRL rating will be higher than the average player in his position. Second Factor: Circumstance. Is the player a specialist in any offensive or defensive category(ies)? Do they play on a good team? Can they get screens and picks to get open, or do they have to take scoring into their own hands AS WELL as initiate their teams offense (Tracy McGrady, Paul Pierce and Vince Carter in the 2003-2004 season) that being the case, you need to look beyond statistics at rate the players SKILL LEVEL rather than a percentage translation. The more you know about basketball and the more basketball knowledge you accrue, assigning numbers to a skill level becomes easier, TRUST ME.

Point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards are all perimeter positions therefore a lower shooting percentage can translate into a higher FG rating. An EXCELLENT jump shooter can make 42%-45% of his shots provided he gets good looks and has help from his teammates. A percentage of 40%-42% is average and should garner a rating in the 75-78 area and a 42%-46% will get a rating in the 80-85 area. A rating of higher than 85 can be attributed if the player is a specialist. What's a specialist? A player who is in the league for ONE specific purpose or talent. As far as shooting is concerned there are several players who have a career based on their abilty to hit the open jumper or three (Fred Hoiberg, Peja Stojakovich, Jon Barry, Reggie Miller, Michael Redd, Ray Allen, Wesley Person, Matt Harpring, Eric Piatkowski, Matt Harpring, etc.). They can have FG ratings up to the 90 level, 90 and up is reserved for legendary shooters or at least for the greatest pure shooter in the league (Peja can be a 95 AT MOST). Below is the breakdown for FG ratings by position with allowances for specialist in parenthesis in each category with the specialists offensive rating separated by a divider. PG's have no shooting allowance, since they have NO inside scoring, low dunking and rebounding skills they RELY on hitting jumpers to score. The cutoff is 55, no less.

PG/SG's 55-58 60-64 65-68 69-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF's (50-52) (55-58) 60-64 65-68 69-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF's (45-48) (50-52) 55-58 60-64 65-68 69-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
C's (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-68 69-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99

Allowances are made for players based on human factors such as a bad team, no help, no real point guard, etc. For instance, Paul Pierce had a HORRIBLE shooting percentage due to his team being in upheaval for most of the season. His FG rating SHOULD NOT be dropped based on his low percentage because his talent as a shooter is the SAME. It should be kept in mind that a guard CANNOT get into the NBA with a shooting rating under 60, and that is ONLY allowable if they are either a defensive specialist or an EXCELLENT passer (85+). My cutoff for a CAP guard's shooting rating is 60-69, otherwise they wouldn't be able to stick with a team. My cutoff three point range for a guard is 40-50, 30-40 allowable ONLY if they are a specialist at defense, passing, or stealing (80- range in any of the three). I often get questions about this but I always counter that there are limits and allowances for what gets a player into the NBA and even more for what keeps him there. Since we're dealing with a REAL WORLD sport, we must adress ratings in a REAL WORLD way. The starting point for PG's and SG's is 60/40. The cutoff for a SF since they are bigger and longer is 60/40 as well, but their dunking has to be AT LEAST 75. If the player cannot shoot well or is limited in his offensive skills at a perimeter position then he should have SOME defensive talent to account for his being in the league (shot blocking, rebounding, defense, stealing, passing, etc.). Therefore, the SF cutoff is ten points lower with the specialist allowance (50/30) and 60/40 if the player is a jump shooter/perimeter player and opposed to a power player/role player. There is NO other way he'd be ALLOWED in the league. Power forwards and centers shoot in the paint and closer to the basket so the specialist allowance and three point cutoff change. For perimeter players it is the same 60/40 or 50/30 with the specialist allowance INCLUDED. For centers, HEIGHT itself can be the allowance. A RAW 7'2-7'5 player can have a 40-48 FG rating and a 0 3 point rating with a 70 dunk rating, 70 block rating, and/or a 70 inside scoring rating under the NEW -10 specialist allowance. A center that can actually shoot well but spends a considerable time in the paint's cutoff point is 60/20 for a starter and 50/0 for a bench player/role player starting at 6'11-7'0. It can do down to 40/0 with the height allowance (ex. 7'5 or 7'6 player with a specialist rating in one or two defensive categories such as rebounding and blocking can be allowed in the league with a 40-48 FG and 0 3pt rating). Any player rated lower than that in the following categories wouldn't be REALISTICALLY pursued by any GM or player personnel director in the NBA.

Let us continue. Three point rating is highly subjective but I follow a sliding scale that I stick to do determine a players rating. I start with position first, PG's. SG's, and SF's have higher 3pt ratings. Power forwards and centers PF's and C's general have lower ones. A HORRIBLE 3 point shooting guard shoots it MUCH BETTER than a terrible 3 shooting PF so the ratings should reflect that. Consistency in CAP's is essential, since Live's have NONE (Check if you think I'm kidding). I generally regard 20 as 0 for skill categories since different types of players have different types of skill sets. I use 20 as 0 for 3's regarding the PG/SG/SFgrouping of players since they usually have perimeter skills. The cutoff point for players at perimeter positions is 40 (30 with the specialist allowance). Here is my rule of thumb 3 point shooting chart:

30-40 0%-10% 40-50 10%-20% 50-59 20-25% 60-69 25%-30% 70-79 30-35% 80-89 40-45% 90-99 45-50%.

Ratings numbers are generally assigned like this :

(0, 10, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, 32, 33, 35, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45, 48, 50, 52, 55, 58, 60, 62, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 72, 75, 78, 80, 82, 84, 85, 88, 90, 92, 94, 95, 98, 99)

The number 50 can represent a 20-22% 3pt shooter for example. The reason for not using all the numbers has come purely out of necessity, common sense in some cases and cosmetic reasons (I've been at this for TEN YEARS!). Shooting 50% from 3pt range RARELY happens, but a 99 rating can AUTOMATICALLY be assigned to a Legend such as Rick Barry or Larry Bird because they were the GREATEST shooters in almost any era of basketball history. Three point shooting breakdown is this for every position.

PG/SG's (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF's (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF's (0-10) (10-18) (20-24) (25-28) 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
C's (0-10) (10-18) 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99

The EASIEST attribute to assign a number to is free throw shooting (FT). If you shoot 59% from the line, your rating can be acceptable within 3 to 5 points (59-64) depending on the player. Free throw shooting fluctuates throughout the season so it's well within reason.

Dunking is a purely subjective rating as well. 0 IS FOR PLAYERS THAT CANNOT DUNK AT ALL. 20-50 ratings go to players who CAN dunk and ONLY do it on breakaways when NO ONE else is around (ex. Tony Parker, TJ Ford, Allen Iverson, Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd etc.). A 50-69 is given to aging players or skill impaired players that are warm bodies to take up space on the court or little men that will occasionally fly down the lane and bang one down (ex. Mamadou N'daiye, Slava Medvedenko, Zelko Rebraca, Stacey Augmon, Juan Dixon, Erick Strickland, etc). 70-79 is given to players that can throw one down and get on SportsCenter occasionally (Elton Brand, Flip Murray, Derrick Anderson, Cuttino Mobley, Bobby Jackson, Al Harrington, etc.). 80-89 is for players that are regularly on Sportscenter and look to bang on people any chance they get (Kenyon Martin, Amare Stoudemire, DeShawn Stevenson, Ruben Patterson, Kedrick Brown, Andrei Kirilenko, Chris Andersen, Richard Jefferson, Ricky Davis, Paul Pierce, Corey Maggette, Nene, Steve Francis, etc.) 90-99 goes to up and coming high fliers, Slam Dunk Champions or Legendary Dunkers such as Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Gerald Wallace, Clyde Drexler, Vince Carter, Desmond Mason, Ronnie Fields, James White, Tracy McGrady, or Jason Richardson. Does the particular player you want to make fit into either of these categories? That is ENTIRELY up to you!

Dunkers only! No height requirement. Jumping 75+ neccesary!
20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 I 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Players 6'6 and above
50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 I 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Inside Scoring rates the players ability to score in the paint from a post up position starting with his back to the basketbal on the low blocks or his ability to bang and scor in the paint PERIOD. I start with SF/PF/C's on this one since these are the general skill positions that rely on this rating. As with every position there are anomalies (Baron Davis, Paul Pierce, and Gary Payton would be examples of guards with higher than average Inside Scoring ratings). The average point guards Inside Scoring rating would fall between 20-32 depending on the size and strength 5'6 150- 6'7 220 of the guard. Since forwards rely on the paint to score at least SOME of their points they have higher ratings to START. A thin, weak, perimeter oriented SF 6'7-6'8 195-220 would start off at around 32-50 depending on strength level and a back to the basket or face up paint/inside game. PF's NEED to have inside games or they end up on the bench or shoot a lot of jumpers and draw 50-60 ratings (Slava Medvedenko, Johnathan Bender, Tyson Chandler). A PF with better ball handling and perimeter skills will draw an Inside Scoring rating of 60-80 (ex. Antoine Walker, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, etc.) and doesn't need as high an Inside Scoring rating as a player (PF) that relies solely on it to score (Elton Brand, Zach Randolph, Amare Stoudamire,etc.). Centers will normally have Inside Scoring ratings that start at 60 for a regular sized centers with perimeter skills that are HORRIBLE inside scorers, or ones that are weak and smallish for the position (6'11-7'2 230-250 will be around a 60-69 rating ex. Samuel Dalembert). Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magliore, and Drew Gooden are in the second tier of inside scorers that pull in a 70-79 rating. 80-89 is reserved for inside bangers such as Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand, Zach Randolph, Amare Stoudamire, Carlos Boozer and Pau Gasol. Players in the 90-99 strata include Jermaine O' Neal, Yao Ming, and Tim Duncan. Shaquille O'Neal will easily get a 99 Inside Scoring rating. Here is the Inside Scoring chart for all positions:

PG/SG 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40
SF 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85
PF/C 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Offensive Rebounds are a TOUGH one. I usually give small guards an automatic 0 since they realistically cannot bang with big men to grab one. If they get one it's usually a freak loose ball occurrence. I will give them a 20 rating if they have ridiculous ups and are famous for dunking putbacks (anything under 20 and they'll NEVER get the opportunity to do so otherwise). I go down the list of league leading rebounders and assign the ratings accordingly. I have two rules when it comes to offensive rebounds 1)Your offensive rebounding rating is NEVER higher than your defensive rebounding rating. 2) No one grabs more offensive than defensive rebounds for a season so they will usually be about 10-20 points apart. Ben Wallace has an 85 Offensive Rebound rating and a 99 Defensive Rebound rating on his original edit. He grabbed 4 offensive and 11 defensive rebounds on average for the 2003 season. I don't trust the CPU to know that offensive rebounds are harder to get off the bat my instincts are usually right in those respects I've come to find out. The ONLY players I've EVER assigned a 99 offensive rebounding rating to are Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Players like Wayne Simien, Ronny Turiaf and the like go as follows. Assign a DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING rating first, then DROP it 10 to 20 points for PF's and C's. SG's are usually a 20-25 in that rating and SF's and on get their defensive rebound rating dropped 10 to 15 points for their offensive rebounding rating, why it isn't connected to defensive rebounding INSTEAD of Inside Scoring boggles my mind. Skip to the DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS SECTION FIRST AND REFER BACK LATER.

I relate jumping DIRECTLY to a individuals vertical leap. Once again, different sized players have a different sliding scale for jumping ratings. A 7'0 player RARELY can jump higher than 36", and a player's height reflect whether their vertical leap is in the 90's or not. Vince Carter has a 44" vertical leap as does Micheal Jordan, at 6'6 inches that would garner them both a 99 jump rating. TJ Ford at 5'10 has a 42" vertical giving him a 99 as well, he would be in the category of Ben Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Desmond Mason and Steve Francis. Paul Pierce would fall around an 84 and Antoine Walker, a notorious non-leaper would be in the 65-69 range. With this particular attribute there can be no 0 rating (duh!). The worst leaper in history would be a player in the Gheorghe Muresan, Mark Eaton, Arvydas Sabonis mold and they would garner at least a 25-33 range at the center position. A player that is 5'5 but can't dunk like Earl Boykins but can grab the net would be 75, Jameer Nelson, a 6'0 guard that can't dunk but can touch rim would get a 69. The average jump rating for a guard that can' dunk would be in the 60-69 range. A guard that can dunk would be an average 69-75. Forwards on average would get a 58-64 jumping rating and centers will be in the 50-60 average rating. If they are big bodies/role players with little athleticism then remember the specialist allowance is in effect if their jump rating is under 50. Their height will have to be 7'2 or taller and they need a -10 allowance in at least one defensive category (70+ as opposed to 80+ for perimeter/skill positions). That is all, pretty cut and dry. The biggest mistake you can make is giving someone who can jump high too low a rating, this is ONLY a problem if that player can dunk. Ask around if you donÍt know, on sports messageboards these questions can be answered pretty easily. Here's a chart with automatic jumping ratings for heights that can dunk:

30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 I 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
7'2 7'1 7'0 6'10 6'9 6'8 6'7 6'6 6'5 6'4 6'3 6'2 -6'0 5'10-5'8

Strength is a rating of a players physical strength. As usual, it is different for different positions. The STRONGEST point guard in the league CANNOT be as strong as the STRONGEST center, that is just common sense. Therefore, point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards need a cutout point for how HIGH their strength rating can go. No one can have a 0 strength so there MUST be a cutoff point. For full grown players that are smallish and can light in the area of their own body weight 20 is the starting point. The lowest allowable strength for a player in the league is 15 (15 and 18 are allowable for players such as Jianghua Chen and Shaun Livingston who cannot yet lift their own body weight) Earl Boykins can get a 20 because he can lift more than his own body weight. The average guard's strength falls into the 20-32 category, small forwards fall in the 28-40 category. Anomalies in this field would be Ben Gordon who presses 350 pounds and leg presses 525 and Baron Davis whoÍs built like a football player. At the point guard position they both can draw 35-38 strength ratings. Tracy McGrady is obviously stronger than Steve Francis and he and Paul Pierce would be a more even match in size and strength. These things ALL play into a players ratings. Power forwards MUST have a strength of at least 50-60 unless, under the specialist allowance (provided they're undersized weight wise) it can be -10 (40-50) if they have a 70+ rating in at least ONE defensive category. Centers can have a strength of 55-64 and they can have -10 allowances based on height and/or the specialist allowances. A stick thin 7'4 player can ONLY play center if he can either block shots, rebound, or score well. Otherwise he'd be an anomaly at the PF position and have a whole other set of rules and allowances (7'4 250 C 69 FG 0 3PT 45 STR 75 BLK 50 O. REB 72 D.REB) this is beginning DNA of a FEASIBLE CAP. The DNA is the CAP maker's slang term for a players finished ratings. Once you input them the player is made and at one put people used to ask for the DNA of a player rather than his ratings. I don't use the word online but remember people, I've been at this for 10 years! No that strength has been outlined I will explain the cutoff points a little. Any player at a power position with a rating lower than the cutoff point would be playing in a minor league somewhere, sometimes they're allowed in the league to develop. If they don't, they have a short stay in the league if they don't at least reach the allowance. Now on to a simpler matter, speed vs. quickness.

PG/SG 15-18 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50
SF 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75
PF/C (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

In my understanding, Speed and Quickness are the SAME d**n THING except for in ONE instance. The player is slow of foot for either injury or weight issues, but he is exceptionally quick and skilled with excellent footwork or an advanced skill set. Examples of this would be Oliver Miller, Stanley Roberts, Mark Jackson, Troy "Escalade" Jackson, or Arvydas Sabonis. Players in this category are the ONLY ones I'd make with differening Speed/Quickness ratings with speed being lower than quickness. Now, let's determine how fast a player ACTUALLY is. Once again, cutoff points are necessary. The jump off point for a PG's speed/quickness is 75, the only way to make it lower is a -10 allowance for specialization in at least ONE offensive (shooting/passing) AND ONE defensive (steals/defensive rating) category. This is called the "Mark Jackson exception" because it refers to the way he stayed in the league so long despite losing a step AND becoming long in the tooth at the end of his career. Traditionally, a pro point guard has to lead the team upcourt, penetrate and draw the defense with his speed and initiate the offense. Slow players CANNOT initiate the offense for their teams or penetrate and kick out to open men after drawing defensive assignments. The jumpoff point for SG's is 69, the -10 allowance is also available (58) provided the SG is a specialist at FG/3pt rating (80+) or another category that wouls allow him to stick with a team or in the league as a whole. Small Forwards have 65 (55) with the -10 needing 2 allowances at 80+. Power Forwards have a 60 cutoff (50 with a -10 allowance in at least 2 categories starting at 70) and Centers have a 50 cutoff (40 with the same allowance rule applying).

It gets even more complicated now. There is a breakdown of how fast players of a certain position can and CAN'T be. All things being equal (and they're not) it falls like this:

PG's (65-69) (70-72) 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SG's (60-64) (65-69) 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF's (55-58) (60-64) 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90
PF's (50-52) (55-58) 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85
C's (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80

There are, of course, anomalies in each category. Bill Russell might actually be the fastest center in the history of the league and if someone gave him an 84 SPD/QUIK rating I wouldn't trip. At 6'10 230 with a 40" vertical, long wingspan and track star speed it makes since how can he able to play defense so well. How fast a player is becomes obvious the more you watch basketball. Marcus Banks, Allen Iverson, Tony Parker, etc. are all in the 90's. Everything else is up to you. Why the speed allowances? Simple. Basketball is essentially a running game, even when it's deliberate and slowed down. Slow players make for a boring game and a frustrating sports sim. Speed helps scoring and defense. Identify who the fastest at each position in the NBA and picking a corresponding number rating will be easy after some practice.

Passing is an integral part of basketball, ball movement, and finding the open man are necessary tools a team must have in order to win. The ability to pass the ball ALONE can make a make a marginal player good and a good player GREAT. All things taken into consideration, a 0 cannot be possible for this attribute. If you can't pass, at least make a consistent chest pass or pass into or out of the post then you won't be playing in the NBA. The point guard MUST be able to pass well, he can be JUST good enough to distribute the ball as opposed to finding people on the move and in transition if he can shoot or defend well. This means we have a cutoff point for players at different positions as far as passing ratings are concerned. Remember that when I create players that height/weight are ALSO allowances, every inch below 5'10 allowances +10 in either a defensive/offensive category are necessary. For example, at 5'8 Yuta Tabuse's passing and dribbling will be better than the average bench players because it compensates for his lack of size. Besides, he HAS to be that much better to make the league. Here is the chart, point guards MUST be able to pass:

PG (65-69) (70-72) 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SG (50-52) (55-58) 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
C (20-22) (25-28) 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99

The parentheses contain ratings that are below the cutoff. In order to have a rating this low created players should have SPECIALIST rating in at least ONE offensive or defensive attribute (85+ or 70+ depending or the attribute). Now comes the HARD PART, determining who deserves what passing rating and in what category they fall into takes a LOT of practice and watching a lot of basketball. I WILL give you some guidelines, EXCELLENT passers can find an open man in transition and make no look passes to players with less than one foot of space. GREAT passers can do the same, but with 6 inches or less of space and hit you in the HANDS, repeatedly. Acceptable passers in the NBA SHOULD be able to make timing bounce passes or behind the back passes (centers included) to players on a certain position on the court (that's what they practice daily). Remember, most of these players have been playing basketball since they were children and they did at one point play other positions growing up. Dwight Howard was at ONE point a point guard, as was Charles Barkley. These players BOTH experienced growth spurts but retained their ball handling and passing abilities. Tyson Chandler was a SHOOTING guard that experienced a growth spurt, these are things that NEED to be considered in the making of a CAP or an Edit. Watching/playing a lot of basketball (especially basketball from other eras) will EASILY help you to differentiate average from good and good from excellent and excellent from great and great from legendary passers (Wes Unseld was one of the greatest passing centers of all time, as was Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bill Walton, and Arvydas Sabonis)

Dribbling is a related attribute that is evaluated much the same way passing is. The more basketball you watch/play the easier it is to evaluate where a player lies in this attributes ranges. The diiference is that centers and power forwards that are power players and play in the paint or on the block with their backs to the hoop and RARELY face their opponents donÕt need a high dribble rating. They will touch the ball on offensive rebounds and feeds into the post mostly. Post moves are controlled by the Inside Scoring attribute and dribbling DOESNÕT factor in so you can keep it near the cutoff for power players that donÕt handle the ball. Perimeter players NEED to be able to dribble just to get into passing or scoring position, rarely do smaller players not have good dribbling ability. Only in the case of a catch and shoot player that is a specialist (Steve Kerr, John Paxson, Eric Piatkowski, Reggie Miller, Kyle Korver, etc.) in hitting the open shot does a player NOT need to be a good dribbler since they are dependent on moving without the ball until their teammates recognize their open. As for players that can use the dribble to get free and create their own shots, a good dribbling rating is essential (Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, etc.). In some cases, a specialist can ALSO create his own shot because of his size, strength, and dribbling ability (Mike Miller, Wally Sczerzbiak, Matt Harpring, etc.). Dribbling can be used to break down players and penetrate, bring the ball over the time line to initiate a halfcourt offense, to handle the ball through traffic and finish with a dunk or layup, or just to hold the ball until a open man appears. The skill level of dribbler a player is isnÕt always evident in the NBA. Jerome " The Junkyard Dog" Williams is a power player in the NBA, when he plays streetball he handles the ball, crosses people over and makes open court no look passes. If you NEVER saw him play at the Rucker and ONLY seen him play at Georgetown and the NBA youÕd have his dribbling rating near the minimum allowed by the cutoff. This is why I ALWAYS stress that overall basketball knowledge is the MOST important tool for CAP creation, because 50% of these ratings and edits are judgement calls. Here is the dribbling cutoff chart by position with allowance rating in parentheses.

PG (60-64) (65-69) 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SG (50-52) (55-58) 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
C (20-22) (25-28) 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90

Keep in mind that for centers height is an allowance, every inch taller than 7Õ2 is an allowance for dribbling, provided the +10 is added to a defensive attribute until the player is a specialist in either Inside Scoring (70+), Blocking (70+), Offensive or Defensive Rebounding (70+) (Defensive rebounding is usually between 10-20 points LOWER than Offensive rebounding unless they are the same). Allowances prevent players from being extremely underrated at the point of creation. LetÕs suppose youÕre not a fan of a player and theyÕre a free agent or 12th to 15th man on the roster. A free agent MUST at least be good enough to draw interest from an NBA team. The allowances, cutoffs and guidelines help you develop an objective eye for basketball talent/ability. Your ability to scrutinize a playerÕs ability level is paramount in determining a players dribbling ability. Note: Streetball players are usually ALREADY considered specialists in the dribbling department.

Offensive Awarness is one of the most controversial attributes ever created. When the Live series was young it was widely thought that this attribute handled not only how well a scorer could move without the ball and get open and was relating to a players scoring mentality. It was ALSO thought to rate a point guards ability to find players open and it was thought to be tied into the Passing/Dribbling family of ratings so you could make tough passes or shots. It recently has become a question as to what this attribute REALLY gauges since some players have complained that players with Offensive Awareness ratings tend to SHOOT the ball all the time. Why is this problematic? Players traditionally that are given a HIGH/SPECIALIST rating in Offensive Awareness are SCORERS and POINT GUARDS! The reasons they have high ratings in the attribute is because their supposed to PASS FIRST, SHOOT SECOND and that would COMPLETELY kill the purpose of applying the high rating since the amount of shots a player takes is widely thought to be governed by the Primacy attribute. Until it is found to be otherwise, we will stay with the widespread belief. Since I play a player controlled game, I know that my point guards that I have made with higher OA pass BETTER (and IÕve made THOUSANDS of players in my ten year career) than normal so here is the OA chart by position with allowances in parentheses:

PG (50-52) (55-58) 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SG (45-48) (50-52) 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF (35-38) (40-44) 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
C (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99

Bench players and defensive specialists might have lower offensive awareness ratings due to the fact that theyÕre on the team to do the little things, set screens and picks, rebound, box out, and take charges. Watching a season of basketball will give you an excellent idea of what player falls where in regards to Offensive Awareness, start with one player: Ben Wallace.
Defensive Rebounding rates the players ability to rebound. Who rebounds well? Who rebounds well at what position? No point guards is going to give you double digit rebounds a night unless theyÕre 6Õ9 in todayÕs league. How high do you rate Oscar Robertson considering he averaged a triple double during a considerable part of his early career? How high do you rate Jason Kidd considering heÕs the best rebounding guard in the league now (Paul Pierce is 6Õ7 225)? Well, this is where cutoffs come in very handy. There are of course, anomalies for every position, but this is an excellent chart to avoid having a CAPof a 6Õ0 point guard grabbing 8 boards a gameÉand he canÕt even dunk! Here is the Defensive Rebounding Chart with allowances in parentheses, afterwards make your Offensive Rebounding rating ten to twenty points LOWER for guards and possibly more for power players. ex. PF 6Õ9 275 75 d.reb 48 o. reb PG 6Õ2 185 24 d.reb 0 o. reb :

PG 20-22 25-28 30-33 35-38 40
SG (20-22) (25-28) 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50
SF (25-28) (30-33) 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85
PF (35-38) (40-44) 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
C (45-48) (50-52) 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Defensive Rebounding ratings should correspond to the top rebounders in the league. A player from college such as a Wayne Simien should translate into at least a specialist (70+) at defensive rebounding at the PF position. A rebounding small forward, depending on size, length, and athleticism can pull in 6 to 8 rebounds a game while still handling the ball and shooting it. All of these factors play into a CAPÕs ratings. Practice makes perfect in regards to a playerÕs rebounding skill level evaluation.

Steals and Blocks are both talents that are related to perimeter players and power players respectively. Ben Wallace is an anomaly because not only is he undersized but he rebounds, blocks shots, steals AND occasionally he scores in double digits. Steals are normally the domain of guards or other perimeter players. Assigning a rating based on how well a player can steal the ball is pretty easy. Keep in mind that an EXCELLENT thief in the NBA gets three steals a game. The greatest in the history of the game hover around 2-2.5 steals for their careers. A power player getting a steal a game is rare. LetÕs see the chart, power positions CAN receive 0Õs for this attribute to shift it over to blocks and/or rebounds:

PG (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SG (25-28) (30-33) 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF (20-24) (25-28) 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 I 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF 0-10 15-18 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75
C 0-10 15-18 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65

These allowances keep the players ratings within reason. Next we deal with blocks, which pretty much are assessed the same way as steals. Excellent shot blockers get two or more a game at power positions and perimeter players that average one a game are considered tops. For a career 1-1.5 blocks a contest is considered good. Here is the blocks chart, keep in mind that the blocks chart is the polar opposite of the steals chart.

PG 0-10 15-18 20-24 25-28 30-33 35
SG 0-10 15-18 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50
SF 0-10 15-18 20-24 25-28 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF (20-24) (25-28) 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
C (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

The blocks chart is made so that a defensive guard like Tony Allen doesnÕt end up next to Andrei Kirilenko in the league leaders for blocked shots. How do you determine who blocks shots well as opposed to who doesnÕt? Just tune in for the pro and college seasons. Remember that some players block shots of other players coming from the weak side and defend the basket while others block the shot of the man theyÕre defending. What determines how well they recognize who the man with the ball is? Defensive Awareness.

Defensive Awareness is used to gauge how well a player can recognize and adapt to the intricacies of the opponents offensive sets, and play straight up one one as well as team/help defense. All it takes is a look at the NBA All Defensive Team and/or watching enough telecasts to hear random sportscasters and color commentators rave about how well someone plays defense. Defensive specialists run the gamut from bench/role players to All Stars. A short list includes Bruce Bowen, Andrei Kirilenko, Trenton Hassell, Kenyon Martin, Doug Christie, Ron Artest, Eric Snow , Shawn Marion and Ben Wallace. For players that play absolutely lazy defense there IS a cutoff point for exactly how badly you can play defense and STILL be in the NBA. In THIS case any one with a low defensive rating MUST have OFFENSIVE allowances (FG/3pt/FT/OA/IS/Pass/Drb/Dunk) ONLY. It only makes sense that an offensive player would play matador defense, doesnÕt it? Shotblockers, thieves, and lock down players should all have at least a good (70+) defensive awareness rating, otherwise it won't work. Once again, here comes the chart for defensive awareness:

PG (30-33) (35-38) 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
SG (35-38) (40-44) 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
SF (40-44) (45-48) 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF (45-48) (50-52) 55-58 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
C (50-52) (55-58) 60-64 65-69 I 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Note: Any center with a defensive awareness under 50 who is taller than 7Õ2 needs +10 allowances in Inside Scoring, Dunking, FG, 3pt OR FT rating. There is NO way a player over 7Õ2 who ISNÕT a shotblocker would EVER even get a second look from the League unless he is a scorer.

Stamina is essential for a player in the NBA, a running league. NBA players run during practice, they run when they work out, they run when they play pickup ball, they need endurance even when theyÕre injured and in rehab trying to get INTO practice and back on the court..where theyÕll be expected to RUN some more! The Stamina cutoff point is NON NEGIOTIABLE with NO allowances. If you have no stamina, you wonÕt play. Power players couldnÕt bang, Guards couldnÕt run around screens and picks and NO ONE would be able to play defense. New players would have the expected learning curve and need to be acclimated to an 82 game season, start rookies with a lower stamina because rookies often hit the "wall" after 50 games. No Stamina, you donÕt play in the NBA. Period. Here is the Stamina chart, allowance free:

PG/SG/SF 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99
PF/C 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

The regular rule of thumb for stamina ratings are usually the minutes leader board for minutes played per game, itÕs guesswork for players that are lower on the depth chart but play less because people are in front of them. Just remember that if someone got injured or traded, theyÕd be able to step in (and someone will ask me for an edit of the player because heÕs underrated. LOL).

We have reached the end of the road now, finishing with Hardiness and Primacy. Hardiness is the attribute that measure the level at which a playersÕ body breaks down and they succumb to injury. The more likely you are to become hurt, the lower the players hardiness rating should be. As a rule of thumb, a player is most likely to be injured often, coming out of high school or college where you play between 30 and 40 games a season as opposed to 82 against the greatest competition in the world. A player is also likely to be injured often at the end of their career, case in point Karl Malone. A veritable ironman throughout his entire career, he suffered TWO injuries that kept him out for extended periods of time. Once during the regular season and one that kept himfrom playing in the NBA Finals. Players such as Grant Hill will have low hardiness ratings, some players in NBA history that would receive low hardiness ratings include Sam Bowie, Pervis Ellison, Jeff Ruland, Terrell Brandon and Bill Walton. All of which had their careers halted by debilitating injuries. If you play with injuries on and seek realism than pick players who are often injured, new or old and rate accordingly. I personally donÕt play with injuries so itÕs a shadow attribute to me. Here is the hardiness chart, it has NO allowances, neither does primacy for that matter.

PG/SG 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

SF/PF/C 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Last but not least, we come to Primacy. This attribute is used to gauge what player touches (or demands) the ball most on a team, usually itÕs a point guard. In some cases itÕs the star player who has little help and heÕs responsible for initiating the offense and making things happen. It also is in relation to who is the most important player on the team as far as offense is concerned. The rule of thumb for primacy in my opinion is for a last second shot, who would you have shoot it in descending order on your team. LetÕs take the Detroit Pistons for example. IÕd start with Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace. Ben Wallace doesnÕt need a high primacy, since he blocks shots, rebounds, and gets steals he touches the ball PLENTY without ever needing someone to pass to to him! Keep that in mind for players in a defensive capacity that donÕt demand the ball a lot (Bruce Bowen) and for players that initiate the offense (Tony Parker) or players that demand the ball and lead the team (Tim Duncan). It is possible for multiple players on the same team to have primacies in the 80Õs or 90Õs. Usually the star player has the highest primacy, either him or the point guard (Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen). As usual, there is a cutoff for primacies in the NBA. Bench players GOTTA score, too. Here is the FINAL chart with no allowances.

PG 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

SG/SF/PF/C 30-33 35-38 40-44 45-48 50-52 55-58 60-64 65-69 70-72 75-78 80-84 85-88 90-95 98-99

Primacy ratings are pretty cut and dry, only time problems will occur is during a translation. WhatÕs a translation? ThatÕs the term for taking a high school, college, or streetball player and making them a CAP for your Live season. How can a player who stars in college be able to play at the next level? ItÕs all guesswork and the more practice that goes into it, the easier it becomes. The more you do it, the faster you get at it.
If youÕre not good at studying and critical thinking/drawing conclusions. This is NOT for you. If you focus and are able to do this and you will learn things about yourself. This can be a frustrating and confusing process, itÕs not for everyone. I can name ALL of the CAP/Edit makers that have some and gone, most of them just QUIT. This is my TENTH YEAR. I am a firm believer in the old proverb "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he will eat forever." I think the public needs to know EXACLY what goes into this process for the next time an update gets posted. Thank you for reading and direct all questions regarding CAP creation and making to THIS thread. DonÕt e-mail me about CAP creation questions my answers are long and I canÕt answer 50-100 of THOSE a week like I can my other e-mails. My inbox is at itÕs limit d**n near anyways. This thread/discussion will be VERY necessary come the time Live 2005 drops. I wanted to give you all time to get good enough at this to have it down by the time 2005 ends up on store shelves this fall. Any questions donÕt hesitate to holler. Remember, you can do ratings in whatever order you feel comfortable with, getting your own style and system is essential in making consistent CAPÕs. One.

**nogster** · 04-15-2006, 02:50 AM

Re: Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

spot on about the inside scoring. thats exactly how i do the edits. only post players have a rating over 80 when i did the edits. ea's ratings are so off the mark.
same with the 2k series. i only have superstar scorers or inside guys with good inside scoring. not everyone in the 90's. thats ridiculous. what would be the point in taking mid range shots if u can score that easily inside with eric snow. etc....its a joke. most guards esspecially pgs i edited in the 70's at the very most. most were in 60's. parker is an exception to the rule as he is uncanny with his ability to score in the paint.
i think the attribute ratings that were the most off the mark by ea would be inside scoring, field goals was a bit off too, speed and quickness was way off in most cases. some pgs were rated lower than some C's..lol. stamina was not too good either. and in some cases strength was as bad as the speed and quickness atributes.
most other attributes generally dont have to be changed.

**Gilateen** · 04-15-2006, 07:15 AM

Re: Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

Thats like 2-3 years old.

**Okafor_In_04** · 04-15-2006, 01:09 PM

Re: Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

You do know the guide can be used fro rating right?

**thenbagamer** · 04-16-2006, 07:27 PM

Re: Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

wow thats a long guide

Okafor_In_04's Rating Edits

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