Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

[SacKings1999]

Hi all,

I played a TON of NBA Live on last gen, but this is my first time playing in on 360 (I just picked up NBA Live 10).

I've been playing NBA video games since 1995... and I've always picked them up fairly quickly and managed to play pretty well. Not Live 10!

I'm playing absolutely HORRIBLE in Live 10. I've had the game for a few days and I've probably played a little less than 15 games, and lost nearly all of them. Badly. Blow-outs. For what it's worth I'm playing on All-star. I figure since I have a decent bball IQ and I've been playing video games for a long time I'd be cheating myself to play on a lower difficulty, but maybe Live 10 is different???

Anyways, here are my main questions- I would really appreciate any tips and advice on how to improve. I don't play online, so all of my questions are in relation to playing against the CPU.

1) Is there anyway to score in the post? I've tried scoring with KG, Dwight, Shaq, etc... there doesn't seem to be any real post moves. Are there any specific moves anyone recommends I try to score with in the post, any button combinations, etc???

2) Is there anyway to dribble penetrate- is there some magical right joystick move I'm not aware of? It doesn't matter if I have Rondo, or Derrick Rose, I can try any right-stick dribble move and the defense always looks like a young Payton in his prime times ten, and I either get stopped or turn the ball over.

--EDIT---
I just found this, which solves the dribble / getting to the basket problem:
http://www.operationsports.com/ehh/b...ons-read-this/

After reading the layup solution 99% of my frustration went away . Now if I could just find a way to score in the post.

I understand the emphasis in this game is play calling. Is that all there is to it though? I try to play realistic basketball, work the ball around the perimeter, feed it to my bigs, kick to the open man, run pick and rolls, run off ball screens for guys like Ray Allen, look for mis-matches, take what the D gives me, etc... Am I missing anything else?

Is the all-star difficulty a little difficult for any of you? Haha, or have I simply met the first bball video game that I absolutely stink at? Any pointers are more than welcome.

Oh, also, the bench is irrelevant in this game??? No one ever gets tired enough to need a sub? How far should I bump up the fatigue setting so benches matter?

----EDIT-----

Oh also, here are a few quick questions I have for playing against the CPU.

3) Dang, it seems like they can get to the free throw line at will, WITH ANY PLAYER! Doesn't matter if it's some 12th man scrub, they start at the 3 point line, take a dribble or two and start a drive/shot animation and get the whistle.

4) The computer doesn't seem to run amazing offensive sets that bamboozle me for the open shot. It seems like the CPU simply drives or takes random close/medium range shots that aren't even open, but still make a decent enough % to run my team out of the building.

[UK_Bullsfan]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

I switched from 2K this year too, and had a lot of the problems you're having.

All star is hard on this game for me.. I know some people are just great at this game but I find All-Star at the moment to be a challenge, I play with the Bulls and will get blown out by the top teams most of the time. I recomend you play on Pro for a while and get really used to running your plays and finding good ways to score.. plus get used to playing D. Play it on pro until you can win most of the time and get a very efficient offence going.. you'll need that for all star level.

1) I use the Bulls so don't score in the post that much.. there are some post moves and I think they are given in the game manual. One of the best things you can do if you have a mismatch in terms of speed, is to post up and then pull the right stick either left or right to try and have you're man spin around the defender towards the basket. Sometimes this works, some times it doesn't.. if it does work chances are you've got an open layup or dunk.

Also, hooks and up and unders can be effective. To do a hook, back your player towards the rim and push the left stick towards the basket + press to shoot. To do an up an under, get close to the basket, press shoot for a half a second to fake, release for half a second, then hold it to go for the shot (hopefully with the defender out of the way).

Also, if you have a good shooting big man, post up and back your man down a bit.. then pull the left stick away from you're defender and you should step out of the post up and face the rim. From here you have a little separation to get off a shot if you have a size advantage.. or you could try faking and driving round.

Live doesnt have masses of post moves but you can use some different things in combination and be effective down low.


2) Driving the ball is tricky and takes practice. With DRose or similar quick PG it can be deadly combined with the layup solutions. It just takes practice to get the dribble moves down.. imo the best way to get past you're man is with a quick cross from right to left or left to right. You need to get the angles right so you switch direction and speed quickly and blow by your man.

Using the P&R controls will help.. also you can try the sizeup moves by holding the sprint button while standing.. you can often get by your man doing this.

The hardest bit is once you get by the first man, the help defence is really good in Live. This is where layup solutions come in.. I find the best thing to do with someone like DRose is to press shoot while pointing the left stick towards his right of left hand (up or down on the stick if you're using the normal camera) when your about half way to the basket. Your player should attempt a layup with his left or right hand as appropriate.. hopefully you chose the right way to avoid the D.

You really have to take what the D gives you in this game.. it takes practice.. but once you get it figured and and into a rythem this game is crazy amounts of fun.


3) Yes, getting to the line is hard. The best way is to beat your man with the dribble moves and then use the layup solutions. Sometimes you'll draw the foul. especially if you go for the shot with the Sprint button pressed at the same time as the shoot button (be carefull not to overuse it though, it doesnt help if you just hold it all the time).

4) D is also hard. It just takes practice and knowing what the other team's tendancies are. Just dont let Ray Allen shoot jumpers, and stand off Rondo etc. SOmetimes the CPU will just hit shots.. nothing you can really do. You have to mostly play D by putting your defenders in the right positions to cut off drives or stop them from getting where they want to go.


My biggest tip would be to just play on Pro level for a good amount of time.. until you get really comfortable with the game. The difference between Pro and All star is really quite big.. so the step up is tough.

[BiggD]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

There isn't any difference between a player like shaq and KG in Live10... its one of the big flaws...

In saying,you can still pull of some nice moves.Try NOT holding turbo on every shot cause it gives you some nice jump hooks

[Court_vision]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

IMO it's best just to ignore the post game.

1. It's extremely limited anyway.

But more importantly...

2. The CPU hardly uses any real moves at all. As Big D says, CPU Shaq is a jump shooter most of the time or innefective (except off ORB, where all CPU players put it back like Wilt)...he's basically got no post moves in the game.

So, if you use the post a lot (it's very easy to spin off and score) you're kind of doing stuff that the CPU can't / doesn't do...

Same with "off ball controls"...I don't use those for the same reason as it's way, way too powerful and the cpu can't move like you can. Using off ball controls, I can get guys like Rip and Ben Gordon open all day and hit J after J. The CPU can't do that, so it's kind of unfair to use it. The CPU has it's own built in 'cheats', but I just don't enjoy "cheating it back" as a way to balance things.

This is all for CPU v USER games...which, like me, seems to be your focus.

[SacKings1999]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

UK_Bullsfan, thanks for the post! It was extremely helpful. It's good to hear from another 2k-to-Live player, and especially to hear you also found Live difficult at first.

Thanks for the advice on hooks, I'll try to make an effort to hold the left stick towards the basket. Also, when you're backing down and push left or right on the right stick, I didn't know if that was a matter of speed or strength... so I was never sure when to use it or not. So thanks for clearing that up!

it takes practice.. but once you get it figured and and into a rythem this game is crazy amounts of fun.

I haven't figured everything out yet, but I think that I have to agree . I definitely enjoy the rhythm of Live this year and the focus on playing like a team.

With the layup solution + your advice I got my first win in my Kings Dynasty. I'm 1-9 now . If I keep losing I might give Pro difficulty a try. Who knows, with my new knowledge perhaps I'll be somewhere near .500 by the All-Star weekend.

BiggD:

There isn't any difference between a player like shaq and KG in Live10... its one of the big flaws...

In saying,you can still pull of some nice moves.Try NOT holding turbo on every shot cause it gives you some nice jump hooks :wink:

Thanks for saying that. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Big men all seem the same in the game. I'll try not holding turbo, because I definitely want to see more hooks.

Thanks guys.

[Court_vision]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

With the layup solution + your advice I got my first win in my Kings Dynasty. I'm 1-9 now .

.

Damm...1 and 9...forget what I said about not using the off ball controls You should use them and get K-Mart some open J's. The controls are excellent for getting open shots for guys like him.

Use the P n R controls also (which are excellent) to get Spencer Hawes some open 15 foot Js

[SacKings1999]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

Court_vision, haha, I know right? 1 and 9 is pretty bad . The first quarter of my season is basically a playground to learn the game. Since I found the layup solution, I won my first game against the Bulls, and my second game against the Mavs was really close (but a loss).

I didn't see your post when I first replied, nice advice! I'm glad you said it's better to mostly just ignore the post game- that's the conclusion I've come to as well.

When you said Shaq is a jump shooter in this game, I cracked up because just last game Eric Dampier was raining down fade-away 18 footers, haha. They also had Drew Gooden at the 3 and he was driving and spinning like D. Wade .

I haven't even tried the off-ball control yet! Great idea. Yeah, I'm pretty happy that Hawes can hit the open J in this game, so I'll try running more PnR's for him.

[Court_vision]

Re: Coming From 2k - Need Advice on How to Succeed in Live (especially in the post)

When you said Shaq is a jump shooter in this game, I cracked up because just last game Eric Dampier was raining down fade-away 18 footers, haha. They also had Drew Gooden at the 3 and he was driving and spinning like D. Wade .

Yeah man, bigs in this game........are really bad.

It's unfortunate.

A lot of the guys defending the game are USER v USER players.

If you're a USER v CPU guy (like me)....the bigs are just so wrong that it's not funny. It's really unfortunate and it's the primary reason I can't understand all these posters who claim the game is a SIM. Since when did Damp and Shaq shoot 15-18 foot Js? The post game is so far from a SIM it's not even close.

Hopefully they fix this for 2011. I don't know why it happens as, techincally speaking, DNA should have elimated the bigs playing so incorrectly.

Ignore the post game to enjoy the game