1. Defense is all about creating favorable matchups and using the correct points of emphasis. Also, try to get the lockdown defender signature skill for all your perimeter players. It will neutralize all of the offensive player's signature skills. Check this site's guides for details on
signature skills and
points of emphasis.
2. Using an all-bronze lineup can get you around 7,000-9,000 MT per Domination game. For earning VC, playing key games in My Career is the most lucrative method now that the My GM rewards were reduced.
3. I open historic packs with VC and emerald packs with MT. Those will give you the best bang for your buck. You can still get gold and silver players by opening the emerald packs.
4. After you change the camera in-game and complete that game, your settings should save permanently.
5. I recommend completing the offline "Rockets Away" tournament to get Sapphire James Harden. It's just 5 games against the CPU.
6. By far the best version of Pippen is the Sapphire Scottie Pippen that you get for winning the "50 Greatest" online tournament. For Michael Jordan, you can't go wrong with any of his cards.
7. You can unlock special players by completing tournaments, completing card collections, and advancing to the top three seeds in Road to the Playoffs. 2K also occasionally gives out locker codes on Twitter.
8. & 9. The pick and roll is highly effective on offense. Learn how to use all three varieties (roll, fade, slip). Also make sure you're using the right set for your personnel. Use 3-out 2-in if you want two big men down low. Use 4-out 1-in if you want to spread the floor with shooters.
On defense, don't reach or jump too much. Focus on good positioning and contesting shots without leaving your feet. Make sure shot contest is set to "always" in your coaching options.
10. You have a decent backcourt but are very weak in the frontcourt. I would try to get a good center and power forward to help your team. Shawn Kemp is a beast at power forward. There are plenty of good historic centers to choose from (Ewing, Robinson, Olajuwon, Chamberlain, Shaq, Russell).
Once you complete the offline tournaments for James Harden and Stephen Curry, your guards will also be a lot better.