50 Point Karl Malone

[Bubba13laze]

I know this is long over due. We are a few themes removed from having this card enter the game. I mentioned when he came out he was a very powerful card. However, I am still using him and he remains the best PF on my team. It shocks me that I have never come against him in road, he is so dominant, why aren't other people using him?

Let me just say I have never used a Karl Malone card in any 2k MyTeam before. If any of the previous years played like this one, I regret not grabbing that Diamond Malone from last year that nobody seemed to want.

Strengths:

Post Fade: He has a 96 post fade. The attributes aren't the whole story though. His animations are amazing. His post fade is nearly unguardable.

Pick and Roll: He comes with purple PnR badge. Basically you can play 2 man game with him all day. Throw it into the post, look for a fade. If not there, kick it back out to the guard and call him up for a pnr.

Mid Range: He has a great mid range jumper. His release is quick and easy, he will green light everything from the elbow.

Playmaking: One of the best playmakers in the PF spot. He throws very accurate passes out of the post. Whether it's kicking it out for an open 3 after a double collapses or throwing it over his head to a Centre under the net. He regularly gets 2-3 assists in a game for me.

Rebounding: Very solid rebounder. He has 95 strength and has rebounding stats in the high 80s. He comes with a low vertical but it doesn't seem to hurt him much. I use a shoe on him that gives + offensive rebound + defensive rebound and + vertical.

Post D: He has very good defensive attributes. Great at protecting the rim with a high shot contest. Good help D, pnr D, on ball D, and consistency. People underestimate his defensive abilities but out of all the 50 point scorers collection he is the strongest defender.

Weaknesses:

Perimeter Defense: When covering stretch 4s like Durant or Giannis he can have a bit of trouble staying in front of them as they attack from the 3 point line. However, he is still not bad at it. It just takes more focus to stay in front and not be punished by moving the wrong direction. I have used other low post scoring 4s before that were much worse than Malone when it came to defender the stretch 4s.

Summary:

There are only 2 players on MyTeam this year who I have scored 30+ points a game with in road. Just so happens they were both off the bench, Sapphire Demar and Ruby Malone. Although Demar once scored 31 in 9 minutes for me. I have scored 30+ in 12 minutes with Malone on multiple occasions. I can go 8/9 10/11 from the field for 20+ points every game with him at will. A typical stat line is something like 22 points 4 rebounds 3 assists on 8/10 shooting in 12 minutes of action.

If you like playing sim ball and enjoy working in the low post. Do not miss out on the chance of trying this Ruby Malone. He baffles opponents. I play some friendlies against some other people on OS who can attest to this, they can not stop him. Even while playing perfect defense on him, guys can't do anything better, they can't stop him from scoring.

Last night I was looking over my rotation and thought to myself, the only player on my team who can legitimately dominate on offense every single game, whenever I want, with absolute consistency, is Karl Malone.

[harryl]

I play him in Challenges, for the most part, and enjoy it because 1) it's Karl Malone, and 2) sometimes 2K is most fun when one imposes limitations on oneself.

I agree with you in that his animations feel really good in the post. He's more effective than one would think, in the post, as well as shooting midrange. He makes ridiculous contested layups off of the P&R, due to his HoF badge, I presume. And he is a good rebounder and post defender.

But for MTO play...his strengths just aren't good enough to overcome his weaknesses, in my opinion. For a 6'9" guy to have 70 Speed is just fine, but the 48 Acceleration and 44 Lat Quickness are huge liabilities.

He's fine if he's matched up with a more traditional PF, in terms of speed. But if someone has LBJ or Giannis at the 4, he's just way too easy to exploit with a 4-5 P&R.

[jballaz]

Malone was one of the first Ruby players I bought out with mt, I always thought he was great value! I love his ability in the game as well, his post fadeaway made the Domination grind quite easy for me. Spin Technician has also worked well for me in this regard.

I'm still fairly amateur at the game, and my manual PnR is quite hit and miss. I can often get a good screen and have him run to the basket with space... but my pass to him from my playmaker often gets chopped off. Any tips on how to get the ball over to him safely?! I have tried both lead passes and lob passes, but more often than not I have some centre come in between and steal the ball

Sent from my SM-G930F using Operation Sports mobile app

[Bubba13laze]

@harryl he is probably the only slow big man I have successfully been able to run at the 4 and not feel like he a liability guarding quicker players. I find he gets the job done well enough that I don't need to sub him out. Also I like running defensive minded players. Someone like Bosh did not last long in my lineup because his defensive liability outweighed offensive potential. Malone on the other hand, his weaker perimeter D isn't bad enough to outweigh the offensive domination.

@jballaz Take your time going around the screen. Dont rush the pass, penetrative a bit more with the playmaker before dishing. Also don't force it. Sometimes if the opposing centre helps to cover the rolling Malone it leaves your centre wide open for a dunk.

[harryl]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bubba13laze

@harryl he is probably the only slow big man I have successfully been able to run at the 4 and not feel like he a liability guarding quicker players. I find he gets the job done well enough that I don't need to sub him out. Also I like running defensive minded players. Someone like Bosh did not last long in my lineup because his defensive liability outweighed offensive potential. Malone on the other hand, his weaker perimeter D isn't bad enough to outweigh the offensive domination.

It's been my intention to play more in a Flow or Triangle offense, or even 3-2 sort of spacing. Not so much to use someone like Malone effectively, but to make more use of offensively unskilled but defensively beastly guys like Diamond Mutombo, Diamond Wallace, and Amethyst Rodman...and potentially two of them together.

By the way, I was messing around with 3-2 Zone the other night and it seems like there's only one or two actions in it, but they're interesting. One seems to be ballhandler at the wing and the two bigs posting up, simultaneously, at the high and low blocks. Pass into big in the high post, then pass to big in the low post, high post big goes to screen for low post big, then cuts to basket. Very tight spacing, but if you learn the timing really well, could function as a nice play to run with two bigs, especially if they're also good passers.

Quote:

@jballaz Take your time going around the screen. Dont rush the pass, penetrative a bit more with the playmaker before dishing. Also don't force it. Sometimes if the opposing centre helps to cover the rolling Malone it leaves your centre wide open for a dunk.

Aside from steering defender into the screen effectively, and also taking the correct angle to gain ground on the smaller defender, but threaten paint to draw the big defender (and/or the wing defender), one thing that was very helpful to me to understand was the importance of waiting, after penetration, for the roll man to "catch up."

Basically, you can penetrate and get stalled by a defender, but the action is not over, in that the screener may roll to basket after this, and can be more easily hit with a pass. Especially an alley-oop lob.

[harryl]

Bubba: how did you badge out your Malone?

I feel like there are 5 that are super-compelling for him:

1. Catch & Shoot
2. Dreamlike Up & Under
3. Post Spin Technician
4. Rim Protector
5. Defensive Stopper
6. Brick Wall

And that's not even including Mid-Range Deadeye, Dimer, Break Starter, and Lob City Finisher.

As always, the scant 4 slots for Rubies is a real bummer.

[Bubba13laze]

Quote: Originally Posted by harryl

Bubba: how did you badge out your Malone? I feel like there are 5 that are super-compelling for him: 1. Catch & Shoot 2. Dreamlike Up & Under 3. Post Spin Technician 4. Rim Protector 5. Defensive Stopper 6. Brick Wall And that's not even including Mid-Range Deadeye, Dimer, Break Starter, and Lob City Finisher. As always, the scant 4 slots for Rubies is a real bummer.

I'm not home but later tonight I will post what badges I added. Off the top of my head, I'm thrilled with how I badged him. The only crucial one I'm missing is dimer. I wish I could fit it because I assist so much with him. But overlooking what I added I know there's nothing I could have put dimer instead of.

Edit:

Stock badges: Purple pick and roller, tireless scorer, put back king, Pick and popper, drop stepper, and hustle rebounder.

Added: defensive stopper, rim protector, brick wall, and dreamlike up and under.

The only badge he's missing that I wish I had was dimer.

[justlaze]

interesting to hear that you still use him. I use James Worthy as PF and he is kind of the same archtype as Malone, but with boosted categories:

http://2kmtcentral.com/17/players/compare/20025/8030

I think these kind of players really shine in the Horns Set Freelance, because they bully people on the way to the rim, can do pick and pop midrange and have a great post game.
So if you're really in love with that Malone and his kind of playstyle you could consider Worthy...I don't know for how much he is going currently, but guess he'll be around 200k.