Diamond Manu Ginobili...Manu in General

[harryl]

Quote: Originally Posted by GrimaceZ7

So far, I've kept him on my second unit with Magic at PG. That unit runs either fast break, or Magic is just wrecking the opposing PG in the paint. If I switched Manu to my first unit, he'd be paired with PD West, and I don't know that I've used a better shooter in this game than West. I'll definitely try that out.

I think he makes a lot more sense paired with West. And not so much with Magic, for obvious reasons. (If matchups on other side allow for this, of course. And also with the admission that one can run unexpected P&R between a secondary ballhandler and Magic, to mix things up.)

Quote:

I find it interesting that you're using Emerald Manu and shilling for the Diamond.

Well, just to make sure it's clear, I don't have Diamond Manu (yet). I'm just assuming that he's even better than the Emerald...I mean, he obviously is, in general, but I mean specifically with his dribbling.

I am wondering with people's impressions of Diamond Manu's dribbling is, especially in comparison to other elite ball handlers.

I think I played the Handles TP once or twice, but I'll try him again on my my budget Challenge teams.

I'm now running through a ton of different guys in my collection, trying to figure out who's fun and who I'll keep, to save them from the post-PD-West-acquisition sell-off.

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So my advice to you is to finish the set for Manu ASAP.

Mmkay. I'm basically there. I just need the most expensive one in the Collection, Vinny del Negro. And only because I want to try to pay close to what I've seen as low price on the card.

Quote:

After taking a break from MyTeam, I've come back realizing that it's all about enjoying the guys you're using moreso than using the best cards you have.

I think that's definitely the case. Either most fun, or biggest sentimental historic favorites, theme teams, etc.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bubba13laze

His playmaking looks great my plan was to have him handle the ball a lot because I was running west at the 1 who I found more of a shoot first pg. Ultimately I decided against it because of his defense. But it's interesting to hear people are saying his D is quite good.

I would imagine his D is okay to solid. But I don't know.

And you'll see in the above conversation, if opponent is not running really big guys, I think PD West and Ginobili can definitely make sense.

Although...if one really wants to be picky, they don't. PD West's big differentiator is not so much the elite 3-point shooting, which is now pretty common, but his HoF Mid-Range Deadeye. Manu's differentiator is his ballhandling and HoF Acrobat.

To take fullest advantage of both, they both need to be ball-dominant.

That new Diamond Jimmer, taking defense out of the equation, might be fun to run with someone like Manu, if playing Manu at 2. Basically use Manu as the PG and Jimmer as the off-guard running around screens.

Which is to say: from my perspective, Manu is a point guard and one is slotting him in at 1 or 2 depending on defensive matchups.

[jyoung]

It doesn't make sense to lock in any of the historic collections at this point in the game's life cycle.

Every time there's a new event card or a new theme pack that's released, the historic reward cards become more and more outdated.

Maybe if you already have diamond Sabonis, then it might be worth getting diamond Ginobili, but I wouldn't recommend doing it, otherwise.

I've used Ginobili three or four times this year in Blacktop (and recorded one of those matches), and he's just another guard IMO -- there's nothing special or amazing about him. The hitch at the top of his jumpshot is also very difficult to time online with the latency.

[harryl]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

It doesn't make sense to lock in any of the historic collections at this point in the game's life cycle...

Yeah, I have Diamond Sabonis and the Duo was what made me take a look at Diamond Manu. Once I took a look at Manu, then I went back and played with his Handles Emerald for a few games and his handling made me very interested.

I don't think he measures up with other Diamonds, and even though the Spurs collection is not all that expensive, even on a bang-for-the-MT, he might not be there. Probably not.

But I've been finding him really fun. I've already admitted to myself that getting him is not really MT-logical.

Kind of funny that you think his shot is hard to time, since in the video you link, you shot 4-6 from outside with him. (But, yeah, in Blacktop.)

[roboas]

If anyone runs with Sabonis, this is a no-brainer. Even without him, I think people are missing something beyond the stats - Manu's annimations and his blue badges. His crossover move creates as much lateral separation as anyone in the game. It's pretty comical to watch, you'd never expect Tim Hardaway / AI moves out of Manu, but he's got them. His layup animations are also unique and allow you to score in the paint. He can also throw it down, I've postered Yao many times with Manu (without the posterizer badge). Manu has the best 4 blue badges you can have outside of floor general / D anchor. Sparkplug is my personal favorite, and it mean's he'll make big plays after play resumes. This could be a driving layup, a jumper, or a steal on defense. After playing several games with him, you'll see that he has a tendency to make big plays on defense that you wouldn't expect anyone else to make, and he does it consistently.

[jyoung]

Quote: Originally Posted by harryl

Kind of funny that you think his shot is hard to time, since in the video you link, you shot 4-6 from outside with him. (But, yeah, in Blacktop.)

Any shot you take in 2K17 that isn't a dunk/layup or a perfect green release jumper is a bad shot.

And due to Manu's hitchy release animation, I rarely get greens with him from three. This year, I've used all three versions of Manu (current silver with dynamic duo boost, emerald handles, diamond reward) and have experienced the same problem with his shot animation.

[roboas]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

Any shot you take in 2K17 that isn't a dunk/layup or a perfect green release jumper is a bad shot. And due to Manu's hitchy release animation, I rarely get greens with him from three. This year, I've used all three versions of Manu (current silver with dynamic duo boost, emerald handles, diamond reward) and have experienced the same problem with his shot animation.

His shot has a hitch. But if he isn't contested, it is easy to learn. So don't count on taking contested shots with him. In the paint it's a whole different story. He's launching floaters or doing Euros from anywhere inside the FT line in the heaviest of traffic. I think what people are missing here is that he's most effective as the ball handler. Look at his passing / handling / speed attributes, and then compare them to your PG of choice - Manu is right up there with the best of them, but his crazy animations are what puts him over the top. So he's going to create space and drive to the hoop, the defense will collapse, and then he will kick it out to an open shooter, or if he has a lane, he'll launch a long range layup that will usually go in.

[GrimaceZ7]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

It doesn't make sense to lock in any of the historic collections at this point in the game's life cycle. Every time there's a new event card or a new theme pack that's released, the historic reward cards become more and more outdated.

Not everyone wants to run the exact same team that everyone else runs. Also, there's a lot more to this game than atts. Ammy Ray Allen got everyone's panties wet, but nobody uses him because his animations are garbage.

Life cycle is irrelevant - all of these guys are going to be worthless in a few months, as well as your MT. If someone wants to spend the MT to build a card they want to use, there is absolutely zero reason why they shouldn't. You aren't given a sum of MT at the beginning of the game to last you through the end, and it's not as if you can't always make more.

[harryl]

Quote: Originally Posted by GrimaceZ7

Not everyone wants to run the exact same team that everyone else runs. Also, there's a lot more to this game than atts. Ammy Ray Allen got everyone's panties wet, but nobody uses him because his animations are garbage. Life cycle is irrelevant - all of these guys are going to be worthless in a few months, as well as your MT. If someone wants to spend the MT to build a card they want to use, there is absolutely zero reason why they shouldn't. You aren't given a sum of MT at the beginning of the game to last you through the end, and it's not as if you can't always make more.

Try to keep in mind that, just like different people have different priorities in players, there's variation in people's willingness or ability to make MT in the AH. Most people need to pick and choose what high-end stuff they can get.

So JYoung is just making the case that most of the Historic Collection Reward Diamonds are relatively weak, compared to Diamonds that one could buy with the amount it costs to complete that collection.

It's a fair point. I'm still leaning toward locking for Diamond Manu and feel that way despite him not really being "worth it."