I agree with this. I've heard so many good things about 18 PNO, I just am too addicted to the MyTeam format to really get into PNO. Creating your own specific team that only YOU can use is such a joy. And I agree, literally all they need to do is bump up the difficulty (and fix the chode shot bar) and SuperMax would be playable. Another thing is it's literally impossible to grind for MT in 2k18 MTO... there's NO blacktop/gauntlet, sniping is harder with the live auction market, and "pack and playoffs" has absolutely pathetic rewards for playing multiple FULL games. I uninstalled the game, and won't be going back unless I feel like playing some sim-style PNO games and practicing some plays.
And the 2k17 meta is very odd nowadays. I FINALLY beat the pink diamond league, and nowadays that's a real accomplishment considering all I play are god squads and the occasional budget ruby team. Currently going for that ruby league diamond show in my second playthrough. In general, the remaining playerbase (especially in ruby league and above) is pretty tryhard, but I've been having an absolute blast getting back into this game. The auction market is still alive and well; it's just smaller. Grinding MT by playing blacktop is very possible because of the increased value of consumables, and now that I'm familiar with the current prices of players, I've been able to make some moves on my team just by doing a little bit of sniping. This is what it's looking like rn:
I've found a twin towers lineup is the most effective in the current meta, simply because of the high possibility of running into another twin towers lineup. Another cool thing about this semi-dead game is I'm able to afford players I could never dream of playing with when the game was in its prime; I was able to pick up Embiid for 100k, and my god what a center. He's comparable to Hakeem offensively, and running 3-out 2-in with them both in the paint is almost unfair. It's godly.
David Thompson is also absolutely incredible with the UA speed shoe. 99 accel/speed, 97 speed w/ball (up from 88), 98 driving/contact dunk, 99 vertical, and a top-notch arsenal of dunk animations. He will poster ANYONE. Kareem, Sampson, Yao, doesn't matter. They get shoved out of the way by a flying Thompson, who glitches the game when he starts an animation that just magnetizes him to the hoop. Absolutely insane. Oh, and did I mention he has an 85 BLOCK for a 6'4 SG?? Nuts. I'll probably never play with DS2 T-Mac or All Star Vince, but I'm quite satisfied with Thompson as he's the only other comparable shooting guard in terms of dunking (98 CONTACT dunk still gives me shivers).