2K16 Bulls Playbook: An In-Depth Look

[Permatron]

The work you put into breaking all this down is simply amazing. As a Bulls fanatic I commend you good sir.

I am a stickler for authentic/true-to-life team play and I couldn't have imagined a better breakdown. Can't wait to add this all in and getting these plays down in practice.

Any other teams on the way?

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[KwiLL23]

Fantastic breakdown, I definitely have to implement this and lab the entire playbook.

[jattnanga]

Quote: Originally Posted by brandon623

Will you be doing other teams as well?

I am working on the Orlando Magic currently.

I am most interested in getting those teams out that have a different system from last year as I think 2K does a decent job of getting the general flow down for many of the teams, provided the user understand the freelance system that each team is using. Check out Czar's freelance show thread for that information.

Quote: Originally Posted by BrianU

Your entire post is fascinating to me, as a guy who doesn't know much about the NBA or its strategy. I use the Bulls exclusively so this post was like a dream! I am still unclear on a few things though.. I wish you explained a little bit more basic knowledge to interpret this post. I feel you need a decent amount of understanding before reading it. One thing in particular, what is a weave? I love the videos and if ever possible I'd love to watch a full game of yours and see how these plays integrate with each other in a game setting. How often do you call a play? How often do you iso or pick n roll? Those type of things. That's interesting about smart play. I don't feel I have enough knowledge to know what play to call in what situation. When I call plays manually I tend to use the same couple, I am not very diverse, so I like letting the CPU call plays for me or smart play. Could you look at putting offensive playcalling on Auto and seeing if that is the same thing as using Smart Play frequently? Does Auto offensive playcalling give the same results? Another big thing I don't get. Is it possible to control who the trailer and the strong side wing player are? The strong side wing in particular. Sometimes it's Butler and sometimes it's Dunleavy.

A weave is an exchange of the basketball between players as they swap positions.

I rarely if ever iso on the perimeter. I will occasionally in the post to create some space to work with...although sometimes I don't mind if they help so I can kick it out and shoot it or attack a closeout.

Pick and roll - in transition if I push it ahead and don't really get anything that I like, I'll go into pick and roll. Or late in the shot clock (7 or 8 seconds), I'll open up the floor and call pick and roll and try to get something that way to hopefully get something decent out of the possession.

Having the playcalling on auto will give you certain segments of the plays being run, but because Hoiberg's offense is not in the game, it requires layering plays and calling multiple plays during the course of the possession to get it to be true to life.

There is no way, unfortunately to control who the trailer is.

You can however, manipulate the strong side wing by calling a play for that player early...and the wings will cross to be setup to run what you have called.

The other option and more realistic way to do this is to take the ball to the side of the floor that the wing for whom you want to call the play is on, and then you can flow smoothly into something that you've called. You don't have to get all the way to the sideline..just across the split line (an imaginary line that runs the length of the floor in the middle splitting it in two).

This offense is pretty complex in terms of execution and shear number of actions and is probably the most complex secondary offense in the league.

For a beginner and someone not worried about running the bulls offense true to life, the Magic offense will be easier to execute so keep an eye for that in the coming days.

[jattnanga]

Quote: Originally Posted by KwiLL23

Fantastic breakdown, I definitely have to implement this and lab the entire playbook.

@KwILL23, Permatron and anyone else interested in putting the entire playbook or even parts of it in as the base of their offense...

There is a learning curve to the reads and choosing a play in a timely manner. There are stretches during the game that you will be able to have a good rhythm and can get into stuff seamlessly.

Then, there will be stretches where your brain almost freezes and you don't know what to do. My advice for getting thru the lulls is either breaking away from the system for a few possessions and running some pick and roll or post ups just get some rhythm back in your offense when you feel like you've run out of ideas.

Another thing you can do is call timeout, or even just pause the game for a second and take a look at the playbook on your computer or phone and get your bearings back.

One last and helpful tip is to be in pitch for a few possessions, then be in thru for a few possessions, then be in quick for a few possessions...this way you can find some rhythm as you learn which plays work best for you and the personnel you have out there at a given time without dealing with brain freezes that can occur when you are choosing from so many different actions. Doing it this way, also opens up counters as the ACE system will adjust and begin to overplay certain players so you can go to backdoors and other direct line actions.

As time goes on, you'll be able to feel which actions are going to be the best get jimmy or derrick or whoever else, a good look or put him in a position to draw help based on matchups and you can make those a priority and flow into those options easier.

Just remember that while spacing, player movement and ball movement are great and make for an enjoyable offense to watch and play in...the goal of an offensive possession is to score. So don't feel the need to be married to the actions and running everything all the way through...be hunting scoring opportunities and advantages at all times (backdoor opportunities, mismatches, somebody getting knocked down on a screen, defensive confusion early in the offense as teams are still matching up etc)

[KwiLL23]

Quote: Originally Posted by jattnanga

@KwILL23, Permatron and anyone else interested in putting the entire playbook or even parts of it in as the base of their offense... There is a learning curve to the reads and choosing a play in a timely manner. There are stretches during the game that you will be able to have a good rhythm and can get into stuff seamlessly. Then, there will be stretches where your brain almost freezes and you don't know what to do. My advice for getting thru the lulls is either breaking away from the system for a few possessions and running some pick and roll or post ups just get some rhythm back in your offense when you feel like you've run out of ideas. Another thing you can do is call timeout, or even just pause the game for a second and take a look at the playbook on your computer or phone and get your bearings back. One last and helpful tip is to be in pitch for a few possessions, then be in thru for a few possessions, then be in quick for a few possessions...this way you can find some rhythm as you learn which plays work best for you and the personnel you have out there at a given time without dealing with brain freezes that can occur when you are choosing from so many different actions. Doing it this way, also opens up counters as the ACE system will adjust and begin to overplay certain players so you can go to backdoors and other direct line actions. As time goes on, you'll be able to feel which actions are going to be the best get jimmy or derrick or whoever else, a good look or put him in a position to draw help based on matchups and you can make those a priority and flow into those options easier. Just remember that while spacing, player movement and ball movement are great and make for an enjoyable offense to watch and play in...the goal of an offensive possession is to score. So don't feel the need to be married to the actions and running everything all the way through...be hunting scoring opportunities and advantages at all times (backdoor opportunities, mismatches, somebody getting knocked down on a screen, defensive confusion early in the offense as teams are still matching up etc)

Thank you for this. I can say that it is a lot to digest and I was watching your YouTube videos to study film to say the least. I haven't got a chance to attempt it in the game yet, but I actually took mental notes of how you were chaining plays together and the offense you were running was absolutely beautiful. The offense creates a lot of scoring opportunities when ran correctly or even ran half way. Thanks once again.

[Cycloniac]

Absolutely brilliant stuff here.

Keep it up.

[kevmasood]

BEAUTIFUL WORK !!!!, wOW, Thank you, so much

[jattnanga]

A quick update:

The Bulls have been running a double screen straight into horns on the ball reversal through the trailer.

In the Pick and Roll plays, replace 03 Fist 14 Spread (opt) with Quick Horns Swing 52.

The original post has been updated to reflect this.

Here is a quick look at the action being run all the way through.