Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

[clinthc0003]

Hey guys, wanted to share this as I've only ever seen in discussed as a side topic in sub threads and think it's really important. Since I got this nailed down, I've been having 100x more fun on defense. Once you get all of this in place, playing without the Who To Guard arrow and playing in a more dynamic and natural way feels great, especially in player lock.

No more seeing a screen coming from a mile away and knowing there's nothing you can do about it because you see the CPU get stuck lol

TLDR: Hold A to manually switch if playing with full team control, Use player selection to switch if playing with player lock or in MyCareer type modes


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UPDATE 9/25 Created a compilation showing some use cases
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UPDATE 9/24 Example of concept in action
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[Tynole14]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

Hey guys, wanted to share this as I've only ever seen in discussed as a side topic in sub threads and think it's really important. Since I got this nailed down, I've been having 100x more fun on defense. Once you get all of this in place, playing without the Who To Guard arrow and playing in a more dynamic and natural way feels great, especially in player lock.

No more seeing a screen coming from a mile away and knowing there's nothing you can do about it because you see the CPU get stuck lol

TLDR: Hold A to manually switch if playing with full team control, Use player selection to switch if playing with player lock or in MyCareer type modes


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtPXxp-OA_4

Known this for awhile. Such a great feature.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[jk31]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

yeah i am using that too for like 3 years. really great, also you when some mismatches happen.

[clinthc0003]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

yeah i am using that too for like 3 years. really great, also you when some mismatches happen.

Yeah, when you start using this liberally it feels like it opens an entirely new way to be a good defender. It's like you're emulating a team with good defensive communication, especially in Player Lock when you orchestrate a good defensive possession (you feel like a KG type floor general almost).

I've been playing without the Who-To-Guard arrow and have been using this every possession basically. As I'm getting back on defense, I see who's on my side of the floor that I want to match up with and set my matchup to them. It feels a hell of a lot more natural than following a magic arrow around and makes the defensive side much more engaging.

Thinking about making another video about it soon. Feels like I'm playing an entirely new game at times. Almost like one of those Skyrim modlist overhauls (to a lesser degree).

[MrFil23]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

Hey guys, wanted to share this as I've only ever seen in discussed as a side topic in sub threads and think it's really important. Since I got this nailed down, I've been having 100x more fun on defense. Once you get all of this in place, playing without the Who To Guard arrow and playing in a more dynamic and natural way feels great, especially in player lock.

No more seeing a screen coming from a mile away and knowing there's nothing you can do about it because you see the CPU get stuck lol

TLDR: Hold A to manually switch if playing with full team control, Use player selection to switch if playing with player lock or in MyCareer type modes


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtPXxp-OA_4

This has been around for a long time. A few years ago, it was even possible to make defensive switches with the right stick. It wasn't always easy, but it helped prevent leaving an attacker open for a few seconds. Unfortunately, they removed that feature. Anyway, the controller commands are getting worse and worse. This year, you can't even adjust the defense with OTFC anymore: it's amazing how the game loses more and more in terms of polish each year.

I already made a tutorial, but it's in French : https://youtu.be/NUBCeUef_Zg?si=tpDcbe3uFloM5ymY

[Smirkin Dirk]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

You can even use it to off ball scram switch.

[Baebae32]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

You can even use it to off ball scram switch.

Which you definitely need to do with how effective (overpowered) off ball screening action is for the CPU lol

[VogueRebellion]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

I knew about holding 'A' but not the player lock component, great video thank you!

[taildog]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

You can even use it to off ball scram switch.

This is the best use imo

[clinthc0003]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

Example of what can be done with manual switching. This was done while in Full Team Control using the "Hold A" method described in the other video. I was controlling Anthony Davis the entire time and kept switching everything manually and controlled the entire possession.

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[alabamarob]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

Example of what can be done with manual switching. This was done while in Full Team Control using the "Hold A" method described in the other video. I was controlling Anthony Davis the entire time and kept switching everything manually and controlled the entire possession.

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Wow. I will have to try that. So it really is a communication button.

[CujoMatty]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

It's so weird that it is kinda hidden and not talked about more. I only discovered it last year because I was getting cooked on screens so bad and thought "I wonder why I can't manually switch" googled it, and sure enough you actually could.

It's completely changed my enjoyment of playing D.

[clinthc0003]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

I'm not sure I did a great job explaining how widely used this can be, so I made a video going through some use cases. I just took out interesting possessions from one of my recent games and gave my thoughts on them.

Will add this to the OP as well for anyone coming in later on.

Here's the list of things I go through in the video

00:16 - General Pick and Roll example
00:46 - Double Switch Example
01:13 - Transition Defense Example
01:33 - Switching from a Distance
02:06 - Transition Defense Example
02:32 - Off ball switching
03:19 - Advanced Matchup Switch on P&R
03:44 - Matchup adjustments on the fly
04:12 - Transition D into multiple switches
05:00 - Matchup control into sniffing out a play


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[alabamarob]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

I'm not sure I did a great job explaining how widely used this can be, so I made a video going through some use cases. I just took out interesting possessions from one of my recent games and gave my thoughts on them.

Will add this to the OP as well for anyone coming in later on.

Here's the list of things I go through in the video

00:16 - General Pick and Roll example
00:46 - Double Switch Example
01:13 - Transition Defense Example
01:33 - Switching from a Distance
02:06 - Transition Defense Example
02:32 - Off ball switching
03:19 - Advanced Matchup Switch on P&R
03:44 - Matchup adjustments on the fly
04:12 - Transition D into multiple switches
05:00 - Matchup control into sniffing out a play


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8d8uGyETlvc?si=vjOlKGHb3vhvuZR4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One of the best and most useful 2k videos I have ever seen. Just sent me back to the lab

[clinthc0003]

Re: Manual Switching: The Hidden 2K Defensive Feature

One of the best and most useful 2k videos I have ever seen. Just sent me back to the lab

Awesome, glad you got some ideas from it. Let us know in here if you find anything cool with it in the lab. I'm sure there are 1000 use cases, but I felt like I opened Pandoras Box on defense when I started to understand this. I feel like I can direct the defense in a way where it becomes more about matchup prioritization, smart switches, and preventing confusion instead of "follow arrow and Press LT when you get close and Y sometimes when you get close".

Still don't understand the obsession with always playing on-ball. I've always played 2K defense with the mindset of closing up holes, providing smart help and correcting errors when using full team control. That kind of stuff is so much more fun imo. This just adds another layer or ten to it.