What Are Your Constructive Ideas for Improving Defense?

[LorenzoDC]

Loose balls still need improvement as well.

Too many times the game punishes you for playing good defense.

If you tap the ball loose with a steal attempt, or block a shot, too often the animations play out as if the play was designed by the offense to create an open look. It's as if your well executed defense actually should count in the opponent's assist column as a gift.

[TaylorBoi]

Quote: Originally Posted by jk31

Uhm, no? I dunno, but for me on PC it isn't that way. I mostly play online, and I find defense is possible quite good.

We on two different platforms bruh. I'm on the Xbox One and the delay is awful unless you play early in the morning or real late at night.


I'm more of a MyPark/Rec player so I'm not sure if you guys get this in Quick Play/My Team etc. but 2K needs to get rid of that crazy defensive bump animation. I can't count how many times I've tried to cut baseline off just to get bumped out of the way or even worse ran over. It's so drastic in this game it's damn near impossible to recover from.

[Coach2K]

I personally would like to see the defensive settings turned off for players who choose to use zone so they are not an option for them. To me this is an easy way for players to abuse the settings.

I'd really like zone eliminated to be honest but if it's in there, no settings.

Next, all user vs user games should be hall of fame level, sim sliders in all modes. It's impossible to get defense right for all modes on all these different difficulties.

The are enough hall of fame level players out there that it's time we admit it. I consider myself a hall of fame level player and I'm not that good.

Again, I'm talking user v user here not user v CPU.

The point is the difficulty and sliders should just start being standard like the goal being ten feet and the free throw line 15 ft.

Sure vs the CPU, it's different. Let the difficulty be adjusted there.

I'm also really not a fan of the POEs or defensive settings and would like to see both of them go as well.

The use of these settings makes users be able to make every team they use play the same way. Not every team can play the same.

As a user of a weaker team, the weaknesses of the POEs really show. For example, if my POE is not set to limit transition defenders run from the ball on the break. If I'm not crashing guys don't even try to rebound. It's to exaggerated.

What I prefer in its place is individual player abilities set up through tendencies and for those player tendencies to be tied to coaches so that teams play more like themselves.

There's no reason Hibbert should be handcuffed to his player when he wouldn't do that.

My personal approach to defense is to set my POEs at the beginning of the game and I don't change then and I leave my defensive settings alone.

The key to good defense starts on offense. Using this approach forces me to get the best shots I can and when I do that my defense plays better as a unit.

I look at the settings as nothing more than defensive assist. The more you have to do manually the better IMO.

That includes hedging or playing someone tight, etc.

I much rather see guys play good defense manually than by setting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stillfeelme]

www.Coach2K.com,

I see what you mean about having tendencies for defense I want that as well but that is really only for CPU controlled teams and maybe "auto" settings especially for pick and roll.

The settings should dictate how you want you and your teammates to play defense, remember you can only control one player at a time. So what you are saying is all the non-human controlled teammates should play by tendencies? I can say I hope they don't go that route.

Most teams do play say pick and roll's a certain way but they also switch it up based off what the other team is killing them with. Did you watch the finals? I don't see how you can define how you want your individual players to defend without settings.

Kerr chose not to double LeBron for what 3 games and scrapped that strategy because it really wasn't working.

As a user you should be punished for using the wrong settings for the wrong personnel. Switching picks with non-mobile bigs making non mobile bigs cover out on the wing, sagging off good shooters etc.

[Hustle Westbrook]

Make blocking require some sort of skill and timing again.

Right now all you need to do is mash the Y/Triangle Buttons and you can get a block with anybody. It's ridiculous how many times I've been chase down blocked by a PG on a fast break.

[Coach2K]

Quote: Originally Posted by stillfeelme

www.Coach2K.com, I see what you mean about having tendencies for defense I want that as well but that is really only for CPU controlled teams and maybe "auto" settings especially for pick and roll. The settings should dictate how you want you and your teammates to play defense, remember you can only control one player at a time. So what you are saying is all the non-human controlled teammates should play by tendencies? I can say I hope they don't go that route. Most teams do play say pick and roll's a certain way but they also switch it up based off what the other team is killing them with. Did you watch the finals? I don't see how you can define how you want your individual players to defend without settings. Kerr chose not to double LeBron for what 3 games and scrapped that strategy because it really wasn't working. As a user you should be punished for using the wrong settings for the wrong personnel. Switching picks with non-mobile bigs making non mobile bigs cover out on the wing, sagging off good shooters etc.

I understand what you are saying and agree to a point. Obviously your CPU teammates are programmed to do something anyway, why not use the settings to control what they do?

But when a CPU defender does through programming what he's told to do, for example double the ball in a pick and roll, that CPU doubler is often more effective than a manually controlled one which leads me to call that assistance.

Remember, nothing prevents you from playing the pick and roll a certain way manually with the screener's defender at any time regardless of setting and that's what I think players should do, move control to the screener and back to the ball handler.

I've watched the Pacers get killed continually go over screens 30 feet from the basket versus the Heat in conference finals situations with Vogel never changing that up even though I personally thought it was the stupidest thing I ever saw and I don't do it in 2K.

So it could be argued am I really playing sim basketball if I make my team play defense in such a way they wouldn't in real life?

Anyway, while the intended purpose of settings is sound, in reality, the way the settings influence the game play makes it more of CPU assistance in my mind.

My own personal feelings for this comes from my experiments playing the HOF CPU. Without settings, when I first play a team, I give up 65 percent shooting. But, if go in and tweak the settings, suddenly I can hold the team under 50 percent.

Did I magically become a better defender between those games? The answer is no, I made the CPU behind me a better defender.

However, with practice and experience playing that same HOF CPU team over and over, I can learn to hold that same HOF CPU team to under 50 percent manually.

While, I don't mind the use of them against me, to me, it makes more sense when you are playing versus another user to be as manual as possible and by that teams natural tendencies.

I want to get beat by the user and not the users CPU settings.

[jfsolo]

Quote: Originally Posted by www.Coach2K.com

So it could be argued am I really playing sim basketball if I make my team play defense in such a way they wouldn't in real life? Did I magically become a better defender between those games? The answer is no, I made the CPU behind me a better defender. While, I don't mind the use of them against me, to me, it makes more sense when you are playing versus another user to be as manual as possible and by that teams natural tendencies. I want to get beat by the user and not the users CPU settings.

So the the User shouldn't attempt to utilize their personnel in a smarter more effective way if possible? Should they be beholden to inefficient and flawed schemes?

This may be an irreconcilable philosophical schism between some members of the community, but for a lot of us, Sim play isn't about User stick heroics, but utilizing teams and players in a way that is realistic and logical, but not beholden to established methods, especially ones that don't maximize opportunities for success.

IMO, a User out-scheming another User in a way that doesn't exploit flaws in the gameplay mechanics is as valid a way to win as one who just stick skills his way to victory.

[Coach2K]

One other thing I'd like to see incorporated in the game play is the ability to change more on the fly during the game especially with matching up defensively instead of having to call a timeout to do it.