Wassup Guys?? 2K has done a great job this year, improving their already top notch gameplay to another level. All the new defensive options they've added this year add a whole other dimension to strategy in game. That being said, not everyone knows what every option does so I thought I'd help out and make a quick pick and roll defense guide.
The first thing is to decide whether you want the on-ball defender to go over or under the screen. Typically it is best to go over screens vs above average shooters, and go under vs poor shooters and dare them to beat you from outside. Going over/under can be used with each hedge defense effectively, just depends on the shooting ability of the ball handler.
Over/No Hedge
Choosing no hedge means that the big man defender will hang back in the paint and let the ball handler drive at him. This is the most conservative form of hedging. This is best used with your centers and other slow footed big men.
Pros: Hard to get beat for an easy layup, protects the lane well
Cons: Leaves midrange wide open for the ball handler, doesnt put much pressure on the ball handler, susceptible to pick and pop
Over/Soft Hedge
With soft hedge, the hedge defender will stunt towards the ball handler and attempt to force him to take a wider angle off of the screen. If he is successful, it is the on-ball defender's job to get around the screen and recover so the hedge man can recover to his man. This is best used with agile big men who can stunt and recover quickly.
Pros: Semi-Agressive, yet still safe
Cons: Hard to do with slow footed bigs, can lead to an easy bucket if the ball handler breaks contain
Over/Hard Hedge
Hard hedging is a very aggressive pick and roll defense and should only be used with elite, agile bigs. The hedge man will stunt out and attempt to corral the ball handler and force him to get rid of the ball. If the on-ball defender gets caught, it could leave your big on an island.
Pros: Very aggressive, forces turnovers and can run players off the 3pt line
Cons: Can give up easy buckets to roll man, hard to run without right personnel
Over/Stay Attached
Setting the hedge defense to stay attached will have the hedge defender not hedge at all, but instead of dropping back, he will stick to the big man to guard against the pick and pop. Without a good on ball defender, the ball handler will get easy penetration.
Pros: Good against shooting big men
Cons: Need rotations to properly cover the guard off the screen, leading to an open guy on the perimeter
Over/Catch Hedge
Catch hedge is like a midway between no hedge and stay attached. The big will drop back into the paint, but instead of hanging back, he will dart back to the screener to protect against the roll/pop.
Pros: Initial contain vs the drive, secondary contain vs the screener
Cons: No true strength, but decent in most situations
Double
Here, the hedge man will aggressively double the ball handler and try to force a turnover. NEED the correct personnel to run, only should use in late game situations when you need a turnover or vs an insanely hot opponent.
Pros: Hyper-agressive, forces the ball handler to get rid of ball or into a turnover
Cons: Hard to be successful, can lead to open buckets, players lose stamina quickly
Switch
Switching is the easiest way to prevent penetration, where the two defenders switch assignments rendering the screen useless.
Pros: Limits penetration, safest defense
Cons: Can lead to mismatches both ways
Ice
Icing the screen is a tactic best used on screens on the wing. The on-ball defender will deny the screen and force the ball handler to reject. The hedge defender will sit back in the paint to corral the drive.
Pros: most effective wing screen defense, hard to beat with penetration
Cons: easily beatable with a shooting big, not very effective when run at the top of the key
I wasn't quite sure what the new Catch hedge was, so thanks for clearing that up.
Have you been able to find any way to get the CPU to consistently switch when the Switch setting is selected? Every time I've tried to run it they will either switch it and then immediately try to switch back or not switch at all.
09-23-2016, 10:38 PM
