Help, I suck on Offense

[Mikeyo918]

Title speaks for itself, I am absolutely horrible at playing offense in this game. This is first 2K I've played since Prime Lebron was the cover athlete (2K14 Heat Lebron) and man has this game changed since. I love the game of basketball and only hear great things about how 2K actually listens to the crowd in regards to career type modes, but my lack of offense is killing the vibe for me.
Isolation are non existent it seems, doesn't matter the player, I can't drive by and dunk. Screens are set up so slowly, that by the time I go over/under all 3 players run into each other. I have Bam Adebayo missing layups while being guarded by Cole Anthony even though its the biggest mismatch possible.
Any offensive tips? videos? Playbooks to use?
I need some help!

[RedmanR]

Bro there are literally tons of NBA 2K22 tutorials on YouTube, tons


Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[jeebs9]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mikeyo918

Title speaks for itself, I am absolutely horrible at playing offense in this game. This is first 2K I've played since Prime Lebron was the cover athlete (2K14 Heat Lebron) and man has this game changed since. I love the game of basketball and only hear great things about how 2K actually listens to the crowd in regards to career type modes, but my lack of offense is killing the vibe for me. Isolation are non existent it seems, doesn't matter the player, I can't drive by and dunk. Screens are set up so slowly, that by the time I go over/under all 3 players run into each other. I have Bam Adebayo missing layups while being guarded by Cole Anthony even though its the biggest mismatch possible. Any offensive tips? videos? Playbooks to use? I need some help!

One of the biggest things to learn is pace. The last 2 cycles has been all about pacing your offense. Changing your speeds. Really does effect your defender. So say off the turbo button. I feel this game has 2 type of users. You have the ISO/Dribble head and SIM freelance/play offensive guys. I try to get in-between that. I will never be a dribble head. But this year I've finally taken some time to learn a few dribble moves.

Quote: Originally Posted by RedmanR

Bro there are literally tons of NBA 2K22 tutorials on YouTube, tons Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Let's help him out. It's the OS way.

[jd@os]

Quote: Originally Posted by jeebs9

Let's help him out. It's the OS way.

Well said. We need more of this attitude, like, everywhere.

I made the jump from PS3's 2K14, too, to 2K22. Start at a lower difficulty level, spend time practicing in 2KU, play as a team who's style you know, check out some of the videos on YouTube like Redman suggested, etc.

[Smirkin Dirk]

Here's what I do every year, and Ive been playing since 2K5.

1. Go into the tutorial mode under 2KU. Get your basics locked in.Dribbles, different shots, post ups etc.

2. Go into black top 1 v 1. Get good at beating dudes in iso. Start off by beating rubbish players.

3. In black top do soe 2 v 2 to get some pick and roll reps in. Rolls and pops.

4. Scrimmage mode is amazing. It's 5 vs 5. No shot clocks so take your time. Learn play books, series etc.

Make sure to have your play art on so you know where to go. You can remove it once you get comfortable.

[VDusen04]

I last played 2K on 2K20 and I, too, am completely awful at isolation on this game (on current gen, anyway).

I'm always worried people are going to think I'm out here just trying to play iso-arcade ball all game like NBA Street but really I just wish I was capable of experiencing real life iso-success with non-superstars from time to time.

I was able to experience way more simple iso success in NBA 2K20. Like, if a defender crowded Richard Hamilton from mid-range when Rip still had a dribble available, it felt like I might be able to hit that defender with a jab-and-go and find a pretty nice look.

In 2K22, the defense feels artificially super-powered, where they don't really respond very realistically to my input. The best iso-half-court success I've had has come on very low difficulty levels while using a flurry of pre-planned iso-combos. It feels like they're either locked on me tightly, bodying and literally pushing back my forays or they're getting shook like five feet in one direction. I'm not getting a lot of realistic feeling "skirt bys".

What's most frustrating is that others seem to be doing just fine with it. I come back every few days to give it another shot and see if I can get a better feel for it but I just end up frustrated again.

Edit: I'm going to give Smirkin's advice a shot.

[vetmin]

Personally I find offense in 2k more engaging when it's built around passing and motion (more satisfying and puzzle-like), rather than right-stick combos / iso stuff (which feels Street Fighter combo-ish / Mortal Kombat Fatality-ish to me, and that was never my jam as a kid with video games), so I've never really developed the latter skills and can sympathize with you.

If you're trying to ease into the game without feeling overwhelmed, it can be helpful to start off with some 'money plays' that you can spam until you start to feel more comfortable breaking out of that box. I play as the Warriors, so I'm most familiar with their plays (though any team can use any play, so these aren't limited to the Warriors), but a few money plays I fall back on when I'm desperate for a bucket are (and you can add these to your playbook and set them in your Quick Plays):

• Quick 32 Horns: You bring the ball up, pass it to your center at the elbow, then just hold it until the play's designated shooter comes sprinting out from the left corner off screens, usually open enough to nail the 3 if he's a decent shooter.
• Give Warriors Fist 2: Similar setup as Quick 32 Horns, in that you bring it up, pass to your center at the elbow, then whoever brought the ball up cuts to the basket and very often it's an easy layup.
• Punch 3 Hammer: You bring it up, pass to the guy posting up, then almost immediately kick it to the weakside corner for a 3.
• Iso 13: Similar setup to Punch 3 Hammer, in that you bring it up and pass it to the post, except this time just wait till you have a shooter standing there at the 3 past the key, then pass it to him and shoot immediately. If he's a good, quick catch-and-shooter, you'll nail it a lot of the time.
• Fist 12 Quick: Literally you just bring the ball up then wait for a 3-pt. shooter to come curling out to you from off a screen, then you pass and shoot.

YMMV with those, as I often find money plays in YouTube videos not nearly as effective for me, so I think it's a lot of personal preference, but Practice Plays mode is a good place to workshop and find stuff you like. One thing though is that you should get comfortable with Icon Passing, because if you're not relying on dribble moves and stuff to get yourself open, you need to at least be able to hit an open shooter / cutter right when you see the opening, or not accidentally pass to the wrong guy.

As for iso-type moves, it's good to have one or two easy things you can use in a pinch. Really all I do on that front is sprint into a hard crossover (by tapping the right stick in the opposite direction) then shoot if it worked to generate space, or I just double-tap the shoot button to do a turnaround jumper, when I feel like the animation will move me in the opposite direction of where the defender's momentum is taking him. The latter you just have to develop a feel for over time.

[Smallville102001]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mikeyo918

Title speaks for itself, I am absolutely horrible at playing offense in this game. This is first 2K I've played since Prime Lebron was the cover athlete (2K14 Heat Lebron) and man has this game changed since. I love the game of basketball and only hear great things about how 2K actually listens to the crowd in regards to career type modes, but my lack of offense is killing the vibe for me. Isolation are non existent it seems, doesn't matter the player, I can't drive by and dunk. Screens are set up so slowly, that by the time I go over/under all 3 players run into each other. I have Bam Adebayo missing layups while being guarded by Cole Anthony even though its the biggest mismatch possible. Any offensive tips? videos? Playbooks to use? I need some help!

I am not the most skilled player my self. A lot of it is I have a hard time remembering how to do different dribbles and such, and it's a lot harder to get to the basket and to get open shots if you are not great on knowing how to do different moves. A few things I would say thought.

1. Try different difficulty levels not everyone is going to find pro to easy or all star to hard etc.

2. I think all-star plays the best

3. Use sliders they are there for a reason. Never has a sports game played realistic without changing some sliders, and I find some things the CPU is better at than user if settings are the same between user and CPU and some the user is better at.

4. if you want you can try the sliders I am working on being that like I said I am not the most skilled.

5. Try to mix things up. If your 3 point shot is not falling try to get mid range shoots some more or try to attack the basket more.

6. Goes with 5 but try to mix up how fast you attack. Some times try to push the ball other times try to take more time to get a shot.

7. Mix up kind of where you start your offense. What I mean is some times try to look for a player to post up other times call picks. With post ups some times it can creat a double team even if the post player don't get a shot him self. Some times if you post up it can also help with guys cutting and such and creat a open outside shot.