Sunday, October 16, 2011
NBA 2K12 Post Up Tendencies & Synergy Data
I've started the ground work on my player tendencies and have come across some disturbing trends among NBA 2K12's defaults. One thing I've noticed from watching and playing against the CPU in NBA 2K12 is that players post up much more than they do in real life. I've seen CPU Derrick Rose score twice in the post during a game, which is something he did twice ALL SEASON. Naturally the Post Up tendency was one of the first I wanted to check out.
Post Up data compiled from the highly recommended
Synergy Sports.
Minutes = Regular Season + Playoffs
Dwight Howard
99 Tendency
1113 Post Ups (59.0% of Offense)
16.73 PU Per 48 Minutes (3193 Minutes)
Zach Randolph
98 Tendency
714 Post Ups (39.9% of Offense)
10.58 PU Per 48 Minutes (3239 Minutes)
These two players post up more than anyone else in the league. They are the bar for what a max rating should look like.
Amare Stoudemire
99 Tendency
246 Post Ups (12.0% of Offense)
3.93 PU Per 48 Minutes (3004 Minutes)
Amare Stoudemire posts up nowhere near as frequently yet he boasts an extremely high tendency (even higher than Randolph!)
Kwame Brown
94 Tendency
149 Post Ups (27.4% of Offense)
4.17 PU Per 48 Minutes (1714 Minutes)
I can understand a high tendency for Kwame since a great deal of his offense comes from the post. However since he is a low volume scorer one can also make a case for him to have a low tendency since the frequency of his offense being used is not so great (though still more frequent than Amare Stoudemire).
Jason Collins
6 Tendency
7 Post Ups (5.2% of Offense)
0.44 PU Per 48 Minutes (751 Minutes)
It would appear going with the per minute # might be more prudent because percentage-wise Collins is posting up half as much as Amare. Ultimately it depends on how other tendencies (specifically Shot and Touch) affect the Post tendency.
It also appears that 6 is the minimum post tendency 2K gave out, which doesn't quite make sense to me since 1 or 0 is used for most other attributes. Collins certainly posts up more than say...
Derrick Rose
7 Tendency
9 Post Ups (0.3% of Offense)
0.11 PU Per 48 Minutes (3675 Minutes)
Rose has reportedly been working on his post game (although considering 2K rates all his post moves as "Good" why would he need to?) but until he starts showing it, even guys like Jason Collins should have higher tendencies.
D.J. Augustin
11 Tendency
0 Post Ups (0.0% of Offense)
0.00 PU Per 48 Minutes
(2757 Minutes)
The diminutive Augustin never even posts up, yet boasts a higher tendency than the guy who inspired this post.
Kobe Bryant
98 Tendency
337 Post Ups (14.4% of Offense)
5.16 PU Per 48 Minutes (3133 Minutes)
Moving to the other side of the spectrum, Kobe posts up more than any other guard in the league. While he doesn't post up nearly as much as Zach Randolph, he does so much more than Amare Stoudemire.
LeBron James
97 Tendency
205 Post Ups (8.1% of Offense)
2.46 PU Per 48 Minutes (3985 Minutes)
LeBron posts up far more than he is given credit for (and is actually successful when he does so), but there is obviously no way he can justifiably have a similar tendency to Kobe.
Dwyane Wade
73 Tendency
145 Post Ups (6.0% of Offense)
1.90 PU Per 48 Minutes (3652 Minutes)
Wade's tendency might be a bit more realistic for LeBron. Until you consider that only 25 points separate Wade and Zach Randolph. Both Heat players need to be considerably lower. They are isolation players, not constant post threats!
Tyrus Thomas
15 Tendency
70 Post Ups (15.5% of Offense)
3.90 PU Per 48 Minutes (861 Minutes)
Tyrus posts up more than LeBron or Wade yet his Post tendency is only 4 points greater than Augustin. He posts up as frequently as Amare Stoudemire yet 84 points separate them.
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There is no rhyme or reason to this. These are so poorly done it's an open question as to whether 2K even used Synergy to determine their tendencies or if they simply went with "feel" and the "honest" eyeball. A Synergy subscription costs $30, which is half the price of one sold copy of NBA 2K. I shouldn't have to write this.
I am no statistician. This is a basic application of elementary math that even SAT cheaters like Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom could do. 2K Sports for whatever reason has chosen to ignore mathematics whilst touting itself as an NBA simulation. This is MIND BOGGLING.
Nitpicking these numbers does not make for a compelling read, nor is it very important to the average NBA 2K fan. However what IS important to the average NBA 2K fan is the gameplay and for the past few years 2K's abominable tendencies have greatly hindered that end. Rather than make improvements in these fields it seems like 2K is content with the status quo and then wondering why users complain once they get past the paid-off exclusive reviews (IGN) and find a buggy game that they paid 65 dollars to beta test.
(What other game in the world asks this of their fanbase year after year?)
10-16-2011, 09:32 PM
