Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies

[RaychelSnr]

Are you having issues playing defense in NBA 2K9? If so, our own Nathan Marshall has written a quick guide with a few simple pointers to help improve your defense. Check out our Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies.

"It has been a good while now, and the verdicts are in. Some say that NBA 2K9 is the best representation of video game basketball ever, while others say it is far from that. Either way, many feel that it is entirely too easy to score (and get scored on). Slider tweaks may fix some of the high percentages in this game, but still, sliders should not be used as a crutch to substitute for bad defense. If your defense isn’t strong, changing the sliders will not help you. So I’ve devised a few pointers to help you out.."

[7stringking]

Defense is WAAAYYYY better in NBA2k9 than in previous years..Just takes a while to learn it

[Kully]

Re: Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies

I like on ball D. There are a few quirks (some of the layup animations defy physics, and you get pushed back weirdly), but I can hold down a player one on one.

The problem this year is your AI teammates. They sometimes don't react intelligently, run around screens slowly, jog to their defensive assignments, and allow their opponent back door too much.

[Radja]

excellent post. too often players don't learn the controls before they scream the game is broken. the more i play, the more i love the new defense strategy.

i think the best line was defense controls tempo. in the nba players make shots on good defense. but they won't keep hitting shots on good defense. eventually good defense takes over.

the most satisfying part of 2k9 is stopping the run with coaching adjustments. i believe the college hoops guys will love this part of nba 2k9.

[Radja]

Jai-O,

i agree the team mates don't react quickly, but a lot of the time that is a personnel thing. with certain guys on the floor i have been run out the building but after i sub around the whole game changes. sometimes its a match-up thing.

in one game, my back ups won the game. every time i had the starters in the other team had stuff like 14-2 & 20-7 runs. i finished the game with my backups and judicious time outs. the next game the back ups were nowhere near as effective.

[rnichol8]

Good read.

Before tip-off, I like to set up my defensive responbilities. I go to Pressure/Double Team and assign duties. Set Double Team to "NEVER" so you can have control over calling it or not during the game. If you play a good post defender, the A.I automatic send the double team on the first possession. Which lead to the crazy passes out of that horrible animation.

I totally argee with Jai-o about A.I half assing on Defense.

[Kully]

Re: Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies

I agree about the matchups and personnel. I built my team, and I try to play my games by being defensive minded. I change pressures, matchups, call timeouts on runs, put players with high def aware on opposition that do the scoring.

I've cleared up many of the issues I had before, but I still see my teammates slowly go around screens and jog to try and catch up. Every defensive trip I get, I have to make sure none of my players are playing behind their man, that they keep up instead of jogging back, and that they get their hands up on those alleys. Definately keeps me busy lol.

[jfsolo]

Re: Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies

I agree about the matchups and personnel. I built my team, and I try to play my games by being defensive minded. I change pressures, matchups, call timeouts on runs, put players with high def aware on opposition that do the scoring.

I've cleared up many of the issues I had before, but I still see my teammates slowly go around screens and jog to try and catch up. Every defensive trip I get, I have to make sure none of my players are playing behind their man, that they keep up instead of jogging back, and that they get their hands up on those alleys. Definately keeps me busy lol.

The game is programed to have the User's CPU teammates "dog it" or lose their assignment much more than your opponent A.I. does.

Although I wish it wasn't that way, I guess I understand that they have to have some way even things out because of the inherent advantages the User has over the CPU.

The reality is that if you want to play good defense, you have to "babysit" your CPU defenders quite a bit.

[Radja]

last year there was a practice focus page that i can't find this year. i used it in 2k8 to make my players focus on defense 24% of the practice and 19% everything else. it worked to make my defense in 2k8 much better as the season wore on.

the other thing for 2k8 was team chemistry. when my team chemistry was high my offense and defense played much better. this is a carry over from the college hoops series which, IMHO, was almost perfect and the hidden secret to the games success.

check your chemistry and see what happens as it improves/decreases.

[Kully]

Re: Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies

The funny thing about chemistry, I ended up turning it off after a while. It is a good addition, but I feel that this year, like in previous NBA 2K games, the boosts provided by team chemistry to player ratings was too high. I shut it off after a year in my association.

I want to agree with jfsolo, but there is something in my gut trying to tell me that there has to be more to it, that I'm missing something. The AI will "half ***" it too much for me. It's not nearly enough for me to hate the game (I enjoy 2K9 when I'm not yelling at the screen lol), but it's enough to be an annoyance.

It seems I have to babysit all the CPU teammates equally. My forwards will want to switch on screens even if the screen misses and I'm still locked on to the offensive player, leaving their man open. Battier will let CJ Miles backdoor him a couple times a quarter, Artest will slowly chase his man off a screen. It just feels like something is wrong at my end or something, even though I keep opponents to a respectable fg percentage.

[texbuk84]

2k9 is awesome and my spurs gonna win it

[taiketsu]

Great article! But can somebody elaborate precisely when I should go for a steal in the post against a bigger player?

[bsbllstr876]

Re: Quick-Hitting NBA 2K9 Defensive Strategies

I catch myself sometimes when I'm losing by about 10+, I start trying to rain 3's but I just put myself into a deeper hole.

[SpartanBaller]

Great article! But can somebody elaborate precisely when I should go for a steal in the post against a bigger player?

In the post you want to hit the steal button right when the post player hits the button for his post move.

[JonahFalcon]

Great article.