How to get better

[Coach2K]

I see a lot of threads devoted to a lot of what is wrong with the game. A lot of it is true. There's no doubt the game could get better but I think a lot of us could get better too.

For my game personally, I am kind of stuck. Don't feel like I can get any better and have been less than a .500 player in my league so I'm looking for ways to improve my game to compete better against a lot of players who are better than I am at this point.

So, I thought I would start a thread about how to get better.

Now this doesn't mean I think I am better than any of you. My guess is that a lot of you could easily beat me and a lot of people confuse my challenge to get better to mean I think I am better but I'm not. I just know that a lot of you could get better if you open your mind to it.

What I don't see a lot of is an organized strategy for getting better. Most of it is a thread here about shooting, a thread here about momentum another there about how the game stinks, etc.

You'll find some good advice in a lot of those threads about how to get better. More often than not, you'll find information that more represents the frustration some have with the game and less often "how to" do it step by step.

Since I have no idea where people are in their development, I will just start at the beginning.

I always recommend that people select a team and then set out to master it. I see a lot of complaining about online quick match and how everyone uses the "elite" teams. The reason they do is because everybody hates losing so much, it's just what you do to win.

It doesn't have to be that way. You can win with A LOT of different teams in the league if you know it inside and out. It doesn't mean that you will win every game, but it definitely gives more variety to the online game if we can get more people open to using squads they study closely and learn how to get the most out of them.

For me, my team is the Pacers. I chose them because I live there and have watched them all of my life.

What team you chose doesn't matter. I think if you live in Utah, you should pick the Jazz. I don't think anyone will ridicule you if you pick the Heat if you are from Miami, but if you are from Houston, maybe it might be fun to just see how good you could become with them. After all you are from there.

So, I'll be back later to start breaking down the Pacers. In the meantime, pick your team. Post it here if you want. If you have suggestions on what you would like help with put it here too and we'll start working on it.

[Coach2K]

The Overall Rating

Once you have your team, the next step is to check it out and see what kind of talent you have. The best place to start is with the overall rating.

Now for most of you this won't be new information. You know the better rating the better the player so I'm just covering this to be thorough.

As a general rule, you can do good things with a lot of players because some players can do some good things in spite of having lower overall ratings. Steve Novak is a good example, he's rated 53 overall but 92 from three. People do everything they can to find Novak spotted up to hit the three and he can do it.

This is a key concept and it's the heart of winning with the team you pick. You have to find the things the guys on your squad do well and then make them do them. What most people try and do is make them do the things they would like to do while that's not something the player can and this is where most of the frustration takes place in 2K.

Rule number one is this : Find out what your players do well and then use them to do that.

I've got a picture of the top rated guys on the Pacers. You'll see my best players are Danny Granger and Paul George rated 83 each.

A good guide is this.

90+ - Awesome player
80+ - Great player
70+ - Decent player
Everyone else - role player

The other point I want to make about the overall rating is this. The higher the overall rating, the more impact they have on the momentum of the game. This is why it is harder to win with teams that have fewer higher rated guys. They don't impact momentum as well. You can dominate with a 70 rated player and not win because of this.

[Coach2K]

The Shot Ratings

Once I look at the overalls, I start working on the offensive side of the ball.

I do that by looking at the shot ratings.

Again the same rules apply as far as ratings:

90+ Awesome
80+ Great
70+ Decent
Everything else don't shoot lol.

An easy example, Granger is 84 rated from three. Roy Hibbert on the other hand is 25. It should be fairly obvious that you shouldn't shoot three's with Hibbert but should take a lot with Granger.

The shot ratings are broken down into categories:

Inside - in the take charge circle
Close - just out side the take charge circle to the free throw line distance
Med - 15 feet out to the three point line
3PT - behind the arc
FT - free throws
Layup - how well they shoot layups
Dunk - how good a dunker they are

Each time down, your goal is to get the highest percentage shot. Ideally, this would be a dunk. Aside from that, if you can't get a dunk, you should shoot a wide open set shot with your highest rated players in their highest rated ranges.

Rule number two : Shoot with the best shooters

[Letemburn]

Looking forward to reading the rest. I follow Pacers pretty close, living in Louisville they are the closest NBA team

[Rockie_Fresh88]

I read these threads all the time . I sware they never include advice about myteam. That's a whole different ball game altogether .

[knick9]

Quote: Originally Posted by mars5541

I read these threads all the time . I sware they never include advice about myteam. That's a whole different ball game altogether .

The same applies really. One of the most important things to do is stick with the same group and playbook for awhile so you know how to maximize each player and always be able to recognize who is where on the court. You have to make even faster and better decisions in MyTeam so it's even more important to know your team really well.

[thedream2k13]

you start by saying you are less than a .500 player in your leagues then you start off by giving advice on how others can get better? I am confused I think we need to be giving you advice as well from what you wrote

[nip83]

Very nice work.Keep the posts coming...

One minor detail though.I think layups are in some kind of formula with inside scoring cause when inside is low and say a player has layups in the 90's ,your restricted area fg% goes down a a lot.I have experienced this with rondo and rubio that come up short somehow if they get slightly bumped going inside.On the other hand tyreke evans and harden with very high inside ,strength and finisher sig skill it's automatic.