I was watching this video earlier and I was suddenly inspired to write this. If I’m not allowed to post the link, I’ll apologize now, but I think everyone should hear this as they get ready for Pro-Am.
So continuing on to my rant, I’m probably in the minority saying this, but I think that our Pro-am player should be separate from our MyCareer player, and I’ll explain why I believe this should be implemented for this mode.
Many people blame cheesers for the Park we play in today, but the one to blame is 2k. They gave the player base the ability to create a player that has never been seen before. That sounds fantastic when it’s kept within the actual MyCareer mode. But when this leaks out into an online mode, you enter a world where EVERY player can make ANY shot they put up. Everyone has maxed out ratings, which means we know we should be able to make a shot if we’re open. So now our task is to get open. That’s where the cheese developed. Everyone is doing whatever it takes to succeed, and that means going as far as to use an exploit in the system, a/k/a zigzagging and so on. Pro-am could just be a glorified JRC if everyone is maxed out and doing what they’ve been doing for the past two years on the Park.
This is why I believe we should have separate characters that can’t reach MJ status. We should have defined roles for people to return team basketball. Ball handlers, defenders, scorers, slashers, rebounders and shooters. Obviously we’ll be capable of doing all of the basics, but we can only reach god-tier in one specific area. You can be that lethal scorer with all of the moves, the jump shot, the post-game, the lightning quick first step. But don’t expect to be able to shut down the other team’s best scorer. You’ll likely have to be hidden on defense by guarding someone who isn’t going to do a lot of scoring.
Each play style can be applied to almost any position for you to create your desired player at your desired position, with the obvious restrictions though. PG can't run around with max rebounding stats, Centers can't have max ball handling ratings and so on.
Ball handlers will run the offense and create shots for everyone. Defenders will likely spend all of their time on the best scorer of the other team, doing whatever they can to keep him out of the game. Rebounders will shut down the paint and keep the opposing team off the boards. Shooters will be running off screens to get themselves open and creating space for your team to operate. You’ll still be counted on to step outside of your role, but not like how it is one the park where you’ve got point centers running coast to coast and demigod PG’s grabbing boards like prime Wilt.
To me this feels more team oriented. Everyone knows what they should be doing. Fewer possessions spent watching one guy dribble out the shot clock only looking for his own shot. I understand that a lot of people are stat chasers, and if you become elite in your one area, you will find ways to fill up the stat sheet. Imagine looking up at the leader boards and you’re the leading scorer and it’s because your team knows how to feed you the ball and get you in spots where you can score. Imagine leading in steals or blocks because your team knows you can handle defending the person who has the ball the most. Imagine scouting other teams a bit and making up a game plan in the party chat because you’re about to face off against one of the leading shot blockers, or an excellent passing team.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but everyone I see right now on the Park is a Lebron-Curry hybrid. I want to see more Dennis Rodman, Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, Jason Kidd, Ben Wallace. Players that were great, but really shined because of the one thing they really excelled at. And with the appropriate cast around them, they succeeded.
This is just my opinion, but I feel like the Pro-Am has the potential to something incredibly special, and I’d hate to see it become an updated JRC.
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