Warnerwlf what up BABY !!! Thanks for you comments glad to be helpful. To enjoy live 09 you have to forget everything you may like or enjoy or understand about 2k sports games. Its the only way to get locked in enough to enjoy what live is doing right.
The key for me was understanding when I don't have control. There are certain animations that live "helps" you out with like the automatic jump back with dribble animation when your being guarded.
What i have found happens is during one of these automatic animations your trying to do something which is not responsive because its automatic and you don't realize your not in control. so you stop moving and the animation stops and then another might kick in...
The offense and defense is a timing based system it seems so you have to let a dribble animation play out until you get to a break point which is simular to reading a defense. Last year the quick strike would allow you to branch out at anytime. Which made it much more responsive and at the same time unrealistic because depending on what move I do in real life. If the ball is in between my hand and the floor I can't just magically do another move.
Go into practice mode and without using turbo just use the right stick and move it right and watch the animation and then practice the timing of when to go to the basket.
I hope I explained that well enough for you to get. Once you get a feel for that do the same thing but crossover. The whole control scheme seems built around that timing so once you get it down you add moves in the same timing and then break that timing when your going to the rim.