Yeah, and it definitely might be. I'm a recent convert to Hall of Fame difficulty. Not because I'm really awesome or anything, more because of how much better the game plays. Like, way, way better. I see a ton more animations, players playing more like themselves - that is more player differentiation.
In comparison now I see what dropping the difficulty level does is kinda level the playing field so that nearly any player can go off on you on offense. But on defense it seems like the easier settings take away many of the advantages and skills players have. For example, on HOF I noticed how many more steals I could get with defensive PGs like Kyle Lowry. It was so refreshing.