Ive not started a ML yet, I always wait till after Opening Night to start, so I cant really speak on that, but I dont think much has changed from last yr as far as ML goes, so previous yrs issues, is likely still there.
Gameplay, IMO its the best its ever been, and by a wide margin. Ive not had this much enjoyment out of a basketball game since CH2k8. There is always going to be complainers, as Im sure you know, and the game isnt perfect by any means, same issues like CPU's timeout logic still not great, and the CPU still does a horrible job of managing players foul trouble.
Also the lack of fouls, such as charging, blocking, and shooting fouls on 3pt attempts, is still a major flaw in the game. With slider adjustments, you can get close to a realistic amount of fouls per game, but your not going to see those I mentioned, except on rare occasions. Ive yet to have a shooting foul on a 3pt attempt, and I have played a lot of games, and I always play 12 minute qtrs, and 10 min qtrs for WNBA games.
They did add new sliders, for ML, to try and improve the sim stats, such as PIP, and fouls being too low. I forget all the different sliders. But I have heard they dont really do much.
I dont play online, so I have no clue about any online mode. Offline, I feel, gameplay just feels more like watching a real game this yr. Obviously you will have to adjust some sliders.
There is still a lack of contact, that I feel is 1 reason why there is those lack of fouls I mentioned, is defenders still kind of get push out of the way, for example, your in close to the basket, and try to take a charge, the offensive player will just kind of slide by, when we should see either a charge or blocking foul.
I cant think of anything else, but even with these issues still present from yrs past for us offline players, Im enjoying the game, and Im optimistic if the devs dont screw something up, due to the online crybabies, this is the best basketball game, from a overall standpoint to date.