That's part of what I meant to say (admittedly I phrased my thoughts poorly there).
I can learn a pick-and-roll, a 2-3 zone, or other high-level concepts and plays pretty easily. I also have a pretty good understanding of how the NBA works with respect to contracts, the draft, and the salary cap.
However, I have no idea about how and when I might want to use any of the given dribble / size-up / post moves in the various ball-handler gameplay contexts. There are so many options available, I have no idea what advantages / disadvantages each move provides, when to use one over the other.
This doesn't even get to actually performing the moves like you alluded to; I'm probably similar to you that I can hold my own on the sticks in most games and I'm a competent gamer, but I'm absolutely not going to the Evo Championship Series anytime soon or anything like that, lol.
I would be quite ready to plunk down $60 for this game - which is by all accounts great - if there were some sort of interactive tutorial which not only explained how to perform certain actions on the court but explain to me why I might do any one of them. Alternatively, an "auto-moves" option like what Madden NFL 17 provides to inexperienced players on Rookie and Pro difficulties is something I might find useful as well. As is, the learning curve is just too steep, and I know I won't be able enjoy this game and my buying it would be a waste of time. And it makes me sad, because the game does look very good.