Zone defense is impractical in the NBA and thus should never be used as a core defensive strategy.

Keni Glover: Fiction. Zone defense -- when executed properly -- is quite practical in the NBA. However, as it is not truly the core strategy of any team in the NBA, it shouldn't be in 2K either. Perhaps when man-to-man, help defense and collisions in NBA 2K13 are properly tuned, zone will not be the go-to strategy for many online.

Steve McPherson: Fiction. I'm of two minds about this. In the past, I think you could play it more against the CPU simply because the CPU would never adjust to it. If the team you were playing against had good shooters, it might not work as well, but the CPU coach was never going to react the way an NBA coach would simply because the game was designed by default to play a man-on-man defense. I think against the CPU changing to zone does more for you as the player, getting you out of your routines — maybe spamming the steal button a little less — than it does for frustrating the opposing team. The net result is basically the same as in the real world, though: Switching it up is the easiest way to get out of a rut.

Pick and roll...zone defense...oh my!

The pick and roll is the best offense to roll with in NBA 2K13.

Keni: Fiction. I wouldn't call it the best, but it is one of the more effective if executed well. After some time however, the opponent will adjust. Plays can actually be quite effective in NBA 2K13. I personally favor screen rolls and floppy sets.

Steve: Fiction. Here's the problem with the pick and roll in 2K13: the A.I. on all the other players who aren't involved in the PNR is still a little wonky. It's better than last year, where they would wantonly run into the paint as the PF or C tried to dive in there, but it's still not great. It can be hard to read correctly. A close, low camera angle will help, but that angle isn't great for other kinds of plays.

The PNR has its place and can be especially great if you learn to vary who's running it and mix in fades and slips as well as rolls, but what I've been really into recently is the floppy set. In essence, it means everyone other than the ballhandler heads into the paint and then one or two wings pop out to the three-point line through staggered screens. In essence, it's like running a sideline out-of-bounds play in the halfcourt. The screens down low seem to work more consistently than the PNR screens for some reason and if you have shooters with Deadeye or Shot Creator it can be deadly.

Great big men: Extinct?

Traditional big men truly are no longer necessary to win consistently in the NBA.

Keni: Fact. The Miami Heat winning the championship last season proved this. The traditional big man is all but extinct in today's NBA. When Kevin Garnett hit the league, he became the archetype for the new bigman; The power forward/center with guard skills. Though length is still and will always be valuable, size is not to the extent that it used to be. In NBA 2K13 however, size definitely has value in that most legitimate bigmen have the Bruiser Signature Skill. Still, speed kills, and agile big men tend to dominate in 2K.

Steve: Fact. Basically, you only need to look at the Miami Heat to prove this in real life, but in NBA 2K13, it's also true because of the somewhat nerfed rebounding. The first team I tried to roll with featured a twin towers kind of setup with Marc Gasol and Roy Hibbert down low and they were terrible. The post game in NBA 2K13 is geared more towards finesse than sheer power, it seems, with more and higher quality moves based off of faceups than back-to-the-basket position. With players like James and Carmelo Anthony spending increasing amounts of time at the 4, and the league even going so far as to eliminate the center position from the All-Star ballot, it looks like a real change is afoot.

Do you need a Lebron James to win a ring in NBA 2K13?

You can win an NBA Championship without a true superstar player in NBA 2K in a realistically ran Association Mode.

Keni: Fiction. You know, NBA 2K13 did a great job with capturing the unique abilities of most players and as a result superstars are more critical. Not having a go-to player on your team will be rough in Association. Of course, it's possible to win a championship without a superstar, but I'd call it highly unlikely.

Steve: Fact. We can quibble about the definition of "star player," but I take it to mean a team built like the Denver Nuggets or maybe the Indiana Pacers: talented, but without a marquee name. Now have I done it? No. But it's possible, if only because you controlling the entire team has got to work better than 12 to 15 egos all trying to come together when there's no go-to guy. The key, in my mind, is finding the sweet plays that have a couple options and learning them so well that the timing is just second nature. Without a LeBron James or Kevin Durant who can go get a basket whenever you need it, you'll have to rely on the pieces meshing, but it can be done.