NBA Live 14 Is Barely Updating Its Players

Feature Article

Submitted on: 02/24/2014 by Jayson Young

Of the 428 players currently included in NBA Live 14, just 32 players have received an overall rating adjustment since the game's November 19 release.

That means a meager 7% of the game's roster has been updated over the past 3 months.

Almost half of the game's 30 NBA teams (14, to be exact) have received no rating updates since release day.

After performing a side-by-side comparison of the November 19, 2013 roster and the February 22, 2014 roster, here are the only changes of note:

Jeff Teague (ATL) -- 78 overall to 80 overall
Louis Williams (ATL)-- 77 overall to 78 overall
Elton Brand (ATL) -- 73 overall to 72 overall
Gustavo Ayon (ATL) -- 60 overall to 62 overall
Mike Scott (ATL) -- 59 overall to 60 overall
Paul Pierce (BRK) -- 85 overall to 84 overall
Kevin Garnett (BRK) -- 84 overall to 83 overall
Derrick Rose (CHI) -- 89 overall to 87 overall
Anthony Bennett (CLE) -- 75 overall to 74 overall
James Harden (HOU) -- 87 overall to 89 overall
Patrick Beverley (HOU) -- 71 overall to 75 overall
Paul George (IND) -- 88 overall to 90 overall
Dwyane Wade (MIA) -- 88 overall to 87 overall
Udonis Haslem (MIA) -- 71 overall to 70 overall
Steve Nash (LAL) -- 82 overall to 81 overall
Nick Young (LAL) -- 76 overall to 78 overall
Jordan Farmar (LAL) -- 74 overall to 73 overall
Shawne Williams (LAL) -- 66 overall to 67 overall
Anthony Davis (NO) -- 80 overall to 83 overall
Ryan Anderson (NO) -- 78 overall to 80 overall
J.R. Smith (NYK) -- 80 overall to 79 overall
Amar'e Stoudemire (NYK) -- 80 overall to 77 overall
Jeremy Lamb (OKC) -- 82 overall to 81 overall
Reggie Jackson (OKC) -- 79 overall to 80 overall
Arron Afflalo (ORL) -- 81 overall to 83 overall
Maurice Harkless (ORL) -- 70 overall to 72 overall
Jason Maxiell (ORL) -- 70 overall to 69 overall
Ronnie Price (ORL) --- 69 overall to 68 overall
Michael Carter-Williams (PHI) -- 77 overall to 80 overall
Eric Bledsoe (PHX) -- 82 overall to 85 overall
Lamarcus Aldridge (POR) -- 85 overall to 87 overall
DeMar DeRozan (TOR) -- 80 overall to 82 overall

Aside from each team's trades and transactions, which still do not reflect moves made at the February 20 trading deadline, the rosters for Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Memphis, Sacramento, San Antonio, Utah and Washington continue to look just as they did on the day NBA Live 14 came out.

How Badly Do The Ratings Need Updating?

The San Antonio Spurs' Marco Belinelli, this year's Three-Point Shootout champion, continues to sport a 75 three-point rating in NBA Live 14, despite making 45% from behind the arc this season. That's only 2% below Kyle Korver (47%), who maintains a 92 three-point rating in NBA Live 14, and 1% above José Calderón (44%), who owns a 91-rated three-point shot.

The NBA's second-hottest three-point shooter, Los Angeles Lakers point guard, Kendall Marshall, boasts an even more pathetic 59 rating from downtown, despite making 47% of his three-balls this season. Marshall's 59 three-point attribute makes even less sense when you consider that it's a point or two below big men like Anthony Bennett (23%), Pau Gasol (30%) and DeMarcus Cousins (0%). How can Cousins, who is 0 for 7 from the perimeter this year and 9 for 61 in his career (15%), have a higher three-point rating than Kendall Marshall?

Goran Dragić, the Phoenix Suns' leading scorer, and one of the primary reasons why the team has gone directly from the draft lottery to being a playoff contender, still sits at a 79 overall rating, behind lesser guards like Martell Webster (82 overall), Marcus Thornton (82 overall), Greivis Vásquez (81 overall), Thabo Sefolosha (81 overall) and Eric Maynor (80 overall). Numerous backups and role players, even the lowly Andrew Bynum, have higher attributes than Dragić, whose 22.36 player efficiency rating ranks 14th in the NBA, above household names like James Harden (22.00), Dwyane Wade (21.73), Russell Westbrook (21.64), Paul George (21.09) and Tony Parker (19.92). There are only two players in the NBA who currently shoot 50% or better from the field, while averaging at least 20 points and 6 assists per game: Goran Dragić and LeBron James.

What Happened To 'Hourly Updates'?

Player ratings are just one of many aspects currently lacking in NBA Live 14's roster. A number of teams are missing players, leaving their lineup short of the NBA's 15-man limit. Several athletes display weird hairstyles, or even the wrong skin tone. Many players appear without their favorite accessories, and the few who guys do have them are often using unusual accessory colors.

These mistakes all run contrary to the promise of "hourly updates", which Electronic Arts touted during NBA Live 14's June reveal at E3, and continued marketing all the way up to the game's November release.

Because NBA Live 14 was purposely designed to prevent gamers from editing its roster in any way, there is nothing that the title's estimated 100,000-plus owners can do to correct Electronic Arts' errors.

Are you satisfied with the way NBA Live 14 has handled its roster updates? Air your opinion in the comments below.

NBA Live 14 Videos

Member Comments

# 101 DIRK41NOWITZKI @ 03/04/14 11:18 PM

Played the Lebron live season mode challenge and he did not have his mask on. Disappointing....

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# 102 Eddie1967 @ 03/05/14 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatdudetoo


	I've been reading through the threads here and really can't argue for or against any opinions here except the extremes of "it's unplayable" and "the game is the best game on planet". But the part highlighted above kinda doesn't make sense. I don't understand that argument at all. Live's devs are lazy because they didn't update their rosters yet the other devs aren't lazy because they didn't update their rosters but somebody else did? That selection implies that the other game's roster update wasn't all that great either but users made it better, ie making up for the devs "laziness". Just an observation.

You interpreted that wrong, the other game definitely updates its rosters after trades and injuries, what he was saying was that unlike EA, 2k provides USERS the OPTION to edit rosters to make them even more enjoyable.

# 103 tbook24 @ 03/06/14 09:10 AM

its amazing how one post enacted change by EA. The rosters seem to be updating daily now minus little details like the lebron mask but thats not important to me. i just like having the roster changes. it may not be perfection but it is definitly a step forward. i think live 15 with be a much better product. still i'm not dissappointed in this year anymore i like the lighting changes and the rising star mode has me hooked

# 104 jyoung @ 03/07/14 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIRK41NOWITZKI


	Played the Lebron live season mode challenge and he did not have his mask on. Disappointing....

Better late than never:

Spoiler

# 105 jyoung @ 03/07/14 02:21 PM

It also looks like EA posted a press release yesterday explaining the differences between their Synergy updates and their roster updates:

http://www.easports.com/nba-live/new...osters-march-7

Quote:

Originally Posted by EA


	SYNERGY SPORTS VS. RATINGS UPDATES We also understand that there has been some confusion around Synergy Sports updates and how it relates to ratings. The important thing to know is that while Synergy Sports contributes to player tendencies and AI – as well as driving our LIVE Season challenges – roster updates are still manually done by our development team. We do, and will continue to, use Synergy Sports to inform all of our ratings decisions and input, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Think of the player ratings as a modifier to all of the Synergy Sports data that’s coming down the pipe in real time. HOW SYNERGY SPORTS WORKS Now, let’s dive into how Synergy Sports actually works and what’s being updated immediately after each NBA contest. Synergy Sports automatically updates player tendencies, which directly affects gameplay, so players on the virtual court behave as realistically as possible. For example, Synergy Sports sets the shooting percentages for distances for each player, which are then modified by the player rating. Additionally, every frame, it uses the tendency updates to help the player evaluate what direction they want to drive, what shoulder they shoot over and more. As mentioned before, this evaluation is constant, using the data updated within an hour of a game’s completion. This is just a small sample of all that Synergy Sports drives for individual players. Synergy Sports also powers our LIVE Season mode, both NBA Rewind and BIG Moments. After each game, Synergy Sports pulls data on some of the best performances, which we then review and feed into the challenges. This is a bit of a hybrid manual/automated process, as we want to make sure the challenges offered are entertaining and fun for players. Between the challenges, and the tendency data, Synergy Sports has allowed us to make over 13,000 updates and 1,300 challenges during the first half of the NBA season, and we won’t be slowing down. The process is only getting faster and more efficient as we work with it, and we’re completely committed to offering fans the most accurate reflection of the NBA possible. We will continue to support NBA LIVE 14 and are working hard to finish the season strong. Work on the next game is already well underway and we’re happy with the progress thus far, but it is important to us that we balance our resources to continue to improve your NBA LIVE 14 experience through updates that will keep the game that’s already in your hands relevant. Thank you for your continued support, and enjoy all of the changes you just received today!

# 106 DIRK41NOWITZKI @ 03/07/14 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyoung


	Better late than never: Spoiler

Yes indeed.....That beard tho!!!!!!!!!

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# 107 WTF @ 03/07/14 03:11 PM

The removed Giann'ish's Antetokounmpo's headband:

# 108 Pared @ 03/08/14 02:13 PM

I'm shocked they did the mask update on Lebron. Bravo!

2k needs to follow suit - they have been terrified to do this for years.

# 109 WTF @ 03/08/14 02:37 PM

Yet I'm still playing with Giann'ish instead of Giannis.

# 110 The 24th Letter @ 03/08/14 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WTF


	Yet I'm still playing with Giann'ish instead of Giannis.

I would assume he looks at least decent from a distance right?

# 111 ThePowerGranger @ 03/13/14 10:57 PM

If EA put as much work into their NBA Ultimate Team than they did the NHL Ultimate Team I probably would have gotten that game in a heartbeat. Really disappointed in EA this is just poor.

# 112 WTF @ 03/14/14 02:24 PM

# 113 DIRK41NOWITZKI @ 03/16/14 12:45 AM

I wish they updated accessories more often like Chris Paul's shoulder sleeves.

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