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Twenty Ways to Improve NBA 2K on the Court
When most people look at the future of one of their favorite sports titles, they obviously want it to improve on a yearly basis so they don’t feel like they're playing the same game with updated rosters. One way we can help developers avoid this issue is by outlining the flaws that need fixing.

I previously talked about some necessary improvements that need to be made to the NBA 2K series to take it to the next level. But that was just a taste of what was to come. So without further delay, here are the top 20 ways NBA 2K can improve its game on the court.

20. More Rebounds by Big Men – There’s just something inherently wrong with a starting power forward consistently scoring 27 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. It also seems like there is more than one issue that causes this problem. It seems the lack of rebounds is caused by a combination of a lack of aggression when it comes to rebounding, failing to block out/too many offensive rebounds and not enough missed shots. Let’s hope that these issues can be resolved so that we can see more realistic rebounding numbers.

19. Loose-Ball Fouls – This is the one foul call we don’t see nearly enough of, which is baffling because it’s the NBA’s second-most popular foul in reality. It’s also part of the reason why there is such a disproportionate amount of offensive rebounds. It’s confusing how players can be super aggressive while going for the ball, yet we never see one over-the-back call. Also left out is the semi-frequent loose-ball foul called on screeners. Could there be a better way to finally balance out the pick and roll? If there were more loose-ball fouls, we might also see more foul trouble, which would be a good thing.

18. CPU Hustle Logic – Is it just me or does it seem like the CPU teams always come up with the loose balls and recover the ball in a man-on-man situation? The truth is that we’re not always playing "scrappy" teams, and the CPU shouldn’t be able to use its all-knowing ability to get to every loose ball, rebound, batted pass, failed lob and otherwise. This omniscient logic can be intensely frustrating, and we’re hoping that this issue is resolved in future versions of NBA 2K.

17. See the Entire Court – There are simply too many instances where we cannot see the entire court. Maybe the issue is the players are too big -- maybe the courts are too small. Either way, we must see the entire court (in every camera angle) at all times. All too frequently users who like to defend perimeter players will watch helplessly as their assignments go off the screen, only to appear a second later streaking to the basket for easy scores.

16. Post Mismatches – In the same sense that we want perimeter mismatches displayed when a player like Shaq is unlucky enough to find himself outside the paint with a guard (any guard -- people don’t understand the level of quickness at the guard position), we would like to see the reverse be true. We would like to see post players back mismatched players down quickly (the current system might be a bit too slow). Mismatches like these would also be great opportunities for forwards or centers to go straight up for dunk attempts. For game balance, we’d also like to see the defenders be able to draw charges in situations like these if the timing/situation was right.

15. Double Teaming – One has to wonder why there isn’t a one-button command to double-team the ball with the closest defender during gameplay? It’s virtually a necessity. With expected changes coming that will not allow people who double team all game to dominate gameplay, this is simply a must-have feature. We’re frequently controlling a defender on the perimeter weak side and need a strong-side double team to neutralize a dominating post player, or maybe we just want to force a perimeter player to give up the ball. The ability to initiate a double team (albeit a balanced one with consequences) without using the player we’re controlling would be clutch.

14. Physical Defense Option - I like it when post defenders body up offensive players and reroute a would-be drive to the basket, possibly forcing a player to pick up his dribble in the process. It's also great when you can stop a post player from backing you down (something that became too easy post-patch last year). But while it was easier to prevent post players from backing you down post-patch, we were still essentially reduced to try-and-block-the-shot defense. Both of these elements could use some work in the future.

13. Perimeter Mismatches – While we have read interviews that talked at length about no longer allowing Shaq to stay with Tony Parker on the perimeter, we would also like to see this aspect of gameplay expanded. Where are the reaching fouls that are called almost religiously when one of these post players (user-controlled or not) finds himself on the perimeter with one of these good ball handlers and instinctively reaches out and grabs, holds or tries to poke the ball away? I also think perimeter defenders fall for pump fakes too often, but shouldn’t those pump fakes work most often when a power forward or center is caught outside the paint with a decent perimeter player? Giving users the ability to draw fouls in mismatches like these would provide more game depth and display more accurately what we see in the NBA.

12. Auto Defense – Think Madden NFL on this one. One aspect of that game that I love is the CPU's ability to play independent of user-control. On defense, no active manipulation from the controller will allow our spotlighted defenders to simply follow their assignments. There are simply too many instances in NBA 2K where ball movement causes defenders to lose their minds. Just as important as this issue is the fact that our options on defense are limited.

11. Hesitation/Crossover Dribble – Every once in a while, even good games like NBA 2K have game-killing maneuvers. This was one of them for me. This maneuver prevented any defender from staying in front of the offensive player, and it essentially made it possible to penetrate at will. Its use became so widespread that it virtually rendered online games unplayable. I don’t have to stress how important it is for the game to be balanced.
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Member Comments
# 21 BlackRome @ 09/24/09 06:57 PM
The Jump Pass.

It was unstoppable last year.

I hardly ever seen a pass thrown away when people abused it.

I hope they tuned it down back to the 2k8 level.
 
# 22 Kushmir @ 09/24/09 07:18 PM
LOL! no apology necessary dude..its all love. it did say twenty, right?

and CourtVision we aren't saying these issues are still in 2k10...but that they've been issues since next gen...that's all. hopefully they're all fixed!
 
# 23 lv2bll @ 09/24/09 07:18 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftychampleone
Well lv2bll, I would definitely agree that Live was literally shot in 07-09. As a matter fact, I hate when people yell Live is back when it should have been at this point a year or two ago. The last good hoops title was NBA 2K7. I don't care what anyone says, 2K9 was broken. Would you agree? I also remember DaCzar summation of control in both games. Live has better control. Players in 2K were sliding. Player movement should be the base of any sim-sports game.

I thought I would see help defense in this article. What about that?
i was just being sarcastic(comic relief) but on the real i have yet to see a top # list for nba live for unknown reasons. Maybe 2k fans are more critical of their games because they know that 2k strives for authenticity and we seem to never be happy with what we've got!
 
# 24 ffaacc03 @ 09/24/09 08:55 PM
Great article ... when might we get the next ?
 
# 25 swiftychampleone @ 09/24/09 10:31 PM
Oh I know you were sarcastic, lol! But listen lv2bll. Someone on the forum has a signature that clearly shows what the issue is. EA and 2K walking a tightrope, striving so hard to create a perfect balance of sim and fun in a hoops game. When either one falls of the rope, instead of us of catching them and appreciating what they tried, we'll step back and tell them bad they messed up. We're all guilty of dissing the devs.

What trips me out is that I feel that the technology is there and these supposed to be QA teams let these games come out without truly testing them. There shouldn't be people who like basketball help create the game. There should be people who know basketball help make the game.
 
# 26 LA_All_Day @ 09/24/09 10:41 PM
#11 is the most important one
 
# 27 LA_All_Day @ 09/24/09 10:42 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by LA_All_Day
#11 is the most important one
they gotta get rid of that damn animation
 
# 28 moemoe24 @ 09/24/09 11:10 PM
This game, like all other sports games, has taken a back seat to MLB The Show. Once you see how much time and effort was put into that game you realize that these other sports games just dont stack up. The Show has set the bar too high for these others to get to.
 
# 29 HMcCoy @ 09/24/09 11:13 PM
Viral.
 
# 30 Tubaker @ 09/25/09 12:08 AM
If the 2k10 players moved like the Live 10 players, 2k might have the best sports game ever. 2K does a lot of things right, but there players glide on the court like its ice, and I never really feel like the player is going where I want them too .. to animation heavy.
 
# 31 jordankobewade7 @ 09/25/09 12:13 AM
Over-the-back fouls are already in the game,they have been since CH2k8 at least.which I can vouch for since I still play it to this day,haven't stopped since it came out...I think everything that's in CH is in nba2k so that's covered...as far as the not being able to see the whole court,I hate that too...itvsucks to not be able to see outlet passes on drives where the defense helps,or on double teams...and I totally agree about both games having good points that the other doesn't hav...that's exactly y I'll b getting both this yr =)
 
# 32 tril @ 09/25/09 12:16 AM
simply put, these features already exist in the game. was there a significant difference between 2k9 PC version and the console version.
 
# 33 lv2bll @ 09/25/09 12:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftychampleone
Oh I know you were sarcastic, lol! But listen lv2bll. Someone on the forum has a signature that clearly shows what the issue is. EA and 2K walking a tightrope, striving so hard to create a perfect balance of sim and fun in a hoops game. When either one falls of the rope, instead of us of catching them and appreciating what they tried, we'll step back and tell them bad they messed up. We're all guilty of dissing the devs.

What trips me out is that I feel that the technology is there and these supposed to be QA teams let these games come out without truly testing them. There shouldn't be people who like basketball help create the game. There should be people who know basketball help make the game.

We as a gaming(every gamer) community are so nitpicky of what we think is entitled to us which is wrong. These guys are trying there best to bring out a product which is better than before and that is good enough for me because it is very difficult to work with the tech. This is why the cry 3 engine which is still a work in progress has already taken 3 years just to create for the consoles. The engine which the game uses is bigtime tech in which the game is cached,processed, and rendered from. With the current engine i think 2k has 2-3 solid years before its considered obsolete so lets not be so critical
 
# 34 Kushmir @ 09/25/09 06:15 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by tril
simply put, these features already exist in the game. was there a significant difference between 2k9 PC version and the console version.
Tril....yes there WAS a significant difference in the PC version and console version if you had over-the-back fouls and many of the other things mentioned above.
 
# 35 moemoe24 @ 09/25/09 05:24 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smokez4DAyz
Another weak attempt of bashing the best game. Listen up, nba 2k has no competition, so to gripe or argue is stupid, its like critquing a model. Stop it. If you don't like 2k, go buy another bball game, but this is the second article of fictious garbage. I wish I could play vs you right now, I would bust yo *** with the bucks, you take lebron or kobe. I will show how to play. 1000 things are needed to improve that other bball title, that amazingly copied all of 2k7 aand 2k8 gameplay....losers.
You are mad at this guy for saying what needs to be improved on so you wish you could bust his azz in 2K10?? Funny stuff, tough guy.

Anyway, saying 2K10 is the best NBA game out is like saying Tiger Woods golf is the best golf game. It's easy to say that when there isnt any competition. 2K9 was full of flaws that made the game unplayable. They absolutely need to improve this game before it can be considered a great game. And by the way, bragging about it being better than Live is ridiculous....NBA Live, since the next gen consoles came out, has been horrible.
 
# 36 Kushmir @ 09/25/09 07:07 PM
LOL! i concur....aren't internet muscles the worst?

calm down BIG GUY....I love the game--and i totally agree with you that its the best NBA game. it's only an opinion. don't beat me up with your USB or anything....
 
# 37 str8artist @ 09/28/09 09:50 AM
Nice read.... I hope someone important at 2k reads this.
 
# 38 toolified @ 10/05/09 05:50 AM
i 100% agree with moemoe24 and Kushmir. 2K9 is clearly a great game, but that doesnt mean that it cannot be improved upon. It most certainly has flaws that need to be fixed but that is by no means taking the piss out of it. how would anything or anyone in the world improve if people didn't critique it and pick out problems in order for improvements to be made?
 

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