NBA Live 10 Tips & Hints thread

[BBallGuru]

I thought this thread may be a good idea for a thread as some people seem to get discouraged after trying out the demo, since it really challenges you. Some of these have been addressed it the "Impressions" thread, but I thought it would be a nice to get together a little list of things that may help players be successful, while at the same time enjoy, Live 10.

So, post little things you figured out while playing the game, or post questions if you're having a trouble with a certain aspect of the game, and maybe somebody will be able to help you out.

[Feel free to lock if you think this is unnecessary]

Offense

- Call plays! If you don't have anything in transition, don't be afraid to pull it out and call a play. Most of the time, you'll get great results and an open shot. There are some plays that are pretty much a guaranteed 2 points every time.

- Utilize the off-ball control. I absolutely love using this. I have two favourite things to do: leave your PG close to center court, take control of a good perimiter shooter and take him down to the block. Call & wait for a screen, then pop out to the wing and you should have an open jumpshot. You'll come off open the good majority of the time, and then it's an automatic two as long as you've got the shot timing down. My other favourite is to come down in transition on one side of the court, while the defense is already set, wait for my trailing big to get a few feet away from the 3-point line, take control of him and call for a back-screen. If executed correctly, press the lob button for a lay-up/dunk. Don't force this one, since there's usually a help defender around the basket who may cause the pass to go out of bounds.

- Don't overuse the size-up control. I think most people start playing the game and want to just stand there a hold the size-up button in thought that it will beat the defender for them. Once you get up to the Superstar difficulty level, you'll be lucky if you're able to hold the size-up control and perform 3 crossovers without getting picked. Mix it up... toss in some regular crossovers without holding the size-up button, then bang, explode with a quick crossover to beat your man.

- Understand change of pace & change of direction. These are the two ways to beat your defender while playing basketball, and both are applied in Live 10. Don't constantly go one speed, and don't stay going in one direction for too long. Go watch some Tim Hardaway videos of his killer crossover/UTEP 2 Step to get a better understanding of what to do in Live 10 to beat your man 1-on-1 from the wing.

- Create space. If you're trying to beat your defender from the wing, but he's just bodying you up, use a step-back jumper, or the pull back cross over to create some space then size him up some more. If you just keep trying to force your way to the basket, you're going to turn it over by either performing the wrong crossover, throwing a bad pass or getting ridden out of bounds.

- Let the defense beat themselves by being patient on the wing; use the jab series and pump fakes before putting the ball on the ground. The defense will usually react to jab steps/pump fakes, resulting in clear paths to the basket or an open one/two dribble pull up.

- Patience in the post: You'll most likely end up drawing a double-team when posting up, so be patient, watch where the defense is rotating to, and find that open man. I prefer to use icon passing in these situations to hit my open man, as I've tried to just use the stick pointed in the direct, but have had the pass fired elsewhere.

- Don't throw a pass to a teammate casually relocating. I've also seen this in some user videos: a teammate casually starts to move, then a pass in thrown to get intercepted. Don't pass to a teammate who is starting to move with their back towards you; the AI does a good job of staying between the ball and man in these situations, and will pick off the pass.

- Master & understand lay-up solutions. If you don't understand these, you'll have trouble scoring at the basket. It takes a quick second of thought while playing, but comes relatively easy once it's engraved it your mind, it shouldn't be too difficult. If you fail to understand this feature, be prepared to get mixed up in mid-air contact with no foul calls, and lay-ups going off the backboard & rim. [Watch Mike Wang's "Shooting the Rock" tutorial if you need a refresher]

Defense

- Stay disciplined; don't overdue it with the steal button, you'll either get called for a foul or beat the majority of the time. There is a way to effectively steal crossovers if you're able to time it correctly, and push the left stick in the appropriate direction. It takes practice, so I don't recommend attempting to do it right away.

- Don't pressure when it's not necessary. In too many user videos, I've seen people getting up on guards when they're 3-4 feet off of the 3-point line, only the get blown by. If they're just standing there dribbling, hold the defensive lock, watch where off-ball offensive players are going, and try to get a hand in the passing lane to get a deflection.

- Stay disciplined: don't go for pump fakes. It's difficult, since you need to get up rather quickly to effectively challenge a shot, but try your best not to bite.

- Shot challenging: One of, if not the most difficult aspect of the game. When I first started playing, I didn't have a prayer of doing this. I felt as though I was getting up in the air quick enough to affect jump shots, but they were all dropping. If you jump even a tenth of a second too late, expect to see that ball go down. What I've learned to do, is basically learn the CPU's tendencies and when they'll take jumpshots and try to match their lift off time.

- Rebounding: One of my favourite parts of Live 10, but I see it getting somewhat negative feedback, I think mainly due to the new box-out/rebound in a single button control. Much like in real life, you must find somebody and hold the Y button to box them out. This isn't like in other games where you just hold the box-out trigger/button and the offender just chills out behind you while you grab the board; if you don't seek out somebody to box-out, best believe they'll be going around you to get the ball and clean up. Also, be sure to release to button at the appropriate time, so the ball doesn't go over your head while in the air, or you're not coming down as the ball is just coming off of the rim.


Well, I think that's it for me. I may have left some things out since it's late, but I'll revisit and try to add more if people are finding this useful. Other members who are enjoy the game and having success at it, feel free to chime in and add things you think will help.

I'll add this quote from Beluba on post play; touches both offense and defense:

Quote:

Post Play: tap Shot = pumpfake double tap Shot = up and under tap Shot, move LS or RS left/right = fake and drive turbo + RS left/right = drop step RS left/right = post spin Shot with neutral LS = hook or post turnaround Shot with LS away = post fade LS up prior to dribble = pivot to face up on defense it's a rock paper scissor game. If you guess the right way with LS when offensive guy makes a move, you increase your chance of a strip or steal. Ratings are factored into the dice roll as well time Steal or Block when ball handler makes his move or shot to strip or block also if you're controlling an offball defender, double from the blind side and time your Steal button as you come in. Sometimes you can pop the ball out that way.

[cool2fool]

Very good! Most ppl. who enjoy the demo know exactly this stuff but i just don't like what u said about some plays guarantee a 2 point everytime..That would suck!

[BBallGuru]

Quote: Originally Posted by cool2fool

Very good! Most ppl. who enjoy the demo know exactly this stuff but i just don't like what u said about some plays guarantee a 2 point everytime..That would suck!

Well it's not exactly guaranteed, but there's one Laker play that I can run where I can honestly say I score 90% of the time.

[RayDog253]

I know what play your talking about.

[ElectroJay]

thanks for these! helps me so much lol

[sportyguyfl31]

Defensive Tips..

Post Defense.

To offer some resistance to the backdown: Push the LS torwards the ballhandler. You can press x to go for a swipe, when he post turns, and you can also use the LS to move left or right, to cut off the post turn or drop step.

To contest the post move fadeway jumper.
--start your contest when he BEGINS his turn. Contesting after his shoulders are square and he is into his shooting motion, is late and will increase your chances of fouling.

Defending Shooters
--If he's above the 3 pt line, dont pull what Jameer Nelson did in the NBA finals, to D-fish.

Stand right on the 3 pt line. If it is a point guard, this is crucial, because if you roll right up on him, the PG is going to do what any good PG should do. He's going to try to blow by you and break down your D.

If you have a quick defender, you may be able to get away with doing it from time, but pick your spots carefully. You can afford to press right up on people in transition.

If the shooter drives, stay right in front of his chest. If the CPU ball hnadler goes into "Lebron Dive" mode, he'll come to yu. DO NOT PRESS Y. The body contact will more oftenthen not, force the miss, and all pressing Y will do is give him a cheap trip to the line. You absolutely cannot be late getting between him and the basket..its almost always a whistle against you.

Master this, and you can cut the CPU free throw shooting attempts by half.

If you are playing driver..like say Gerald Wallace or Josh Smith, let him come to you..and try to stay even with his chest. Make them take the shot you want them to take.


Drawing Fouls and Finishing Strong At The Rim.

Know your player's DNA. Know what direction he likes to drive at, to finish at the rim.

Lets say you have a player who when he drives right, looks to finish at the rim 70% of the time, as opposed to 30% when he drives left. When you drive right, he'll look to finish much more aggresively, and your chances of drawing fouls will increase.

In my last Dynamice Season game, I was able to score 20 points with Giniboli despite his horrible outside shooting %'s by driving left(he has a strong drive left tendency), and using the layup solutions to either finish, or get to the line.

Post play: patience patience patience.

when you get the ball in the post. Dont hurry. Let the cutters cut and clear before you start your move. You have plenty of time. Call a iso once you catch the ball in the high post if you have to..then go to work and play off of the defense.

To be a good offensive player in this game really requires you to play to the DNA %'s in general. If you have a guy who is constantly havinng trouble doing something, you are probably asking him to do something he cannot do well. write the %'s down if you have to..or pause the game to check them..it wont be long before you know them by memory for all of your key players.

[sportyguyfl31]

Quote: Originally Posted by BBallGuru

I [Watch Mike Wang's "Shooting the Rock" tutorial if you need a refresher]

Is there a link to this somewhere? I'd like to see it.

there are still some moves I have trouble pulling off.

[frostbyte06]

Also did Mike Wang ever make a Post-up tutorial, seems like I remember Steph saying that one would be coming to show us things that we haven't figured out.