Five Defensive Tips for NBA Live 09

[23bluesman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bumble14

Pared, I completely disasgree with you on post defense. Post defense is challenging, but if you actually hit the NBA Academy and practice it you will start to realize you have more weapons available to you other than just a body up and spin stop. The first thing you have to realize when playing in the post is take your finger off the defense assist button. This will cause you to be out of position 99% of the time when the offensive player makes his move. The second thing you have to learn to use is small movements on the left stick once you are engaged- stop jerking the stick in big motions back and forth-slow and steady will allow you to shadow your man and anticipate his moves. The third and MOST IMPORTANT skill you need to learn on post defense in this game is about "tapping" the Y or Triangle jump button. What people don't seem to get is that if you are in good position in the post, and anticipate an offensive move, not only can you man up on the offensive player, but you can actually perform several defensive swats by tapping the jump button once (very light tap). I have been able to slap the ball out of the defenders hands when they try to make a move, block the ball just enough without going for the full jump to negate the shot, and also initiate enough body contact to make the offensive player adjust their shot and fall down. If you "jam" on the jump button hard, or use turbo, your character will gather momentum to make a big jump. If you tap jump, depending on your body momentum and movement with the left stick, your player will make a less pronounced attempt to make a play on the ball. Defense in this game is not broken, and does not need work as many of you claim. I will repeat this as I did in my article, if you play this game defensively like 2K basketball, you will fail. Live 09 has an extremely deep defensive skill set that is easy to play once you learn the buttons, but difficult to master. People who attempt to use the 2K controller style to play this game are simply going to complain that the game is broken- much like I did the first couple hours with it. It is pretty difficult to adjust to the fact that you can not spam a button and automatically play good defense like in the 2K games- Live makes you work with your left stick and buttons if you want to be successful. If you really want to learn this game, put 2K down for a few days, erase what that game has taught you, and completely relearn how you play hoops defense.

Thanks, I'll try this out the next time I play. Interesting stuff to say the least. Hey, maybe you and KDRE can collaborate to do the defensive thread?

[Pared]

I'll give the "swat" thing a shot, but I still have not seen that, especially from the computer. Not calling you a liar, just saying it must be very rare.

However, I still stand by my point in that there is more that can be done with the post. Play an online game and watch people dominate in the paint. You're more than welcome to hop online and join the fray. Just ask blueandgold; Inside is pretty much money.

This was pointed out at the community day. Like I said, it's a good start but there needs to more depth to the system. Defense will most likely be the "big thing" next year and it will be welcomed with open arms.

[sportyguyfl31]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

It's not broken, just pretty much non-existent outside of being able to body-up and stop a player from spinning in one direction in the post. There are too many fundamental flaws in defense in this game. Defense in its current form is passable but there really needs to be work done in this area for next year. It's not all bad but there's HUGE room for improvement, especially in the post.

I disagree, but I confess I felt the same way when I started playing. When I get home, I'm going to post some clips of defensive stops.

You can feel pretty much in total control over a lot of what is going if you understand the controls, who you have, and who you are guarding.

Playing defense with my knicks isnt the same as playing defense with the spurs. I love playing defense with that team.

Also, dont forget that the right stick is a defense crouch stance, and will help you keep good position.

[Pared]

I'd love to see this in action. Looking forward to the clips.

[Bumble14]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

I'll give the "swat" thing a shot, but I still have not seen that, especially from the computer. Not calling you a liar, just saying it must be very rare. However, I still stand by my point in that there is more that can be done with the post. Play an online game and watch people dominate in the paint. You're more than welcome to hop online and join the fray. Just ask blueandgold; Inside is pretty much money. This was pointed out at the community day. Like I said, it's a good start but there needs to more depth to the system. Defense will most likely be the "big thing" next year and it will be welcomed with open arms.

No worries Pared, I know you weren't calling me a liar.

You have to tap the jump button really quickly while anticipating the players move. You have to have perfect timing for the different swat animations. It's not that hard once you get used to it- I went after all the Academy challenges on Superstar the other night and this is where I learned the ins and outs of the inside game.

Another big tip when playing down low is that each player seems to have their own individual skill set (AWESOME addition by EA). Guys like DHoward and Amare are more explosive and can block shots easier. A guy like Shaq is not as explosive and to be successful with him you need to use the body and use better timing to block shots. Oden is very long, so it takes much less effort on the sticks and buttons to get into successful position downlow. Finally, a guy like Chris Kaman needs to rely on swats and perfect positioning (tap jump while moving stick correctly) because he is not that explosive as a blocker.

I have really found that you MUST pay attention to who you are defending with in order to be successful, and to use that guys move set to lock down in the post. You can gamble more with the Amare types because it seems easier to recover for the block. With a guy like Kaman you have to play sound positionally and go for knock aways.

As far as online goes, you can stop a player in the paint, you just need to make adjustments. If a guy is killing you downlow online, switch your defensive settings to "tight" on the man, and then turn on the double team. I'm not saying you will shut the guy out, but it will help. Look at it this way- it is pretty realistic- a guy like Shaq is (was) a force downlow where you have to make adjustments to stop him. You are not going to stop Tim Duncan in the post with a scubby defender.

Play the Academy, bump it up to Superstar, get frustrated to the point where you want to throw the controller through your LCD, then suddenly it will all click about 30 minutes in. This is how I learned, and the strategies actually work. I'll try to get some sportsworld vids up in the next week so you guys can see the moves in action (wish you could take academy vids, it'd be easier to point out the button moves). Just be patient, good post D is possible.

[23]

I've seen that swat thing by accident a few times and each time it was an accident

That said, i don't feel helpless in the post and have pretty much had a mixed bag, sometimes the CPU takes advantage of my mistakes when I get laxed, and others I either alter the shots or block them with success.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bumble14

Finally, a guy like Chris Kaman needs to rely on swats and perfect positioning (tap jump while moving stick correctly) because he is not that explosive as a blocker. I have really found that you MUST pay attention to who you are defending with in order to be successful, and to use that guys move set to lock down in the post. You can gamble more with the Amare types because it seems easier to recover for the block. With a guy like Kaman you have to play sound positionally and go for knock aways.

Agreed, check the video thread to see the Kaman timing block/swat on Al Harrington that I posted.

What's funny is how Steve Kerr even commented on how long Josh Smith is and how its easier for him to block shots becasue of it. You do really feel the difference in players on both sides of the ball.

Sometimes defense requires the best positioning and that becomes a chess match to see who can make the other player do something he doesn't want to do. You can definitely throw a post player off and make him force a shot, or adjust his shot for the fear of getting it blocked. The computer actually does that..lol I did it to KG last night.

I said it once and will again, this is not your typical way of playing defense that we're used to. The footplanting, the timing, the momentum system and the should I or should I not use the sprint button all comes into play.

[sportyguyfl31]

Try playing post defense with the twin sloths: Eddie Curry and Zach Randolph .

Dwight Howard went for 30/15, and I actually felt like I did as well as I possibly could.

[Chairman7w]

Bumble, thanks for posting all this. Great stuff, and I'm real anxious to get home and work on it.