I think people that desperately want to defend the game take a look at it's bad graphics and just make it up in there heads that because the graphics are so bad that the gameplay MUST be something special.
When that's just not the case.
They also boast about how the game has a learning curve and they either don't or won't acknowledge why that is. It has such a steep learning curve for all the wrong reasons. It's not because of how effectively the game represents real basketball, it's because of how slow and unnatural the players move and interact with each other. I liken it to that Superman game on Nintendo 64, that game was excessively difficult with a rigid learning curve and that sure as hell wasn't because of how good it was. It's actually kind of funny listening to people brag about how hard it is to learn the game not knowing that they're effectively aiding in arguments against the game.
It's astonishing how a game this poor in quality can continue to be determinedly defended when the people that made the game themselves are giving out public apologies. That don't happen to good games.