All of the following items aren't ranked in order of significance, because they're all equally important.
- Defense[/b] - You can win shoot outs with other teams if you yourself are shooting well, but this is a very dangerous style to play. It's always better to solidfy your defense, because it creates easier opportunities on offense (and not necessarily vice-versa). Most teams in the game have one or two superstar players who can hit shots from anywhere. It's vital to contain these guys as much as possible.
There is no possible way to completely stop players like Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, T-Mac, and Jerry Stackhouse, you just have to try to somehow contain them. Most times you can't though.
Personally, I let the computer focus on guarding them, because they are excellent slashers, and I find it extremely difficult to guard people cutting to the basket while I'm moving with them. I'll focus on not letting anybody else on their team get open shots. If they insist on sitting behind the arc though, I will try to play them tight in preparation for a blocked 3 point attempt. If they do blow by though, you're pretty much screwed. Just try not to foul them too much.
I usually choose 2 positions to be on defense: the PG or the C. I'll take the point guard when trying to defend when the ball is coming up court. I hit rapid combinations of the 'guard' stance, the take charge stance, the arms up stance, and the arms low stance. I'll just do these in random succession to attempt to impede the ball carrier from burning me. Sometimes I'll hit the 3 steal buttons in succession as well (if the PG doesn't have very good ball handling)
Many PG's in the game like to pop 3's very early, so I think it's vital to block these shots when they're coming. There's nothing worse than when some guy gets on a 3 point rampage.
If the PG dishes the ball off to somebody else, I'll switch to the Center and kinda roam around down low. I won't necessarily stick with the Center I'm guarding, but I won't completely leave him open for an easy bucket either. The Center, IMO, is the most important part of the defensive approach.
It is VERY important to attempt to contest the shot of any player who takes it down low. DO NOT let the opponent get easy baskets. You need to teach them that they can't get high percentage shots in your territory.
I usually have my center in the tall tree/arms up position while im roaming around with him. When a shot is taken nearby, I'll try to contest it, and hopefully block it. Don't be discouraged if you don't get the ball back after a block, it happens very often. If at all possible though, try to get the ball back if a guy is nearby (I can only say that positioning and practice helps with this task). If you know you have no chance of getting the ball back after a block, don't panic or get frustrated.
Stick with the guy who you were guarding before, and don't move too far away. Chances are that the AI is gonna take a very similar shot (in fact, if a guy has just gotten a 3 pointer stuffed, and gets the ball, back, I'd say chances are like 75-90% he's gonna take another 3 in the same spot). Try to stuff the upcoming shot again until you or somebody else on your team can make a play and get the ball. The most important thing is to not get frustrated, and stay patient on defense.
If somebody is posting you up, try to take the charge very often. Sometimes you'll get called for a block, sometimes they won't call anything. These are just things that happen. You should get the call most of the time, but not always. Be prepared for them to have a very easy shot if they knock you down and nothing is called. It's nearly impossible to recover from something like that. If the guy you are guarding is weaker than your guy, don't take the charge, but wait for them to make their move. They shouldn't be able to back you down if your guy is stronger.
If you do the above things well (sticking to your guy, using your C effectively, and blocking shots), your defense should improve significantly.
- Shot selection/scoring
One big result of playing good defense is that you will see yourself getting very easy baskets often. If you continue to stuff the shit out of guys trying to get shots on you, you can (hopefully) grab the ball, chuck it down the court, and go for an easy basket with some guards or the SF. When you chuck the ball down court, make sure you throw to a guy who isn't covered too much and has some room to work with. If you're leading a fast break, ideally, take the ball down in the middle of the lane, and hope somebody is running besides you and is wide open for a layup/dunk.
This is one of the easiest ways to get easy baskets and quickly put up a lot of points. You don't allow the other team to score, and you get points in the process. It's a win win situation.
Another thing to realize is to pick and choose your spots carefully. Do not always feel like you need to fast break, because you will eventually come up with a lot of charges and turnovers. If there is no open guy down court, don't try to force something. You're gonna end up with a charge, a blocked shot, stolen ball, or a bad miss. If you see nothing open, slow it up, wait for the other guys to get back up court, and then start what you are going to do. The most important thing to note is to not force opportunities that aren't there.
By all means, take wide open 3's with guys who are good at 3's, but don't get too trigger happy. All good 3 point shooting comes to an end (no matter how RIDICULOUS the AI is on Superstar in shooting 3's), so know when to pop that 3, and know when to make the extra pass to a guy down low for an easier 2.
- Rebound. Rebound. Rebound. I can't stress this enough. This is what helps me win my games on superstar the most. If I am getting outrebounded, I most likely will lose the game.
You aren't going to make all your shots on offense. This is a given. If you are good at offensive rebounding though, you get EASY shots down low, even when you should have just had a miss and give the other team a chance to get points. Attempt to rebound at all times during the game, it is VITAL to winning. Time your jump then press the jump button to get the rebound. It sounds pretty easy, but it's such an important part of winning. If you're winning the battle of the glass, there is no reason why you should be losing.
-Take care of the ball. In tight games in the 4th quarter on superstar, the cpu AI REALLY kicks up the defensive pressure. They just wail and hack away at your guys at all times when you have the ball. You can NOT give the ball away on your offensive trips. You have to maximize all offensive efforts on this end of the court.
If at all possible, try to get the ball in your PG or SG hands (or somebody who has decent ball handling skills). If a gang of defenders come to strip the ball away from you, get the ball away immediately. Do not try to weave through them, the ball will get stolen. Pass the ball around very quickly when the defensive is double teaming and putting pressure on the ball handler. Eventually, you should find some guy with an open shot, and an easy basket. Hopefully the open guy makes that shot, and you successfully defeat the pressure. It's extremely important to have less turnovers than your opponent during the game. Don't give them extra chances to beat you that they shouldn't get.
-Know your go to guy. Always.
Again, another extremely important facet of the game. In very close games, things get extremely hectic. You need to know WHO you are going to at all times. Close games are NOT a time for experimenting with other players to make big plays. Close games are the time when your best player MUST have the ball, and make the plays that must be made. Don't give the ball to players who have bad ball handling ability. In my franchise with the Celtics, I designated Paul Pierce as my #1 go to guy in the 4th, period.
There were many, many occassions when I would go into the 4th (trailing or tied) and say to myself, 'Self, it's time for Paul Pierce to get the ball, no fucking around anymore'.
Give the ball to somebody who you know can produce, and somebody whose positive moves you know. In other words, don't give the ball to Shaq and start trying to do cross overs. I give the ball to Pierce, and I just pound it to the whole, and dare the defense to stop me in getting points.
In my final game of my first season, I had a great example of this. It was Game 6 of the NBA Finals in L.A. Celtics vs. Lakers. Celtics lead 3-2.
It was tied going into the 4th quarter, and the entire game was unbelievably close. Pierce had 21 or so points going into the 4th. From that point forward, I did not intend to give the ball to any other play on my team. I was either gonna win it on offense with Pierce, or lose it with him. If they trapped him, I gave it to Antoine Walker down for an attempted layup or hook shoot.
The Lakers are the hardest team in the game, so I had to give it absolutely everything I had, which was Pierce Pierce Pierce. Kobe Bryant hit every shot he took I think, and I had to match that every time down the court. I was up by 1 with 12 seconds left in the game, and I gave it to Pierce on an iso with Kobe guarding him. I slashed to the hoop, made a couple moves and got the layup with 1 second left. They inbounded the ball from half court, tossed it to Kobe and DRILLED a 3 pointer to send the game into OT. I was literally stunned. I figured that I just had to keep playing though and stay focused on winning.
First OT goes by, (I still give the ball to Pierce every time down), and we're still tied. Second OT comes, I'm up 2 with under a minute left, and I stripped the ball from them, chucked it down court to Eric Williams for an EASY dunk and a foul and was up by 5 with under 30 secs left. This pretty much clinched my victory.
I was really excited that I won the title, and the cool little ending sequence happened with David Stern and all.
After all was said and done, Pierce ended up with 58 points after the 2 OT's. This is just an example of you have to go to guys you trust in getting baskets in pressure situations.
--Stay relaxed - There are many, many frustrating things that happen while playing on Superstar. The CPU AI is incredibly cheap, but you have to deal with it. Getting mad only increases your chances of losing.
Before even playing a game on superstar, you must realize that:
-they will make a shitload of 3 pointers, that many times will seem ridiculous
-they will strip the ball from you in ridiculous ways
-they will come back from a huge deficit
These things will happen, undoubtedly. When they happen though, just take it in stired, and continue on with your gameplan, and hopefully, you will get some breaks on defense, throw the ball up court and get an easy layup. The most important thing is to stick with your gameplan. Do things that previously put you into a position to win, and don't deviate from it.
As you improve on Superstar, you start to learn how to put teams away and make sure that they don't come back from large deficits.
Phew...that was an incredibly long post, but I just needed to crap out these things that I've been thinking while playing the game for a few months now. That was a pretty decent way to kill a half hourt.
Take these tips into consideration, and hopefully, you will never lose in Superstar.
