Player Rating Suggestions

[Nick]

Hey Andrew,
I went a little 'rating crazy' recently and wrote down some changes to the ratings i would suggest.
The league i'm in at the moment ( http://www.nbaliveleague.com - 3 available teams if anyone's interested) uses NBA Live 06, and the nlsc roster for it. And the games are simmed by playing cpu vs cpu on 9 min qtrs. So the ratings of the players in the game really dictate how the league plays out. Thus why i care so much.
The ratings in the nlsc roster are good for the most part, and players play how they should. There are just a few changes to a select few player that would make it perfect.
The rating suggestions are intended for Live06, but can just as easily apply to 07 and 08 too, since they use the same ratings anyway.
I'll make some some comments with the player ratings where i feel neccesary. Just to justify my suggestions a bit.

Anyway, here are my suggestions:

Bolded are ratings of note

- R. Brewer:
He is a great finisher and defender. His scoring savvy and shooting is pretty average, but he gets a high FG percentage due to his finishing. At the draft combine of when he was drafted, he recorded as best 'overall' athlete, being all quick, strong and athletic. my suggestions:
(FG 63... 3pt 35... Dunk 80... InsScr 58... Oreb 50... Jump 78... Str 60... Qck & Spd 80... Stl 84... Oawr 62... Dawr 70)

- L. Powe:
Powe proved last year to be a valuable assett to the Celtics. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 19.8 ppg and 10.4 rpg. He also showed great efficiency boasting a PER of 20.5, which is the kind of PER that stars get. (To put it into perspective: Gasol got 20.75, Lebron got 28.6, Boozer got 21.8, Amare got 27.1, A. Jefferson got 22.3, Jamison got 19.9, DAvid West got 19.4, Ilgauskas got 18.4, Z. Randolph got 17.7, Bogut got 17.2, Deng got 16.7, Kevin Durant got 15.5, Al Harrington got 15.3, Okur got 14.9, Gooden got 13.3, Ben Wallace got 12.2, Mikki Moore got 11.3, etc etc etc. You get the point - Powe is up there with some quality forwards.). Powe is a smart player. He's great at getting to the line, and is savvy offensively. The thing with him is he can finish in traffic and after contact very well, and his FG% proves that, suggesting high ratings in OffAwr, Ins Scr and Str are neccesary. Lastly, Powe is not a bad defender, but he's not great either. My suggestions:
(FG: 62... InsScr: 78... Dunk: 75... Oreb: 75... Str: 75... Oawr: 75... Dawr: 58)

- S. Marion:
I think Marion is a bit overrated in NBA Live in the scoring department, but a bit underrated in other ratings. He's not reliable to an NBA team to create shots for himself, but he is in NBA Live. This should change. He's more of an extremely good finisher who is great at a million things. His strength has always been low for some reason.
My suggestions:
(FG: 65... 3pt 65... Ins Scr: 85... Oreb: 55... Dreb: 85... Str: 65... Blk 70... Stl 80... Oawr 78

-J. Posey
Posey is a bit of an offensive force in NBA Live, but cannot be relied upon in the NBA. This should change. He's also had a low strength too. This should change. In the NBA he's used as a 3pt kickout on offense, then he has some other abilities that contribute that doesn't look all that outstanding, but it's useful.
FG 66... 3pt 82... Dunk 60... Ins Scr 55... Str 65... Drb 62... Oawr 58... Oreb 20... DReb 70... Stl 72.

-G. Oden
In his first year in the league, he will probably be mainly a rebounder/defender type. His offense will come from easy buckets due to strength and ability to finish, but not so much creating offense for himself.
FG 56... InsScr 80... OReb 75... Jump 70... Str 82... Pass 20... Oawr 66.

-J.Jack
A strong point guard.
Str 58

-E. Curry
Having Curry on your team should be like having a man down. Sure, he'll score 15-20ppg for you at a high percentage. But he gives up possessions. He lets opponents get offensive boards. he's not a good defender. He turns the ball over way too much for a big guy. He's really overrated in NBA Live.
FG 64... Dunk 84... InsScr 84... OReb 55... Jump 62... Drb 10... Pass 1... Oawr 70... DReb 60... Dawr 56.

-S. Oneal
Shaq is still effective and thus will have good ratings. But currently Shaq has the ratings of a superstar, and therefore should be toned down a bit to more like how he is now. It's time.
Dunk 86... InsScr 92... OReb 75... Jump 64... Oawr 89... DReb 90... Blk 78.

-A.Blatche
Blatche is a unique sort of player. He's tall as hell, but plays more like he's 6'9" in how quick he is and how he can do crossovers and such.
FG 60... OReb 72... Str 64... Qck 69... spd 69... Drb 60... Blk 81.

-T. Ariza
Trevor Ariza is one of those players who does all the things that makes a team win. Offensive boards, high shooting%, low turnovers, forcing the opponent into giving up possession, etc. He's not a flashy star who will score 20ppg or anything, but he's good at so many things. He's very underrated i feel. Phil Jackson described as like a Ghost. So far this season he's had a PER of 19.5! Players who get that kind of PER are usually rated 80+ overall in Live.
FG 60... 3pt 60... Dunk 90... Ins Scr 58... OReb 65... Str 60... Qck 78... Spd 76... Pass 45... Drb 62... Oawr 60... DReb 62... Stl 88... Dawr 75.

-G. Dragic
His speed and quickness ratings in NBA Live are in the 90s. When i saw him play he looked more like:
Qck 81... Spd 84.

-Amir Johnson
Johnson so far in his career has had a PER of 17.7, and it's no wonder, since his per minute production is great. It's no wonder Pistons are investing in him. Block at 87 may seem high, but honestly it should be in the 90s, and it will eventually once he plays more minutes and become more reknown.
FG 55... InsScr 70... OReb 75... Blk 87... Str 63... Oawr 50... Dawr 60.

-C. Brewer
Brewer is bad at creating offense for himself, but is athletic and can defend.
FG 56... 3pt 40... Jump 75... Str 50... Qck 82... Spd 80... Pass 45... Oawr 56... Drb 66... Stl 74... Dawr 66.

-D. Mason
Mason is an absolute force in NBA Live 2006. His combination of athleticism, dribble, dunk, strength, FG and offensive awareness is star-esque. Is he such an offensive threat in the NBA? No. His PER was under 10, actually. He's very athletic still in the NBA, and is a good defender. These ratings look more accurate to me.
FG 60... Dunk 85... OReb 45... Jump 85... Spd 80... DReb 50... Drb 64 (It's currently at 75!)... Oawr 62 (currently at 77!!!)... Dawr 80

-L. Hughes
Larry Hughes is still effective, but in NBA Live he has some ratings that are waaaay above his standard. His PER last year was 11.9, and the year before that it was 12.1. Which is just plain bad. A PER of 15 is about an average player. a per between 15 and 20 is a good player. a PER above 20 is star standard. A per above 25 is superstar standard (30+ pretty much never happens. Michael Jordan did it one year i think. I think LeBron, Shaq, Garnett and Duncan may have achieved it at some stage too, but i could be wrong). A PER Below 15 is below average, and below 10 is plainly the worse players in the league. 11.9 PER and he's rated 80+ overall. We should change that.
FG 66... 3pt 60... Ins Scr 55... Jump 70... Spd 80... Qck 78... Pass 55... Drb 75... Oawr 75.

-M. Peterson
Drb 67... Oawr 68.

-C. Landry
Landry is among the league's best in offensive rebounds per minute. He's also up there with dunks per FGA.
FG 60... Dunk 80... OReb 80... jump 65... Oawr 60... DReb 65... Dawr 50.

- B. Wallace
Big ben is declining. Suddenly his ratings of speed and quickness being 70 each seems silly.
Spd 65... Qck 63... Oawr 48... Dawr 90...

More on the way...

[Andrew]

Thanks for the feedback, I've made a note of it. I actually made the suggested updates to Powe, Marion and Brewer in v2.3 of the 07 and 08 updates, sorry I never got back to you on that.

[Nick]

Ah ok. Cool.

Side note: If anyone's interested in seeing the PER of all players in the NBA this year, just for an interesting point of refence, see here:
1. http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2009/jh_ALL_PER.htm
Last year...
2. http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2008/jh_ALL_PER.htm

Not all players qualify though for the league leader section. So if there's a player you want to see the PER for, but isn't on there. Then go here and click on the team he's in:
1. http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2009/
Last year...
2. http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2008/
Year before that...
3. http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2007/

^ Remember that a PER around 15 is supposed to be the average player. And 30 is the best. Between about 15 and 20 is usually a good player. Above about 20 are star players, and above about 25 is a rare superstar kind of effort. Below about 15 is mediocre. Below 10 is horrible. Above 30 is basically unheard of.

Anyway, back to the players...

-A. Nocioni
Bit overrated in the game.
FG 65... 3pt 70... Dunk 45... Jump 65... Oawr 65.

-R. Hamilton
One of the best mid-range shots in the game.
FG 88... 3pt 68... Dunk 40... Oreb 50... Oawr 85... Dreb 40... Stl 65.

-S. Vujacic
Improved.
3pt 85... Oawr 72.

-T. McGrady
Tmac doesn't seem to be the same anymore. Questionable tone-down here admittedly, but his production suits it...
FG- 80... 3pt 68... Dunk 82... InsScr 75... Jump 86... Str 55... Spd 84... Qck 84... Oawr 88... DReb 65... Stl 75.

More another day...

[Andrew]

Thanks. I probably won't be making all of those changes but I'll certainly take a look.

[Nick]

Ah ok no worries.
In future if i think of more suggestions, i'll just post them in 3's, rather than 15's lol.

[Andrew]

Either way is fine. A long list saves me time when it comes to printing off feedback lists.

[Nick]

- A. Law
Bit overrated in some things.
FG 66... Dunk 50... Dreb 22... Str 48... Qck 84... Spd 85... Pass 72... Stl 58.

- S. Cassell
Never really understood why Cassell has had a 75 Dawr for so long. His quickness is also very depleted now.
FG 80... 3pt 65... Qck 72... Pass 80... Dawr 60...

- L. James
Jump was only 90 before.
Jump 97... Oawr 96... Blk 54

- D. Harris
Harris this season has the opportunity to lead a team, and so far he's exceeding expectations. There are a few ratings that are low for even last year's standards (spd, qck), but this season so far he is playing like one of the best guards in the league. His PER so far this season is 26.5 (good for the 7th in the league. Dwight Howard is 6th with 29.2, and Chris Bosh is 8th with 26.1 - http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2009/jh_ALL_PER.htm ), and that's not even taking into account his 47pt-8ast-7reb on 14/25 FG and 17/17 FT game from today. Aswell as his stat line of 23.6ppg and 6.3 apg (though only 12 games played mind you), he's playing super efficiently with low turnovers for a PG and high FG%. By the end of this season i think we can expect for him to have an overall in the high 80s, but for now lets not get ahead of ourselves.
FG 78... 3pt 57... Dunk 60... Jump 75... Qck 93... Spd 92... DReb 40... Drb 88... Oawr 82... Stl 80... Blk 6... Dawr 70.

-N. Robinson
The dude is quick
Qck 95... Jump 99... Str 44.

- R. Rondo
Dunk 65... Ins 65... Jump 75... Str 44... Qck 92... Spd 90... Pass 80... Dawr 80.

- D. Gooden
FG 64... Dunk 66... Oreb 72... Oawr 70... Dawr 70.

- A.Gray
7 foot 270 pounder would be stronger than a 65.
Dunk 60... Ins 68... OReb 68... DReb 64... Str 78... Blk 54... Oawr 50... Dawr 50.

-C. Duhon
FG 61... Pass 85.

- E. Jones
It's time to tone this aging star down.
FG 68... 3pt 71... Dunk 40... Jump 60... Pass 45... Oawr 72... Stl 65... Dawr 75.

- J. Kidd
Not a great scorer, but is great at almost everything else.
FG 65... 3pt 75... InsScr 62... Jump 62... Qck 88... Spd 89... Str 66... Stl 85.

- JR Smith
Had one of the best 3pt shooting performances on record last season. We should adjust his ratings so it's based less on smarts and creating (Oawr, dribble) and more on athleticism and finishing (FG, 3pt, ins, quick, spd)
FG 78... 3pt 90... InsScr 60... Qck 82... Spd 83... Drb 68... Oawr 72... Stl 66.

[Andrew]

Unfortunately you've missed the cut for v2.4 but I've noted them for v2.5.

[Nick]

No dramas.
Cheers for the consideration.

Possibly a couple more another day.

[Andrew]

No problem, 2.4's come out and I did make a lot of those changes (or in some cases very similar ones), 2.5 won't be out for a bit most likely so there should be enough time to make further suggestions between now and then.

[Nick]

Trivial note: I've noticed that speed and quickness of players play a VERY large role in which team would win a CPU vs CPU game. It's to the point where a team of unathletic stars could be beaten by a team of athletic nobodies. Because not only does speed and quickness give them an offensive advantage, it gives them a defensive advantage too cos players can't penetrate and get to the line against fast players. Just thought that would worth pointing out, as it is important to be mindful of.

Anyway, more ratings.

- Grant Hill
Has lost a step. Shoudn't be in 80s for speed and quickness
Spd 76... Quick 74.

- Dwight Howard
Great defender. Not a good shooter, but has great touch inside.
DefAwr 85... InsScr +2... FG -4.

- Jerryd Bayless
DefAawr 46.

- Allen Iverson
Iverson not a 90 DefAwr worthy defender.
Pass 85... DefAwr 70.

- Shaq
Not a 90 worthy defender either
DefAwr 80.

- Okafor
Better than 75
DefAwr 80

- P.Pierce
Better than a 70
DefAwr 80

-D.Fisher
Better than a 70
Def Awr 80.

-R. Rondo
DefAwr 90

- K. Perkins
Better than a 68
DefAwr 75

[Andrew]

Thanks for the latest, all noted for the next updates.

[Nick]

Will rosters be updated for NBA Live 06 still?

[Andrew]

Yes, I'll have another set of updates for 06-08 out soon.

[whysoserious?]

when will you post the latest patch for 07? theres a lot of roster changes already in the NBA.. ^_^ .. tnx and more power

[Andrew]

When I have the time and not a moment sooner.

[Nick]

New ratings for Devin Harris:
Qck 94... Spd 93... Oawr 84... Drb 90.
Devin Harris this season so far has been scoring at 21.5 points per 36 mins. Which is more than, or on par with, players to the likes of Brandon Roy, Chris Bosh, Zach Randolph, Jason Terry, Manu, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Redd, VCarter, Chris Paul, Amare, Joe Johnson, Jrich, Pierce, Billups, Garnett etc etc list goes on.
If he keeps it up for the rest of the season, he will be deserving of a late 80s OffAwr.

[Andrew]

Agreed, he's due for another boost with the way he's been playing.

[Nick]

Excuse me if i've missed it, but has there been a release for live06 yet?

I know not many people play Live'06 anymore, but the online league i'm in does, and we have been eagerly awaiting the release of your next 06 update all season.

And now that the trade deadline has passed in the NBA, there's never been a more opportune time! (I don't mean to hassle - take your time! I guess i'm just deluded with anticipation lol.)

[Andrew]

We're actually getting very close to being able to put out a stable release of the NBA Live PC project (rosters, art and all) so it's not far off. There's a list of urgently needed art in the NBA Live PC Project section, fortunately we've been able to cross quite a few off the list just today so I'm hopeful that we could get the whole thing out within a week.

[Nick]

Great news! Look forward to it.

[Andrew]

The good news keeps coming as the urgently needed art list is rapidly shrinking. I can't say it's imminent just yet but things are looking good for a release very, very soon.

[Nick]

Here's some final rating changes:

- Danny Granger:
Granger has been playing out of his mind lately. He is emerging as one of the premier scorers in the NBA. He's not overly athletic or dominating, but he's just incredibly smart. He is averaging 24.9 points per 36 minutes - which is good for 4th in the league! Thus OffAwr should be among the top players.
FG 78... 3pt 85... Dunk 70... Oreb 25... Dreb 68... Qck 76... Spd 77... Drb 74... Oawr 88... Stl 63... Blk 65..

- Kevin Durant:
Durant is much improved this season from last. This season he's averaging more points and shooting an efficient FG%. He is averaging 23.7 points per 36 minutes, which is 6th in the league.
FG 82... 3pt 75... Dunk 85... Drb 75... DReb 72... Stl 67... Blk 44...

- Brandon Roy:
Roy is similar to Granger in the way of smart scoring efficiency.
FG 87... 3pt 70... Dunk 65... Oreb 50... Str 56... Drb 84... Pass 74... Owr 88... Dreb 60... Stl 70.

- Jameer Nelson:
Had a bit of a breakout year this year before his injury.
FG 78... 3pt 78... Jump 60... Oawr 83... Stl 70.

- Devin Harris:
This guy continues to amaze me. I believe he's one of the quickest players in the league.
FG 80... 3pt 55... Dunk 55... Jump 75... Qck 95... Spd 94... DReb 40... Drb 92... Oawr 85... Stl 84... Blk 8... Dawr 75.

- Jose Calderon:
InsScr 54... Drbl 86... Pass 95... Oawr 80... Stl 65.

- Charlie Villanueva:
Averagig 22.3 points per 36 minutes - 11th in the league. Surprising! Thus the Oawr increase.
Oawr 80.

- David Lee:
David Lee is having a breakout season.
FG 66... Dunk 85... InsScr 80... Oreb 82... Str 75... Oawr 76... Dreb 96... Stl 55... Blk 15... Dawr 70.

Done!

[Andrew]

I believe I've already made some very similar changes in many cases but I've made a note of them so I can take another look and doublecheck.

[Nick]

Sweet! I look forward to the update.

Note: Edited in some notes to the last post, just to show justifications.