Bulls Franchise, Superstar, help! getting my butt kicked!!

[Jase23]

Hi there,

I play 8 min qtrs on superstar with the normal rosters, right out of the box. No tweaks.

Ive played 11 games in my franchise and lost them all Some by very small margins, a couple by big margins (like 30 points) but hey i was losing the plot at that point and getting frustrated.

Im really enjoying the challenge though! Ive still got the original team, havent made any changes. Ive experimented with the starting lineup a bit though. Ive done best with this starting 5:

Chandler - C
Marshall - PF
Robinson - SF
Rose - SG
Crawford - PG

Im struggling to get the scoring potential from Rose and Jay Williams at the moment. My 2nd unit is basically:

Curry - C
Baxter - PF
Fizer - SF
Hassell - SG
Williams - PG

my other players are Blount, Hoiberg, Brunson, Bagaric, Roger Mason.

Can anyone think of a better or good combination for 1st and 2nd units with these players..? or should i be thinking of trading? if so, for who?

My biggest problem is defense, and not enough different players scoring.... i need to swing the ball around more and take time.

Thanks.

[Jase23]

I could also do with more perimeter shooting. My 3pt shooting has been bad. Im not getting many open looks though.... mainly only from pumpfaking.

[` CeLeRoN `]

I also have a franchise going with the Bulls, and it seems that we are having the same problems.

Jay Williams is doing great scoring and dishing the ball off for me, so I recommend starting him over Crawford. Other than that, just watch your passes, avoiding turnovers, and GET BACK ON DEFENSE. Whenever there is a long rebound on a three or just a jumper, you can always tell there is a fast break coming.

P.S. -- One thing that helped me out (but took 5 1/2 hours), is going through the game, and editing every single player. I took their blocks and steals down to 50, took speed down to avoid so many breaks, and lowered the shooting to decrease FG%.

[DaManFromGapo]

no need to edit...just play the game...you'll learn a lot by playing the game.. you'll be more careful with your passes, spin moves, crossovers, defense, etc. If you can beat the PC without editing, then you are good.

you could try trading some of your players. Trade away Fizer, robinson for players such as mourning, payton or whoever you want. You may have good players but are you going to use them all? are all of them going to score a lot of points, grab a whole lot of rebounds? i usually have 4 or 5 good players and the rest are just specialty players or defensive players. I know i'll let the 4-5 guys play because they will lead us to the win while the bench gives my stars their rests and do the little things that will help with the win.



peace!

[MajaFiggaz_Early!]

Hey just sim year 1 start your next season and sign ALL-Stars for the league Minimum!!!



...Really this is a Big mistake on EA's part. They need to adress this issue, with something like a 36k(I guess 36 mil in real life) exception as they have in NBA2K3. As you will see roster get really ugly in the 2nd year of franchise.

As for advice? Get Eddie Robinson out of there. Put Rose at the 3, and The Mayor at the 2(for three's). Or you can search the freeagent pool for the best 3 point shooter available because I know the Bulls have a lack of a great three point bomber. I Use the Cavs and I had the same problems until I signed Luke Recker. He can be a Key player in your second unit, along with crowford.

I'd Say on occation, if Recker is on the perimeter, drive hard to the hole in Reckers man comes over dish and shoot the trey. This goes for any three point bomber.

One thing to success in the game is having a number of specialist that do one thing extremly well. IMO Defensive(steals), and Three point specialist are the most important. You second unit has a god lot of rebounders.

Another thing to try is starting Baxter and bringing Marshall off the bench for firepower. If you continue to lose switch around your line-ups until you are comfortable with one and stick with it. If that line-up gives you 2 wins in a row then it should be yours for the season or at least that month.

Shit I switched around so many line-ups on the Cav's EVERYONE started at some point in time until I found a line-up that got me 5 wins in a row after 12 loses.

[GForce11]

I don't follow the the bulls so I won't suggest any roster lineups.
However, I'll give you some of the changes I made to make the game a bit easier to play.
First of all, after the 15th game, you should have caught on on how to slow down the fastbreaks. It will still happen, but they won't be able to build a 20 point lead on fast breaks.
Do not bother posting up. It will only get your ball slapped out of you.
Grab Yao Ming. I know some people don't care for him. But EA seems to have made him really good. He's big, hardly gets blocked and can shoot from almost anywhere.
Now as far as settings go. I would turn fouls all the way up. That way the computer gets called for reaching in more often. I like that because they tend to cheat a lot by stealing the ball on every other possession. I was able to cut down on turnovers that way. Not to mention put a lot of their players in foul trouble. Since its hard as heck to steal in this game, you probably won't have as much of a problem getting called for def. fouls.
Also, in the gameplay settings. Set your cpu assist OFF. That way the computer has a harder time coming back when they are down. They will still make runs but they actually miss every so often.
Next, switch the game to Arcade instead of Simulation and turn on all the rules. I've noticed that this makes the game just a little bit more realistic. Not much, just a little bit.
Other than that, watch your game play. Its VERY easy to turn the ball over in this game...like all other NBA lives. Don't pass the ball in traffic, don't bother setting up alleyoops because 75% of the time you'll miss.
Defensively, you can stop players scoring in the low post by switching to the guy guarding him and pressing the "take charge" button. 70% of the time, you'll draw the offensive foul even if you're inside the circle under the basket.
By the way, dunkers are almost unstoppable. They will draw fouls and score. Whereas guys that lay it up will have their layups interupted.
Right now my record stands at 13-6, 8 minute on superstar mode and with those setting I told you about. My FT% is horrendous because its hard to shoot FT in superstar mode. My FG% is actually way better (around 60-70%). Talk about realisms huh?

[bulls23]

you dont have to change any settings. in my bulls franchise i started out on all-star for a month and then switched to superstar for the next month and only lost 3 games. i made one deal that helped my team tremendously it was marshall and robinson 4 ming and mobley. you have to learn to trust your post game. my leading scorers always come out of the post. curry's ppg is around 27 and since i got ming he has scored around 20 a game for me. you have to be patient with the ball and look for the open man instead of running and gunning. try to get curry, chandler, and rose more into the game with more of an inside out type of game. tell me if this helps, if u want more ideas just ask.

[ningtong88]

I am still at starter level.

[Jase23]

Thanks heaps everyone!

I havent altered any of the ratings etc in the game, ive just kept on playing and trying. Ive finally managed to turn things around and get 3 wins in a row Now the road back into playoff contention begins

I didnt make any trades or FA signings, just tried some more different strategy's/playing styles. Im now getting good scoring out of 4 of my 5 starters, and a couple of the benchies. My starting PG (whomever I choose) is ending up with like 20 assists per game ... im using my PG to take people off the dribble and cause defensive switches and loose men and dishing passes, its great fun My free throws are getting better too .... i press the button when i see the ball hit like the far edges of the cross and it normally stops in the middle or right near it. Making free throws has added a few more points to my scores now

Thanks one and all!

[vinsanity03]

You cant get multiple time all-stars for Fizer and Robinson. If you need to score try point in the paint! the Bulls 3 point shooting is too much of a risk, you have to excellent inside players on your squad...Eddy Curry, and Tyson Chandler. Post up with eddy curry and wait for the double team, pass to the open man. Pump fakes help alot. Trade Fizer, Robinson and/or other players for more talented SG/SF/PF seeming as you'll need a swingman such as Vince, Michael Finley, Kittles, Van Horn.
Good Luck

[vinsanity03]

I loose way to many points at the stripe, im shooting 20 sumthing percent, and attempting alot during games. The PC version lags a bit at the line.

[Chris Ma]

i am using bulls as well! but i've traded a lot of players.

i sent Jalen Rose to the Suns for Penny Hardaway (just because i like penny so much), and sent eddie robinson to houston for yao ming!
then memphis offered shane battier for eddy curry and that's all!
now my starting 5 is:

C: Yao Ming
PF: Donyell Marshall
SF: Marcus Fizer
SG: Penny Hardaway
PG: Jay Williams

i think it's a good line up with Yao and Penny getting around 25 points each a game. yao with 7 reb and 4 block as well!
donyell has around 9 pts and 10 reb, jay has 10 points and 8 assists, and i put marcus fizer rather than shane battier in the starting lineup because i hope battier can give me some points when the starters are resting, and fizer did a good job with 12 pts and 6 rebs a game!!

off the bech i got battier scoring regularly, tyson chandler grab a lot of reb (around 5-6 off the bench). another important player is jamal crawford, his 3s are great!!

[JHova]

Anyone havin probs with 3 point shooting, or lack of scoring off the bench, there's a guy playing at Miami named Recker or something, he just scored 26 off the bench for me in 20 minutes on the court