One of the solutions to fast gameplay and high scores in NBA Live 2003 is to turn the quarter length down, as not to allow the game to go long enough to yield unrealistic stats. The only problem for us reality junkies is that the minutes per game averages are unrealistic.
Assuming that NBA Live 2004 is again too fast for our liking, I suggest that NBA Live take a page out FIFA's book, and feature faster game clock settings, that is, you can set it so that the clock will still count down from 90 minutes, but time will elapse more quickly. Hence, you could play a 48 minute game in NBA Live, with players registering realistic minutes per game averages, while the game runs fast enough to avoid the high scores. This would also be ideal for people who would like to see realistic mpg but don't have time to play 12 minute quarters.
Of course, the best solution would be to slow the gameplay down, but I still think this would be an interesting idea.