Is passing too slow in this game?

[JWL3]

I'm playing as the Spurs and their entire game is based on passing. It seems to me that every time I get a dude wide open, by the time he shoots the ball, the defender is on top of his jock. The defenders recover way too quickly. Also, with that new shot meter, if you hold it to the optimal release point, the defender is absolutely on top of you. It makes playing as a passing team completely pointless. Passing in 2k14 was fine.

The problem is, my opponent just keeps doubling anyone who drives, knowing that they can recover to any shooter who's open. It defeats the entire point of playing as the Spurs.

[Phreak50]

There's a couple of issues yeah.

The default passes float a bit for sure. But the main culprit is overhead passes. They've plagued the series for years, both being slow to animate and triggering even at close range (to the receiver). The overhead passes especially, break the flow of a potentially smooth play.

On the other hand, I've found that really making use of the bounce pass control helps to alleviate much of the above. Forcing a bounce pass (for me left trigger and pass), even when it doesn't bounce it, definitely seems to get the ball to the receiver a lot quicker. And in most occasions, an actual bounce pass animation plays out quicker as well (and uses animations like behind the back passes, you'd rarely, if ever see otherwise).

Another thing I've noticed, is to do with what you're referring to when the open player you pass to has had his defender recover by the time he puts the shot up. I think this is just a visual problem because the commentators will still say he was open and likewise, his shot percentage is as if it was a wide open shot. I play as the Spurs in my season and know this too well.

You can though, run screens and a bunch of effective plays to really get guys open. I've been recording a bunch of plays from my Spurs, so will upload something soon.

But yeah, experiment with the manual bounce pass and even the flashy pass because they can be very effective.

[JWL3]

The default passes float a bit for sure. But the main culprit is overhead passes. They've plagued the series for years, both being slow to animate and triggering even at close range (to the receiver). The overhead passes especially, break the flow of a potentially smooth play.

I think that's it. It defaults to an overhead pass a lot.

On the other hand, I've found that really making use of the bounce pass control helps to alleviate much of the above. Forcing a bounce pass (for me left trigger and pass), even when it doesn't bounce it, definitely seems to get the ball to the receiver a lot quicker. And in most occasions, an actual bounce pass animation plays out quicker as well (and uses animations like behind the back passes, you'd rarely, if ever see otherwise).

I tried this and it does speed things up a lot. Only problem is that you can't do this in traffic too often because it'll hit someone's as and you'll lose the ball. Very satisfying though when you can thread the needle.

Another thing I've noticed, is to do with what you're referring to when the open player you pass to has had his defender recover by the time he puts the shot up. I think this is just a visual problem because the commentators will still say he was open and likewise, his shot percentage is as if it was a wide open shot. I play as the Spurs in my season and know this too well.

I hope you're right about this. The commentators will say some of the dumbest things though so I never took that as an indication that it was an open shot. Because visually, the dude was totally up in my grill. It totally makes me rush the shot and release it way too early. I really like that little shot meter. Realistic.