Hey guys,
so I started editting tendencies and rosters for NBA 2k18 lately and my goal is to start a MyLeague experience later on with realistic roster & gameplay.
Some of you know me as I had posted several franchise stories before on this forum - I am here for more than ten years now and obviously things have changed. Not only on this forum - with members and great characters / storymakers coming and going - but also in real life basketball.
I remember my first dynasty that I had started after several years of absence - I was playing NBA live 2005 with the Nuggets with Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, Andre Miller, Kenyon Martin and Voshon Lenard making the starting five. The goal with this roster was to make the playoffs and then maybe get past the first round. But there was some great competition in the West with the Mavs, Rockets, Jazz, Spurs, Suns and even the Sonics back in the days. Many games were though, it was a nice Playoff race and I eventually did not make it.
The competition at that time and the feeling of really hating to play against some of these teams (fearing Ray Allen, Steve Nash etc) is the first circumstance that led to my idea for this topic. Things have severely changed in the NBA over that timespan of more than a decade now (or not? What do you think?)
Although back in 2004/2005 just as many teams had really poor records around 40% or worse, back in these days it felt like some of them were only one star player away of becoming relevant again or even had a star player already, not only a load of young players with potential like most cellar dwellars nowadays. Maybe because of worse gameplay, these teams were always a threat to beat me as most of them had one star who could go bonkers and erupt for 40+. (Celtics with Paul Pierce, Cavs with LBJ, Wolves with KG, Lakers with Kobe).
Nowadays, there are too many teams who do not have one star players who is (yet) capable of killing me. However there are a few teams like the Warriors, Spurs and Cavs who are very tough to play against. But when I play NBA 2k18 and look at the ingame schedule and I see the Suns, Lakers, 76ers, Mavs, Magic, Kings, Pistons, Hornets I am not really afraid of losing. They have no star players, no team swag, no real identity.
It's only the few "superteams" that I really fear ingame and can't beat - which really feels different when playing. It also makes it hard for me to actually find a team I want to start a franchise mode with. It feels like you might not have a chance to beat the Cavs/Warriors anyway and on the other hand there are so many teams with potential but no real identity or players that are deeply linked to the teams that they lack "swag". Back in live 2005 I did not know which team to choose because I liked many of them. The 7 seconds Suns, Dirks Mavs, the team play Spurs, the Diesel & Flash Heat or the defensive minded Pistons.
Another thing that has changed is the style of play and it's so hard to keep up with it when playing now. So many players can shoot threes now. When I look at my 04/05 Nuggets, only Voshon Lenard was capable of making threes on a regular basis (Melo at that time was not yet a really good shooter from deep). So I rarely took threes, and never thought about taking wild transition threes or "four pointers" from way down town.
And now? When I handle the ball with Curry I could let go from everywhere. With Durant I should not mind whether I have a hand in my face or not. But I still do! I have not yet adapted to the new form of NBA gameplay. I still have an old school meaning of a "bad shot", which is a transition pull up shot when you go 2 on 1 or a three with a hand in your face. There are not many big men with a back to the basket game left and the PF most of the time is also capable of shooting threes. Also running down the clock is not very common anymore in the NBA (except for a few teams) and that has been my playing style for ages now.
So what are your experiences with the roster/team situation right now (many "tankers", the so called "superteams")? Do you feel a difference when playing? Do you think teams like the Magic, Suns, Lakers, Hornets or Nets lack identity or star players. Or do you disagree anyway and it does not feel any different at all? And how about the playing style? Have you adapted? Are you chucking up threes? Do you play small ball?
Greetings, Hov