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How to "GIT GUD" and actually be a useful teamplayer.

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2022-03-17 04:01:48

Positioning And Spacing (For Big Men)

I feel this is probably one of the most important factors when playing online so I chose to address it first. Everything is situational but in order to keep things simple I'll try to break things down in categories.

Positioning and Spacing on Offense

It'll be easier for me to count the number of games I've played where my teammates weren't standing completely still in a corner or camping out in the paint. I understand that you may be a pure sharpshooter but that doesn't mean that all you can do is spot up in the corner...and sure, your post scoring athletic finisher may be a beast down low but if the defense isn't giving you the paint then you would be foolish to continue to force it. At that point all you are doing is clogging up the floor.

Big Man Positioning and Spacing

Non-Shooters

Archetypes put people in the mindset of "This is what my player is good at so it's the only thing I'm going to do". If you think like that...you're the problem. I understand if you're a big man who can't shoot 3's but guess what? You can still space the floor by taking mid range shots, even if you miss the defense will learn to respect your shot thus opening up the paint for you. Even a 65 mid range is more than enough to take open shots. Keep this in mind the next time you give up an open jumper to force your way into a congested paint only to miss then blame the game because your pure slasher can't make "layups".

Shooters

Now, this is for you stretch bigs out there. Arguably one of the hardest positions to gaurd if the player has any clue of what they are doing. My best advice for a stretch big is to think of your ability to shoot as an extra bonus not as your calling card. I hate seeing a 7 footer wasting his height by staying behind the 3 line even when the paint is 100% open...HELLO??? You are 7 feet tall, you better go and literally drop the ball in the goal. I don't care if your layup is a 25, if you aren't utilizing that height then you may as well make a 6 foot sharpshooter. As a stretch big (and really any archetype) you always take what the defense gives, you should never go down the court looking for a 3 just like a slasher shouldn't go down the court looking to poster the whole team. If your matchup is hellbent on preventing you from shooting then simply cut into the paint. You score a few down low and now it opens up your shot because your matchup is going to be focused on stopping easy cuts to the rim. You always want to keep them guessing and as a stretch if you play your cards right every move you make will require full attention from the defense.

General Tips

As I said before, everything is situational. Sometimes it will benefit the team for a shooter to stand in a corner for a bit if their matchup is guarding them closely. This will open up the paint and if you're a stretch big then likely your match up is similar in height meaning one less 7 footer to Mutombo grab block your teammates as they attempt to drive. Even if your match up decides that his urge to go for a poorly timed block is stronger than his will to play defense on you then guess what? You are now open...recognize the space and be ready to shoot if the ball is dished out. Sounds simple enough right? Well play a few park games and you will see that this concept flies over 99% of players heads. Be aware of how your actions are effecting not only yourself but your teammates. There should never be a time where you are just watching your teammates dribble.

Positioning And Spacing (Backcourt And Wings)

So you prefer being nimble and quick vs being a 7 foot tank. As a somewhat regular sized human being it is often harder to be effective. Sure, you're quick. You can do some fancy dribbles and occasionally you make shots that even a Curry Harden hybrid wouldn't consider taking but are you actually being effective? Often the flash and flair of ankle breaking dribble moves leaves you thinking that being a saucegod is really the only way to play well I'm here to let you know that between every contested half court 3 and full paint posterizers that you make there are about 30 failed plays that somehow washed away from your memory.

Shooters

You've embraced the new age of basketball but oddly enough the rest of us aren't so quick to embrace you and your 2/13 from 3 games. Now the ignorant mind would blame 2k for their 99 3 not always being a green release but we don't have ignorance in this community! Right? RIGHT!? The same thing I said in the big man P&S guide applies here, shooting should be seen as a bonus not as the only thing you can do. But there seems to be a glitch in the park where sharpshooters aren't allowed to move beyond the 3 point line and apparently they can't move without the ball in their hands. Just in case this isn't a glitch I'll try to explain some things you can do to not only get off higher percentage shots but also prevent your team from flopping after every "open" shot you miss. The key to being a sharpshooter is off ball movement. Yes, I know. "Moving without the ball? Are you mad?" Maybe but just hear me out. All you really need is a bit of seperation to get your shot off and you can create that space for yourself with good off ball route running. Route running is something that's very underestimated especially as a shooter. You always want to be running to the open space...no matter where. You aren't limited to just paint and mid range shots, if you see space at the top of the key then consider it free real estate. Good shot recognition takes a bit of time to master but if you are at least attempting to get the best possible look you are already doing something that half of the park doesn't do.

Non-Shooters

You dont like to deal with uncertainties. You want high percentage looks and will not settle for less...well let me just tell you that spamming those dribble moves then driving to the paint in an attempt to dunk on not only the whole other team but your own team is no worse than the guy spotting up from half court. Sure, your 3 may not be the highest but that does not in anyway mean that you should refrain from taking 3's especially if your matchup is anticipating your 4th dunk attempt in a row. Even better is to take mid rangers, the defense has to give something and if they aren't giving you the paint then take advantage. The most important thing as a non shooter is to be confident when you do decide to shoot but don't be dumb. When you're slashing to the rim always be prepared to kick the ball out, you're going to draw a lot of attention and if it isn't a clear lane to the hoop then it usually isn't worth attacking only to clunk the ball off the rim. Off-ball movement is important for non-shooters also (important for everyone really) you just have to be more deliberate as a non-shooter. You don't have the luxury of spacing the floor as well as others but that doesn't mean that you can't at all. Yes, you are going to want to go for cuts to the basket but don't force it. If the first 1 or 2 steps can't get you past your matchup then stop and try something else, fighting to get to the paint is only going to clog up the middle. You have to be aware that you have other teammates who your mindless cutting is going to hurt especially if you're dragging your matchup into the paint with you.

Ball Movement, Off-Ball Movement And Screens.

Ball Movement

Ball Movement is critical in basketball but playing in the park would lead you to believe that such a thing only exist in fairytales. I simply don't understand how in a game of 3v3 you will have someone be double teamed but not have the sense to look for the open man. This all comes down to ego, people wanting to do everything themselves. People playing 2k instead of basketball. 10/10 times the game is better when you are playing with a unselfish team and I don't think anyone can really argue that. Disregarding the people who want to be dribble gods, I believe that most of the poor ball movement is due to people simply not looking up. Their eyes get so locked on their player that they don't even realize when their teammates are wide open. If you are ever trying to break your match up then you are already doing something wrong. Isolation works at times but it isn't going to work against good people often so just because it works against some scrubs does not mean it's a good tendency to have. You severely limit your vision and is quite frankly annoying to everyone playing with you. You should only be playing iso if it's the absolute last option.

Off-Ball

Something that I find frustrating is when people stay still watching their teammates dribble as if they can't do anything else. You need to be moving, you aren't just waiting your turn to get the ball and dribble...cut to the basket, run to space, set a pick! Do something! Show your teammates that your brain still works. Focus on your spacing. Realize that what you do off ball is just as important as what you do on the ball. When I see people not doing anything but watching me bring the ball up court I really wonder what is going on in their heads. My conclusion is that nothing is going on in their heads. I don't care if you're a pure playmaker...get it out of your head that dribbiling is all you can do cause I know anyone who isn't moving off ball is not going to be playmaking even if they are a playmaker.

Screens

Pick plays are the foundation of basketball. Sadly, I hardly ever see anyone actually make good use of screens or even set good screens. Positioning is critical when setting screens, you have to time your pick with the movement of both the teammate you're screening for and their match up. Simply setting a screen to set a screen is going to end up hurting you more than not setting one at all. My rule is when you first set the screen if it isn't effective then get out of the way ASAP. A bad screen is nothing but a spacing disaster, the quicker you get away and drag your matchup away the better. Now also understand that there is a second part to screening...the roll, or fade. Too many times I will see a teammate set a pick then either stand there or instantly run over and set another pick...You may as well be playing defense on your own teammate. After the screen, whether it is successful or not you need to move to space soon after. Be precise because it becomes a guessing game for the defense, you put yourself at the advantage because the defense has to react to what YOU do not the other way around. The screen is meant for both the ball handler and the person setting the screen to get open. So set the screen then either fade for a shot or drive to the paint...with intent. Do what needs to be done in that particular situation. I'm 100% certain that standing in the same spot or setting another pick is NOT what the situation calls for. Also be sure to set off ball picks, especially for shooters. The same rules apply when setting off ball screens. either fade or cut in. It's likely that one of you will be open if done correctly.

Defense

Personally my favorite aspect of the game because it allows you to really use your IQ against the other team and a good defender can change the course of a game especially in the park where there's only 3 people to account for.

First thing first...get it out of your head that you are only responsible for your matchup. Pure man to man defense died nearly 10 years ago. Offenses are too versatile for such a thing. How you position yourself is the most important factor on defense. Even if you have absolutely no intention on protecting the paint at least place your body near it if it's open. Just being there is enough to discourage the other team from attacking. People underestimate the power of defense. You can literally prevent easy buckets by pretending to collapse. Pay attention to your opponents tendencies. If they have good vision then you should know that it may not be smart to slack off of shooters and likewise, if they don't then you know that you can play a bit more help defense then you normally would.

If you're having trouble with a matchup then deny him the ball. Don't give him an inch of space, individual defense is easy, it's team defense that can make things tricky if you don't know what you're doing. That being said, if your match up is a key player in their offense then forget about help defense...just lock them down. Sometimes it's better to give up an easy bucket if it prevents your match up from making his 4th 3 in a row.

Now some people are super cheesy and guarding them can prove difficult. In this case you want to deny both the paint and 3 while leaving the mid range somewhat open. I say this because most players aren't going to be looking for mid range shots and if they do then they have to commit to it before hand. Anything you can do to make them question their shot selection is good even if it means they make a few open shots now and then, you'll be preventing them from both scoring more points and scoring easier points.

Never go for blocks unless you feel there is a 70%+ chance of it actually effecting the shot. Anytime you leave your feet you are leaving an opening for the offense to exploit. I feel most people only go for blocks simply because they want a block...not because it's the best defensive play to make.

Lastly, understand that sometimes good team defense will look like bad individual defense. Sadly, not everyone is going to understand rotations so while it may be a good idea for you to let your match up blow by you (ex. sharpshooters w/ teammates setting screens for them to get open for 3s) your teammates will not understand that they were the ones playing bad defense not you and sometimes it helps to show false tendencies on defense so that your matchup tries to take advantage only to be denied. Consider it something like a parry in fighting games.

ALSOOO this is actually a part of defense imo...boxout. It takes all of half a second and prevents easy second chance points. Even if you're a guard, if your teammate is faced against a good rebounder then you need to box out their man for them. It's hard to show how much it helps because you won't know it helped until you don't do it and the other team scores easy points.

Additional Tips (To Be Updated Periodically)

Keep your head up as you play. I find that low overalls do a better job at this than long time players. When people get higher overalls they tend to think that they can do everything themselves and often will straight out refuse to pass to lower levels. Makes no sense to me, most of my streaks are with players under 80 overall simply because they aren't selfish and are easy to teach basic things. You can't really do anything for people who think they know everything already.

Understand your ignorance. Everyone likes to blame others for their failures and sometimes they are right but most of the time it's just them being unable to seeing things from the correct perspective. You can't get upset at your teammate for missing an open shot even if their overall is low. I much rather have low overalls shooting good shots than having high overalls shoot bad shots. Just in general I find it much more enjoyable to play with newer players. IQ isn't something that having skills will bring you. You may as well be a 60 overall if your shot selection consist of contested 3's. I find it insane that people refuse to play with what they consider "scrubs" because of overall but are literally 100 times worse than the person they refused to play with. I've been on multiple 7+ game streaks with people in the high 60's low 70's. Yeah, I may have to carry a lot of the load but when everyone is always trying to make the right play you can't get mad. I enjoy losing with new people who show potential and have good IQ much more than I enjoy winning with "vets" who abuse the game. I fully believe that the reason so many ridiculous shots go in is because 2k knows that the community is bad so they have to make such bad shots go in or else people would blame the game for their faults and not buy it anymore. Sad but whatever, I would rather lose and play right than cheese and win.

Always look to make the best play even if that play doesn't involve you. I think team play would increase tenfold if 2k didn't display stats during the game. They are very misleading anyway. They only tell half the story.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1410909199

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