2K Sports appears to have heard the complaints of the fans (and possibly this blog) as they released another NBA 2K13 roster update after only three days (the previous roster took 18 days). Unfortunately, as with all things 2K, it seems everytime they take a step forward they take two steps back.
I've combed through the roster and posted the comprehensive details (and my thoughts) for your viewing pleasure.
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PLAYER EDITS
One player saw an attribute adjustment this week (and almost predictably, only one attribute was changed).
Player attribute edits per roster
12/13: 1
12/8: 15
12/5: 14
11/17: 16
It goes without saying that this is a step in the wrong direction after 2K showed much promise in their 12/8 roster. They follow up 15 players in only 3 days with 0 in 5 days, which I suppose should have been totally expected.
In the past few days we've seen...
Jeremy Lin drop 38 points (after multiple rating decreases)
Tony Parker record his first career triple double
Joakim Noah go for 30/23/6
Larry Sanders record a triple double off the bench.
Carmelo Anthony tie Harden's NBA high of 45 points.
2K didn't feel any of this was worth adjusting, which shouldn't surprise anyone whose been playing 2K more than a year (I assure you, the last 12 haven't been much different).
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Paul George
79 Overall (+1)
Height 6'10" (+2)
If you didn't know before, you know now. Height affects overall rating.
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James Harden
83 Overall (0)
80 3pt (-6)
2013
Inside: 73-120 (60.8%)
Close: 20-57 (35.0%)
Med: 17-53 (32.1%)
3pt: 40-116 (34.5%)
2012
Inside: 191-281 (68.0%)
Close: 37-128 (28.9%)
Med: 27-64 (42.2%)
3pt: 146-370 (39.5%)
Odd timing for a decrease to Harden's 3pt shot given that he is 9-21 over his last three games.
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INJURED PLAYERS
76ers: Andrew Bynum (87/C)
Bobcats: Tyrus Thomas (71/PF)
Bucks: Beno Udrih (68/PG)
Bulls: Derrick Rose (92/PG), Richard Hamilton (73/SG)
Cavaliers: N/A
Celtics: Avery Bradley (79/SG)
Clippers: Chauncey Billups (81/PG), Grant Hill (77/SF), Trey Thompkins (63/PF)
Grizzlies: N/A
Hawks: N/A
Heat: N/A
Hornets: Eric Gordon (84/SG)
Jazz: Raja Bell (71/SG)
Kings: N/A
Knicks: Amare Stoudemire (83/PF), Iman Shumpert (80/SG)
Lakers: Steve Nash (87/PG), Pau Gasol (81/PF), Steve Blake (68/PG)
Magic: Hedo Turkoglu (72/SF), Al Harrington (71/PF)
Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki (84/PF)
Nets: Brook Lopez (80/C)
Nuggets: Wilson Chandler (80/SF)
Pacers: Danny Granger (83/SF), Jeff Pendergraph (62/PF)
Raptors: Landry Fields (73/SF), Alan Anderson (66/SF)
Rockets: Royce White (68/PF)
Spurs: Kawhi Leonard (80/SF), Stephen Jackson (78/SF)
Suns: Channing Frye (67/PF)
Thunder: N/A
Timberwolves: Brandon Roy (80/SG), Ricky Rubio (78/PG), Chase Budinger (71/SF)
Trail Blazers: Elliot Williams (66/SG)
Warriors: Andrew Bogut (79/C), Richard Jefferson (74/SF), Brandon Rush (71/SG)
Wizards: John Wall (82/PG), Trevor Ariza (76/SF), Trevor Booker (67/PF), A.J. Price (55/PG)
NEW
Kawhi Leonard (80/SF, Spurs)
A.J. Price (55/PG, Wizards)
RECOVERED
Kyrie Irving (85/PG, Cavaliers)
Anthony Davis (79/PF, Hornets)
Victor Claver (62/SF, Trail Blazers)
MISSING
Dion Waiters (71/SG, Cavaliers) - Out since 12/1
Kyle Korver (63/SG, Hawks) - Out since 11/28
Kyle Lowry (82/PG, Raptors) - Partial triceps tear on 12/10, will be out 10 days.
Andrea Bargnani (73/PF, Raptors) - Tore elbow ligament on 12/10
2K corrected all inaccuracies from the previous roster, but did not keep up with new injury developments. Irving and Davis returning is huge for fans of their respective teams. We will probably (hopefully) see another update over the weekend as Brook Lopez (Friday) and Ricky Rubio (Saturday) also make their returns.
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MISSING PLAYERS
No additional players were added.
Maalik Wayns has played in 9 of the last 10 games, replacing Royal Ivey as backup PG.
James White has played in 9 of the last 10 games.
Ben Hansbrough just replaced D.J. Augustin as backup PG.
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UPDATED MISSING PLAYER LIST
Maalik Waayns (PG) - 76ers
Kevin Jones (PF) - Cavaliers
Terrel Harris (SG) - Heat
Kevin Murphy (SG) - Jazz
James White (SF/SG) - Knicks
Darius Johnson-Odom (SG) - Lakers
Julyan Stone (PG/SG) - Nuggets
Ben Hansbrough (PG/SG) - Pacers
Scott Machado (PG) - Rockets
Diante Garrett (SG) - Suns
Luke Zeller (C/PF) - Suns
Kent Bazemore (SG/SF) - Warriors
TOTAL: 12
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INCORRECT LINEUPS
2K Sports finally fixed the Spurs lineup after nearly a month of having the injured Kawhi Leonard in the starting lineup, but they haven't kept up with other happenings in the league.
Last week 2K had 7 incorrect lineups, down from 13, which was a positive development. However instead of knocking out the rest of them, 2K seems to have rested on their laurels this week and the number has risen back up to 11.
The NBA is a fluid league where we can anticipate rotation and lineup changes happening thanks to minutes played. It is very easy to keep up with rotations on a daily basis, so 2K's inability to keep up with this is for the most part inexcusable.
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76ERS
Jrue Holiday (PG), Jason Richardson (SG), Evan Turner (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Kwame Brown (C)
As I pointed out on December 5th, Lavoy Allen has been starting at center, not Kwame Brown.
BOBCATS
Kemba Walker (PG), Jeff Taylor (SG), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (SF), Byron Mullens (PF), Brendan Haywood (C)
Bismack Biyombo replaced Haywood in the starting lineup on December 8th (three starts since).
Brandon Jennings (PG), Monta Ellis (SG), Marquis Daniels (SF), John Henson (PF), Epke Udoh (C)
Larry Sanders took over starting duties from Henson on December 5th. Maddeningly, Samuel Dalembert was placed in reserve even though he is still playing. Dalembert even started a game on 12/12. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has moved into the starting lineup again (Skiles couldn't resist his man-crush), shifting Sanders from PF to center.
CAVALIERS
Kyrie Irving (PG), Dion Waiters (SG), Alonzo Gee (SF), Tristan Thompson (PF), Anderson Varejao (C)
Waiters has been hurt, and C.J. Miles has been starting in his place and dropped 28 points in each of his last two games.
CELTICS
Rajon Rondo (PG), Courtney Lee (SG), Paul Pierce (SF), Brandon Bass (PF), Kevin Garnett (C)
As I pointed out November 17th, Jason Terry is the starting SG, not Courtney Lee.
HAWKS
Jeff Teague (PG), Kyle Korver (SG), Josh Smith (SF), Al Horford (PF), Zaza Pachulia (C)
As I pointed out December 5th, the Hawks proper starting lineup is DeShawn Stevenson at SG, Kyle Korver at SF, Josh Smith at PF, and Al Horford at C. Korver has missed the last few games due to injury and Devin Harris has started in his place, shifting Stevenson to SF. (i.e. NOT Zaza Pachulia)
HEAT
Mario Chalmers (PG), Dwyane Wade (SG), LeBron James (SF), Shane Battier (PF), Chris Bosh (C)
Battier has not started since November 24th. Rashard Lewis and Udonis Haslem have been taking turns starting at PF in his stead, with Haslem drawing 3 of the last 4 starts. Battier missed some games to injury, but has been coming off the bench since returning.
HORNETS
Grevis Vasquez (PG), Roger Mason (SG), Al-Farouq Aminu (SF), Anthony Davis (PF), Robin Lopez (C)
Austin Rivers returned to the starting lineup on 12/11, replacing Mason.
NETS
Deron Williams (PG), Joe Johnson (SG), Gerald Wallace (SF), Kris Humphries (PF), Andray Blatche (C)
Reggie Evans replaced Humphries in the starting lineup on 12/9.
RAPTORS
Kyle Lowry (PG), Demar DeRozan (SG), Linas Kleiza (SF), Andrea Bargnani (PF), Jonas Valanciunas (C)
Mickael Pietrus has been starting since December 3rd (6 games ago). Kleiza hasn't even been healthy, missing the last 3 games with injury. Andrea Bargnani will miss about two months to injury and Ed Davis has taken his place in the starting lineup. Lowry will miss a little over a week and Jose Calderon will start in his place.
SUNS
Goran Dragic (PG), Shannon Brown (SG), Michael Beasley (SF), Markieff Morris (PF), Marcin Gortat (C)
Beasley just lost his starting job to Jared Dudley on 12/8 and may not even have a place in the rotation by the end of the week.
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SUMMARY
This roster takes away all the good feelings built up in the December 8th roster. We had bare bones changes that have allowed the league to progress further out of date. Here's hoping 2K has something big planned for the weekend.
1 comment:
I believe the ratings for players need approval from the NBA.
It's the reason I believe why guys like Ryan Anderson who can ball, among others, don't get the respect they deserve. Living in Orlando I've seen Ryan Anderson play and he is a skilled PF who impacts the game more than a 69 overall rating can.
Perhaps you need the connections or ties (Illuminati maybe?) to get a good overall rating? Perhaps that's why Jeremy Lin when he was balling out of control never really got a high overall like he deserved? I knew Jeremy Lin could ball when I saw him school John Wall in summer league play.
Perhaps the league controls the ratings more than we think? After all, I met an NBA player at a night club and asked him are the games rigged.. and he goes "50-50" whatever that meant. This player is a future hall of famer. I don't wish to get him in trouble so I won't say his name. Let's just say he is from Central Florida.
I believe if refferees officiated the game fairly you'd see that there are many good players in the NBA. Some players if you just sneeze on them they will blow the whistle. Yet, I see rookies ball out and get to the hole only to get clobbered and no foul get called. It's like they have to earn their stripes in the league. It might be the reason why Kobe came off the bench for 2 years, yet he schooled Jerry Stackhouse at 16 years of age and came off the bench to score 35+ points against Jordan and Pippen on 2 occasions I believe. Del Harris for some odd reason wouldn't start him at guard or forward. If he would've started those 2 seasons he would've reached 30,000 points last year barring injury.
I guess the league decides who is good and who is not. I did hear someone who works at 2K say that before any ratings can come out they first have to get them approved by the league. The league at the end has the final say on the ratings.. sighs.. that sucks. It is their product though so I understand I guess.
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