Thursday, November 26, 2015

Kobe Bryant NBA 2K16 Player Rating Edit

There is no debating it: Kobe Bryant is no longer a good player, much less a great player.



Kobe Bryant has been one of the top rated players in the NBA and the NBA 2K video game series for over a decade.  After suffering his torn Achilles at the end of 2013 his on-court production fell off significantly, and it has proven too much to overcome.

SeasonAgeGMPPERTS%USG%WSWS/48
2012-13 ★3478301323.0.57031.910.9.174
2013-14 ★35617710.7.50528.7-0.4-0.097
2014-15 ★3635120717.6.47734.90.2.006
2015-16371133610.2.41529.5-0.5-0.077
Career12914711023.1.55231.8172.6.176

Simply by looking at Kobe's PER and shooting we can see that he's no longer the same player.  Kobe has been so bad they he's actually produced NEGATIVE 0.7 Win Shares since 2013 - a feat reserved for the likes of losers like Michael Beasley or Michael Olowokandi.  Despite his decline in play, Kobe has refused to adapt his game and take a smaller role, as evidenced by his high Usage rates which are right in line with the rest of his career.

2K Sports has only recently recognized Kobe's decline.  Kobe started the year with an 85 Overall rating, registering him as a top 5 Shooting Guard in the game, higher than the likes of Klay Thompson (84).  To their credit, 2K has since reduced his rating and as of a few days ago Kobe has a 78 Overall rating, the first time in the series history that he has a lower rating than 80.


Here's a look at the attributes that make up Kobe's rating as I determine whether they are an accurate representation of the Mamba's fall from grace.


Kobe Bryant
78 Overall (-7)
OFFENSE
85 Standing Layup
82 Driving Layup (-4)
85 Post Fade (-4)
68 Post Hook
78 Post Control
74 Draw Foul (-8)
80 Standing Close
82 Moving Close
71 Standing Mid (-4)
70 Moving Mid (-4)
68 Standing 3pt (-9)
65 Moving 3pt (-5)
82 Free Throw (+1)
80 Ball Control (-3)
64 Pass Vision (-10)
86 Pass IQ (-2)
84 Pass Accuracy
36 Offensive Rebound (-2)
35 Standing Dunk (-10)
35 Driving Dunk (-10)
25 Contact Dunk
82 Shot IQ (-15)
98 Hands

Kobe's Shooting Stats
% of FGA by DistanceFG% by Distance
SeasonAgeGMPFG%Dist.2P0-33-1010-1616 <33P2P0-33-1010-1616 <33P
2012-1334783013.46314.4.745.211.147.150.237.255.510.693.462.471.402.324
2013-14356177.42514.7.781.164.123.247.247.219.491.750.556.500.278.188
2014-1536351207.37315.7.742.136.129.185.292.258.401.567.380.311.389.293
2015-163711336.31118.2.572.056.117.172.228.428.398.700.476.323.341.195
Career102539531.45014.0.793.214.125.170.283.207.481.634.450.439.405.332


Kobe's poor shooting can be traced to his shot selection - he's added an average of 2.5 feet to every shot since last year.  Due to his decline in athleticism he has been unable to get to the rim (only 5.6% of his FGA) and has been settling for more threes than ever before.  Unfortunately, Kobe has never been a great three-point shooter and adding to his volume here hasn't helped his shooting percentage.


DEFENSE
50 Defensive Rebound (-17)
37 Block
79 Shot Contest
65 Steal
76 On-Ball Defense (-9)
64 Low Post Defense
79 Reaction Time


Kobe's defensive rebounding has regressed since last season even though he is playing Small Forward, a position that should put him in better rebounding position given closer proximity to the basket.


ATHLETICISM
54 Boxout (-13)
70 Lateral Quickness (-4)
67 Speed (-3)
68 Acceleration (-4)
64 Vertical (-8)
66 Strength
75 Stamina
80 Hustle
81 Durability


Kobe's athletic decline has been fairly represented by NBA 2K.


INTANGIBLES
76 Pass Perception
80 Defensive Consistency
79 Pick &Roll Defense (-5)
76 Help Defense
60 Offensive Consistency (-38)
99 Emotion
99 Potential


Defense is still where 2K Sports continues to give Kobe Bryant too much respect, which is evident from looking at their Consistency ratings.  It is fairly well known in NBA circles that Kobe hasn't been a good defender in a number of years, and this is next on the checklist if 2K Sports wants to depict a truly accurate representation of a 37-year old Kobe Bryant.


R2K RATING EDITS
75 Overall (-3)*
83 Standing Layup (-2)
80 Driving Layup (-2)
65 Post Hook (-3)
78 Moving Close (-4)
70 Standing Mid (-1)
68 Moving Mid (-3)
64 Moving 3pt (-1)
83 Free Throw (+1)
78 Ball Control (-2)
81 Pass IQ (-5)
78 Pass Accuracy (-6)
30 Contact Dunk (+5)
95 Hands (-3)
72 On-Ball Defense (-4)
70 Pass Perception (-6)
50 Defensive Consistency (-30)
76 Pick & Roll Defense (-3)
72 Help Defense (-4)
50 Offensive Consistency (-10)

*Kobe will rate 75 at Shooting Guard (his current 2K position) but 77 at Small Forward (his real life position) due to differences in the position formulas.


Kobe Bryant is an interesting case study as he is experiencing the decline that we never got to see out of Michael Jordan and other great NBA players who retired before they fell apart (or were given smaller roles commensurate with their actual ability) .  Here's hoping Kobe realizes that he is no longer capable of doing Kobe things and takes a back seat to help the Lakers' develop their young players.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Cleveland Cavaliers NBA 2K16 Player Ratings & Analysis

Ratings/Analysis
Cleveland Cavaliers (11/24/15)
Golden State Warriors (11/23/15)
New York Knicks (11/23/15)
Philadelphia 76ers (11/23/15)

Cleveland Cavaliers (11/24/15)
11-3 Record (1st East)
5.83 SRS (3rd NBA, 1st East)
110.6 ORTG (1st)
102.5 DRTG (11th)

OVRPOSPLAYERARCHETYPE
94SF/PFLeBron JamesAll-Around Superstar
87PGKyrie IrvingScoring Machine
85PFKevin LoveRebounding Scoring Machine
77CTimofey MozgovTwo-Way Center
77PF/CTristan ThompsonAll-Around Power Forward
77PG/SGMo WilliamsCrafty Offensive-Minded Point
75SG/SFIman ShumpertTwo-Way Guard
75SG/SFJ.R. SmithSkilled Shooter
74CAnderson VarejaoInterior Defender
72SF/SGRichard JeffersonScoring Wing
72PG/SGMatthew DellavedovaTwo-Way Point
69CSasha KaunInterior Defender
69SFJames JonesPerimeter Threat
67SG/SFJoe HarrisPerimeter Threat
64PG/SGJared CunninghamAthletic Point Guard

DEPTH CHART
DEPTHPOINT GUARDSHOOTING GUARDSMALL FORWARDPOWER FORWARDCENTER
CLE-1Matthew Dellavedova (72)J.R. Smith (75)LeBron James (94)Kevin Love (85)Tristan Thompson (77)
CLE-2Mo Williams (77)Jared Cunningham (64)Richard Jefferson (72)Anderson Varejao (74)
CLE-3Kyrie Irving (87)Joe Harris (67)James Jones (69)Sasha Kaun (69)
CLE-4Iman Shumpert (75)Timofey Mozgov (77)


STATS
Player Age G MP PER TS% 3PAr FTr ORB% DRB% AST% STL% BLK% TOV% USG%
LeBron James 31 14 506 27.3 .571 .199 .376 4.0 17.5 35.6 2.1 1.4 12.7 32.3
Kevin Love 27 14 482 21.8 .575 .453 .264 10.0 27.2 12.4 1.0 1.4 12.9 25.5
Matthew Dellavedova 25 14 375 14.3 .546 .411 .137 1.9 7.4 32.2 1.5 0.0 15.9 14.4
Tristan Thompson 24 14 371 16.7 .606 .000 .453 11.4 30.2 5.2 0.8 2.1 10.9 12.3
Mo Williams 33 11 344 18.2 .592 .424 .212 1.0 10.8 27.4 1.0 0.2 14.3 22.1
J.R. Smith 30 11 342 9.2 .492 .517 .078 3.1 7.8 10.1 0.9 1.4 10.5 17.7
Richard Jefferson 35 14 336 8.1 .568 .464 .226 0.7 5.4 6.5 1.2 0.7 14.0 14.4
Timofey Mozgov 29 12 250 14.9 .595 .047 .563 7.6 16.6 3.6 0.6 4.0 14.9 17.0
Jared Cunningham 24 12 154 6.3 .453 .325 .550 0.8 9.0 9.2 1.7 1.0 13.9 16.9
James Jones 35 14 114 10.7 .555 .757 .216 2.1 10.3 6.5 0.9 1.4 6.9 17.3
Anderson Varejao 33 12 111 13.5 .516 .034 .310 12.8 22.1 6.7 0.9 1.4 15.4 15.9
Joe Harris 24 5 15 3.7 .375 1.000 .000 0.0 21.3 18.2 0.0 0.0 20.0 15.1
Sasha Kaun 30 4 10 8.6 23.6 0.0 12.5 5.1 7.7 100.0 4.5

PLAYER NOTES (11/24/15)
LeBron James (94/SF)
A top two player in the NBA.  Is slowly losing his freakish athleticism, which means he'll need to start shooting better from distance.
Overrated: 71 Free Throw, 87 Driving Dunk, 70 Standing Dunk

Matthew Dellavedova (72/PG)
Building on last season's playoff heroics by actually resembling a point guard.  Could take all of J.R. Smith's minutes once Kyrie and Shumpert are healthy.
Underrated: 35 Off Consistency, 40 Pass Perception, 57 Steal

Tristan Thompson (77/PF)
Gained some detractors due to his contract holdout, but is earning every penny.  A leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year award.
Underrated: 75 Def Rebound

Mo Williams (77/PG)
Has capably filled in for Kyrie Irving in his return to Cleveland.  While it is a bit early to declare the Cavs should consider trading Kyrie, it wouldn't hurt for him to emulate Mo's shot selection when he returns.
Overrated: 83 Pass Vision

J.R. Smith (75/SG)
Smith is mired in an extended shooting slump to start the season, and the team will surely relegate him to the bench as soon as Iman Shumpert gets healthy.
Overrated: 70 Driving Dunk, 60 Off Consistency

Jared Cunningham (64/PG)
Has been a shooting guard his entire career.  One team experimented with him at PG and 2K stuck with the position ever since.
Position: SG/PG
Overrated: 81 Free Throw
Underrated: 57/51 3pt Shot, 42 Pass Vision

Anderson Varejao (74/C)
Good to see Varejao healthy again.  His injury last season was the catalyst for the trades that brought in Mozgov, Shumpert, and Smith and saved the Cavs season.
Underrated: 72 Off Rebound