In part 1 of my quest to adjust "touches" and fix the gameplay, I made my touches adjustments and NOTHING ELSE. No other ratings. tendencies, or coach profile edits. Just touches.
My changes (and reasoning) were as follows.
Felton 71 - Runs a lot of P/R... and the team's offense
Mason 67 - Actually runs P/R a lot for a SG, also comes off screens a lot.
Turiaf 61 - Majority of offense comes from P/R
Douglas 60 - Another P/R player
Stoudemire 42 - Usually a roll man, but also goes one on one quite a bit.
Gallinari 35 - Will get some plays but usually stands around waiting for a kickout.
Mozgov 32 - This was just a guess based on how much P/R I think he'll run.
Chandler 31 - Honestly I don't recall many plays for Chandler except watching him go one on one and what not.
Randolph 29 - Doesn't set many picks/screens due to his lanky frame; mostly a one on one kinda guy.
I went strictly off Synergy data and did not adjust for usage, which helps explain why Turiaf's plays are higher than Amare. This is not exactly inaccurate in a perfect world, but the 2K world we currently live in is far from perfect.
Touches is going to affect the plays that the team runs. As I mentioned before, I justified Ronny Turiaf having a high touches tendency because of the pick and rolls. Will that actually lead to pick and rolls? We need to see what sets these guys are going to be running now.
KNICK STARTING PG (Raymond Felton)
1 Double
41 Roll
21 Fade - Comes off double screen for cross court pass and elbow three. Likely a Chris Duhon favorite.
1 Double Roll
SUMMARY: Felton's plays are pick plays that should lead to the team getting involved more than himself. Pretty realistic set and represents Mike D'Antoni's offense well.
KNICK BENCH PG (Toney Douglas)
31 Roll - This is actually a 21 Roll. It was my favorite play when the Knicks still had Nate Robinson, even more deadly when they had Jamal Crawford too.
2 Double
23 Up - Comes off C screen for catch/shoot three.
SUMMARY: Douglas' plays by contrast are more offensive minded, which is pretty realistic. Knicks backup PGs in the D'Antoni era have been Nate Robinson and Toney Douglas, so this is also somewhat accurate.
KNICK STARTING SG (Wilson Chandler)
12 Post
2 Double
12 Over
42 Swing Roll - This play is completely mislabeled. It is actually a 43 Swing Roll. The SG is the only one that doesn't even touch the ball on this play.
SUMMARY: This set represents Chandler's versatility fairly well. He can post, drive (with a double screen), or come off a screen for a jumper. The 42 Swing Roll is not his play, and should be listed for Gallinari.
KNICK BENCH SG (Roger Mason, Bill Walker)
23 Post
42 Roll
12 Over
42 Swing Roll - As with before, this is not a SG play.
SUMMARY: Same as Chandler except we have a P/R play instead of a driving play. That's accurate for Mason, not so much for Walker. I would take out Swing Roll and put the 2 Double in for Walker's purposes. In addition, I would also give Chandler the 42 Roll because he also uses pick and roll sometimes.
KNICK STARTING SF (Danilo Gallinari)
23 Up - SF on wing, comes off C screen for top of key three.
13 Ice - Iso clearout
43 Roll
13 Up
SUMMARY: I don't really like 13 Ice for Gallinari - it's definitely more of a Chandler play. The rest is all good, mostly screen plays to get Gallinari perimeter looks, and a mid/drive play with the 43 Roll.
KNICK BENCH SF (Wilson Chandler)
13 Ice
13 Up
23 Up Double
23 Post
SUMMARY: Not a bad secondary set for Chandler, it keeps some of Gallo's plays while also tossing in a drive play and post play.
KNICK STARTING PF (Amare Stoudemire)
14 Dive
34 Post
24 Post
54 Screen - PF running a P/R, from top of 3pt line.
SUMMARY: Two P/R plays, and two Post plays. I am not a fan of 54 Screen in the slightest. It's actually a very effective play, and made a little more sense for David Lee (over the last 7 games when they added Earl Barron). Amare ran a P/R only twice last season, so clearly this is not a realistic play for him. It's not that Amare can't do this play, he's just better off starting closer to the basket (whereas a guy like Lee needed the extra space to create separation from the defender).
KNICK BENCH PF (Anthony Randolph)
34 Post
SUMMARY: Only one play and it's a post up. Completely unrealistic for Randolph.
KNICK STARTING C (Timofey Mozgov)
35 post 2
35 Post
25 Quick Post
25 Iso
SUMMARY: Mostly post plays which is good for Mozgov. The Iso play is clearly for Amare/Lee/Randolph moreso than a stiff (and thus can be swapped out w/ Moz or Turiaf likely drawing the start this year). There are no roll plays though, which Moz needs to have.
KNICK BENCH C (Ronny Turiaf)
25 Quick Post
SUMMARY: Completely unrealistic for Turiaf, as he only gets 9% of his offense from the post. Knick centers have no P/R plays which is not representative of D'Antoni's offense. Yes, they have some sets via Felton, but surely there has to be some C related variations. If Amare has a 14 Dive, no reason the centers shouldn't have a 15 Dive.
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So, adjusting "touches" is only one part of the solution - we need to adjust playbooks as well. I kept Turiaf's touches high, but it's not going to result in the desired effect - if anything, it runs counter to what we're looking for (more P/R's, not more post ups).
Still, I press on, because this is an important test, and there are other tendencies at play that will be working with these adjusted touches anyway.
I pick the Nets as NY's opponent. For intents and purposes, I will not be charting any of their plays as I'm only focusing on the Knicks.
FIRST QUARTER
PG PLAY - DOUBLE 1
Felton uses picks by Amare and Mozgov and drives to basket. Outlaw rotates so Felton gives up to Gallinari. Gallo uses a couple moves and draws contact on a pull up. He'll shoot two FTs.
PLAY RESULT: Gallinari 2-2 FT
SG PLAY - 12 POST
Felton dribbles ball to right side. Chandler is calling for it in the post but Felton opts to swing it to Gallo for a stepback jumper that misses.
RESULT: Gallinari 0-1 FG
NO PLAY
Amare sets two picks for Felton (via Freelance). Felton uses the 2nd but can't get a step on Harris. Gives it Gallo on elbow who takes a turnaround jumper that misses.
RESULT: Gallinari 0-2 FG
NO PLAY
Amare sets a pick that Felton uses and drives into the paint. Heavily contested so dishes to Mozgov who almost puts home the two-handed layup.
RESULT: Mozgov 0-1 FG
NO PLAY
Knicks swing it around, Gallinari comes to take a three at the top.
RESULT: Gallinari 0-3 FG, 0-1 3PT
PG PLAY - 21 Fade
Felton gives to Chandler on elbow, comes off two screens (Amare/Mozgov), catches and pulls up for a three that misses.
RESULT: Felton 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT
MASON SUBS IN FOR GALLINARI - 2 fouls on Gallo. Chandler slides to SF
NO PLAY
Felton swings to Amare, swings to Mason, who hits a three.
RESULT: Mason 1-1 FG, 1-1 3PT
NO PLAY
Chandler on wing. Amare sets a pick that Chandler uses. Murphy rotates over. Chandler hits open Turiaf who gets fouled.
RESULT: Turiaf 2-2 FT
NO PLAY
Knicks swing it around a bit. Mason takes an open three, but he fadesaway for some reason, and airballs it.
RESULT: Mason 1-2 FG, 1-2 3PT
NO PLAY
Knicks pass it around. Dump it to Turiaf in the post. Turiaf swings it cross court to Mason. Nets go for steal but miss, Mason fades and puts in a two (foot on 3pt line).
RESULT: Mason 2-3 FG
NO PLAY
Mason brings it up after a missed FT. Hands it off to Felton who dishes to Chandler on the wing. Chandler pulls up for a jumper that misses.
RESULT: Chandler 0-1 FG
NO PLAY
Felton in the corner gets a pick from Amare. Amare gets free so Felton gives it to him. Amare starts to drive so Lopez rotates over. Amare passes to Turiaf for a contested layup that he gets fouled on. Count the basket.
RESULT: Turiaf 1-1 FG, 3-3 FT
AMARE SUBS OUT FOR RANDOLPH - I don't like this one bit. He has yet to take a shot (though he has been a very active screener and passer, w/ 2 of team's 3 assists). He would never sub out 6 mins into the game in real life.
NO PLAY
Felton gives to Randolph at top. Randolph isos and gives to Turiaf for FT line post. Turiaf hands off to Randolph again Randolph who takes a 10 foot jumper that is blocked by Lopez.
RESULT: Randolph 0-1 FG
NO PLAY
Felton gives to Chandler, who then tries to pass to Mason but it was easily intercepted by Randolph's man who was definitely playing the passing lane instead of Randolph.
RESULT: Chandler 1 TO
NO PLAY
Felton essentially gets an Iso called for him. He drives and gets a hopstep layup.
RESULT: Felton 1-2 FG
TURIAF SUBS OUT FOR MOZGOV - 2 fouls on Turiaf
NO PLAY
Chandler brings the ball up after a missed FT and takes it himself at Devin Harris for an And 1 layup.
RESULT: Chandler 1-2 FG, 0-1 FT
SG PLAY - 12 OVER
Mason uses a Mozgov screen to get an open mid-range jumper from Felton.
RESULT: Mason 3-4 FG
NO PLAY
Mason rebounds and brings it up. Felton sets a pick but Mason can't use it. Felton rolls to the basket and Mason hits him with a pass. It's not a clean catch so the D recovers. Felton fakes a shot, goes up for a layup, and gets it swatted out of bounds.
RESULT: Felton 1-3 FG
NO PLAY
Randolph gets the inbound pass intercepted.
RESULT: Randolph 1 TO
SG PLAY - 12 OVER
Mason uses Mozgov/Randolph screens for another open mid-range jumper.
RESULT: Mason 4-5 FG
NO PLAY
Felton brings it up, gives to Chandler. Chandler Isos for a bit but can't make anything happen. Gives it to Mason on the block. Mason posts up Morrow but misses the shot.
RESULT: Mason 4-6 FG
NO PLAY
Mini fastbreak but the defense recovers. Felton essentially gets a clear out but gets blocked on his drive.
RESULT: Felton 1-4 FG
FASTBREAK
Mason brings the ball up after a rebound. Nobody picks him up so he sets and launches a three. It misses.
RESULT: Mason 4-7 FG, 1-3 3PT
NO PLAY
Mason has the ball for the final shot of the quarter. Felton sets a pick that Mason uses. Mason pulls out a double cross, goes left and takes a drifting mid-range shot that is contested. It's a Kobe-esque shot that GOES IN with 0.6 on the clock.
RESULT: Mason 5-8 FG
END OF FIRST QUARTER
Mason: 9 points, 9 minutes (5-8 FG, 1-3 3PT)
Turiaf: 5 points, 6 minutes (1-1 FG, 3-3 FT)
Chandler: 2 points, 12 minutes (1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2 TO)
Felton: 2 points, 12 minutes (1-4 FG, 0-1 3PT)
Gallinari: 2 points, 4 minutes (0-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT)
Stoudemire: 0 points, 7 minutes (0-0 FG)
Mozgov: 0 points, 7 minutes (0-1 FG)
Randolph: 0 points, 6 minutes (0-1 FG, 1 TO)
RECAP - Gotta keep going because we need to see if Amare gets involved at all or if it was just a fluke. Mason acted as the go-to guy when Amare hit the bench, but it's hard to complain when it was clearly working. Let's move on to the 2nd quarter.
DOUGLAS SUBS IN FOR FELTON - Felton played whole quarter. No problem.
WALKER SUBS IN FOR MASON - Not a sub I'd make w/ Mason carrying the team, but 9 mins is somewhat of a heavy load for the 30 year old.
GALLINARI SUBS IN FOR CHANDLER - Chandler played whole quarter and Gallinari is rested. No prob.
NO PLAY
Douglas brings up ball, drives in a bit but defense forces him to pick up dribble. Gives it to Gallinari who Isos for a bit, dancing around before stepping back to the 3pt line for a three. It misses.
RESULT: Gallinari 0-4 FG, 0-2 3PT
PG PLAY - 31 Roll
Walker uses a Douglas pick, Isos, drives for a drifer that misses.
RESULT: Walker 0-1 FG
PG PLAY - 23 Up
Gallinari at top w/ ball, Douglas on wing. Douglas comes off Mozgov screen to the top to take a three that misses. Defense wasn't really stopped by the screen so it was a semi-contested three.
RESULT: Douglas 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT
NO PLAY
Fastbreak. Gallinari uses his length to take it over Farmar for a layup.
RESULT: Gallinari 1-5 FG
PG PLAY - 31 Roll
It took me awhile to realize this was the play, because Gallinari technically started the play. Gallo gave it to Walker, who then got a pick from Douglas. Walker used it, but had the ball slapped away by Farmar
RESULT: None
INBOUNDS PLAY?
I think the Knicks ran an inbounds play (Walker was setting a screen but Gallinari caught the pass before having to use it). Gallinari took it himself for a drifting fade from the opposite FT elbow. It goes in.
RESULT: Gallinari 2-6 FG
NO PLAY
Mozgov had a mismatch with Farmar in the post. Felton recognizes it and Mozgov scores easily.
RESULT: Mozgov 1-2 FG
MASON SUBS IN FOR WALKER
STOUDEMIRE SUBS IN FOR RANDOLPH
TURIAF SUBS IN FOR MOZGOV
NO PLAY
Turiaf is posting up on an inbound (NY Timeout). Amare overthrows it by about 10 feet. Coach has to be pleased.
RESULT: Stoudemire 1 TO
SG PLAY - 42 ROLL
Amare sets a pick but Mason can't use it... or hit the rolling Amare. Mason Isos, drives in, and gets fouled.
RESULT: Mason 2-2 FT
PG PLAY - 23 Up
Douglas comes off a screen but again can't lose Farmar, and takes a semi-contested three that misses.
RESULT: Douglas 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT
FASTBREAK
Douglas pushes it, gives to slashing Gallinari who gets fouled on a drive.
RESULT: Gallinari 3-4 FT
C PLAY - 25 Quick Post
Felton to Amare at top, Amare to Mason on wing, Mason dumps to Turiaf on block, Turiaf hits turnaround jumper
RESULT: Turiaf 2-2 FG
FASTBREAK
Douglas has a 3 on 2 break... until Gallinari opts to just stand at the 3pt line. Douglas ends up taking a stepback 8 footer that misses.
RESULT: Douglas 0-3 FG
SG PLAY - 42 Swing Roll
They swing it for Gallinari (as mentioned before, this is a SG play but is really a SF play). Gallinari takes a jumper before the pick comes, and misses it (foot on 3pt line).
RESULT: Gallinari 2-7 FG
FASTBREAK
Gallinari brings up after a rebound. He thinks about driving in but retreats back to the 3pt line. For another missed three.
RESULT: Galinari 2-8 FG, 0-2 3PT
NO PLAY
At least, I'm pretty sure there was no play. Mason brought up the ball to the wing. Passed it to Felton. Mason runs baseline to other side of court. Outlaw somehow runs into Turiaf who was calling for it in the post on Lopez, which frees Mason up for an open three that he misses.
RESULT: Mason 5-9 FG, 1-4 3PT
FASTBREAK
Technically not a fastbreak, but I'll count it as such because the defense was never set. Mason brought up the ball, hands off to Douglas, who gets a free lane to the basket because three Nets collide with each other (who says the defense is smarter in this game?). Douglas gets a layup, and the foul.
RESULT: Douglas 1-4 FG, 1-1 FT
CHANDLER SUBS IN FOR MASON
NO PLAY
Once again NJ defenders collide (w/ posting Turiaf again) which gets Chandler an open mid-range shot that he misses.
RESULT: Chandler 1-3 FG
C PLAY - 25 QUICK POST
Chandler dumps to Turiaf who gets fouled on a post up.
RESULT: Turiaf 4-5 FT
FASTBREAK
Chandler hits Gallinari for a transition dunk.
RESULT: Gallinari 3-9 FG
NO PLAY?
Couldn't figure if this was a play or not. I thought it was 1 Double, but the SG is supposed to be at the elbow and instead was on the wing. SG then came off a Turiaf screen to get a jumper.
RESULT
C PLAY - 25 QUICK POST
Turiaf misses a turnaround jumper.
RESULT: Turiaf 2-3 FG
NO PLAY
Douglas tried to push it but the defense stopped him at the FT line. He dishes to Amare, who must have been blood thirsty at this point, goes up and gets fouled, and one.
RESULT: Stoudemire 1-1 FG, 1-1 FT
FELTON SUBS IN FOR DOUGLAS
MOZGOV SUBS IN FOR TURIAF
NO PLAY
Felton gets a clear out for an Isolation. Drives in, dishes to Chandler for a fadeaway that goes in.
RESULT: Chandler 2-4 FG
SF PLAY - 23 UP
Gallinari comes off a screen for a three, misses it.
RESULT: Gallinari 3-10 FG, 0-3 3PT
UNKNOWN PLAY (Possibly 1 Double?)
Amare and Mozgov set double picks for Felton. Felton uses them and dishes to Mozgov at FT line. Mozgov posts up but hands off to Felton (probably should have been a steal though since Felton displaced the defender on the pass catch. Felton takes a FT line fadeaway that goes in.
RESULT: Felton 2-5 FG
UNKNOWN PLAY (Same as before)
Amare and Mozgov set picks for Felton. Felton uses them, ends up on baseline. Amare rotates over and Amare hits him for a mid-range jumper that goes in.
RESULT: Stoudemire 2-2 FG
END OF SECOND QUARTER
Mason: 13 points, 1 assist, 13 minutes (5-9 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT)
Gallinari: 9 points, 16 minutes (3-10 FG, 0-3 3PT, 3-4 FT)
Turiaf: 8 points, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 12 minutes (2-3 FG, 4-5 FT)
Stoudemire: 5 points, 2 assists, 1 TO, 15 minutes (2-2 FG, 1-1 FT)
Chandler: 4 points, 1 assist, 2 TO, 17 minutes (2-5 FG, 0-1 3PT)
Felton: 4 points, 4 assists, 15 minutes (2-5 FG, 0-1 3PT)
Douglas: 3 points, 2 assists, 10 minutes (1-4 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-1 FT)
Mozgov: 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist (1-2 FG)
Walker: 0 points, 4 minutes (0-1 FG)
Randolph: 0 points, 1 TO, 10 minutes (0-1 FG)
TEAM STATS
18-42 FG (42%)
1-11 3PT (9%)
11-14 FT (78%)
12/4 Ast/TO
20 Paint points
24 Bench points
0 Second Chance points (0 offensive boards)
6 Fast Break Points
RECAP: Well, Amare FINALLY took two shots late in the quarter. Knicks also ran more plays despite having more fastbreak opportunities. We also saw the Knicks run a play that wasn't in their playboook - that's an extremely interesting development. Now we need to get to the meat of this analysis (I'm also going to let the CPU play in the background and finish out the game).
DID MY TOUCHES CHANGES WORK?
Yes and no. Let's revisit them.
71 Felton
67 Mason
61 Turiaf
60 Douglas
42 Stoudemire
35 Gallinari
32 Mozgov
31 Chandler
29 Randolph
The top 4 guys all got theirs. Felton had 5 shots and 4 assists in 15 minutes. Mason got the majority of his points via plays. Douglas had 4 shots and 2 assists in 10 minutes. Turiaf had 3 shots and 2 trips to the FT line in 12 minutes, which is acceptable if we pretend his post shots were roll plays.
After that, things get messy. Amare Stoudemire didn't have a single play called for him the entire half. Normally we could blame this on Touches, or that I'm a pompous fool for thinking I had a touches system in place. However, thanks to Amare and this test, we've learned that TOUCHES IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Gallinari and Chandler had even lower Touch tendencies than Amare and they had multiple plays called for them! Gallinari even lead the team in shots!
How is this possible? The answer is simple: There are other tendencies at play here.
The CPU has finished playing, so let's head to the final stats for some confirmation on this little theory of mine.
KNICKS FINAL BOX - Pts-Reb-Ast-Stl-Blk-TO-Fls-Mins)
Mozgov: 7-6-1-0-0-0-2-22 (3-5 FG, 1-4 FT)
Stoudemire: 16-13-3-0-0-1-3-35 (7-10 FG, 2-2 FT)
Gallinari: 17-7-0-0-0-1-3-35 (6-20 FG, 2-6 3PT, 3-4 FT)
Chandler: 12-2-4-1-0-2-2-35 (5-8 FG, 2-3 3PT, 0-1 FT)
Felton: 13-1-11-0-0-1-2-32 (6-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT)
Douglas: 9-0-5-0-0-0-1-22 (2-7 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-5 FT)
Randolph: 2-5-1-0-2-1-1-19 (1-2 FG)
Turiaf: 12-5-1-0-3-0-2-19 (3-7 FG, 6-7 FT)
Mason: 13-0-1-0-0-0-1-13 (5-9 FG, 1-4 3PT, 2-2 FT)
Walker: 9-2-0-1-0-0-1-13 (3-6 FG, 3-4 3PT)
Amare ended up coming through with 11 second half points and 8 shots. Actually, all his scoring came in the 4th quarter. Lets see how he did it.
Layup via handoff (plus foul)
12 foot jumper off entry from Randolph (Amare playing center)
Offensive rebound, shot underneath.
Douglas to Amare for 15 foot spotup.
Offensive rebound, standing dunk.
None of these were via plays, but his teammates did look to involve him more than they did in the first half when Gallinari was just settling for any jumper he could get. No Postups, no Isos. Everything was assisted except the putbacks.
What's really ironic is to start the 3rd quarter Mozgov had two consecutive alley-oop dunks via pick and roll. Amare seriously couldn't get in on this all game?
All of Raymond Felton's scoring in the 2nd half came on drives and fastbreaks - no plays (despite the highest Touch rating on the team). Toney Douglas, same thing. His two made shots were open layups where the defense totally collapsed. He ran plays in the 1st half, but it didn't yield any quality looks.
Chandler had a post up (no play) and two spot up threes created by Felton's dribble penetration. Anyone else get the distinct feeling that plays actually HURT team offense and are the reason for decreased FG% this year?
Gallinari got an open three thanks to a successful P/R by Felton/Amare. Followed this up with an Iso three in Travis Outlaw's grill. He then got a FT line jumper thanks to Felton's Iso skills on a PG clearout. He didn't score again. He missed 14 shots total, 7 in each half.
Roger Mason did not play in the second half despite leading the team in scoring and playing extremely well. Tell me the last time that's ever happened? Mason got extra 1st half minutes due to Gallinari's foul trouble, but the game opted to give Walker all the 2nd half minutes to make sure they balanced out (I had both set at 12 minutes), while Gallinari still played his customary minutes even though he missed time due to the fouls (actually, he played more, I believe I had him set at 32 and he played 35 despite the early foul woe). The game should be smart enough to know to stick with a player that is hot (though, in a semi-defense of the game, Bill Walker also did very well in the 2nd half). Still, that should have meant Walker's minutes were coming at Gallo's expense (esp since he was a dreadful 6-20 from the field). Yet another example of how 2K's rotation/sim engine is unrealistic/broken, but that's a story for another day.
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Now, looking at those stats & play results, I'd say I'm on to something here with this touch tendency. The Knicks offered balanced scoring as 6 players finished in double figures. As I said before, I did not account for usage while forming my touch tendencies, so that could very easily be the solution. Still, there is an issue that needs to be addressed.
Amare took 10 fewer shots than a player who had both a lower touch tendency and a lower shot tendency. There is a reason for this, and we need to look deeper. Let's review the rest of their tendencies and see what we find.
Stoudemire
Shot 89
Inside 86
Close 26
Mid 28
3pt 0
Drive 77
Gallinari
Shot 56
Inside 22
Close 7
Mid 21
3pt 57
Drive 46
Amare has a high shot tendency and a high Inside shot tendency, but he was never really getting the ball inside. Actually, most of his shots came from close/mid. Conversely, Gallinari took plenty of Close/Mid shots despite having lower shooting tendencies from each area.
Amare
Use Pick 5
Set Pick 92
Isolation 94
Off Screen 30
Set Screen 60
Post Up 84
Spot Up 12
Self Post 5
Gallinari
Use Pick 52
Set Pick 50
Isolation 20
Off Screen 50
Set Screen 25
Post Up 12
Spot Up 91
Self Post 12
Amare spent a great deal of time setting picks, and I wonder if his high tendency in this area lead to him taking himself out of the offense (canceling out his high Iso and Post tendencies). It is also worth noting that Amare never called for the ball in the post - most likely because his Self Post tendency is EXTREMELY low. The average PF has 39, and even Gallinari is higher. Perhaps if Amare were calling for the ball more frequently, he'd have been more involved.
Regardless, this still paints a murky picture. We need more information, because the team ran contrary to how the players were geared to behave. This sounds like a team slider issue.
KNICKS STRATEGY
Run Plays 10
Inside 43
Close 30
Mid 42
3pt 57
Attack Basket 10
Look for Post 60
Knicks are obviously looking for threes a lot, but perhaps a higher Inside tendency would create a more realistic balance.
Knicks actually ran a fair amount of plays despite only having a 10 tendency. Still, one has to think this didn't help Amare if we're lowering him. They also have a very low Attack Basket tendency, which runs contrary to Amare's high Drive tendency.
60 also might seem high for "Look for Post Players", but it's actually 6th worst in the league, only ahead of Sixers (43), Bobcats (43), Bucks (57), Bulls (50), and Magic (50). The top teams are Spurs (95), Grizzlies (92), Suns (90), Warriors (90), Hawks (87), Cavaliers (86), and Hornets (86). The Suns and Warriors make some curious appearances here. The Suns are Amare's old team, and they replaced him with Hedo Turkoglu and Hakim Warrick. They obviously won't be looking to post up this year, and I'm willing to bet the Knicks need that 90 tendency to maximize Amare's talents, otherwise all the guards will take all the shots. The Warriors are even more curious because they were not a post team at all last season, and even though Don Nelson is gone, their only post option is David Lee... who is the player who likely earned the Knicks a low Post tendency in the first place.
Thus, what we've learned is that just editing touches does not provide a solution. We need to edit other tendencies, and perhaps more importantly, we need to edit coach profiles. The next step for me will be making all those adjustments and running another test (I may or may not adjust "touches" for usage rate. I could run two different tests.)
Kudos to any who actually made it through the article in one piece. If you are a female and made it this far, you may be my soul mate. Email me. Please. After writing this crap for god knows how long, I need love.
BUT WAIT THERES MORE!!!!!!!!
Here's some Nets stats w/ default tendencies so we can reiterate why we're having these tests and experiments in the first place.
Brook Lopez: 39 points, 16-29 FG, 7-9 FT
Devin Harris: 15 points, 3-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 9-10 FT
Troy Murphy: 10 points, 4-5 FG, 2-2 FT
Anthony Morrow: 10 points, 3-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT
Travis Outlaw: 9 points, 3-20 FG, 1-7 3PT, 2-2 FT
Terrible. I need to eat something.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Understanding NBA 2K's Tendencies and Synergy Data
As most NBA 2K gamers know by now, the tendencies in NBA 2K11 are preventing gamers from enjoying a realistic experience. This is a major issue, because these tendencies are so ambiguous except to a select few world-wide (including 2K Sports' staff) that very few have the sufficient knowledge required to accurately evaluate them for a single team (much less the entire league). 2K Sports has kept people in the dark regarding how these tendencies were/are formulated. Now that the tendencies are greatly effecting gameplay, gamers are essentially being held hostage by the imaginary man behind the curtain.
I am hopeful that I can use my summer's Synergy Sports research and find the solution.
First, let's list all the tendencies that are in NBA 2K11.
SHOOTING
Shot Tendency
Inside Shots
Close Shots
Mid-Range Shots
3pt Shots
Putbacks
Putback Dunks
DRIVE THE LANE OR SPOT UP
Drive the Lane
PULL UP OR PENETRATE
Pull Up
SETUP PRE-DRIBBLE (total of 100)
Pump Fake
Triple Threat
No Triple Threat
SETUP DRIBBLE (total of 100)
Straight Dribble
Sizeup
Hesitation
DRIVE LEFT OR RIGHT
Drive Right
DRIBBLE PENETRATION
Crossover
Spin
Step Back
Half Spin
Double Cross
Behind the Back
Hes Cross
In And Out
Simple Drive
DRIBBLE FINISH
Attack
Pass Out
FINISHING MOVE (total of 100)
Hop Step
Spin Layup
Simple Drive
Eurostep
SHOT TYPE
Jumper
Leaner
Runner
Fadeaways
Drifter
Stepback Jumper
Pull Up Jumper
Reverse Pivot Jumper
INSIDE SHOT
Dunk
Inside Upfake
VARIOUS SHOTS
Triple Threat Shot
Self Post
Alley Oops
Use Glass
Draw Foul
FREELANCE
Use Pick
Set Pick
Isolation
Use Offball Screen
Set Offball Screen
Spot Up
Post Up
Give And Go
Touches
POST MOVES (total of 100)
Quick Spin
Drop Step
Step Through
Up And Under
Face Up
Back Down
No Move
POST SHOT (total of 100)
Hook Shot
Roll Shot
Step Away
PASSING
Flashy Passes
Throw Alley-Oop
DEFENSE
Hard Foul
Take Charge
Play Pass Lane
On Ball Steal
Contest Shot
Commit Foul
Geez, that's a lot.
Now, many of these tendencies are just cosmetic, and for all intents and purposes are not impacting the gameplay. "Dribble Penetration" and "Shot Type" tendencies that dictate what moves a player performs are all well and good, but they don't make one bit of difference if the player never has the ball in his hands. For instance, it would annoy gamers if Dirk Nowitzki took a hook shot every single time he posted up (NBA 2K5 ring a bell?), but it's more important that he's actually posting up the proper amount before worrying about how it's going to look.
So let's take all those styles out of the gameplay equation. That leaves us with Shooting Tendencies, Drive the Lane, Inside Shots, Various Shots, Freelance, and Defense as the main tendencies that are affecting the gameplay.
Truth be told, 2K has done a good job (though not perfect) with the shooting tendencies. NBA Hotspots is not a difficult reference to use, after all (at least when it's operational - it won't be again until the regular season starts). The most important thing is that we can actually say these tendencies are good, because they are quantifiable by statistics. Drive the Lane and Inside Shots (Dunks) can also be calculated using statistics. Even Defense can be calculated via advanced statistics! So that leaves us with Freelance and Various Shots as the two forms of tendency that we have very little knowledge on.
Or do we? This summer Synergy Sports Technology made available it's expansive database with data from the 2010 season. Among the data that we can see?
PLAYER OFFENSE
Pick and Roll - Ball Handler
Pick and Roll - Roll Man
Isolation
Off-Screen
Spot Up
Post Up
Do these look familiar? They should. They're the freelance tendencies. This was a major breakthrough for me because I realized that many of 2K's Freelance tendencies were just thrown together. There are many players (especially centers) who have 0 in all categories. Implementing this data into my rosters is what helped me improve upon 2K's gameplay last season. Now, it might not only be the key to saving this year's game, but the key to the perfect basketball simulation.
Here are some freelance tendencies for the New York Knicks for us to pick apart.
ISOLATION
95 Ewing Jr.
94 Stoudemire
87 Felton
83 Randolph
66 Turiaf
50 Mason
49 Azubuike
20 Gallinari
17 Douglas
16 Chandler
11 Mozgov
10 Walker
10 Curry
10 Rautins
0 Williams
Patrick Ewing Jr. (95) vs Shawne Williams (0)
The first thing you surely noticed was Patrick Ewing's son with 95 Iso tendency - greater than the Knicks' star player, Amare Stoudemire. This appears to be a fluke, or at the very least, some sort of joke. Ewing Jr's tendencies are significantly different from last season (they are high enough to be Ewing Sr's, so I presumed they gave him his father's tendencies by accident, but this was not the case). Bear in mind that he didn't play at all last season (and has never even played in the NBA, in fact), and that 2K had no reason to adjust them. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and presume this was a computer error. Now surely most of you don't care about Jr's tendencies since it's so rare that he sees the court in the game. However, I saw him get into a game due to Amare's foul trouble, and he proceeded to brick 3 shots in 5 minutes in the 4th quarter of a close game. Stuff like that cheapens the gameplay experience, which is why we are harping on it now. But like I said, I'll give 2K the benefit of the doubt and won't harp on it again.
Now, at the very bottom we have Shawne Williams. Williams has 0 in all Freelance tendencies EXCEPT for the new tendencies that 2K added this season (Set Offball Screen, Give And Go, and Touches). Now you might say, Williams is unlikely to make the Knicks, who cares? Fine. I'm not going to go crazy over editing tendencies for a player that will never see the court. Fine. However, you might also presume that he has those tendencies because they ignored players in the free agent pool. This is NOT the case. Williams was on an NBA roster last season, and played in the NBA for 3 years prior to that. His freelance tendencies should have been formed with 2009 data, but this never happened, and there were MANY OTHERS in 2K10 like Williams who shared the same "0 Freelance" fate. I have not checked every player to confirm this, but that's not my point anyway. As all 2K vets know, 2K spends a great deal of time editing ratings for star players, but has barely touched most backup players in the last 3 years. It only makes sense that their tendencies are just as ignored. Most backups have Freelance tendencies that are simply not accurate.
Williams and Ewing are unlikely to make the team, but they are the most extreme examples on this list. Let's compare some actual rotation players on the Knicks now, since that will be having a more direct impact on gameplay experiences.
Raymond Felton (87) vs Toney Douglas (17)
I find this one a bit odd because Felton is considered a "pass first" PG while Douglas is considered a "scoring" PG. This is simply 2K Sports not knowing the players.
According to Synergy, 49 of Douglas' 471 plays (10.4%) were isolations. Conversely, Synergy lists 126 of Felton's 1127 plays (11.2%) as isolations. Using this data, it doesn't take a math wizard to figure out that a 70 point discrepancy is incredibly off-base.
What makes this completely inexcusable, is that 2K Sports is a million dollar company, and access to this data cost me a mere $30. They could buy TWO subscriptions for the cost of ONE sold game. If 2K is looking to save money they should just hire me and I'll gladly continue to pay for my own Synergy account :)
Ronny Turiaf (66) vs Wilson Chandler (16)
Anyone who knows anything about the NBA knows this is wrong. Turiaf is a non-scorer and any offensive havoc he causes is a direct result of his off-ball contributions (Hustle plays and pick and rolls). Chandler on the other hand is a SF that is athletic/skilled enough to play SG and PF as well. He may not have the greatest handle, but he certainly attacks off the dribble much more than Turiaf. Off to Synergy for some confirmation.
Turiaf: 14 Isos in 221 plays (6.3%)
Chandler: 114 Isos in 1032 plays (11.0%)
It's also worth noting that Turiaf posted a meager 0.43 Pts per Possession on Iso's (3-11 FG, 7.1% FoulDraw, 14.3 TO%). This was clearly not something he looked to do, and was only used as a last resort (i.e. with the clock running down). Let's look at the rest of Turiaf's Synergy to get an idea of what he does on offense.
TURIAF SYNERGY
0.0% P/R Ball Handler
30.3% P/R Roll Man
6.3% Isolation
0.5% Off Screen
6.3% Spot Up
9.0% Post Up
TURIAF TENDENCIES
5 Use Pick
98 Set Pick
66 Isolation
10 Use Screen
5 Spot Up
56 Post Up
Virtual Turiaf CLEARLY won't behave the same as Real Turiaf. If Real Turiaf actually has the ball in his hands, he will look to post up, not take his man off the dribble. Meanwhile he catches and shoots just as frequently (or should I say, infrequently) as he goes 1-on-1, but that won't be the case with Virtual Turiaf in NBA 2K11.
Chandler on the other hand is Isoing just as much as Felton and Douglas. One of these players is an 87. The other two are 17 and 16. Clearly we need to find a a balance in where these guys should be rated. Should they all be in the teens? Should they all be in the 80s? Or should they meet somewhere in the middle? To find that out, we need to compare more than just two players at a time.
ISOLATION SYNERGY (Iso Tendency)
17.2% Randolph (83)
14.8% Stoudemire (94)
13.5% Gallinari (20)
11.2% Felton (87)
11.0% Chandler (16)
10.4% Douglas (17)
9.1% Azubuike (49)
8.8% Walker (10)
7.7% Mason (50)
6.3% Turiaf (66)
2.3% Curry (10)
As you can see, these values are all over the place. 3pt specialists Mason and Azubuike will go 1-on-1 much more than Chandler & Gallinari (which, along with "Touches" helps explain why they never looked to score in the simulations that I ran), while Walker is sandwiched between the two and has a lower Iso tendency than anyone on the team sans Curry.
What we do know is that Randolph & Stoudemire are both tops on the team and have 80+ Iso. Felton isn't close to them which means his 87 needs to be dropped, while Chandler/Douglas need to be raised. If we bring them to Azubuike/Mason's level, it means they need to be dropped, and the question becomes, how far?
Now you can all see why editing tendencies is a chore, even with the data at your finger tips. If you don't know how to apply data, it's useless. Fortunately, I was able to develop a system & scale that many of you played for yourself this summer.
Speaking of scales, does 2K have a system in place? Let's compare their 2K11 Iso tendencies to 2K10 Iso tendencies.
2K10
59 Randolph
49 Felton
46 Gallinari
30 Mason
20 Azubuike
19 Stoudemire
7 Chandler
5 Turiaf
0 Douglas - Like I said, there were plenty of these
0 Walker
Judging by this set... I mean, it looks like 2K just used guess work this year. If anything, 2K10 actually has the better tendencies! While compiling my 2K10 tendencies I was under the impression that 2K used 2009 synergy data... I cannot say the same for this season. Looking at 2K10's tendencies without even knowing the synergy data I'd say the only guys who needed changes were Amare (way too low), Chandler (should at least be higher than Roger Mason, not 2 points ahead of Turiaf), and Douglas/Walker (who obviously deserve better than zero). Yet 2K11 looks like they threw their tendencies into a blender... and then advertised them as a masterpiece.
All this talk and effort, and this is just ONE tendency for ONE team. Synergy data is all but required to accurately adjust Freelance tendencies for the entire league. The good news is that it can be done (and I already HAVE done it). As I maintained throughout the summer, my research WILL translate, and is practically required now since it appears 2K's tendencies got EVEN WORSE.
(Aside: Since I'm the only one with that data, it's in every video game basketball junkies best interest that I not drop dead. Or get married. Whichever is worse).
RASHIDI! NOT SO FAST! WHAT ABOUT THE TOUCHES TENDENCY!?
Ah, yes, you're right. The dreaded "touches" tendency that has lead to star players averaging 40 shots per game without fail.
Let's just say Synergy will help me out with that one too.
As anyone who played Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen will tell you... the magician never reveals his secrets :)
I am hopeful that I can use my summer's Synergy Sports research and find the solution.
First, let's list all the tendencies that are in NBA 2K11.
SHOOTING
Shot Tendency
Inside Shots
Close Shots
Mid-Range Shots
3pt Shots
Putbacks
Putback Dunks
DRIVE THE LANE OR SPOT UP
Drive the Lane
PULL UP OR PENETRATE
Pull Up
SETUP PRE-DRIBBLE (total of 100)
Pump Fake
Triple Threat
No Triple Threat
SETUP DRIBBLE (total of 100)
Straight Dribble
Sizeup
Hesitation
DRIVE LEFT OR RIGHT
Drive Right
DRIBBLE PENETRATION
Crossover
Spin
Step Back
Half Spin
Double Cross
Behind the Back
Hes Cross
In And Out
Simple Drive
DRIBBLE FINISH
Attack
Pass Out
FINISHING MOVE (total of 100)
Hop Step
Spin Layup
Simple Drive
Eurostep
SHOT TYPE
Jumper
Leaner
Runner
Fadeaways
Drifter
Stepback Jumper
Pull Up Jumper
Reverse Pivot Jumper
INSIDE SHOT
Dunk
Inside Upfake
VARIOUS SHOTS
Triple Threat Shot
Self Post
Alley Oops
Use Glass
Draw Foul
FREELANCE
Use Pick
Set Pick
Isolation
Use Offball Screen
Set Offball Screen
Spot Up
Post Up
Give And Go
Touches
POST MOVES (total of 100)
Quick Spin
Drop Step
Step Through
Up And Under
Face Up
Back Down
No Move
POST SHOT (total of 100)
Hook Shot
Roll Shot
Step Away
PASSING
Flashy Passes
Throw Alley-Oop
DEFENSE
Hard Foul
Take Charge
Play Pass Lane
On Ball Steal
Contest Shot
Commit Foul
Geez, that's a lot.
Now, many of these tendencies are just cosmetic, and for all intents and purposes are not impacting the gameplay. "Dribble Penetration" and "Shot Type" tendencies that dictate what moves a player performs are all well and good, but they don't make one bit of difference if the player never has the ball in his hands. For instance, it would annoy gamers if Dirk Nowitzki took a hook shot every single time he posted up (NBA 2K5 ring a bell?), but it's more important that he's actually posting up the proper amount before worrying about how it's going to look.
So let's take all those styles out of the gameplay equation. That leaves us with Shooting Tendencies, Drive the Lane, Inside Shots, Various Shots, Freelance, and Defense as the main tendencies that are affecting the gameplay.
Truth be told, 2K has done a good job (though not perfect) with the shooting tendencies. NBA Hotspots is not a difficult reference to use, after all (at least when it's operational - it won't be again until the regular season starts). The most important thing is that we can actually say these tendencies are good, because they are quantifiable by statistics. Drive the Lane and Inside Shots (Dunks) can also be calculated using statistics. Even Defense can be calculated via advanced statistics! So that leaves us with Freelance and Various Shots as the two forms of tendency that we have very little knowledge on.
Or do we? This summer Synergy Sports Technology made available it's expansive database with data from the 2010 season. Among the data that we can see?
PLAYER OFFENSE
Pick and Roll - Ball Handler
Pick and Roll - Roll Man
Isolation
Off-Screen
Spot Up
Post Up
Do these look familiar? They should. They're the freelance tendencies. This was a major breakthrough for me because I realized that many of 2K's Freelance tendencies were just thrown together. There are many players (especially centers) who have 0 in all categories. Implementing this data into my rosters is what helped me improve upon 2K's gameplay last season. Now, it might not only be the key to saving this year's game, but the key to the perfect basketball simulation.
Here are some freelance tendencies for the New York Knicks for us to pick apart.
ISOLATION
95 Ewing Jr.
94 Stoudemire
87 Felton
83 Randolph
66 Turiaf
50 Mason
49 Azubuike
20 Gallinari
17 Douglas
16 Chandler
11 Mozgov
10 Walker
10 Curry
10 Rautins
0 Williams
Patrick Ewing Jr. (95) vs Shawne Williams (0)
The first thing you surely noticed was Patrick Ewing's son with 95 Iso tendency - greater than the Knicks' star player, Amare Stoudemire. This appears to be a fluke, or at the very least, some sort of joke. Ewing Jr's tendencies are significantly different from last season (they are high enough to be Ewing Sr's, so I presumed they gave him his father's tendencies by accident, but this was not the case). Bear in mind that he didn't play at all last season (and has never even played in the NBA, in fact), and that 2K had no reason to adjust them. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and presume this was a computer error. Now surely most of you don't care about Jr's tendencies since it's so rare that he sees the court in the game. However, I saw him get into a game due to Amare's foul trouble, and he proceeded to brick 3 shots in 5 minutes in the 4th quarter of a close game. Stuff like that cheapens the gameplay experience, which is why we are harping on it now. But like I said, I'll give 2K the benefit of the doubt and won't harp on it again.
Now, at the very bottom we have Shawne Williams. Williams has 0 in all Freelance tendencies EXCEPT for the new tendencies that 2K added this season (Set Offball Screen, Give And Go, and Touches). Now you might say, Williams is unlikely to make the Knicks, who cares? Fine. I'm not going to go crazy over editing tendencies for a player that will never see the court. Fine. However, you might also presume that he has those tendencies because they ignored players in the free agent pool. This is NOT the case. Williams was on an NBA roster last season, and played in the NBA for 3 years prior to that. His freelance tendencies should have been formed with 2009 data, but this never happened, and there were MANY OTHERS in 2K10 like Williams who shared the same "0 Freelance" fate. I have not checked every player to confirm this, but that's not my point anyway. As all 2K vets know, 2K spends a great deal of time editing ratings for star players, but has barely touched most backup players in the last 3 years. It only makes sense that their tendencies are just as ignored. Most backups have Freelance tendencies that are simply not accurate.
Williams and Ewing are unlikely to make the team, but they are the most extreme examples on this list. Let's compare some actual rotation players on the Knicks now, since that will be having a more direct impact on gameplay experiences.
Raymond Felton (87) vs Toney Douglas (17)
I find this one a bit odd because Felton is considered a "pass first" PG while Douglas is considered a "scoring" PG. This is simply 2K Sports not knowing the players.
According to Synergy, 49 of Douglas' 471 plays (10.4%) were isolations. Conversely, Synergy lists 126 of Felton's 1127 plays (11.2%) as isolations. Using this data, it doesn't take a math wizard to figure out that a 70 point discrepancy is incredibly off-base.
What makes this completely inexcusable, is that 2K Sports is a million dollar company, and access to this data cost me a mere $30. They could buy TWO subscriptions for the cost of ONE sold game. If 2K is looking to save money they should just hire me and I'll gladly continue to pay for my own Synergy account :)
Ronny Turiaf (66) vs Wilson Chandler (16)
Anyone who knows anything about the NBA knows this is wrong. Turiaf is a non-scorer and any offensive havoc he causes is a direct result of his off-ball contributions (Hustle plays and pick and rolls). Chandler on the other hand is a SF that is athletic/skilled enough to play SG and PF as well. He may not have the greatest handle, but he certainly attacks off the dribble much more than Turiaf. Off to Synergy for some confirmation.
Turiaf: 14 Isos in 221 plays (6.3%)
Chandler: 114 Isos in 1032 plays (11.0%)
It's also worth noting that Turiaf posted a meager 0.43 Pts per Possession on Iso's (3-11 FG, 7.1% FoulDraw, 14.3 TO%). This was clearly not something he looked to do, and was only used as a last resort (i.e. with the clock running down). Let's look at the rest of Turiaf's Synergy to get an idea of what he does on offense.
TURIAF SYNERGY
0.0% P/R Ball Handler
30.3% P/R Roll Man
6.3% Isolation
0.5% Off Screen
6.3% Spot Up
9.0% Post Up
TURIAF TENDENCIES
5 Use Pick
98 Set Pick
66 Isolation
10 Use Screen
5 Spot Up
56 Post Up
Virtual Turiaf CLEARLY won't behave the same as Real Turiaf. If Real Turiaf actually has the ball in his hands, he will look to post up, not take his man off the dribble. Meanwhile he catches and shoots just as frequently (or should I say, infrequently) as he goes 1-on-1, but that won't be the case with Virtual Turiaf in NBA 2K11.
Chandler on the other hand is Isoing just as much as Felton and Douglas. One of these players is an 87. The other two are 17 and 16. Clearly we need to find a a balance in where these guys should be rated. Should they all be in the teens? Should they all be in the 80s? Or should they meet somewhere in the middle? To find that out, we need to compare more than just two players at a time.
ISOLATION SYNERGY (Iso Tendency)
17.2% Randolph (83)
14.8% Stoudemire (94)
13.5% Gallinari (20)
11.2% Felton (87)
11.0% Chandler (16)
10.4% Douglas (17)
9.1% Azubuike (49)
8.8% Walker (10)
7.7% Mason (50)
6.3% Turiaf (66)
2.3% Curry (10)
As you can see, these values are all over the place. 3pt specialists Mason and Azubuike will go 1-on-1 much more than Chandler & Gallinari (which, along with "Touches" helps explain why they never looked to score in the simulations that I ran), while Walker is sandwiched between the two and has a lower Iso tendency than anyone on the team sans Curry.
What we do know is that Randolph & Stoudemire are both tops on the team and have 80+ Iso. Felton isn't close to them which means his 87 needs to be dropped, while Chandler/Douglas need to be raised. If we bring them to Azubuike/Mason's level, it means they need to be dropped, and the question becomes, how far?
Now you can all see why editing tendencies is a chore, even with the data at your finger tips. If you don't know how to apply data, it's useless. Fortunately, I was able to develop a system & scale that many of you played for yourself this summer.
Speaking of scales, does 2K have a system in place? Let's compare their 2K11 Iso tendencies to 2K10 Iso tendencies.
2K10
59 Randolph
49 Felton
46 Gallinari
30 Mason
20 Azubuike
19 Stoudemire
7 Chandler
5 Turiaf
0 Douglas - Like I said, there were plenty of these
0 Walker
Judging by this set... I mean, it looks like 2K just used guess work this year. If anything, 2K10 actually has the better tendencies! While compiling my 2K10 tendencies I was under the impression that 2K used 2009 synergy data... I cannot say the same for this season. Looking at 2K10's tendencies without even knowing the synergy data I'd say the only guys who needed changes were Amare (way too low), Chandler (should at least be higher than Roger Mason, not 2 points ahead of Turiaf), and Douglas/Walker (who obviously deserve better than zero). Yet 2K11 looks like they threw their tendencies into a blender... and then advertised them as a masterpiece.
All this talk and effort, and this is just ONE tendency for ONE team. Synergy data is all but required to accurately adjust Freelance tendencies for the entire league. The good news is that it can be done (and I already HAVE done it). As I maintained throughout the summer, my research WILL translate, and is practically required now since it appears 2K's tendencies got EVEN WORSE.
(Aside: Since I'm the only one with that data, it's in every video game basketball junkies best interest that I not drop dead. Or get married. Whichever is worse).
RASHIDI! NOT SO FAST! WHAT ABOUT THE TOUCHES TENDENCY!?
Ah, yes, you're right. The dreaded "touches" tendency that has lead to star players averaging 40 shots per game without fail.
Let's just say Synergy will help me out with that one too.
As anyone who played Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen will tell you... the magician never reveals his secrets :)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Details on 2K Sports' 10-12-10 roster update.
This is what 2K Sports and the 2K Insider were able to manage in 8 days. Truly embarrassing. I've done more in the last HOUR while watching a pre-season game.
Kevin Durant
93 Overall (+1)
84 Handle (+7)
80 OffHand (+9)
84 Speed (+3)
87 Quickness (+2)
Trevor Ariza
75 Overall (-2)
78 Inside (-5)
65 FT (-9) - This is what I gave him.
60 Security (-8) - This is what I gave him.
55 Pass (-1)
83 Steal (-4) - I had him at 84.
48 OffReb (-10)
56 DefReb (+4) - This is what I gave him.
71 OffAwr (-4) - This is what I gave him.
82 DefAwr (-2) - I had him at 81.
25 OffClutch (-20)
88 Durability (+25) - Are they on drugs? Ariza missed 10 games last year and 47 in 2008.
Leandro Barbosa
74 Overall (-1) - This was clearly due to complaints that he was higher than Bargnani.
82 Medium (-2) - Laziest edit I've ever seen.
Eddie House
80 3pt (-2) - This is what I gave him.
72 Layup (+14) - Having seen House in NY last season... LOL
78 Handle (+6) - I understand why they raised it (major OVR boost), and I've toyed with doing it too, but the reality is the guy's handle is so bad he can't be trusted to bring the ball up the court under any sort of pressure.
72 OffHand (+6)
74 Security (+5) - This is what I gave him.
49 Pass (+10)
73 Hands (+3) - I had him at 72.
71 OffAwr (+14) - For a 3pt specialist that can't run point? Um...
52 DefAwr (+9)
65 Consistency (+40) - About time, though 65 is a bit high for such a streaky player.
83 Stamina (+6)
84 Speed (+3)
82 Quickness (-2)
40 Strength (+7)
75 Hustle (+20) - This is what I gave him.
Earl Watson - still in free agents even though Utah signed him to a guaranteed contract last month.
Jannero Pargo - still on Hornets roster even though they waived him.
Coby Karl - still on Denver's roster even though he signed in Spain last month.
Luther Head, Melvin Ely, Bobby Simmons, etc. - still in Free Agents even though other camp players were added to their respective teams (Chris Quinn to Sixers, Kyle Weaver to Bulls, etc)
Kevin Durant
93 Overall (+1)
84 Handle (+7)
80 OffHand (+9)
84 Speed (+3)
87 Quickness (+2)
Trevor Ariza
75 Overall (-2)
78 Inside (-5)
65 FT (-9) - This is what I gave him.
60 Security (-8) - This is what I gave him.
55 Pass (-1)
83 Steal (-4) - I had him at 84.
48 OffReb (-10)
56 DefReb (+4) - This is what I gave him.
71 OffAwr (-4) - This is what I gave him.
82 DefAwr (-2) - I had him at 81.
25 OffClutch (-20)
88 Durability (+25) - Are they on drugs? Ariza missed 10 games last year and 47 in 2008.
Leandro Barbosa
74 Overall (-1) - This was clearly due to complaints that he was higher than Bargnani.
82 Medium (-2) - Laziest edit I've ever seen.
Eddie House
80 3pt (-2) - This is what I gave him.
72 Layup (+14) - Having seen House in NY last season... LOL
78 Handle (+6) - I understand why they raised it (major OVR boost), and I've toyed with doing it too, but the reality is the guy's handle is so bad he can't be trusted to bring the ball up the court under any sort of pressure.
72 OffHand (+6)
74 Security (+5) - This is what I gave him.
49 Pass (+10)
73 Hands (+3) - I had him at 72.
71 OffAwr (+14) - For a 3pt specialist that can't run point? Um...
52 DefAwr (+9)
65 Consistency (+40) - About time, though 65 is a bit high for such a streaky player.
83 Stamina (+6)
84 Speed (+3)
82 Quickness (-2)
40 Strength (+7)
75 Hustle (+20) - This is what I gave him.
Earl Watson - still in free agents even though Utah signed him to a guaranteed contract last month.
Jannero Pargo - still on Hornets roster even though they waived him.
Coby Karl - still on Denver's roster even though he signed in Spain last month.
Luther Head, Melvin Ely, Bobby Simmons, etc. - still in Free Agents even though other camp players were added to their respective teams (Chris Quinn to Sixers, Kyle Weaver to Bulls, etc)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Extremely concerning CPU sim results - Jordan Edition
Michael Jordan set a new career high with 74 points on 29-33 FG and 15-19 FT. That's really all you need to know.
I tinkered with "Touches" tendency for the Knicks, trying to generate better results. It didn't work. Amare scored 50 points on 22-26 FG and 6-6 FT while Randolph scored 23 points on 9-11 FG and 5-7 FT. Gallinari meanwhile scored 4 points on 2-2 FG in 33 minutes.
I don't even feel comfortable releasing a roster with the game in this type of condition, but I'm going to have to, because it looks like fixing this game could take a month.
Bulls shot 58-88 (65%) and Knicks shot 54-85 (63%).
(9.5 IGN? Really?)
It's so unfortunate that this game has so many tendency/gameplay issues because I want to get to making some classic teams!
I tinkered with "Touches" tendency for the Knicks, trying to generate better results. It didn't work. Amare scored 50 points on 22-26 FG and 6-6 FT while Randolph scored 23 points on 9-11 FG and 5-7 FT. Gallinari meanwhile scored 4 points on 2-2 FG in 33 minutes.
I don't even feel comfortable releasing a roster with the game in this type of condition, but I'm going to have to, because it looks like fixing this game could take a month.
Bulls shot 58-88 (65%) and Knicks shot 54-85 (63%).
(9.5 IGN? Really?)
It's so unfortunate that this game has so many tendency/gameplay issues because I want to get to making some classic teams!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Extremely concerning CPU sim results, part 2
Running another test, this time on default sliders. I will be giving play by play of the entire first quarter so that will include the missed shots.
Anthony Randolph isolates on Aldridge, drives for a sweeping hook and gets fouled.
Blazers are running a play. Roy receives a pass, Amare tries to intercept and misses, so Roy gives it to open Aldridge for a short jumper.
While Aldridge is shooting that shot, Amare starts cheating out, backpedaling instead of going for a rebound (CPU surely knows the shot was going in). He's at the 3pt line when Aldridge's shot goes in. Randolph picks it up to inbound. At this point Amare is at the half court line on the right side of the court while the closest person is Oden at the 3pt line. Aldridge, who is supposed to be guarding Amare, is now at the elbow on the left side of the court (approximately 35 feet away from each other). Felton takes a couple dribbles, and passes to the open Amare. At this point, Amare is at the 3pt line with nobody within 20 feet of him. Amare catches the ball at the inner circle. Aldridge is actually the closest player as he sprinted back to catch Amare, but its just to watch Amare thorw down the dunk. Had Oden sprinted back, he could have contested, but he was too busy back pedaling until half-court. The funny thing is Oden was actually pointing to his teammates about Amare ... while still continuing to back pedal from the 3pt line to the half court line... finally turning around to run after he passed the Knicks logo.
Aldridge posts up Amare. Hook goes in. Oh boy.
Randolph post fade on Oden. Contested, it misses.
Aldridge comes down and is calling for the ball in the post because Felton is on him. He gets it AND THE KNICKS ACTUALLY DOUBLE! Aldridge gives it back to Miller, and tries to re-post but the pass back to LMA is stolen by Felton.
Amare is trying to Iso on Aldridge but can't. He briefly posts on the left elbow, sees a double coming and gives back to Randolph, who drills an open 18 footer.
Miller isolates on Felton, gets some space and drills a turnaround jumper on the wing.
Gallo gives to Randolph, who fakes left and goes right for a wing jumper that may or may not have been contested by 3 defenders in the vicinity. It misses.
Roy comes off a screen to miss a shot that was mildly contested by Gallinari.
Amare and Randolph actually run a pick and roll (this is one of NY's plays) but it doesn't work. Felton gets the ball and drives by a flat footed Miller. Oden is too late to block and Felton scores.
Miller isolates and throws a risky pass to Aldridge on the block. Amare is out of position so Aldridge has an Inside shot coming, but Randolph rotates overand blocks the shot. OH MY GOD! ALDRIDGE MISSED A SHOT! (Let's see if he'll miss a non-blocked shot now)
Gallinari is being guarded by Aldridge on the 3pt elbow. Felton walks up to Aldridge and Gallinari cuts. Felton wraps a pass around Aldridge to Gallo who is now wide open from 20 feet. Rather than pull up, Gallo attacks the basket and is fouled.
Miller gives it to Batum on the elbow who pulls up for a three that misses.
Chandler isolates, drives on Roy, goes up for a dunk, but it's contested (or blocked) by Camby and it misses.
Aldridge posting up again. For some reason Randolph decides he should enter "Draw Charge" stance. Aldridge hooks it in like usual.
Felton brings it up, drives to the right elbow and takes an off balance drifter from 17 feet that ends up being contested by Batum because Felton practically drove into Gallinari on the shot. Randolph grabs the offensive board though, goes up underneath and gets fouled.
Roy is at top of arch and gives it to Aldridge about 20 feet from basket. He's essentially doubled though, and Chandler swipes at the ball, knocking it away.
Amare picks up the ball and leads the fast break himself (thanks to my nifty speed ratings). Amare drives to the hoop and Aldridge tries to contest the shot (really should have tried to draw the charge though since he had position), and picks up his second foul.
Roy basically dribbles around the court before hitting a mid-range turnaround on Chandler.
Amare drives into traffic but kicks out to Felton. Felton swings it to Randolph for a jumper at the top of the key.
Dante Cunningham catches the ball on the block. Yep, Blazers are still running the same post sets with Aldridge out of the game. He goes up with some contact on Amare and draws a foul.
Gallinari dribbles around before taking an off-balance shot. It misses. Randolph SKIES for one of the more impressive putback dunks I've ever seen. Kudos to Camby for not boxing out.
More of Roy dribbling around trying to make things happen. Keep in mind he runs Pick & Roll on about 33% of his possessions in real life. Felton starts doubling him as he's backpedaling away from the basket on a failed drive. Miller rotates to 3pt wing, Roy hits him, Miller drives with ease to the basket for a reverse layup.
New York calls timeout. Turiaf and Mozgov sub in for Amare and Randolph. What??? Theres 6 minutes to go in the quarter!
Chandler isolates, drives on Roy for a layup, draws a 2nd foul on Roy.
Still waiting for the Knicks to attempt a three, by the way.
Right on cue, Andre Miller takes an iso three on Felton. *Groan*
As if hearing my plea, Chandler comes off a screen and takes a three. Actually, scratch that. Chandler is just wide open. Blazers look like they're playing zone. Chandler kinda comes off a Mozgov screen but was really just wide open. Anyway, he misses the shot, because his name isn't Danilo Gallinari (the actual guy this play gets called for).
By the way, in case you couldn't tell, the Portland offense is extremely disjointed with Roy and Aldridge out of the game. Miller drives and is doubled, kicks it out to open Wes Matthews for a missed three.
Still waiting for either team to run a P/R. We saw one with Amare/Randolph. How about a PG take charge? These teams are both P/R heavy. But no, instead we see Turiaf posting up Batum for (what else?) a hook shot that goes in.
Miller and Matthews spend the entire shot clock playing catch. Matthews decides that with 4 seconds left we should give it to Batum for a contested wing jumper. Miller inexplicably skies over Ronny Turiaf (CAN WE GET A ****ING BOX OUT TENDENCY 2K!?) for an offensive rebound, goes up, and gets goaltending from Mozgov.
Gallinari comes off an unintentional Felton pick and misses a three. This time it's Mozgov's turn to sky over Camby for an offensive board. He takes a roll shot and draws a foul on Camby - his 2nd foul as well.
Honestly I didn't even pay attention on Portland's next possession. I was thinking about how I should just start doing this on Youtube to avoid carpal tunnel.
Gallinari catches ball on 3pt wing. Wide open. Doesn't go up for shot. Drives by Batum, who is rotating like ASS for someone who is supposed to be a defensive stopper. Anyway Gallo drove literally from the right 3pt wing to the left block, getting fouled on a layup attempt by Batum. And one.
Douglas, Walker, Amare sub in for Felton, Chandler, Mozgov. Knicks now have 13 FTA to Portland's 2, btw.
Wesley Matthews dribbling around now. Ends up kicking to Greg Oden for a mid-range jumper. Swish.
Another PF/C pick and roll with Amare. He pulls up for an elbow jumper off the glass.
Now Oden is getting the post treatment. He goes up for a hook that Turiaf contests.
Gallinari makes a dumb pass that Portland nearly intercepts. Douglas recovers, gives it to Walker who jacks up a three that misses. Amare grabs the offensive board and lays it in
Blazers actually run pick and roll with Matthews and Oden. Turiaf doubles Matthews while Oden cuts to basket. Matthews hits Batum who hits Oden for a dunk. Idiot defensive play but at least we finally saw something that resembled Portlands offense.
Gallinari pulls up off dribble for a three that misses. Turiaf grabs the offensive board (what a surprise, eh?) and puts in a shot.
Portland can't get anything going on offense. Matthews gives it to Oden for a contested 17 footer with the clock running down. If this shot went in I would have sent back my game.
Gallinari cuts to the 3pt line for an open look. He misses again. Amare grabs ANOTHER offensive board but this time isn't in position for an open layup. Knicks reset. Douglas tries to run some type of give and go with Turiaf. The pass is EASILY intercepted and should not have been attempted in the first place.
Toney Douglas gets caught on a screen, and Andre Miller swishes a three pointer. His 3rd attempt of the QUARTER by the way.
Final play of the quarter. Douglas just dribbles around before taking a contested mid-range shot that misses. Thank god it's over.
KNICKS
Pts: 29
FG: 10-21 (47%)
3PT: 0-4 (0%)
FT: 9-13 (69%)
Ast: 4
TO: 1
Fls: 1
Reb: 13 (6 Off)
Stl: 2
Blk: 1
PIP: 14
BP: 5
2C: 6
FB: 0 (Amare cherry picking doesn't count apparently).
Randolph: 9 pts, 2 OffReb, 3-5 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 mins
Amare: 7 pts, 2 OffReb, 3-3 FG, 1-2 FT, 10 mins
Turiaf: 4 pts, 1 OffReb, 2-2 FG
Gallinari: 4 pts, 1-5 FG, 0-2 3PT, 2-3 3PT
Chandler: 2 pts, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT
Felton: 2 pts, 2 ast, 1-2 FG
Mozgov: 1 pt, 1 OffReb, 1-2 FT
Walker: 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT
Douglas: 0-1 FG
BLAZERS
Pts: 23
FG: 10-19 (52%)
3PT: 1-4 (25%)
FT: 2-2 (100%)
Ast: 6
TO: 2
Fls: 7
Reb: 6 (1 Off)
Stl: 1
Blk: 0
PIP: 12
BP: 2
2C: 2
FB: 0
One of the league's top rebounding teams was just killed 5-6 on their defensive glass.
Miller: 9 pts, 1 ast, 4-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, 12 mins
Aldridge: 6 pts, 3-4 FG, 2 fouls, 5 mins
Oden: 4 pts, 2-4 FG, 8 mins
Roy: 2 pts, 2 ast, 1-2 FG, 2 fouls, 7 mins
Cunnningham: 2 pts (2-2 FT)
Batum: 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 12 mins
Matthews: 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 6 mins
Camby: 2 fouls, 5 mins
Small sample, but it's still more of the same. Amare/Randolph causing havoc while Aldridge can't be stopped until this duo puts him into foul trouble five minutes into the game (as it did last time). I would say the game is currently playing less realistically than 2K10, but the brightside is there is significantly more upside. Right off the bat it seems like the team tendencies need some major tweaking, or perhaps even their playbooks, because teams are just not running pick and roll nearly as much as they really do.
Anthony Randolph isolates on Aldridge, drives for a sweeping hook and gets fouled.
Blazers are running a play. Roy receives a pass, Amare tries to intercept and misses, so Roy gives it to open Aldridge for a short jumper.
While Aldridge is shooting that shot, Amare starts cheating out, backpedaling instead of going for a rebound (CPU surely knows the shot was going in). He's at the 3pt line when Aldridge's shot goes in. Randolph picks it up to inbound. At this point Amare is at the half court line on the right side of the court while the closest person is Oden at the 3pt line. Aldridge, who is supposed to be guarding Amare, is now at the elbow on the left side of the court (approximately 35 feet away from each other). Felton takes a couple dribbles, and passes to the open Amare. At this point, Amare is at the 3pt line with nobody within 20 feet of him. Amare catches the ball at the inner circle. Aldridge is actually the closest player as he sprinted back to catch Amare, but its just to watch Amare thorw down the dunk. Had Oden sprinted back, he could have contested, but he was too busy back pedaling until half-court. The funny thing is Oden was actually pointing to his teammates about Amare ... while still continuing to back pedal from the 3pt line to the half court line... finally turning around to run after he passed the Knicks logo.
Aldridge posts up Amare. Hook goes in. Oh boy.
Randolph post fade on Oden. Contested, it misses.
Aldridge comes down and is calling for the ball in the post because Felton is on him. He gets it AND THE KNICKS ACTUALLY DOUBLE! Aldridge gives it back to Miller, and tries to re-post but the pass back to LMA is stolen by Felton.
Amare is trying to Iso on Aldridge but can't. He briefly posts on the left elbow, sees a double coming and gives back to Randolph, who drills an open 18 footer.
Miller isolates on Felton, gets some space and drills a turnaround jumper on the wing.
Gallo gives to Randolph, who fakes left and goes right for a wing jumper that may or may not have been contested by 3 defenders in the vicinity. It misses.
Roy comes off a screen to miss a shot that was mildly contested by Gallinari.
Amare and Randolph actually run a pick and roll (this is one of NY's plays) but it doesn't work. Felton gets the ball and drives by a flat footed Miller. Oden is too late to block and Felton scores.
Miller isolates and throws a risky pass to Aldridge on the block. Amare is out of position so Aldridge has an Inside shot coming, but Randolph rotates overand blocks the shot. OH MY GOD! ALDRIDGE MISSED A SHOT! (Let's see if he'll miss a non-blocked shot now)
Gallinari is being guarded by Aldridge on the 3pt elbow. Felton walks up to Aldridge and Gallinari cuts. Felton wraps a pass around Aldridge to Gallo who is now wide open from 20 feet. Rather than pull up, Gallo attacks the basket and is fouled.
Miller gives it to Batum on the elbow who pulls up for a three that misses.
Chandler isolates, drives on Roy, goes up for a dunk, but it's contested (or blocked) by Camby and it misses.
Aldridge posting up again. For some reason Randolph decides he should enter "Draw Charge" stance. Aldridge hooks it in like usual.
Felton brings it up, drives to the right elbow and takes an off balance drifter from 17 feet that ends up being contested by Batum because Felton practically drove into Gallinari on the shot. Randolph grabs the offensive board though, goes up underneath and gets fouled.
Roy is at top of arch and gives it to Aldridge about 20 feet from basket. He's essentially doubled though, and Chandler swipes at the ball, knocking it away.
Amare picks up the ball and leads the fast break himself (thanks to my nifty speed ratings). Amare drives to the hoop and Aldridge tries to contest the shot (really should have tried to draw the charge though since he had position), and picks up his second foul.
Roy basically dribbles around the court before hitting a mid-range turnaround on Chandler.
Amare drives into traffic but kicks out to Felton. Felton swings it to Randolph for a jumper at the top of the key.
Dante Cunningham catches the ball on the block. Yep, Blazers are still running the same post sets with Aldridge out of the game. He goes up with some contact on Amare and draws a foul.
Gallinari dribbles around before taking an off-balance shot. It misses. Randolph SKIES for one of the more impressive putback dunks I've ever seen. Kudos to Camby for not boxing out.
More of Roy dribbling around trying to make things happen. Keep in mind he runs Pick & Roll on about 33% of his possessions in real life. Felton starts doubling him as he's backpedaling away from the basket on a failed drive. Miller rotates to 3pt wing, Roy hits him, Miller drives with ease to the basket for a reverse layup.
New York calls timeout. Turiaf and Mozgov sub in for Amare and Randolph. What??? Theres 6 minutes to go in the quarter!
Chandler isolates, drives on Roy for a layup, draws a 2nd foul on Roy.
Still waiting for the Knicks to attempt a three, by the way.
Right on cue, Andre Miller takes an iso three on Felton. *Groan*
As if hearing my plea, Chandler comes off a screen and takes a three. Actually, scratch that. Chandler is just wide open. Blazers look like they're playing zone. Chandler kinda comes off a Mozgov screen but was really just wide open. Anyway, he misses the shot, because his name isn't Danilo Gallinari (the actual guy this play gets called for).
By the way, in case you couldn't tell, the Portland offense is extremely disjointed with Roy and Aldridge out of the game. Miller drives and is doubled, kicks it out to open Wes Matthews for a missed three.
Still waiting for either team to run a P/R. We saw one with Amare/Randolph. How about a PG take charge? These teams are both P/R heavy. But no, instead we see Turiaf posting up Batum for (what else?) a hook shot that goes in.
Miller and Matthews spend the entire shot clock playing catch. Matthews decides that with 4 seconds left we should give it to Batum for a contested wing jumper. Miller inexplicably skies over Ronny Turiaf (CAN WE GET A ****ING BOX OUT TENDENCY 2K!?) for an offensive rebound, goes up, and gets goaltending from Mozgov.
Gallinari comes off an unintentional Felton pick and misses a three. This time it's Mozgov's turn to sky over Camby for an offensive board. He takes a roll shot and draws a foul on Camby - his 2nd foul as well.
Honestly I didn't even pay attention on Portland's next possession. I was thinking about how I should just start doing this on Youtube to avoid carpal tunnel.
Gallinari catches ball on 3pt wing. Wide open. Doesn't go up for shot. Drives by Batum, who is rotating like ASS for someone who is supposed to be a defensive stopper. Anyway Gallo drove literally from the right 3pt wing to the left block, getting fouled on a layup attempt by Batum. And one.
Douglas, Walker, Amare sub in for Felton, Chandler, Mozgov. Knicks now have 13 FTA to Portland's 2, btw.
Wesley Matthews dribbling around now. Ends up kicking to Greg Oden for a mid-range jumper. Swish.
Another PF/C pick and roll with Amare. He pulls up for an elbow jumper off the glass.
Now Oden is getting the post treatment. He goes up for a hook that Turiaf contests.
Gallinari makes a dumb pass that Portland nearly intercepts. Douglas recovers, gives it to Walker who jacks up a three that misses. Amare grabs the offensive board and lays it in
Blazers actually run pick and roll with Matthews and Oden. Turiaf doubles Matthews while Oden cuts to basket. Matthews hits Batum who hits Oden for a dunk. Idiot defensive play but at least we finally saw something that resembled Portlands offense.
Gallinari pulls up off dribble for a three that misses. Turiaf grabs the offensive board (what a surprise, eh?) and puts in a shot.
Portland can't get anything going on offense. Matthews gives it to Oden for a contested 17 footer with the clock running down. If this shot went in I would have sent back my game.
Gallinari cuts to the 3pt line for an open look. He misses again. Amare grabs ANOTHER offensive board but this time isn't in position for an open layup. Knicks reset. Douglas tries to run some type of give and go with Turiaf. The pass is EASILY intercepted and should not have been attempted in the first place.
Toney Douglas gets caught on a screen, and Andre Miller swishes a three pointer. His 3rd attempt of the QUARTER by the way.
Final play of the quarter. Douglas just dribbles around before taking a contested mid-range shot that misses. Thank god it's over.
KNICKS
Pts: 29
FG: 10-21 (47%)
3PT: 0-4 (0%)
FT: 9-13 (69%)
Ast: 4
TO: 1
Fls: 1
Reb: 13 (6 Off)
Stl: 2
Blk: 1
PIP: 14
BP: 5
2C: 6
FB: 0 (Amare cherry picking doesn't count apparently).
Randolph: 9 pts, 2 OffReb, 3-5 FG, 3-4 FT, 7 mins
Amare: 7 pts, 2 OffReb, 3-3 FG, 1-2 FT, 10 mins
Turiaf: 4 pts, 1 OffReb, 2-2 FG
Gallinari: 4 pts, 1-5 FG, 0-2 3PT, 2-3 3PT
Chandler: 2 pts, 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT
Felton: 2 pts, 2 ast, 1-2 FG
Mozgov: 1 pt, 1 OffReb, 1-2 FT
Walker: 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT
Douglas: 0-1 FG
BLAZERS
Pts: 23
FG: 10-19 (52%)
3PT: 1-4 (25%)
FT: 2-2 (100%)
Ast: 6
TO: 2
Fls: 7
Reb: 6 (1 Off)
Stl: 1
Blk: 0
PIP: 12
BP: 2
2C: 2
FB: 0
One of the league's top rebounding teams was just killed 5-6 on their defensive glass.
Miller: 9 pts, 1 ast, 4-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, 12 mins
Aldridge: 6 pts, 3-4 FG, 2 fouls, 5 mins
Oden: 4 pts, 2-4 FG, 8 mins
Roy: 2 pts, 2 ast, 1-2 FG, 2 fouls, 7 mins
Cunnningham: 2 pts (2-2 FT)
Batum: 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 12 mins
Matthews: 0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 6 mins
Camby: 2 fouls, 5 mins
Small sample, but it's still more of the same. Amare/Randolph causing havoc while Aldridge can't be stopped until this duo puts him into foul trouble five minutes into the game (as it did last time). I would say the game is currently playing less realistically than 2K10, but the brightside is there is significantly more upside. Right off the bat it seems like the team tendencies need some major tweaking, or perhaps even their playbooks, because teams are just not running pick and roll nearly as much as they really do.
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