Analysis of NBA 2K11's [11-24-10] Roster

Once again, The Real 2K Insider breaks down 2K's latest roster update and keeps you informed on what 2K would rather keep in the dark.

PLAYER EDITS

My thoughts on each edit will be added sometime tomorrow.

Also, some of these minor edits were from prior rosters that I didn't notice until now.

Marreese Speights

Position: C (from PF)

71 Overall (-1)

Andrew Bogut

83 Overall (+1)

79 Strength (+18)

The progress Bogut built upon last season has been negated by his wrist injury - he is having an abominable season, dropping from last season's 16 ppg to 11.6 ppg, while posting career lows in FG% and FT%.  Yet, for some reason, he keeps going up in rating.

Brandon Jennings

78 Overall (+3)

77 Medium (+3)

81 FT (+1)

80 Pass (+3)

41 OffReb (+14)

48 DefReb (+19)

84 OffAwr (+2)

62 DefAwr (+4)

93 Durability (+29)

Jennings is 9-34 (26%) from mid-range this season, yet his rating went up?  Interesting.

Eric Gordon

79 Overall (+1)

80 FT (+6)

70 Steal (-13)

84 OffAwr (+6)

76 DefAwr (+4)

40 OffClutch (+15)

Blake Griffin

78 Overall (+2)

88 Inside (+5)

57 FT (-2)

89 Dunk (+10)

80 Standing Dunk (+10)

63 Handle (+3)

55 Off-Hand (+3)

58 Security (+10)

85 Hands (+4)

90 OffReb (+9)

81 DefReb (-2)

76 OffPost (+4)

72 OffAwr (+2)

70 Consistency (+10)

65 Speed (+8)

67 Quickness (+12)

70 Shot Tend (+6)

Andrei Kirilenko

75 Overall (+1)

73 3pt (+7)

Devin Harris

80 Overall (+2)
81 Medium (+2)
70 3pt (+4)
82 Pass (+6)
80 OffAwr (+2)

Brook Lopez

78 Overall (-3)

80 Close (-2)
65 Medium (-5)
82 OffReb (-10)
68 DefReb (-7)

Kris Humphries

68 Overall (+6)
89 Inside (+8)
84 Close (+5)
66 Medium (+4)
67 FT (-7)
68 Block (+20)
85 RebDef (+4)
59 OffAwr (+7)
55 DefAwr (+20)
85 Stamina (+15)
54 Speed (+6)
57 Quickness (+12)
80 Strength (+5)

Demar Derozan

65 Overall (+1)
82 Inside (+8)
83 Close (+15)
75 FT (+10)

Russell Westbrook

86 Overall (+1)
79 Medium (+3)
85 FT (+7)
85 Steal (+5)

Darko Milicic
67 Overall (+10)
84 Inside (+3)
45 Medium (+10)
69 LPS (+9)
61 FT (+6)
37 Pass (+8)
84 Block (+9)
80 OffReb (+9)
72 DefReb (-3)
70 OffPost (+6)
75 DefPost (+3)
45 OffAwr (+9)
63 DefAwr (+26)
35 DefClutch (+10)
45 Consistency (+20)
75 Stamina (+5)
65 Strength (+13)
49 Hustle (+7)
65 Durability (+10)

NEW PLAYERS

There are no missing players.

MISSING PLAYERS

No players are currently missing (it only took 7 weeks).

ROTATION ERRORS

Bobcats: Kwame Brown should be on active roster instead of Sherron Collins.

Grizzlies: Greivis Vazquez is inactive even though he's the team's backup PG.  Acie Law still has a spot in the rotation.  Grizzlies also announced O.J. Mayo will come off the bench for the foreseeable future.  New starter Xavier Henry isn't even part of the bench rotation (at the very least he should have Tony Allen's minutes)..

Magic: Marcin Gortat isn't part of the rotation.  LOL.

Raptors: Peja Stojakovic is in the rotation, but not Jerryd Bayless, the team's sole backup PG.

Spurs: Signed Ime Udoka to replace Daniel Green (who never made it onto Spurs roster in the game).  Let's hope Udoka doesn't share a similar fate.

INJURED LIST

New Injuries: Udonis Haslem (Heat), Brandan Wright (Warriors)

Recovered: Andre Iguodala (76ers), Dominic McGuire (Bobcats), Mo Williams (Cavaliers), Avery Bradley (Celtics), Juwan Howard (Heat), Chris Andersen (Nuggets), Jeff Foster (Pacers), Nick Collison (Thunder)

Incorrect: Gerald Henderson (Bobcats) has missed the last 6 games but still isn't "injured".  Delonte West (Celtics) broke his wrist on the 23rd and will miss the rest of the season.  Al Thornton (Wizards) sprained his ankle and will miss at least the next 2 games.

Usable Injured (Minor injury, on active online roster): Darington Hobson (Bucks), James Anderson (Spurs), Brandon Roy (Blazers), David Lee (Warriors)

All of these injuries are dissolved when an Association is started, which means this information is primarily relevant to online players.  Red denotes a player who cannot be used due to a major injury.  All other injuries are considered "minor" and can be played through IF the player is on the active roster (even though EVERY player on this list is NOT playing through their injuries in real life).

76ers: None

Bobcats: None

Bucks: Chris Douglas-Roberts (-11), Carlos Delfino (-10), Darington Hobson (-4), Michael Redd (-24)

Bulls: Carlos Boozer (-10)

Cavaliers: None

Celtics: Jermaine O'Neal (-10), Kendrick Perkins (-10)

Clippers: Baron Davis (-11), Chris Kaman (-24)

Grizzlies: None

Hawks: None

Heat: Udonis Haslem (-9), Mike Miller (-11), 

Hornets: None

Jazz: Mehmet Okur (-27)

Kings: None

Knicks: Eddy Curry (-5), Kelenna Azubuike (-24)

Lakers: Andrew Bynum (-9), Theo Ratliff (-8)

Magic: Daniel Orton (-7)

Mavericks: Rodrigue Beaubois (-12)

Nets: None

Nuggets: Kenyon Martin (-10)

Pacers: None

Pistons:  Terrico White (-11), Jonas Jerebko (-20)

Raptors: Ed Davis (-8)

Rockets: Yao Ming (-10), Aaron Brooks (-24)

Spurs: James Anderson (-10)

Suns: Robin Lopez (-9)

Thunder: None

Timberwolves: Jonny Flynn (-6), Martell Webster (-6), Nikola Pekovic (-7)

Trail Blazers: Brandon Roy (-11), Greg Oden (-10), Joel Przybilla (-22), Elliot Williams (-20)

Warriors: David Lee (-6), Brandan Wright (-6), Ekpe Udoh (-11), Louis Amundson (-8)

Wizards: Yi Jianlian (-9), Josh Howard (-23)

Free Agents: Jeff Pendergraph (-21)

For the most part, injured players are moved to the IR, regardless of their status, but in some cases, teams suffer so many injuries that there isn't enough room on the IR.  If that player has "Yellow" status, it means they can still be used in online games.  This will surely come into play later in the season, but for now there is only one injured player still on their team's active roster.

Analysis of NBA 2K11's [11-18-10] Roster

Once again, The Real 2K Insider breaks down 2K's latest roster update and keeps you informed on what 2K would rather keep in the dark.

Note to 2K Sports: Wouldn't it be more productive to put me on the roster team rather than pay someone to read my weekly notes and critiques of your rosters?

PLAYER EDITS

My thoughts on each edit will be added sometime tomorrow (not enough time to do them all).

Also, some of these minor edits were from prior rosters that I didn't notice until now.

Jrue Holiday

78 Overall (+8)

79 3pt (+1)

79 FT (+3)

83 Pass (+17)

82 Steal (+6)

86 Hands (+7)

82 OffAwr (+17) - The starting PG of a team ranked 26th offensively. ROFLTASTIC

73 DefAwr (+8)

80 Consistency (+20) - LMAO

86 Speed (+4)

89 Quickness (+4)

This edit was obviously done because people were complaining about Holiday having a lower rating than Louis Williams (a pretty good player in his own right).  80 Consistency is a joke (the dude has cracked 20 points ONCE this year despite averaging 35 minutes.  He does not get hot), while his 82 offensive awareness is outrageously ambitious given that Chauncey Billups and Vince Carter have 84.  This is a player averaging a whopping 14 points and 7 assists per 36 minutes.  Raymond Felton numbers.

Derrick Rose
88 Overall (+1)
89 Pass (+8)

For what it's worth, that's exactly where I have Rose's pass rating.  Now if only 2K would adopt some of my other more realistic ratings for Rose.

Joakim Noah

82 Overall (+2)

61 Medium (+26)
66 SIT (+21)

The 2K Insider appears to be reading my blog, because most of what I complain about is actually getting changed week to week (which means people complaining about MY complaining will fall on deaf ears).  Last week I noted that the Insider made a Noah edit and yet inexplicably left out boosts to his obviously underrated Medium and SIT ratings.  Those have obviously been rectified.

Taj Gibson
72 Overall (+3)
75 Medium (+7)
73 LPS (+3)
83 Block (+5)
73 DefReb (-5)

72 OffPost (+2)
55 OffAwr (+5)
95 Durability (+27)

Joe Johnson
87 Overall (-1)
82 Medium (-4)
76 3pt (-3)

Josh Smith
84 Overall (+1)
63 3pt (+3)
94 Block (+5)
86 OffReb (+4) - He barely deserved an 82, his rebounding is down, and yet 2K still raises him.

Mike Bibby
72 Overall (-1)
80 Speed (-2)
79 Quickness (-2)

Bibby is no longer fast or quick, which is making him a defensive liability.

Emeka Okafor
78 Overall (+1)
88 Block (+5)

Really?  That's it?

Jason Smith
75 Medium (+15)

Toney Douglas
71 Overall (+1)
71 Vertical (+23)

Still has 51 Defensive Awareness though.  Keep on changing specific ratings instead of actually analyzing each individual player...

Landry Fields
66 Overall (+4)
84 Inside (+5)
74 Close (+3)
78 Medium (+3) - He is 3-5 this season.  Why does he keep going up?
74 Layup (+5)
60 OffReb (+12)
54 DefReb (+9) - FYI, in IRL he's the best defensive rebounder on the team after Amare.
65 OffAwr (+7)
48 DefAwr (-10) - What the hell?
50 Consistency (+15)
86 Hustle (+8)

Danny Granger
84 Overall (+1)
85 Inside (+1)
83 Close (+5)
81 Medium (+2)
84 3pt (+3)
82 Layup (+2)
65 Dunk (-3)
71 PostOff (-2)
81 DefAwr (+3)
72 Vertical (-12)

Roy Hibbert
78 Overall (+5)
86 Inside (+2)
70 Close (-9)
73 Medium (+2)
79 LPS (+2)
76 FT (+5)
48 Pass (+8)
86 OffReb (+4)
75 DefReb (+11)
77 OffAwr (+10)
82 DefAwr (+10)
75 Consistency (+10)
79 Stamina (+12)

Darren Collison
78 Overall (-2)
73 Close (-4)
82 3pt (+4)
77 Pass (-6)
76 OBD (-5)
79 OffAwr (-3)

Dahntay Jones
72 Overall (-2)
44 Block (-24)
36 OffReb (-6)
42 DefReb (-26)

Mike Dunleavy
Position: SG (from SF)
63 Overall (-2) - This is actually +2 when you take into account the position switch.
81 Close (+5)
80 Medium (+3)
78 3pt (+8)

Ben Gordon

77 Overall (+1)

85 Medium (+3)

83 3pt (+5)

86 FT (+1)

Austin Daye
61 Overall (+1)
60 Close (+10)
80 3pt (+10)

Luis Scola
81 Overall (+1)
74 FT (-5)
87 Hands (+4)
90 OffAwr (+4)
66 DefAwr (+4)
76 Shot Tend (+5)

Manu Ginobili
88 Overall (+1)
89 Inside (-2)
78 Close (+5)
80 Medium (+7)
84 3pt (+4)
88 FT (+1)
83 SOD (+3)
93 Hands (+3)
86 OffAwr (+2)
76 Durability (+5)

Tim Duncan
85 Overall (-5)
88 Inside (-7)
82 Close (-4)
78 Medium (-4)
87 LPS (-6)
68 FT (-5)
61 Layup (-2)
60 Standing Dunk (-20) - Actual dunk rating (63) was not touched for whatever ridiculous reason.
86 Block (+5)
84 OffReb (-4)
90 DefReb (-3)
90 OffPost (-6)
92 DefPost (-5)
78 OffAwr (-10)
89 DefAwr (-7)

Tony Parker
83 Overall (+5)
92 Inside (-3)
82 Close (+12)
65 3pt (+3) - HE IS ONE FOR ONE ON THE SEASON!!!!
79 FT (+3)
81 SOD (+3)
88 Pass (+10)
79 Steal (+29)
94 Hands (+1)
87 OffAwr (+2)
85 Consistency (+5)

Richard Jefferson
75 Overall (+1)
80 3pt (+6)
73 FT (+3)
77 OffAwr (+6)
75 Consistency (+10)
66 Shot Tend (+13)

Hedo Turkoglu
74 Overall (+1)
84 3pt (+3)

Comprehensive.

Hakim Warrick
65 Overall (+1)
76 LPS (+3)
63 Hands (+17)
74 PostOff (+4)
62 OffAwr (+4)

Warrick has been underrated for a few years now, and aside from a minor boost to his post game, he still is.

Serge Ibaka
77 Overall (+12)
85 Inside (+13)
79 Close (+11)
68 Medium (+5)
55 LPS (+12)
74 FT (+16)
64 SIT (+21)
90 Block (+5)
65 Hands (+7)
79 OBD (+2)
68 DefReb (-4)
59 OffPost (+16)
83 DefPost (+7)
52 OffAwr (+19)
86 DefAwr (+9)
65 DefClutch (+30)
70 Consistency (+45)
86 Stamina (+13)
70 Strength (+24)
82 Durability (+9)

Kevin Love
79 Overall (+3)
55 Security (+13)
43 Pass (+12)
82 PostOff (+5)
79 OffAwr (+4)
40 OffClutch (+15)
85 Consistency (+15)
50 Speed (+10)
53 Quickness (+14)

Michael Beasley
Position: SF (from PF)
78 Overall (+4)
85 Inside (-5)
84 Medium (+7)
81 3pt (+18)
77 FT (-3)
78 Layup (+3)
80 SOD (+11)
74 SIT (+7)
57 Security (+17)
38 Pass (+9)
77 PostOff (+4)
90 OffAwr (+12)
52 DefAwr (+2)
60 OffClutch (+25)
80 Consistency (+30)
72 Strength (+5)
65 Hustle (+7)
90 Emotion (+30)
86 Shot Tend (+4)
39 3pt Tend (+25)

Dante Cunningham
64 Overall (+3)
83 Inside (+4)
76 Close (+26)
77 Medium (+31)
65 FT (-4)

Charlie Bell
65 Overall (-1)

NEW PLAYERS

59 - Garret Siler (C) - Suns

58 - Earl Barron (C/PF) - Suns

MISSING PLAYERS

No players are currently missing (it only took 7 weeks).

ROTATION ERRORS

Heat: Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been starting over Joel Anthony all week, but Anthony still starts in 2K's roster.

Kings: Made major changes to starting lineup (Head > Udrih, Greene > Casspi), but those aren't reflected in 2K's roster.

Mavericks: I reported last week that 2K still has Jason Terry starting over DeShawn Stevenson, and the same is still true this week.

Nets: Kris Humprhies has been starting over Troy Murphy.  2K still has Murphy starting even though he's completely out of the rotation.  Of course, Hump is still AT LEAST 10 points underrated which is why 2K wouldn't want to make this roster change.

Nuggets: J.R. Smith has played one minute in his last three games.  Gary Forbes has taken his spot in the rotation.

Pacers: Jeff Foster is still injured even though he returned from injury the other day.

Raptors: Sonny Weems has been starting over Kleiza, but as with Hump, it's tough to justify starting a 61 overall player.

Spurs: Daniel Green signed with the Spurs on 11-17.  Last I checked, this roster is dated 11-18.

Warriors: Brandan Wright is starting over Vladimir Radmanovic for some reason.  Oh right, because Radmanovic is a lowly 53 overall.  Not because Wright is actually starting.

Wizards: Funny to me that John Wall has been missing games to injury, DID NOT PLAY FRIDAY NIGHT, but is not injured in 2K's roster, and is still in the Wiz' starting lineup.  Arenas has been drawing the starts this week, not Wall.

INJURED LIST

New Injuries: Andre Iguodala (76ers), Carlos Delfino (Bucks), Juwan Howard (Heat), Theo Ratliff (Lakers), Robin Lopez (Suns), Nikola Pekovic (Timberwolves), Yi Jianlian (Wizards)

Recovered: Kwame Brown (Bobcats), Randy Foye (Clippers), Ronny Turiaf (Knicks), Chris Wilcox (Pistons), Leandro Barbosa (Raptors), Linas Kleiza (Raptors), Luke Ridnour (Timberwolves)

Incorrect: Jeff Foster recovered and played before this roster was released.

Usable Injured (Minor injury, on active online roster): Darington Hobson (Bucks), Brandon Roy (Blazers)

Greg Oden went from -25 to -10 with his injury changing to "Microfracture Knee Surgery".  LOL?  For what it's worth, David Lee also went from -7 to -6 (switched to "Inflamed Elbow").

All of these injuries are dissolved when an Association is started, which means this information is primarily relevant to online players.  Red denotes a player who cannot be used due to a major injury.  All other injuries are considered "minor" and can be played through IF the player is on the active roster (even though EVERY player on this list is NOT playing through their injuries in real life).

76ers: Andre Iguodala (-14)

Bobcats: Dominic McGuire (-10)

Bucks: Chris Douglas-Roberts (-11), Carlos Delfino (-10), Darington Hobson (-4), Michael Redd (-24)

Bulls: Carlos Boozer (-10)

Cavaliers: Mo Williams (-7)

Celtics: Jermaine O'Neal (-10), Kendrick Perkins (-10), Avery Bradley (-12)

Clippers: Baron Davis (-11), Chris Kaman (-24)

Grizzlies: None

Hawks: None

Heat: Mike Miller (-11), Juwan Howard (-6)

Hornets: None

Jazz: Mehmet Okur (-27)

Kings: None

Knicks: Eddy Curry (-5), Kelenna Azubuike (-24)

Lakers: Andrew Bynum (-9), Theo Ratliff (-8)

Magic: Daniel Orton (-7)

Mavericks: Rodrigue Beaubois (-12)

Nets: None

Nuggets: Kenyon Martin (-10), Chris Andersen (-23)

Pacers: Jeff Foster (-19)

Pistons:  Terrico White (-11), Jonas Jerebko (-20)

Raptors: Ed Davis (-8)

Rockets: Yao Ming (-10), Aaron Brooks (-24)

Spurs: James Anderson (-10)

Suns: Robin Lopez (-9)

Thunder: Nick Collison (-8)

Timberwolves: Jonny Flynn (-6), Martell Webster (-6), Nikola Pekovic (-7)

Trail Blazers: Brandon Roy (-11), Greg Oden (-10), Joel Przybilla (-22), Elliot Williams (-20)

Warriors: David Lee (-6), Ekpe Udoh (-11), Louis Amundson (-8)

Wizards: Yi Jianlian (-9), Josh Howard (-23)

Free Agents: Jeff Pendergraph (-21)

For the most part, injured players are moved to the IR, regardless of their status, but in some cases, teams suffer so many injuries that there isn't enough room on the IR.  If that player has "Yellow" status, it means they can still be used in online games.  This will surely come into play later in the season, but for now there is only one injured player still on their team's active roster.

Usable "Injured" players: 

Analysis of NBA 2K11's [11-13-10] Roster

One again, The Real 2K Insider breaks down 2K's latest roster update and keeps you informed on what 2K would rather keep in the dark.


PLAYER EDITS

Elton Brand
78 Overall (+5)
90 Close (+5)
74 Medium (+8)
72 Block (+4)
65 Steal (+23)
86 Hands (+4)
85 OffReb (+14)
70 DefReb (-6)
79 OffPost (+6)
79 OffAwr (+3)
72 DefAwr (+3)
35 OffClutch (+10)
70 Consistency (+25)
83 Stamina (+6)
77 Hustle (+3)

Brand got some much needed boosts, some of which were needed even before his resurgence (Mid-range, Steals, Stamina, DefAwr).  As is the 2K standard, his blocks were already overrated, yet still got a boost.  2K also could have dropped his defensive rebounding much further, as he is only worthy of a 57 at present (his DREB rate of 15% is exactly where it was last season - surely safe to say this is a facet of his game he didn't recover after the knee injury (not that Elton was ever a strong defensive rebounder, as he never topped 20% in a full season).

Thaddeus Young
75 Overall (-1)
73 Medium (-13)

Fans have been begging the Insider for this change (on his blog, no less) and he finally responded, 6 weeks later.

Joakim Noah
80 Overall (+3)
79 Inside (+4)
75 Close (+8)
72 FT (+2)
86 Block (+4)
99 OffReb (+1)
97 DefReb (+3)
87 PostDef (+3)
68 OffAwr (+5)
94 DefAwr (+3)
63 Strength (+2)

Fun facts!  According to hoopdata.com Noah is 0-1 from 10-15 feet this season.  He got +8 Close rating.  Meanwhile Noah is 9-26 from 16-23 feet this season. He was 29-67 last season.  Noah has 35 Mid-range, which is the lowest possible rating.

Fun facts!  The 2K Insider has surely never even heard of hoopdata.com.

Fun facts!  The 2K Insider has surely never heard of "data".

Fun facts!  Noah is blocking fewer shots than last season yet still got a block rating boost!

Fun facts!  In all this editing, the 2K Insider saw nothing wrong with Noah's 45 Shoot In Traffic rating!

Fun facts! The 2K Insider seems to have Joakim Noah (99 OffReb, 97 DefReb) mixed up with Kevin Love!  Noah is 9th in the league in ORB% and 10th in DRB%.

Rhetorical questions!  How many times do you think former Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman was 10th in the league in either rebounding category?

Eric Bledsoe
68 Overall (+4)
82 3pt (+9)
73 FT (+6)
70 Pass (+12)
69 Steal (+4)
65 OffAwr (+3)
40 Consistency (+15)

Bledsoe is 5-11 from 3pt range through 10 games. He is attempting 1.3 threes per 36 minutes, a very small amount.  His sample is incredibly small.  And yet, he is now rated like a sharpshooting threat who could go deep at any time.  Also, having gone a mere 11-15 from the FT line this season, isn't it a wee bit early to boost a historically poor FT shooter?  If he misses his next FT he's back down to .687.  SAMPLE SIZES ARE ELEFREAKINMENTARY.

Rudy Gay
86 Overall (+2)
82 Medium (+4)
79 3pt (+6)
72 LPS (+4)
78 FT (+3)
44 Pass (+12)
84 Hands (+5)
52 OffReb (+5)
71 DefReb (+5)
86 OffAwr (+2)

Speaking of sample sizes, it is absolutely MIND BOGGLING (I feel like I say this every week) that Bledsoe is a meager 5-11 from 3pt range (10 games), which merits a 82 3pt rating, while Rudy Gay is 18-42 (10 games) and yet this merits only a 79 3pt rating.  Perhaps instead of an "Insider", 2K Sports would be better off having a monkey sit in front of a typewriter to determine their ratings.  The sad thing is the odds are actually in favor of that being more effective.

Also, can someone explain to me how it is possible that a player with a career 13.7 DREB% (14.2% this season) actually WENT UP!!!!!!!! to a 71 RebDef rating?  I just went over how Brand has 15 DREB% and is overrated with 70 RebDef and Gay is one point higher despite DREB% a full point lower.  SOMEBODY GET 2K A MONKEY ASAP!!!!!!!

Chris Bosh
83 Overall (-4)
90 LPS (-5)
71 OffReb (-15)
73 DefReb (-16)
90 OffPost (-4)
86 OffAwr (-7)
80 Consistency (-10)

I would buy the reduction in Bosh's post game if he wasn't overrated in this to begin with (just going by Toronto production).  His offensive capabilities are still absurdly good, between 94 Inside, 82 Close, 85 Medium, and Post ratings that are still elite.  The main thing that dropped was Bosh's rebounding though.  However, even with 16.5 DREB% that is easily a career low, he obviously deserves to be more than 2 points better than Rudy Gay and his "much improved"14.2%.  NO CONSISTENCY.

Arron Afflalo
72 Overall (+6)
82 Close (+11)
83 3pt (-2)
79 FT (+4)
64 SIT (+4)
41 Pass (+10)
58 Steal (+6)
77 Hands (+11)
64 PostDef (+10)
63 OffAwr (+18)
81 DefAwr (+5)
45 DefClutch (+20)
50 Consistency (+25)
83 Stamina (+6)
48 Shot Tendency (+12)

Finally, an edit that I somewhat like.  Afflalo had a lot of ratings that needed to go up, and 2K nailed most of them.  Afflalo is also the first player to have *GASP* a tendency adjustment.

Jason Richardson
75 Overall (+2)
84 3pt (+2)
71 FT (-7)
70 Steals (+8)
75 Hands (+5)
45 OffReb (+2)
81 OffAwr (+2)
80 Consistency (+10)
93 Stamina (+2)
66 Shot Tendency (+3)

Monta Ellis
86 Overall (+2)
93 Steal (+4)
95 OffAwr (+3)
77 DefAwr (+3)

Stephen Curry
82 Overall (+2)
83 3pt (-3)
82 SOD (+4)
84 Pass (+2)
90 Steal (+4)
84 OffAwr (+4)
67 DefAwr (+4)

Ellis and Curry both got boosts in steals and awareness.  Again picking on 2K's lack of consistency...

Curry
2010: 2.6 STL%
2011: 3.5 STL%
Rating: 90

Ellis
2010: 2.5
2011: 3.4
Rating: 93

There is no reason why Monta should have the higher steal rating.

Javale McGee
67 Overall (+1)
64 Speed (+10)
61 Quickness (+10)

It only took 2K three years to realize McGee was athletic.  Well done.  Speaking of McGee, he is leading the league in BLK% with a ridiculous 10.0% after leading last season with 8.0%, and he maintains a 6.8 career BLK%.  It is most definitely worth noting that Dikembe Mutombo only topped 8% once (8.8 in 1996) and finished his career with 6.3 BLK%.  Why do I bring this up?  McGee's block rating is only 92 (a mere 4 points ahead of Pau Gasol).  One would think that with an "Insider" so notorious for overrating players in shot blocking, he'd be able to get the easy ones.  But then, that's why we put "Insider" in quotation marks so much around here.

All told, that's a total of 11 player edits, with 2 of them (Young and McGee) being minor albeit long needed adjustments to specific ratings.  In other words, what I do in about 2 hours.

NEW PLAYERS
62 - Manny Harris (SG) - Cavaliers
60 - Samardo Samuels (PF) - Cavaliers
53 - Christian Eyenga (SG/SF) - Cavaliers
62 - Eugene Jeter (PG/SG) - Kings
60 - Ben Uzoh (PG/SG) - Nets
61 - Jeff Adrien (PF) - Warriors
57 - Hamady N'Diaye (C) - Wizards

MISSING PLAYERS
Garret Siler (C) - Suns

One player is missing.  That is super annoying.  Forget that we're now three weeks into the NBA season.  You seriously couldn't add the one missing player before roster release?  The worst part is Siler is the only one of Phoenix's initial three missing players that has actually played a game thus far.  Please get your priorities straight 2K.

ROTATION ERRORS
Sixers: Jodie Meeks is on the Sixer IR even though he is playing big minutes with Andre Iguodala struggling through injuries.  He should take the place of Darius Songaila, who has barely played.

Bucks: Drew Gooden has been starting since day one, but remains on the bench in favor of Mbah a Moute.  LRMAM has been starting for Carlos Delfino, who has missed some games with concussion symptoms.  Delfino is still in the starting lineup, however.  Gooden clearly needs to be there.

Grizzlies: Greivis Vazquez has been getting minutes but is on the team's IR.  DeMarre Carroll should take his place.

Hawks: Maurice Evans is injured and has no time-table for return, yet is healthy and on Atlanta's active roster.  Etan Thomas should take his spot.

Hornets: Quincy Pondexter is part of the team's rotation now.  Marcus Thornton has fallen out of it, and spent the last game on the team's inactive list.

Knicks: Ronny Turiaf is "injured" yet will possibly be starting the Knicks' next game.  Go figure.  He also has "Red" injury status despite the injury being a minor one.  Carlos Delfino has also been missing games but he's still in the Bucks starting lineup.   The 2K Insider deserves a 25 Consistency rating.

Mavericks: DeShawn Stevenson has been starting for Dallas, placing Jason Terry back into his 6th man role.  Yet Stevenson isn't even part of the team's rotation.

Rockets: Patrick Patterson was sent down to the D-League but still occupies an active roster spot (instead of Jermaine Taylor).

Suns: Dwayne Jones is still a Phoenix Sun even though there are now enough players on the team required to release him.  This was excusable when Gani Lawal and Matt Janning were missing from the game, but now that they are not, there is no reason for him to occupy a roster spot (even if Garret Sliler is still missing).  Maddeningly, Jones occupies an active spot on the online roster, instead of Lawal or Janning.  Simply sloppy work by the 2K Insider.

Spurs: Bobby Simmons and Garrett Temple were both waived by the San Antonio Spurs, but still occupy roster spots and are on the online team.  Chris Quinn was signed by the Spurs after they waived Simmons, which also lead to Temple's release a few days later.  Not only is Quinn missing from the team, but Alonzo Gee occupies a spot on the IR even though he is still a member of the team and has higher ratings than both Simmons and Temple.  What kills me is that Joe Alexander was waived by New Orleans YESTERDAY and the 2K Insider included that, but seemingly wasn't able to follow up on these transactions that happened much earlier in the week.  Again, these changes are presumably coming from a person on company payroll, whose salary is being paid by the copies of the game that were sold.  I would think our expectations should be high enough to expect the company's roster editor to keep up with "minor" details like the league transactions.

INJURED LIST
A new addition to the roster analysis.  All of these injuries are dissolved when an Association is started, which means this information is primarily relevant to online players, as these are the players who will not be available in online games.  Red denotes a player who cannot be used, while others have minor "nagging" injuries that they can still play through (even though EVERY player on this list is NOT playing through their injuries in real life).

76ers: None
Bobcats: Dominic McGuire (-10), Kwame Brown (-19)
Bucks: Chris Douglas-Roberts (-11), Darington Hobson (-4), Michael Redd (-24)
Bulls: Carlos Boozer (-10)
Cavaliers: Mo Williams (-7)
Celtics: Jermaine O'Neal (-10), Kendrick Perkins (-10), Avery Bradley (-12)
Clippers: Baron Davis (-11), Randy Foye (-7), Chris Kaman (-24)
Grizzlies: None
Hawks: None
Heat: Mike Miller (-11)
Jazz: Mehmet Okur (-27)
Kings: None
Knicks: Eddy Curry (-5), Ronny Turiaf (-9), Kelenna Azubuike (-24)
Lakers: Andrew Bynum (-9)
Magic: Daniel Orton (-7)
Mavericks: Rodrigue Beaubois (-12)
Nets: None
Nuggets: Kenyon Martin (-10), Chris Andersen (-23)
Pacers: Jeff Foster (-19)
Pistons: Chris Wilcox (-5), Terrico White (-11), Jonas Jerebko (-20)
Raptors: Leandro Barbosa (-11), Ed Davis (-8), Linas Kleiza (-10)
Rockets: Yao Ming (-10), Aaron Brooks (-24)
Spurs: James Anderson (-10)
Suns: None
Thunder: Nick Collison (-8)
Timberwolves: Jonny Flynn (-6), Martell Webster (-6), Luke Ridnour (-12)
Trail Blazers: Greg Oden (-25), Joel Przybilla (-22), Elliot Williams (-20)
Warriors: David Lee (-7), Ekpe Udoh (-11), Louis Amundson (-8)
Wizards: Josh Howard (-23)
Free Agents: Jeff Pendergraph (-21)

For the most part, injured players are moved to the IR, regardless of their status, but in some cases, teams suffer so many injuries that there isn't enough room on the IR.  If that player has "Yellow" status, it means they can still be used in online games.  This will surely come into play later in the season, but for now there is only one injured player still on their team's active roster.

Usable "Injured" players: Randy Foye (Clippers)

The Real NBA 2K11 [11-12-10]

New roster uploaded to xbox 360. Have to run, so I can't provide many details at the moment.

Notable rating edits include
95 - LeBron James (-1)
94 - Dwyane Wade (-1)
93 - Chris Paul (+2)
93 - Kobe Bryant (+1)
93 - Dwight Howard (+1)
85 - Pau Gasol (+1) (Switch to C)
84 - Chris Bosh (-1)
83 - Dirk Nowitzki (+1)
83 - Monta Ellis (+2)
83 - Al Horford (+3)
82 - Paul Millsap (+4)
82 - Rudy Gay (+2)
79 - Joakim Noah (+2)
79 - Gilbert Arenas (-2) (Switch to PG)
78 - Roy Hibbert (+4)
77 - Kirk Hinrich (+3) (Switch to SG)
76 - Ray Allen (+1)
75 - Richard Jefferson (+1)
75 - Mike Conley (+2)
73 - J.J. Hickson (+5)
73 - Shannon Brown (+2)
72 - Evan Turner (-4)
70 - Dorell Wright (+6)
70 - Arron Afflalo (+2)
67 - Josh McRoberts (+11)
67 - Quincy Pondexter (+5)
66 - Jason Smith (+10)
66 - Eric Bledsoe (+2)
66 - Derek Fisher (+1)
65 - James Jones (+4)

There were many others (Raptors, Mavericks, Jazz, Spurs, Clippers, Cavaliers rotation players), but that is the bulk of them. Some teams have extensive work and are completed. Others have barely been touched. The barely touched teams include: Kings, Nets, Pistons, Suns, Thunder, Wolves. Suns and Thunder I already have the ratings for, just haven't gotten around to re-implementing them. The others are small market teams that usually aren't in demand. I have edits for key Kings players like Cousins, Dalembert, Udrih, and Casspi, just haven't gotten a chance to re-implement them (I can only edit so many players in a given week). It goes without saying that you don't need to point out players on those teams as being over/underrated; I'm already aware, and would prefer focus on the teams/players that HAVE been edited.

By next week I should be up to where I was last month before the roster reset (technically further along, since I've added to my edit list since then).

Tendencies (including Touch) have been re-edited as I edit each individual player. Same goes for sig layups/dunks, contracts, and some accessories. Haven't focused much on the accessories this week because the ratings are much more important at this stage and I'd like to have them completed by Christmas, taking into account the various changes that will be made along the way.

As far as a PS3 roster goes, ffaacc is working on it. I do not know when he will able to release, nor do I know his exact progress. At this point his file should have various differences from mine. I believe he would have an edited Suns and Thunder team, for example.

SRS Rankings [11-08-10]

I know it's still early in the NBA season, but after about 7 games for each team, the eastern conference looks like an absolute joke. I've ranked each team using SRS (Simple Rating System), which basically weighs point differential and opponent quality.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
13.80 Lakers
11.31 Nuggets
10.11 Hornets
5.97 Mavericks
4.84 Spurs
3.81 Rockets
3.69 Suns
2.28 Blazers
1.96 Warriors
-0.15 Jazz
-1.30 Grizzlies
-3.84 Clippers
-5.97 Kings
-6.12 Thunder
-15.15 Wolves

EASTERN CONFERENCE
12.38 Heat
7.26 Magic
4.89 Celtics
1.64 Hawks
0.80 Knicks
-1.34 Bulls
-2.07 Sixers
-2.89 Raptors
-3.86 Bucks
-5.08 Cavaliers
-5.19 Nets
-6.54 Pistons
-7.56 Pacers
-7.66 Bobcats
-11.09 Wizards

Only 5 teams in the east have a positive SRS rating, while there are 9 teams in the west with a positive rating. The Raptors are the 8th best east team with -2.89 SRS and there are 11 teams in the west that post a better rating than that. The Warriors are 9th in the west with a 1.96 rating, but would rank 4th in the east.

Based on SRS, the Lakers/Heat Finals we've been predicting all summer seems inevitable pending any serious injuries. And while it is early, it's worth noting that the Celtics were the dominant SRS team early last season, and look where they ended up.

What does this have to do with 2K rosters? Well, SRS is usually a bit more useful than the actual standings. For instance, the Rockets are 6th in the west with a 3.81 SRS rating despite a 1-5 record. They have had an EXTREMELY difficult schedule, and their losses have been close.

2 point road loss to Lakers (13.80)
4 point road loss to Warriors (1.96) (No Yao)
13 point home loss to Nuggets (11.31)
8 point home loss to Hornets (10.11)
3 point road loss to Spurs (4.84) (No Yao)
26 point home win to Wolves (-15.15)

The Rockets faced 4 of the top 5 teams in the conference and played them competitively. When they played the league's worst team, they smashed them. Their next game is against the Wizards (the 2nd worst team in the league), followed by the Pacers, so one would think they'd be set to build some momentum (injury to Aaron Brooks notwithstanding).

The Rockets are obviously a better team than the 1-6 Wolves, who are getting blown out in every game. Win-Loss record doesn't paint that picture. Aside from the 26 point drubbing by Houston, they've also been blown out by 32 by Miami and 42 by Orlando. Not all losses are created equally. SRS indicates Houston should be a playoff team so long as they maintain their current level of production, while Minnesota doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell.


What does this have to do with 2K Ratings?

I'm still working on getting my roster back to where it was one month ago, but I still feel it is worth it to make comparisons between team ratings in my roster, and the current SRS rankings.

WEST
84.5 Jazz (85-84-81)
82.5 Lakers (89-76-83)
82.5 Thunder (88-77-82)
80.5 Spurs (83-78-81)
80.0 Nuggets (76-84-75)
78.0 Mavericks (81-75-75)
78.0 Grizzlies (73-83-76)
76.0 Blazers (79-73-76)
75.0 Suns (70-80-73)
74.5 Warriors (70-79-74)
72.0 Rockets (72-72-74)
72.0 Clippers (76-68-70)
71.0 Kings (70-72-72)
71.0 Hornets (67-75-70)
61.0 Wolves (61-61-66)

EAST (DEF-OFF-OVR)
87.0 Celtics (91-83-83)
85.5 Heat (90-81-83)
84.5 Magic (89-80-84)
83.5 Bucks (90-75-83)
81.5 Knicks (77-86-77)
79.0 Bulls (90-68-79)
79.0 Bobcats (87-71-77)
77.5 Hawks (80-75-74)
77.5 Sixers (79-76-75)
75.5 Wizards (75-76-71)
74.0 Cavaliers (82-66-73)
71.5 Pacers (72-71-68)
69.5 Pistons (72-67-68)
69.0 Nets (71-67-70)
65.0 Raptors (67-63-64)

OVERRATED TEAMS
THUNDER - The offense is 21st, which isn't anything new, but the defense has fallen off a cliff, all the way down to 23rd. Nenad Krstic has yet to block a shot through 8 games. As NBA 2K has surely told you by now, OKC lead the league in blocks last season, so that's a huge blow.

CELTICS - It might sound funny to say that about a 6-1 team, but they aren't playing like the league's best. Pierce, Allen, and Garnett have been playing sub-par thus far. While the O'Neal's haven't really pulled their weight. They are 3rd defensively, but only 17th offensively. The only reason they are 6-1 right now is the brilliance of Rondo and a fairly easy schedule. They barely squeaked by the Bucks and Bulls in OT games. Their next three games are on the road against the Mavericks, Heat, and Grizzlies, so that should sort itself out.

BOBCATS
Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace have not played well this season. Wallace's offensive boards, steals, and blocks are all majorly down from last season, and those areas are the reason why he was an all-star last season.

UNDERRATED TEAMS
LAKERS - The Lakers are the #1 offensive team with an incredible and surely unsustainable 118.4 ORTG. Odom has an unheard of .676 TS%, followed by Blake .642 TS%, Brown .637 TS%, and Fisher .618 TS%. Those numbers will obviously not sustain themselves, but they are impressive considering the team is currently without Andrew Bynum. It's worth noting the lack of Bynum has had a negative impact on the team's defense (only 10th this season), and they'll surely want him back once those hot hands start fizzling. Still, they clearly deserve a higher offensive rating than 13th.

HORNETS - They are easily the most underrated team in the entire league. Chris Paul has turned Jason Smith into the next Birdman. Okafor and West are playing out of their minds, not to mention Paul has reverted back to the 30 PER player he was in 2009. Okafor is actually living up to his contract, posting 22.8 PER, .734 TS%, 24.7 DRB%, and 6.1 BLK%, and only 7.3 TO%. Give Monty Williams coach of the year now if they keep playing like this.

RAPTORS - Obviously underrated, but I haven't re-implemented my ratings for them yet (they should be around Warriors territory with the changes).

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Those are the main changes that need to be made, and I'll start working on that in the next roster update.