Well, by popular demand, I'm going to keep you all updated on my NBA 2K10 My Player career in separate, more detailed posts instead of just slipping them into my Bawful After Dark posts. I never expected this series to be so popular, but the number of comments and e-mails I've gotten has been a pleasant surprise. If you guys ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to post something in the comments section. I'll try to make these updates funny and interesting, but also try to give some advice so that you too can transform your D-League reject into an unholy combination of Jordan's talent and killer instinct, plus Wilt's penchanct for stat-padding. (Hey, it's a video game! Why not be a bastard there since it has fewer repercussions than being a bastard in real life?)
Quick recap of last season for those who haven't been paying attention in the original running diary in my BAD entries:
My virtual doppleganger's development as a basketball player has been interesting, to say the least. After a failed initial attempt to create someone similar to myself (6'0", 150lb with a focus on outside shooting), I gave my career a rebirth as a slightly oversized drive-the-paint point guard (6'5", 200lb). Things started well enough, with a successful showing in the Summer League (no doubt impressing the tens upon tens of people sitting in the bleachers at the run-down gymnasium). I got a call to work out for the Celtics, and couldn't say no. Unfortunately, Eddie House absolutely owned me, raining threes all over my ass, and completely negating my offensive efforts in the process. Feeling like a poor man's Paul Shirley, I was sent packing to Idaho to play in the NBA D-League. I took the Eddie House ass-whupping to heart and refocused my defense, spending skill points on defensive attributes and focusing more on playing tight perimeter defense against good shooters. This worked well against the slower, undersized scrubs that tend to populate the D-League, and after just six games San Antonio signed me.
Things started off all right, with me coming off the bench to back up Tony Parker. I didn't get much playing time initially since I had stuck with the default 5 minute quarters, and I was quick with decent stamina, but a poor shooter and poor rebounder, so I focused on dishing assists and playing defense. This worked well for the first few weeks of the season, and I improved my shooting consistency, and began to contribute more points. As I started to take more and more playing time from Tony Parker, he started playing worse and worse. His growing distaste for sitting on the bench for extended periods of time led to lots of bad jumpshots, lots of ball-hoggery, and general basketbawfulery. At the same time, Manu Ginobili went into a bad shooting funk, and couldn't buy a bucket in the fourth quarter of any game for a solid month. It was like I suddenly had been traded to the Nets.
Needless to say, things didn't go well for a while. We lost a lot of close games. We dropped in the standings. After dropping to ninth place in the Western Conference, I finally said "enough!" and changed the quarter length to 8 minutes (because of the run-and-gun style and high shooting percentages in 2K10 by default, this quarter length leads to fairly realistic final scores) to help me have more of an impact on the game, and to help me get better stats to help gain skill points to improve my avatar's abilities. I also stopped focusing on passing the ball, and became a decidedly shoot-first point guard.
Putting the team on my back and carrying them made a world of difference, and we won our last several games of the season to squeak into the playoffs. While this made Tony Parker sulk even more, it somehow brought life into Manu Ginobili who went on fire from downtown all through the playoffs, plus my constant efforts to drive the paint led to not only a good inside-out game for my other teammates on occasion, but also it meant Tim Duncan was single-covered most of the time and was available for easy points almost all the time. We rolled through the playoffs, with the biggest scare coming from the Nuggets (the Chauncey Billups/JR Smith duo is unrealistically good in this game), and occassionally from the Lakers, but then we absolutely stomped out the Thunder and the Celtics to win the NBA championship.
Okay, recap done. Let's get to the new stuff!
After averaging 30+ points per game and dishing assists left and right to Tim Duncan all throughout the playoffs, I had some options. Free agency was calling my name, and the Mavericks, Magic, and Clippers all showed interest in stealing me from San Antonio. Obviously I chose the Clippers.
After a couple turnover-filled games getting used to my teammates, including a season-opening loss to the evil Nuggets, we went on a nice winning streak, taking seven or so straight games in convincing fashion. My numbers were ridiculous -- I basically averaged 39/9/3 and got 4 steals a game with only 2 turnovers a game outside of those first two games. However, my virtual self was unhappy! Imagine that! My character told the team he wanted to be traded, and I had no control over this. How does the game know I want to be traded?! Maybe I like being the stat-padding alpha dog on a bad team??
The Clippers didn't immediately pull the trigger, but the rumor mill had me possibly going to the Rockets, the Pacers, or the Nyets. But, alas, just two games after I expressed my desire to be traded, I was sent packing for...
Orlando?! Ugh. They're actually a contender! But wait a second... I get to play with the Pumaman and Vinsanity, AND
I still am not exactly sure why the Clippers decided to trade me. Why would they get rid of their one good player? Their salary cap situation was surprisingly good (one of the best in the league, actually). Since I was still young, I couldn't have been making that much money anyway. I was leading the team in basically very stat possible except rebounding. My PER was an unfathomable 40 (John Hollinger's head just exploded). And most importantly, we were winning! My best guess? Donald Sterling couldn't afford much after his housing discrimination settlement, and since the game season is now a full year into the future, it's highly likely he's lost more money to a sexual harassment lawsuit.
So, how's my stint with the Magic gone so far?
We've won every game I've played so far (granted, only a few, but still) and are leading the Eastern conference standings at 10-3. I have won Player of the Week once in November, and I'm third in the All-Star voting in the West in my position. Some of the game highlights:
1) We unsurprisingly beat the Knicks. The final score was 130-110. I took advantage of Mike D'Antoni's _efense and went into full ball-hoggery mode, putting down a box score of 58 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 7 steals, and I shot 77% from the floor. Damn.
2) We beat the holy hell out of the Hornets. This was one of the ugliest games I have ever witnessed. It was like I had turned the difficulty level down as low as it would go. (I didn't.) The final score? 110-61. Yes, you read that right. Our defense just dominated. Chris Paul had 10 turnovers, and his backup (some Brazilian guy whose name I can't remember that they drafted just before this season) had 8 or 9 turnovers. Even better? Chris Paul actually went out briefly with a strained MCL... and came back into the game! Virtual Kevin Harlan and Virtual Clark Kellogg absolutely ripped the Hornets apart for two solid minutes for such a risky and stupid move. (Oddly enough, Paul actually played better with a bum knee and scored eight points in about two minutes before I blocked one of his shots, and then he lost his confidence and went back to failing in epic fashion, and didn't score a point the rest of the game) My line for this game? 49/6/6/8 (yes, 8 steals).
Random Pics and Video:
Transactional News:
So far this season,the Hornets traded James Posey straight-up for Dan Gadzuric, the Knicks traded a 2011 2nd round pick for Marko Jaric, and most shockingly, the Grizzlies traded Allen Iverson to the Chicago Bulls(!!!) Oh, and of course I got traded to the Magic for Louis Williams and a draft pick. Whatever.
Labels: I'm a ball hogging shot chucking bastard in this game, My Player diary, NBA 2K10
38 Comments:
Word of the Day
Previous Posts
Worst of the Night: January 21, 2010Bawful After Dark: January 21, 2010
Worst of the Night: January 20, 2010
Bawful After Dark - January 20, 2010
Larry Bird loves a good car deal
Bawful After Dark: January 19, 2010
Worst of MLK Jr. Day
Bawful After Dark: MLK Jr. Day Edition
Worst of the Weekend: Bad Karma edition
Bawful After Dark: MLK Weekend Watch
Links
Archive
January 2005February 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
March 2012
April 2012
May 2012
June 2012
July 2012
August 2012
September 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012
January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
November 2013
December 2013
April 2014
May 2014
June 2014
July 2014
August 2014
June 2018
July 2022
contact: basketbawful@yahoo.com
since i always played with 11 minutes with sliders and etc. so the game could get real(well, I play with the Mavs and Jason Kidd looks 10 years young with the same experience and is with a good 13+ apg)
Well, play point guard too and hell, i went to the sixers and got smashed in the face by Jrue Holiday and went to the D-League, now i stopped a little to win the Super Bowl with the Packers in franchise mode in Madden and start playing the superstar mode there as a CB and got drafted to the Lions, it's good to know that your team will only win if you get 2-3 ints in the game and make at least 1 TD in a defense play...
in a other save where i tried to play the SG, i was sent to the d-league by the Rockets(the Brent Barry corpse just framed me) and the Clippers called me and i got there, but playing the SG isn't great and I played most of the time as a SF there and Dunleavy put Eric Gordon in PF position during the start of the 4th in every single game i played there
Oh, and the team is 75-0 currently. I smell the first ever perfect season and playoff sweep coming up!
btw, if on console beware of 2nd patch. people reporting their bigs are shooting 3's in their associations (fixed if turn off player roles) and my player modes.
I've got a 6'3 PG (PG really is the only way to play MyPlayer unless you like the idea of spending 90% of the time watching other players handle the ball before you get any), and there are so many things that cheese me about the rating system that I almost don't know where to start.
I love imagining Van Gundy screaming at you for taking a wide open 14 foot jumper (BAD SHOT SELECTION) but then completely creaming himself because you managed to set an off-ball screen 25 feet from the basket.
Or, my personal favorite:
BAD STEAL ATTEMPT (-)
followed immediately by
STEAL (+)
Please check out the Recent Injuries and Transactions of the Yahoo! Sports NBA page (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba;_ylt=AuDiLe22jgy525BLYUFAgYa8vLYF).
It appears that Joe Smith is injured due to................
a Headache.
Headache - the new Flu-like Symptom.
That's good to know. I play MyPlayer w/ the Raptors and Chris Bosh is suddenly shooting 75% from the outside.
Al James -- The game makes zero sense sometimes. You can hope you get your revenge later once somebody does sign you. However, it's possible the game just glitched out and won't let you sign an NBA deal. You may need to just restart your career from scratch. (And hey, at least Super Mario West has work in the meantime!)
Junior -- Do you have the console or PC version of the game? If you have the console version, I believe the patch added quarter length changes to My Player mode. If you have the PC version, you will need to essentially hack the game to fix quarter lengths. It's really easy to do, however. Just follow the instructions listed here. And yes, the rotations suck sometimes. I spent a lot of my time in my original 6'0" player career getting stuck at shooting guard, trying to defend people who were much taller and bigger than me. Uncool.
Daniel -- If only the Blazers had the ability to turn off injuries in real life... Oh, and Greg Oden got traded to the Timberwolves last season in my game. Fail.
Anonymous -- He must get the same spray tan that Brian Scalabrine's going to get next month. And I still haven't even gotten a single patch for the PC version that I play, so that's not an issue for me yet!
Aaron -- Oh, don't worry. Those writeups are coming. I've been pressed for time lately and spent some time sick with a nasty sinus infection, and so I've been able to play some games, but haven't had time or energy to actually write about them. I plan on documenting the times my teammates get over-and-back violations, put up jumpers that clank off the side of the backboard, dribble out of bounds for no good reason, etc. (And yes, the "Bad Steal Attempt" that results in a steal just slays me every time) Expect more frequent posts that cover this material, because it is consistently hilarious and bawful.
See, my brain has been honed to computer-like precision, which allows me to automatically translate obviously fake injury listings into their real-world equivalent. Joe is suffering from vaginal cramps. And according to every woman I've ever known, that shit kills.
I'm surprised you got your gm to trade you. Did your ratings receive a temporary minus or were you just listed in the rumours section all of a sudden?
And playing on the PC, I sometimes wish we also had those worries about patch 2. I'd really like to get rid of the "upcoming games" overlay long after play has resumed, for example. Or getting a few less rides on the substitution swing in the fourth quarter. Or not having to set the camera in every game.
Wasn't interested in seeing more of that in season two, so I opted for a trade to the Mavs, where Kidd does really well on that position. Miller on the other hand has been traded about five times this season.
Yeah, the graphic overlays sticking around for 15 extra seconds every once in awhile is beyond frustrating. Also, if I hit Space to try to skip through animations to shoot free throws, my controller won't work and I have to use the keyboard to shoot the free throw, and then my controller magically works again after the free throw. Substitution patterns are RIDICULOUS. I especially love it when my coach benches me when I'm one point away from dropping 50, or if I'm one assist away from a double/double. Throw me a bone! Thank God I actually like the default camera angle and don't have to change it every game.
Oh, and I'm tempted to go look and see what's up with Andre Miller on my game when I get home...
BTW, my player mode is addictive and my guy averages an A-. Not bad.
And yes, My Player mode is extremely addictive, even with all the bugs and bawfulness.
I got 3 questions...
1) Is there anyway to turn off timeouts? it drives me crazy when i have to watch guys just stand around when a timeout is called.
2) How do you guys play defense? I never try for steals because i get hit with the bad steal attempt way more than i actually get the steal, my game analysis always has my defense at C+ even if I hold my matchup scoreless.
3) Can we earn more drills? I haven't had any drills since I was in the D-League.
1) If you're playing on PC, hit the Spacebar once your players have circled up around the coach to skip through the timeout. The spacebar skips through pretty much any pre/post-play animations. I don't know the equivalent button on the console versions, but I'm sure it exists.
2) You'll get yelled at for bad steal attempts a lot. But don't worry about it all that much. Up your Steal abilities, and try to cut off obvious passing lanes. You'll learn what tendencies certain players have. Some guys hate to hold onto the ball and try to pass it to a guard. If you see them get the ball, get ready to run into their passing lane. Also, find out who the bad ball-handlers are, and harrass them with steal attempts while they're dribbling. Be careful to only do this when the ball is exposed or you'll get called for a reaching foul. I usually get a C+ to B at best for defense, but my offense is good enough to override this. Make smart passes to open men, set picks frequently, and try to get clear shots inside as often as possible to build your offensive grade enough to counter your defensive grade.
3) You only get 10 drills per year I believe, and you get 10 more once the season ends.
2) Defensive success depends on the opponent, I'm usually struggling with people like Billups who can shoot threes and also drive, sometimes stopping and pulling up when you're not expecting it. Paul's drives and cuts are really difficult to defend as well, especially since I don't seem to be able to intercept passes on his cuts.
I agree that checking tendencies helps a lot; proficient three point shooters have to be defended somewhat closely whereas sagging off a bit helps defending against faster drives.
The most annoying thing about teammate defense is probably when their matchup gets the ball in the post with 2 seconds left and they don't contest the "completely unexpected" shot to beat the clock.
Agree completely on defense. The more you take initiative to control what happens on defense, the better off you are. Your teammates are completely inept and have no concept of the shot clock. Try to prevent passes into the big man posting up if at all possible, because they WILL burn you each and every time. And covering the guys who can shoot from 3 point range, you do have to keep a close cover on them. Save your stamina by not running whenever possible so that you can keep up when they decide to cut to the basket. Also, be prepared for the high screen to run the pick-and-roll (especially with Billups). If you anticipate it, you can really put a damper on their pick-and-roll game.
so far my record is 16-1, started every game, and I'm the only legitimate PG in the team(the other pg backup is a generic guy)
Orlando is perfect for my 5 10 180lbs guard. (my key stats is 3pts 99). they have shooters all around, and Howard is a beast on the defense and often slams it home on the offensive end
at one sequence, I made 4 consecutive alley oops to D12, that was awesome.
another game, Howard was 20-20 on FG(thats nuts) with me contributing most of his basket with 23 assists.
Again, 20 field goal made out of 20!
playing wih D12 is awesome, with Kobe or Lebron? No~!
averaging 29ppg 12ast per game with 7 minutes of game.
I got signed from the D-League by the Mavs, so stuck backing up Kidd for a while, the only problem being that they like to play Kidd in the 4th meaning Dirk Diggler goes to C and Josh Howard goes to PF.
We end up getting creamed on the boards.
On a plus note, we just traded Drew Gooden and a number 1 pick for Greg Odens expiring knees.
He doesnt get injured in the game luckily but he still gets forced to sit in the 4th!
Unfortunately, simulated games produce much lower results with identical minutes. 10 minutes (played) quarter scores still feel too high.
My Mavs have Lamar Odom (acquired last season for Miller who was traded for Terry) starting at C with Dirk sliding over next and an unhappy Dampier getting more trade rumours than playing time. Still, we seem to statistically be one of the best rebounding teams.
Just lost a game vs the Magic with Pumaman dominating the boards and painted area though. Like Dan described, pass into the post, ignores double team and shoots over two flat-footed defenders.
Still looked like an okay lead when they rested me in the 4th only to sub me back in with about 10 points down and less than 2 minutes to play.
Forgot to mention that I love the Jordan Hill vs ... image; reminds me of all the "Hasheem Thabeet vs x" promotions I saw last season. :)
My Player - 5 Minute Quarters
This was addressed in the patch. You can change the minutes by going into My Player mode - Options --> Presentation.
He is a 3pt Speciallist but doesnt shoot like one. Misses wide open 3pts like you wouldnt believe.
Was averaging big scores in the Summer Circuit but was cut and went to the D-League for 10 games and was eventually picked up by the Warriors. Won the Rookie of the year despite not being close to the All-Star Rookie Team selection.
Chose the Magic in my current season and my team is doing well but we have lost games because of a dirty glitch when I do the drills. Which ever game I do the drill after that whole last quarter score is whiped from my score and I have lost the game.
Vinsanity has since been traded because he was upset that I have been getting more game than him. Went to the Pistons & I let him know just how good he was by scoring 55 against him.
Best game I have played was against the Rockets where I scored 72/6/5/3/5 with being subbed off at stupid intervals.
Anyways, I only like the game because it is addictive.
XBOX Live Gamertag - Bruddadarkness
I'm playing for the lakers and I'm not happy there. Even though, I'm dishing out 10+ assist, grabbing atleast 9-10 rebs per game, and averaging 30.5 ppg. I'm a 6,8 245 athletic shooting gaurd focusing on an all around game. Rumor hill is saying that I want to be trade and I'm cool with that but I can't read anything that rumor hill is saying. Is there a way to unlock that mode so that I can read what's being said?
Xbox Live Gamertag: Absoulute25
good post. i think it's pretty funny, and my guy is going through some pretty similar stuff (i know you posted it 6 months ago but i can still relate). my guy is a scoring shooting guard. i did my training camp with the bulls (i love the bulls and celtics, bulls felt like a better fit). i got cut after 4 games, and went down to the d-league. i was excited to get called up, but i got a call from the jazz. i hate the jazz. i took em to the nba championship but it simulated the finals and we lost to the celtics (since i like the celtics it didn't disappoint too much). then i got interest from the jazz, spurs, bulls, and nuggets. i thought the nuggets would be fun but i chose the bulls because the eastern conference seemed fun and i wanted him with the bulls in the first place. not only did i go to the bulls, but they traded off joakim noah for trevor ariza and grabbed shaq, david lee, and allen iverson out of free agency. we were stacked. i did really well but the game refused to start me (iverson is an 82 overall i think, i was a 60 at the time). the game said i was unhappy and demanding trades. i would rather have them trade iverson, since i got cut by the bulls and did an entire season with the jazz just to get to the bulls, then i get traded! the thunder traded for me. they traded a first round pick, which is an honor. we're 61-9 and should win the finals. i'm not too sure how free agency will work this time around (since i was an all-star and may win mvp) but i hope i get calls from a ton of teams. a lot of teams i like have excellent shooting guards, so i'm hoping for the best. i also wish i could view the team's roster changes, because if i chose someone like the celtics and they traded kevin garnett, i'd be bummed! thanks again for the post!
sounds like the year my center is having. started sumer league with the heat then training camp withthe blazers, after beating the tar out of Oden, I was sent to the d-league. 5 games later, picked up by the Raptors(who didn't have Chris Bosch). Now I am the leading scorer on the worst team in the league. I will see the teams that want me in about 4 games so I hope my career gets better. Love the posts.
Having a good player isn't too hard. My 6'3 225lb pg is 92 in his 2nd year. After having a good circuit with mainly A-'s, made the Orlando squad and had gotten lots of playing time early (Carter & Lewis both were out with injuries). Then I started to dominate and made the all star team and forced team to trade Jameer for Sessions. By season's end i had won MVP, Defensive player, ROY, and made All nba 1st team and all def. 1st team , and of course all rookie 1st team.
I averaged 32pg 13apg 6rpg and 7spg while shooting 56% from the field on 8 min quarters (and maybe 3-5 12 min games). Also had over 25 triple doubles, and 5 quadruple doubles (NBA record 16 steals in 2 of the games (8 min q's)) Obviously we went all the way and won the title.
Notes: you get 1 drill for every 10 games you play (rookie challenge, d-league, all star game and playoffs count toward it
End of season you get 10 drills to "progress" (since your potential is only like 53 or so this gives you change to improve over summer) plus 9 more drills for "training camp" which is a total of 19 drills to use by start of next season
Realized you are stuck with rimgrazer and athletic guard dunk packages until you get to 85 dunking (80 gets you sig. dunks)
90 dunking make 360 dunks availible for use in sig. dunk area.
Unless you ahve gotten hurt in a my player game, the durability stat should only be increased if you play online or in crew games alot (because human players can commit hard fouls and that stat is usually only around 70 so injuries can and will occur during those games)
I'm surprised you got your gm to trade you. Did your ratings receive a temporary minus or were you just listed in the rumours section all of a sudden?
ive been observing about being traded by cpus. if you'd notice in your team roster you'll see the rating of the players with + or - in their rating (e.g. +2 or -4). players having -4 above will appear in rumor mill about trades.
i play wizards SF on my 2nd season. almost all of us have (-) rating. butler reached -8 and the trade deadline has passed so he just expressed to choose free agency in next season. i was -3 and haven't appeared in the rumor but it happened when i reached to -4. its just bad that it was past the trade deadline, i just want to experience the trade and be shocked to know which team will i put in the playoffs.
im playing my 3rd season in LAL and try to be traded for the first time. if this will not happen ill just proceed to my next goal.. OVERTHROWN KOBE and make him leave LA.. :D
-tinapay23