Gaming"s Lost Features: Madden Mini-Camp Mode

Do you remember when Madden had Mini-Camp Drills?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E8IXbqeD7M

It was Madden 2003 that introduced Mini-Camp mode. Mini-Camp mode would put you in the shoes of an NFL player during Mini-camp, challenging you to complete training drills efficiently, aiming for a top score in order to unlock more drills. Some of the drills included Trench Fight, which would see you controlling a Defensive Lineman and demanded that you do all you could to get past the Offensive Lineman on your way to the Quarterback. Or how about my favorite: QB Pocket Presence, which would see you avoiding little, yellow dots as a QB while you stayed in the “pocket” and completed passes to one of three receivers.

The QB Pocket Drill helped work on passing and pocket awareness.

While these drills were fun and a nice change of pace, the thing most people enjoyed about the mode was seeing players in Training Camp gear. Seeing players in pads and shorts was a nice bit of immersion, and the training facilities were also something we hadn’t seen to that level before. Not only that, but Mini-Camp mode was a good way to practice the fundamental stick skills. Madden Mini-Camp was a nice new feature, but it was a fairly small part of Madden 2003. It wouldn’t be until the following year that Tiburon, the developers of the Madden franchise since the mid-90’s, would find an even more impactful use for their new mode.

For fans of Madden’s Franchise Mode, Madden 2004 was a large step forward. Not only did it introduce Owner Mode, with new features such as Team Relocation, but Tiburon took the Mini-Camp Mode they had debuted the year prior and found a use for it in Franchise Mode. During the off-season, you were given the option of running different players through all the Mini-Camp drills. The better you did in a certain drill, the more points you could assign to that player’s attributes. You were only allowed to do each drill once, forcing you to think about which players needed progression in that area the most. This was all on top of the well-balanced, natural progression and regression system that went on during the season.

Madden-Mini Camp offered a variety of drills to choose from.

One of the big features of Madden 2006 was an all-new Superstar Mode, where you would create an NFL Rookie and attempt to make your legend as an NFL player. In the mode, these mini-games were used to to evaluate your player’s talent level going into the NFL Draft. Superstar Mode was a fantastic feature, but we’ll save that for another time.

When Madden transitioned to the XBOX 360 and PS3, it seemed like Tiburon was not only keeping the Mini-Camp mini-games, but they were also improving and expanding on them. New drills were implemented, and the new and improved graphics showed off more detailed players in compression shirts. Things like weight benches and giant timing clocks accompanied the new drills like Bench Reps and the 40 Yard Dash. Despite the graphical overhaul, the drills were seen as much less fun than the drills seen in the previous generation of games. The mini-games continued in Madden for years, going largely untouched and never having the same influence on Franchise Mode as they once did. Finally, Tiburon ceased their inclusion in the game starting with Madden NFL 13, a game that was also controversial for re-branding Franchise Mode into Connected Careers.

 

Each position was covered by a different drill in Mini-Camp Mode.

If you look today, Madden NFL 16 gives you modes like Skills Trainer and The Gauntlet, both reminiscent of the ground-breaking Mini-Camp mode. However, Madden 16 could potentially benefit from the old model of Madden 2004.

One of the biggest complaints in current versions of Madden, as it pertains to Franchise Mode, has been the XP progression system. Starting with Madden NFL 13, the very game that removed mini-games, an XP reward system was put in place to allow you control over who progresses on your team and when. In Madden NFL 16, Drive Goals were introduced, which not only fundamentally changed how many played any given game in Franchise Mode, but also was a huge intrusion on the presentation, both in the game and in the menus.

The current system focuses too much on individual goals.

The issue I see with this system is that we’re focusing too much on individual performances. Instead, we should be focusing on how our team matches up with our upcoming opponents and developing a gameplan around that. In it’s current form, most players are spending time looking through their roster, figuring out when to spend XP and game-planning on how to get their Tight End three touchdowns next game, instead of focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the other team. XP and Drive Goals takes such a front seat during the regular season that most players can’t help but be drawn towards that. Sure, we can always decide to delegate XP to the CPU, but XP is so crucial to Tiburon’s design of Franchise Mode that the mode feels even more shallow without it; deciding to do that essentially gives you even less to do.

Could Minicamp be a fix to Madden’s Connected Franchise Mode EXP woes?

However, if Tiburon were to shine the focus of player progression on Mini-Camps and Training Camp just before the season, we could all focus on game-planning and what is going on around our league during the regular season. It’s a matter of immersion, and Mini-Camp mini-games could not only be a fun break from practice and games, but could also take the ham-fisted nature of XP and Drive Goals and turn controllable progression into a digestible system. You don’t have to necessarily copy Madden’s of the past, either. You could add a risk/reward system in Training Camps where the more you train any given player, the higher chance they have for injury. If replicating real world football is the ultimate goal, which has been stated by Madden Creative Director Rex Dickson, then this system should be looked at

seriously.

Mini-Camp Mode is a feature that is often forgotten, and with the way it was implemented in Madden over the past 5 years it was included in the game, it’s easy to see why. However, in a game that has a yearly release and having one of it’s biggest complaints be the staleness of the product, looking at features like this (a different way to play that uses the same core gameplay as regular games, but has an impact on career modes) is definitely worth discussing.

Gaming"s Lost Features: Madden Mini-Camp Mode

NBA 2K16 Defensive Tutorial: How to Stop the Pick and Roll

Welcome to my first defensive breakdown tutorial. Today, I will be introducing a technique I like to use to protect the paint and force your opposite toward the sidelines. My technique is called TAMAR (Take Away Middle And Recover), and we will be utilizing this by taking advantage of the ICE technique that is implemented in NBA 2K and adding in some of our own wrinkles.

Principles:

Force Baseline

Ice Screens

Limit Transition

70% On Ball, 30% Off Ball

Tempt defense to shoot long shots

Double on Drive with superstars only

Always have one weak offensive player to help off for PnRs

Take good shots and control the tempo

Def Controller Settings:

Shot contest: Intense Def

AI assistance: 15

Boxout assistance: 100

POEs:

Limit Transition

Conservative/Neutral aggression (Conservative to avoid more bail out fouls)

Neutral defensive focus (Never do Limit Perimeter or Protect the Paint to begin games)

Crash Def Glass

Universal Defensive Settings:

Force Baseline

ICE screens

No Hedge/Auto

3/4 Bottom for Post defense

Individual Defensive Settings:

Deny any shooters with 78+ 3 point shot

Play tight/deny on only one shooter or else you will have no help defense. For example, take away Klay Thompson when playing the Warriors.

Play moderate on ball with the PG, even if it is Stephen Curry. We can live with our opponents taking long contested 3’s in NBA 2K.

Gap/Gap big men who cannot shoot. This will help bring good help defense.

Play moderate on ball/off ball on anyone with less than 75 3 point or you can leave it on auto. This will also give us more help defense for the drives.

Play behind post either 3/4 or entirely behind.

Defensive Tips:

Play mainly on ball in the half court unless your opponent is turboing then bring some manual help or find a guard to help off of. Do not play 100% on ball or you will get burnt on occasion due to slight delay when switching defenders and leaving them out of position.

Never leave your feet unless you were burnt and you are attempting a block from behind.

Absorb contact in the paint and then feel free to jump at the same time if it a weak layup attempt, but try to stay on your feet most of time.

There will be times where your opponent gets bailed out, but playing on conservative aggression should negate this somewhat. Never…ever try to block perimeter shots.

Close out with RS ALWAYS, regardless if you were playing off ball. Users get a slight bonus when they manually contest.

Playing ICE on pick and rolls:

This will force ball handlers to go baseline and your on ball defender will take away the middle. When opponents try to screen towards the middle your on ball defender will

jump in front of the pick and take away any contact that the ball handler tries to initiate on the ball handler defender, therefore there is no separation or contact and no help defense will be required.

This negates any pick and roll opportunities offenses try to create. No hedge is required, since your screener defender is there just to contain the PG until the on ball defender can recover. Again, if your defensive settings and POE’s are correct then there will be no unnecessary help rotations that will leave shooters wide open. You should control the on ball defender mainly when your opponent is setting on ball screens towards the baseline. Play more off ball on screens towards the middle.

Mixing it up can also be effective, where you can bait the ball handler to throw skip passes so you know you will recover to close out. Most people are used to seeing the opposite corner/wing being wide open due to automatic defensive settings and over aggressive online users playing limit perimeter shots.

The counter to beat this is for your opponent to start setting screens towards the baseline, but that is okay since it cuts the floor in half and leaving them less room to operate. We can still also on ball defend this and take away the screen. If you have the proper settings with good off ball help defense then this should be able to be contained.

The one downside to this scheme is the Pick and Pop, but not many online users utilize this at all. This is where you will need to start manually controlling your screener defender off ball and anticipate the pass to the screener on the fade for good close outs. Most stretch 4’s do not shoot well off the dribble, so if you can get a hard close out and force them to put the ball on the floor to drive then that is acceptable too. If they want to take semi-contested 3’s and mid range shots then that is what you want!

I hope you guys learned a thing or two from this defensive introduction. Remember this is just the beginning as we will continue to progress even further for this scheme.

NBA 2K16 Defensive Tutorial: How to Stop the Pick and Roll

How eSports Got Me Back Into Real Sports

When I was in elementary school, I used to spend recess every day playing basketball with my group of friends. As I got older and moved into middle school a year earlier than the rest of them, my enthusiasm for the sport began to wane as I spent less time outdoors playing sports with my friends and more time staying at home inside playing video games. Eventually, I completely lost interest. Nowadays, however, I find myself with a renewed interest. Why? Ultimately, it’s because of eSports, and games like League of Legends. 

If you’ve been paying attention to video games over the past few years, you’re probably familiar with eSports, the competitive side of gaming. Video games have always been competitive — just look at GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64, or to use an example that’s a bit more dated, The Nintendo World Championships which took place all the way back in 1990 — but it wasn’t until the medium evolved alongside streaming technologies like YouTube, Twitch, and Azubu that eSports became commonplace and eventually an industry.

Small competitive tournaments have always existed, but it was that technology coupled with the popularity and accessibility of video games like League of Legends, DOTA 2, and SMITE that led eSports as they are today to really take off. If you want to play an exciting, team-based game with a high skill ceiling and low barrier to entry, all you have to do is install and play League of Legends. It’s not that easy to become a professional, but it is that easy to play, and it’s that same accessibility and understanding that allowed sports like Basketball to take off.

The trouble is, despite the fact that eSports competitors have been recognized as professional athletes by the United States, there are people who still stubbornly refuse to admit that eSports and sports are one in the same. While ESPN is finally relenting on their hardline stance held by president John Skipper, and cable network TBS has announced their plans to bring eSports to cable TV starting Summer 2016, some people still hold this belief.

I can see why people are skeptical; eSports aren’t exactly something you’d associate with physical activity, which is traditionally a typical requirement for something to be a sport. But, as many have argued, the same could be said of Poker or Chess. Both of these games are continued to be a sport, yet neither are known for their physically demanding gameplay. If those games can be sports, so can video games, or at least that’s what people say.

Personally, I’m in the camp that believes in the sound logic reasoned above. But, I’m not here to support that argument. There have been countless articles written on the subject by great outlets, and if you really want to get into it, I’d recommend reading some of them. Instead, I’m going to tell you about how eSports and sports are connected for me. You’ve probably already realized by reading the title, but eSports have been a driving force in my renewed interest of sports.

If you’re wondering how that works, well, it’s complicated. Going back to when I was younger, sports were something that I had a lot of interest in. But, as I got older and became more reclusive, my enthusiasm for sports was replaced by video games. It’s not that the two were at all similar — at the time, eSports didn’t really exist as they do now — but that my time and priorities shifted to include more time playing video games and less time playing sports, something that I think is far more common today than it was back then as people adopt technology at a younger age.

It wasn’t until I picked up an issue of Game Informer and saw an advertisement for League of Legends in the back that I began to become interested in competitive gaming. I had played Call of Duty, but it was never really a competitive game for me despite the fact that the series had already begun to grow a competitive community centered around tournaments at that time. In fact, I started to lose interest in the Call of Duty franchise because of the competitive nature.

I wasn’t a big fan of competitive games because I no longer had much of a competitive spirit. This was part of the reason that I had lost interest in sports to begin with, but League of Legends changed that. I played it with my friends, and we played to win. This was a game that, in my mind, wasn’t any fun to play unless you played competitively. It completely changed my outlook on not just competitive video games, but competition as a whole.

Eventually, through competitive games like League of Legends, I met a lot of friends. These friends weren’t just fans of video games, though. They were also fans of Basketball and Football, and it was largely through their influence that I started to regain my interest in sports. The thing about sports is that they’re inherently social. They require a team of players to make them work, and it’s that sense of community that makes them popular among friends and people of different localities.

If you’re from Denver, you can bond over the Broncos, and it’s the same way with eSports. If you’re from North America, you can cheer for Team SoloMid. There are a lot of similar traits shared between sports and eSports, and whether or not you think that videogames can qualify as sports, you at least have to admit that there are a lot of similarities.

Sure, eSports might not involve traversing a field or carrying around a ball, but it does bring people together in the same way that sports does. The fact that I’ve regained my interest in sports and their competitive nature is proof of that. Regardless of whether or not eSports are sports, they’re both selling out arenas of like-minded fans, and that’s what’s important.

If eSports aren’t sports, that’s fine. If nothing else, maybe they can co-exist. As more people transition from fans of eSports to fans sports and vice-versa, I think it will become clearer just how similar the two are. I might not be as into sports as I used to be, but thanks to eSports, I’m on the way.

 

How eSports Got Me Back Into Real Sports

Official NBA 2K16 Badges Guide

We now have the official NBA 2K16 Badges Guide including the Personality and Signature Skills Badges into one list. Many badges now come from Connections and who you hang out with on your day off. Badges uniquely identify players in two ways: Personality and Skill. They affect how players react to various emotional situations, as well as how they perform in specific in-game scenarios.

Personality badges have one tier affecting hot & cold streaks, ambient animations, and facial expressions. Skill badges have three tiers: Bronze, Silver and Gold. They’re categorized as Outside Scoring, Inside Scoring, Athleticism, Playmaking, Rebounding and Defensive badges.  Once you earn the bronze version, you can then purchase the silver and gold upgrades with VC (note that the personality badges just have one tier to them).

NBA players can now have up to 77 badges and the skill badges they have are not limited to just one tier. Badges are earned in MyCareer based on how you play, who you hang out with, and how good your regular attributes are. Badges can also counter other badges. A Silver Post-Lockdown counters post-related badges like post stepback, post hook, post spin while a defender with Eraser counters inside scoring badges like posterizer.

Before you go out there racking up your badges you should be aware that Badges can be earned on any difficulty but you cannot earn badges if you simulate your games. Make sure you checkout our NBA 2K16 Tips & Guides and Subscribe to our Youtube for the latest NBA 2K16 news and tips!

Championship DNA

• Be the highest rated player OR earn the Finals MVP for a team that just won title

Alpha Dog

• Must be highest rated offensive player on the team


• Must play 60% of team’s minutes per game in a running 20 game window (cannot earn until 20 games are played)

Beta Dog

• Must be the 2nd highest rated offensive player on the team


• Must play 60% of team’s minutes per game in a running 20 game window (cannot earn until 20 games are played)

Prime Time

• Play better in games of significance than regular games


• Game Significance games are the following


• Must play 6 Game Significance games


• Must happen within the last 100 games

• Rivalry Games


• Power Teams


• Playoff Games


• Old Team (i.e. playing against your last team as well as the team you played most of your career with)

Cool and Collected

• Never go FROZEN on offense in a running 10 game window (cannot earn until 10 games are played)

Road Dog

• Play better on the road than at home


• Look at a running 15 game window (cannot earn until 15 games in)

Closer

• Shoot 50% or higher in at least 40 field goal attempts during the final 40% of the 4th quarter and all OTs, when the point differential is within 10 points


• Must have 40 FGA’s in this 4th quarter / OT time frame

Fierce Competitor

• Must take 50 field goal attempts and shoot 50% or better on those attempts when down 10 or more, all in a single season

Spark Plug

• Average 8 points per game or more while coming off the bench


• Look at a running 2 game window (cannot earn until 2 games in)

Enforcer

• Get 10 non-flagrant, hard fouls in a single season

Mentor

• Reach Year 4

Heart and Soul

• Reach Year 3


• Must stay with the same team all 3 years

Floor General

• Raise Playmaking discipline to Level 18


• Must play 30 games in a season or career


• Must average 5 assist per game in career

Defensive Anchor

• Raise Defense discipline to Level 18


• Must play 30 games in a season or career

Hardened

• Play 20 games in a row while playing 80% of the teams minutes or more


• Stamina attribute must be 85

All-Time Great

• Divide field goal attempts by assists. If the ratio of FGA to Assists is higher than this, earn All-Time Great


• Look at a running 15 game window (cannot earn until 15 games in)


• Can lose this badge in place of Low Ego

• PG: 4 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio


• SG: 4.5 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio


• SF: 5 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio


• PF/C: 8 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio

Low Ego

• Divide field goal attempts by assists. If the ratio of FGA to Assists is lower than this, earn Low Ego


• Look at a running 15 game window (cannot earn until 15 games in)


• Can lose this badge in place of All-Time Great

• PG: 2 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio


• SG: 2.5 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio


• SF: 3 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio


• PF/C: 6 to 1 FGA to Assist ratio

Unfazed

• Get “Hot” for 4 straight gameplay minutes, 3 different times


• Must happen within the last 15 games

Volume Shooter

• Take 35 shots or more 8 times in a single season

Microwave

• Get “Hot” on offense in 5 consecutive games

Corner Specialist

• Make 25 corner three pointers in a single season


• Must shoot 40% in those last 25 made corner threes

Screen Outlet

• Set 100 screens in a single season

Deadeye

• Make 60 contested jumpers from 15 feet or further in a single season

Limitless Range

• Make 40 threes outside of 25 feet from the basket in a single season


• Must shoot 30% or higher in those last 30 long-distance makes

Bank is Open

• Make 30 banked-in jumpers in a single season


• Layups do not count

Tear Dropper

• Attempt 50 runners/floaters in a single season

Fade Ace

• Take 30 fadeaway jumpers in a single season

Shot Creator

• Take 150 of the following moving shots in a single season -> Pullups, Spin Shots, Hop Step Jumpers (which includes stepback jumpers)

Lob City Finisher

• Catch and finish 15 alley-oops in a single season

Posterizer

• Attempt 15 contact dunks in a single season


• There must be legitimate, somewhat heavy contact made on the dunk

Relentless Finisher

• Attempt 75 contact layups in a single season


• Strength attribute must be

• PG: 45


• SG: 50


• SF: 65


• PF/C: 75

Spin Lay-in

• Attempt 20 spin layups in a single season

Hop-Stepper

• Attempt 40 hop step layups in a single season

King of Euros

• Attempt 40 euro step layups in a single season

Acrobat

• Attempt 15 reverse and 4 change shot layups in a single season

Dream Like Up and Under

• Attempt 50 up and under shots (out of the post) in a single season

Post Spin Technician

• Spin or drive out of the post 100 times in a single season

Drop-stepper

• Dropstep out of the post 30 times in a single season

Post Hoperator

• Attempt 20 hop shots out of the post in a single season

Post Hook Specialist

• Attempt 75 hook shots out of the post in a single season

Post Stepback Pro

• Attempt 20 stepback shots out of the post in a single season

Killer Crossover

• Attempt 200 crossover or double crossovers (any combo) in a single season

Spin Kingpin

• Attempt 75 spin moves in a single season

Stepback Freeze

• Attempt 75 stepback moves in a single season

Behind the Back Pro

• Attempt 75 behind the back moves in a single season

Hesitation Stunner

• Attempt 75 hesitation moves in a single season

Master of In and Out

• Attempt 75 in and out moves in a single season

Pet Move Pro

• Attempt 200 size-ups in a single season

One Man Fastbreak

• Score on a fastbreak 50 times in a single season


• Speed, Ball Control and Defensive Rebound (or Steal) attributes must be as follows

• PG/SG = Passing Accuracy 75, Ball Control 80, Steal 75


• SF = Passing Accuracy 70, Ball Control 67, Defensive Rebound 75


• PF/C = Passing Accuracy 60, Ball Control 55, Defensive Rebound 85

Transition Finisher

• Score on a fastbreak 75 times in a single season

Flashy Passer

• Throw 50 flashy passes in a single season

Break Starter

• Get 250 defensive rebounds in a single season


• Passing Accuracy and Defensive Rebound attributes must be as follows

• PG/SG = Passing Accuracy 75, Defensive Rebound 75


• SF = Passing Accuracy 70, Defensive Rebound 75


• PF/C = Passing Accuracy 60, Defensive Rebound 85

Pick & Roll Maestro

• Call for 175 screens in a single season using the pick & roll mechanic

Lob City Passer

• Throw 50 alley-oops in a single season

Dimer

• Get 200 assists within the last 25 games played


• Unlike 2K15, however, you do not need to play 25 games before it unlocks

Hustle Points

• Score 30 times within 2.5 seconds of grabbing an offensive rebound in a single season


• Must be the rebounder

Scrapper

• Get 4 loose ball saves in a single season

Offensive Crasher

• Get 150 offensive rebounds in a single season

Defensive Crasher

• Get 200 defensive rebounds in a single season

Perimeter Lockdown Defender

• Raise Defense discipline to level 16


• Must play 30 games before earning

Post Lockdown Defender

• Must be a SF, PF or C


• As a PF or C, raise Defense discipline to level 16


• As a SF, raise Defense discipline to level 18


• Must play 30 games before earning

Charge Card

• Draw 7 charges in a single season

Pick Dodger

• Must be a PG, SG or SF


• On-Ball Def IQ and Pick & Roll Def IQ attributes must be 80 or higher


• Must play 20 games

Interceptor

• Get 50 “tipped pass” teammate grade events in a single season

Pick Pocket

• Get 50 “poke ball loose” teammate grade events in a single season

Eraser

• Block 80 shots in a single season

Chase Down Artist

• Block 25 shots in a single season


• Speed, Vertical and Blocking Attributes must be

• PG/SG = Speed 80, Vertical 80, Block 65


• SF = Speed 65, Vertical 75, Block 70


• PF/C = Speed 58, Vertical 70, Block 75

Bruiser

• Height to Weight Ratio (metric height / weight in lbs) must be 0.905 or lower


• Must weigh at least 220 lbs


• Strength attribute must be


• Cannot earn until 10 games into the season

• PG: 45


• SG: 50


• SF: 65


• PF/C: 75

Brick Wall

• 100 “good screen” teammate events in a single season


• Strength attribute must be:

• PG: 45


• SG: 50


• SF: 65


• PF/C: 75

On Court Coach

• Raise Playmaking and either Inside or Outside Scoring discipline to level 20

CONNECTIONS

To earn each of these badges in MyCareer, the user needs to make a connection with one of the following players. For the either/or badges, once one path is chosen, the others will no longer be available (i.e. you cannot earn both Friendly and Reserved)

Friendly

• Giannis Antetokounmpo


• Chris Bosh


• Andre Drummond


• Tony Parker

Reserved

• Chris Paul


• James Harden

Legendary Work Ethic

• Al Jefferson


• Anthony Davis


• Tim Duncan


• Kawhi Leonard

Keep it Real

• Paul George


• Kevin Durant


• John Wall

Pat My Back

• Kevin Love


• Roy Hibbert


• Paul Pierce

Laid Back

• Jimmy Butler


• Marc Gasol


• Rudy Gobert


• Greg Monroe

Expressive

• DeMarcus Cousins


• Dwight Howard


• Russell Westbrook


• Allen Iverson

Unpredictable

• Carmelo Anthony


• Ty Lawson

Mind Games

• Chris Paul


• Kobe Bryant


• Gary Payton

Swagger

• DeAndre Jordan


• Shaquille O’Neal

Special thanks to Lob Mob for the Official NBA 2K16 Badges Guide.

Official NBA 2K16 Badges Guide

NBA 2K16 Offensive Guide: How to Score and Win in NBA 2K16!

The key to winning in NBA 2K16 is to use plays intelligently as plays don’t break as often as previous generations, use this to your advantage. In this NBA 2K16 Offensive Guide, we detail 5 money plays from the Dallas Mavericks playbook being utilized online and offline to great success. As a matter of fact, two of these plays are constantly used by famous MyTeam YouTubers such as CashNasty, OSN, EpikKai, and JesserTheLazer. However, these “money” plays are not the cheesy glitchy plays you know from previous generations of 2K. The levels of success you can have with these plays are dependent on your ability to read and react, on top of your familiarity with your roster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxGL53lXArE&list=PLnsfcAuRXVBen_YlHMwWBTg68YUAT_yfV

Running plays to follow the play-art and hoping for a good shot is no longer viable, to win in 2K16 you need to run plays to utilize its unique spacing and movement to your advantage. In this year’s version of the game, plays actually don’t break if you choose to go away from the play-art. Plays will continue to run until you either break it for good with a shot, turnover, calling quick isolation or running a manual pick + roll.

This “unbreaking” nature of plays can be seen most apparent in my money play #4 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGhQBek2EDI

At its basic level, this is a flex motion set running through floppy action. In older versions of 2K, any pass you make away from the intended play-art target would most likely cost the play to break and reset back into your freelance. However, in 2K16 — as you can see from the video — I am purposely passing away from the intended receiver, yet the play still continues. This opens up a whole new crop of options; instead of simply waiting for a pin down, jumper to the SF via passing by the SG. This is what you get if you follow the play-art to the tee.

I can now get an iso post from the C, a dug-in for a standing dunk with the PF, and a much more open jumper for the SF because of the extra attention given to the C and PF. Running the play my way also allows for the SG, C, and PF to make the jumper pass to the SF; not just the SG. This is not achievable if one doesn’t understand the concept that plays no longer break down easily in NBA 2K16.

Now, with all this said, plays still aren’t guaranteed to score 100% of the time; therefore you still need to have a good base freelance incase your play-sets amount to nothing. This aspect of play utilization is demonstrated to its full effect in my money play #2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHbTRTHrup0

On its own this play has 4 options because it has multiple branches built in. However, what makes this play extremely deadly is the fact that you can’t break off to your freelance anytime and attack through that. The freelance I find best to do this with is the pace motion cuts.

You can see in the video that I will follow the play-art, and when the moment is right I will call a manual pick and roll to break the play. I do this purposely so I can easily flow right into my pace motion freelance, which is built to attack with high pick and rolls. Essentially, I am using this money play to hide my freelance pace motion pick and roll attack. At the same time, if the play generates me an open three, I am going to take it. But, if it doesn’t, I won’t panic because I know the unique spacing/movement of this play allows me to easily to flow into another attack of mine.

So there you have it, running plays is nice, but remember to run it smart. Take full advantage of plays no longer breaking down and move the ball around more to create extra opportunities. Or, go with the opposite approach, and purposely break plays at the right times to hide your true intentions.

I suggest to also look at the other 3 money plays to take your offensive game even further. I am glad I got to write this up, hopefully everyone can have more fun with the offensive side of the ball now.

Did this NBA 2K16 Offensive Guide guide help you improve your game? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check out the website here at SGO for more NBA 2K16 tips and guides.

 

NBA 2K16 Offensive Guide: How to Score and Win in NBA 2K16!