better "D" maynot be so good.........

[Kenyon_Martin]

i am sure that everyone has read about the enhanced defensive in 2004. I hope this doesnt mean more blocks and steals. Oh yea, thats just what we need, more blocks and steals.

[Drex]

I don't think it's that. I think they mean that's gonna be more double-teams, help from your teammates if the player you're defending passes you, etc..Things like that. You should see the Live '04 videos.

[Andrew]

Preview videos have shown more realistic blocks, so I don't think we'll have to worry about an "arcadeish" style of defense in NBA Live 2004. It's my understanding that NBA Live 2004 will place more emphasis on defense, meaning the game won't just be a shootout with a little bit of defense.

[Vins15]

i hope 2004 has a make sense D....2003 is way weird..eg a player bumps into another one and sumtimes theres no foul and the opposite player picks up the ball and goes on a fastbreak...and the blocking is way unrealistic...i once played a 48 min game with Houstan and Yao got like 25 blocks of shots..The layup and dunking blocking animation sucks...when u block a dunk itz like ur neck broke or sumthing...and finally the steal..so annoying...itz like the AI had eyes on their back..and it is so hard to pass crosscourt...hope those issues will all be improved through 2004..

[cocobee]

I hope this doesnt mean more blocks and steals

there will be sliders for those issues as well, even if you think they should be lower or god forbid higher?

[Jux]

i am sure the new D will be better than 2003 version. It was redicules how u could fool the D in live 2003

[havasufalls]

I hope this doesnt mean more blocks and steals

there will be sliders for those issues as well, even if you think they should be lower or god forbid higher?

if there gonna have sliders for blocks and steals thats gonna be tight

[Metsis]

The thing of it is that defense in basketball is all but high flying blocks and intercepting those fast passes.

Defense is about being in the right place at the right time to make the offensive player think twice about what he's going to do and thus making him more unsure of his decision and thus making his game crack just enough to disrupt the offensive flow. The best defenders don't have to have the most steals and blocks, but they usually have more then most players...

I'm just rambling, but the fact is that good defense makes the offensive field goal percentage drop a few points and this is what I'm talking about.

The amount of steals is quite right in Live 2003, but the blocks are going to have to drop to about third of what they are. And field goal percentages need to drop 20%. But still the rebounds need to be divided more equally to all the players on the court so that an AI center will not have 20 rebounds in every game.

And that's something that might be next to impossible to make...

[Andrew]

The number of steals could probably stand to be lower too. At the very least, the nature of steals needs to be changed. Most steals in Live 2003 are interceptions, many of which should not occur. CPU players seem to defy reality to come up with the ball. Too many passes are risky passes, making it difficult to work the ball around.

That of course leads to one on one play, but on the higher difficulty levels, that also usually results in a steal.

[Jux]

metsis speaks gold about D...
Estonian head coach told about D that: the purpose of D is not to take the ball away, but just to make the opponent to miss a shot...

[Jux]

i'd like to see thatkind of D on the game:)

[cocobee]

my friends were like WTF! The cpu players were stealing balls with there armpits!LOL--so we called them armpit steals!

[volatile]

The steals in 2003 by the computer are ridiculous. The computer would have his back to you and you try to pass it by him but he sticks his hand in the air and the ball is sucked in by his armpit. It's like they have eyes in the back of their head. Also, the post up game in 2003 is almost nonexistent on the superstar level. As soon as you pass it into the post and your guy is backing someone down. They will reach through your body and poke the ball loose and instead of the ball flying forwards like physics would dictate, it flies backwards and behind you, right into the defensive players hands.

The number of steals could probably stand to be lower too. At the very least, the nature of steals needs to be changed. Most steals in Live 2003 are interceptions, many of which should not occur. CPU players seem to defy reality to come up with the ball. Too many passes are risky passes, making it difficult to work the ball around.

That of course leads to one on one play, but on the higher difficulty levels, that also usually results in a steal.

[Andrew]

I hope that we can:

a) Play better defense in the post
b) Post up without getting the ball stolen or having to kick it out for a three

Not every player should command a double team every time they post up. Few players hit every shot they attempt around the basket.

[ReyJ]

It would be mad realistic of the defense reacted to the way the game was flowing.

1) If Duncan is hitting inside shots, the double team would come the second he gets the ball. Same thing, if any player starts dropping jumpshot after jumpshot (ie: Iverson, Bryant, T-Mac, whoever).

2) If a player starts to run fastbreaks, then the CPU would forget about crashing the boards and would instead try to get back on defense ASAP.

Just a few examples. I'm sure the rest of you fellas will come up with more and better scenario's.

[Colin]

Like if a player was getting in the lane but bricking free-throws they would would be more likely to foul him, and vice versa.

[Metsis]

I don't think anyone would intentionally get a foul to send someone to the foul line if it wasn't a fast break situation or something... On normal D, all the fouls are bad. Cause that gives opposition a new shot clock and could result in two easy free throws... On a fast break, well it is good to foul. To stop a certain two points to be put up with two shots.

And the AI does hack a little in 2003 atleast. I feel like I get to the free throw line too often to shoot that worst shot in 2003. And the AI has always hacked-a-Shaq cause his free throws are just that bad and he's so good otherwise.

Fouling a shot would be good, but not just fouling because he can't hit a free throw is bad. Atleast in real life where a poor player hits 60-65% of his free throws.

[Colin]

I would mean if someone was having a really bad day from the line, ie. they're 2-7. But I definitly wouldn't want it every game for one player. I'd probably only want it if they had taken around 5 FT's and had made 1-2, or even 0.

[ReyJ]

Like if a player was getting in the lane but bricking free-throws they would would be more likely to foul him, and vice versa.

Excellent idea. The player with the worst FT rating would be the target of the opposition. For example, if you play the Pistons, your choice would be Ben Wallace. And if you play the Spurs, your choice would be to foul Bowen.

Of course the CPU would do something to counter that situation. They would take out their poorest FT shooters and sub them in with higher rated FT shooters.

[Metsis]

My point was that the AI shouldn't do these fouls just to get fouls. It should get intelligent fouls. Like slashing a ball handler on a fast break. Or a poor ft shooter when hes shooting the ball and the defense is inevitably late. And ofcourse there should the normal fouls called, but the AI shouldn't go fouling a guy just because he has poor free throws.

The last couple of minutes in a game is a whole new story... And I think that this AI is pretty good. Has always been. In the fact that the last couple of minutes the AI gets a foul and then uses a timeout to get to the center of the court. This again was made next to impossible in 2003 with the removal of the fouling button.

The fouling button is something that should be brought back... Cause actual teams use it as a last resort, and it so futile in Live 2003 when you are down two points and the AI just stands there with the ball and you can't get it via the steal button and thus you can't do crap about it. Just follow the clock tick down to zero. While with the foul button you still could have had a chance.

[Bredrin]

Many of u have said what should be fixed about defense and i agree with most, however one thing i really dont want to see again in my video game is fouling on a three point shot. Sure it happens maybe once every fifteen games in the NBA but it happens atleast 3 times per game in Live 2003. I really hope that kinda thing is fixed. Also the majority of fouls are not made on the perimeter in a basketball game. The guard doesnt just blindly reach in and foul every other play. Those fouls are inadvertent as the major fouling occurs during screens and post up play under the basket.