User Defense vs CPU Defense will forever be the most unpopular debate of the century when it comes to 2k. Why unpopular you may ask? The amount of arguments, broken controllers, friendship problems, etc. it gets intense.
You can’t even bring up the topic without someone getting upset, or calling you a ‘sore loser’. I’m courageously shedding some light on an ongoing issue in the 2k community that could put a lot of gamers at ease.
I’m a huge advocate for User defense because when i’m playing against an opponent I want to play against them, not the computer. If I wanted to play against a computer I would go to MyCareer, or play Domination in MyTeam. The funny thing is people don’t even realize they do it and it amuses me when they deny it time and time again. For those who get angry or violent when accused of playing CPU defense let me explain what it is and maybe everyone can learn a few things.
CPU Defense: When an opponent doesn’t play on-ball defense and lets the CPU players play for them.
When a person doesn’t play on-ball defense it allows them to make reads off ball and time passing lanes at more successful and easier rate. You may also see this person utilize the double team a lot which isn’t a bad basketball strategy, but if used too much it will create a suspicion to CPU defense. Ever wonder why your opponent gets so many fast break opportunities? It’s because when you make a pass that gets intercepted or stolen they already have a player down court. Let me tell you it may sound easy to play a 5 on 4, but anytime you try to make a pass against a CPU it’s nearly impossible. Luckily I have found ways around this play style:
PIck N Roll: When you know your opponent is playing off ball defense, make the pick n roll offense a major point in your offensive game plan. Call for a screen and instead of going off the screen on the same side the screen is set; wait for the screen to come and give the defender a quick crossover and go opposite of the screen to create space for a mid range jumper. NEVER hit the roll man in this situation because there’s a 95% chance of it getting stolen. Also, once you create space from the pick and get your defender off of you the CPU will come to help and the corner will be wide open.
Alley-Oop: Although I don’t recommend using this too much, but if you hit the roll man immediately after the screen it will put him in a jumping animation towards the basket. I find success in this when I spread out my sets on offense
Post Play: In my piece of about MyTeam I mentioned putting an emphasis on big man. Often times when an opponent is playing CPU defense they will play as the center because it is the man on the floor who does little to nothing on the defensive end. When all that guy does is move from block to block it makes it easy to read passing lines and create double teams. In this instance make the Post a vocal point to your gameplan when this happens. Once you kick it to the post it then makes your opponent have to make a decision. Once he is in the process of making that decision read the defense. If he brings another defender to double team you, kick it to the corner. Make sure you notice the double team early because if you notice too late the ball will be stripped in a blink of an eye. If he chooses to play you one on one then use the drop step followed by a pump fake to get him in the air. Utilize the post spin if you see your defender is playing you on a certain side. People don’t usually like the post when they play because it throws them off guard when defending it. I find most of my success from the Post because when backing down the defender I know it’s not a user on me and can usually back him down and go straight up with no problem.
Shooters need to shoot: If you have shooters on the court and they have one inch of room pull it. The CPU won’t contest as hard as a user would, so when you pass the ball to a Klay Thompson, or Steph pull up if they have Catch and Shoot for a badge. Let your rebounder pick up the slack on long rebounds if there is one because an offensive rebound it will leave guys open.
Now, User Defense is pretty self-explanatory and I respect anyone who plays it because it displays a great deal of skill. The real 2k heads will understand where i’m coming from because when it comes to 2k Leagues most of them have that in their bio “Must Play User Defense”. Maybe I’m a different breed of a 2k gamer, but I treat the game like real life and not just a videogame. The ones who play on ball defense have played a great deal of basketball and have the IQ. The ones who succumb to CPU defense are the ones who haven’t played a game of basketball in their life and are always the ones to sit their and complain about how bad 2k is or blame the game for their mistakes.
If you haven’t noticed by now 2k shows you if your opponent is playing User Defense or not, yet people still deny it. It is a never ending debate.