The Real 2K Insider

The Real NBA 2K12 Rating List

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

REAL 2K RADIO!
I've decided to start up my own radio show on BlogTalkRadio.com
Pod-casting became a consideration for me about 3 years ago. I was brainstorming ways to reach the 2K audience that would keep me ahead of 2K Sports' curb. The main thing that has always irked me about the "NBA 2K Insider" is that I don't believe it is a real person (which is why the Insider isn't even identified in the game credits), or that the person(s) in charge of the moniker are actual NBA experts. "Real" 2K Insider isn't just because I am better at this than 2K Sports. It's because I'm a REAL person. I thought adding my voice would up the ante to something 2K would certainly not be willing to do.

However, over the last couple years I simply have not had the time. 2K overhauled their ratings system twice which made editing ratings a slower process. I finally was able to catch up this year. My original plan had been to start uploading YouTube videos, showing off the roster and going into detail on the NBA teams and explaining the changes that day/week/month. However I do not have the tech for that as of yet and it IS a bit pricey. A couple days ago I came across Da Czar's radio show and was reminded of my original pod-casting idea. I figured, why the hell not? It's cost-effective, and while videos provide a visual aspect that is much more viral and popular, a radio show just seems more... FUN. After editing countless players, I NEED to have some fun. I need another challenge. Hopefully you'll be there to see/hear it.

Currently no show is scheduled but that should change soon as I get everything set up and organized. I will be sure to do the rounds and let everyone know.

TWITTER!
Follow me on Twitter @Real2KInsider where you can follow my updates in real time, ask questions, and generally hear me moan about how unbelievably bad the Carmelo Anthony trade was for the Knicks.

THE REAL NBA 2K12!
My player edits for NBA 2K12 are listed here. At present, 315 players have been edited.

If you are new to this blog, I come up with my NBA 2K edits using various sources Basketball-Reference (most accessible source of "standard" Advanced Statistics, a staple site for any true basketball fan), Hoopdata (most accessible source of shot zone data), 82games (mainly for lineup data and clutch stats), Synergy Sports (video of any play from the last 3 years, used for ratings/tendencies), Draft Express (scouting), ShamSports (100% accurate Contract information) and anything else I can get my hands on (many of these sites didn't exist when I first started editing for NBA 2K3 back in 2002).

FILE NAME: The Real NBA 2K12 (01-26-12)
360 GT: Real 2K Insider
PS3: Currently unavailable
WII: Currently unavailable
PC: Currently unavailable

My Rating - Player (Change from 2K's most recent rating)
LU = Last Update. Rating player held before my most recent edit.
New additions denoted in Bold

POINT GUARDS (68)
94 - Derrick Rose (+2) (LU: 93)
90 - Chris Paul (-3)
85 - Steve Nash (+1)
85 - Rajon Rondo (0) (LU: 83)
84 - Russell Westbrook (-4) (LU: 88)
83 - Deron Williams (-7) (LU: 85)
82 - Kyrie Irving (+6) (LU: 76)
80 - Kyle Lowry (-3)
80 - Brandon Jennings (+2) (LU: 78)
80 - Tony Parker (0) (LU: 79)
80 - Stephen Curry (0) (LU: 81)
79 - Ricky Rubio (+1)
78 - Ty Lawson (+1) (LU: 76)
78 - Michael Conley (+1) (LU: 76)
77 - Jrue Holiday (-2) (LU: 76)
77 - Darren Collison (+2) (LU: 75)
76 - Devin Harris (-2) (LU: 78)
76 - Baron Davis (+3)
75 - Rodney Stuckey (+1)
75 - John Wall (-7) (LU: 77)
75 - D.J. Augustin (+3) (LU: 73)
75 - Kemba Walker (-1) (LU: 76)
75 - Jeff Teague (+1) (LU: 73)
75 - Raymond Felton (0) (LU: 78)
74 - Jameer Nelson (0) (LU: 76)
73 - Tyreke Evans (-3) - Rates 77 @ SG
73 - Mo Williams (-1)
73 - Nate Robinson (-1) (LU: 69)
73 - Ramon Sessions (+1)
72 - Jose Calderon (+3)
72 - Andre Miller (+1) (LU: 70)
71 - Iman Shumpert (+2) - Rates 76 @ SG (LU: 70)
71 - Jarrett Jack (+6)
71 - Jordan Farmar (+8)
71 - C.J. Watson (+3) (LU: 70)
70 - Jason Kidd (-7) (LU: 73)
70 - Kirk Hinrich (-2)
70 - Rodrigue Beaubois (+1) - Rates 75 @ SG
69 - Mario Chalmers (+1) (LU: 64)
69 - Norris Cole (+6)
69 - Goran Dragic (+6)
68 - Brandon Knight (+1)
68 - Sundiata Gaines (+8)
68 - Eric Maynor (+4)
67 - Luke Ridnour (-1) - Rates 73 @ SG
67 - Toney Douglas (-2) - Rates 73 @ SG (LU: 68)
67 - Earl Watson (+4)
67 - Jeremy Pargo (N/A)
66 - Jonny Flynn (-4)
66 - Gilbert Arenas (-11) - Rates 71 @ SG
64 - Reggie Jackson (N/A)
64 - John Lucas (+14) (LU: 58)
62 - Derek Fisher (-5) (LU: 61)
62 - Greivis Vasquez (+7)
62 - Jimmer Fredette (-1) - Rates 71 @ SG (LU: 66)
62 - Chris Duhon (-5)
62 - Cory Joseph (+3)
62 - Jamaal Tinsley (N/A)
61 - Eddie House (0)
61 - Darius Morris (N/A)
61 - Courtney Fortson (N/A)
60 - Walker Russell (N/A)
59 - Steve Blake (-5)
59 - Mike Bibby (-1)
59 - Avery Bradley (-2)
58 - Mike James (N/A)
57 - Carldell Johnson (N/A)
56 - Anthony Carter (+3)
55 - Larry Hughes (N/A)

SHOOTING GUARDS (60)
91 - Kobe Bryant (-3) (LU: 89)
89 - Dwyane Wade (-7) (LU: 91)
86 - Manu Ginobili (+1) (LU: 85)
83 - Monta Ellis (0) (LU: 82)
83 - Eric Gordon (+1)
81 - Joe Johnson (-3) (LU: 79)
81 - Louis Williams (+7) - Rates 77 @ PG (LU: 80)
80 - James Harden (+6) (LU: 76)
80 - Jason Terry (+4)
78 - Ray Allen (-2)
78 - Chauncey Billups (-1) - Rates 73 @ PG (LU: 79)
78 - Jamal Crawford (0)
77 - Marcus Thornton (+3) (LU: 76)
77 - Stephen Jackson (-6) - Rates 78 @ SF
75 - Kevin Martin (-4) (LU: 77)
75 - Shannon Brown (+3)
74 - Delonte West (+5) - Rates 69 @ PG (LU: 72)
74 - Richard Hamilton (-2) (LU: 75)
73 - Ronnie Brewer (+4) (LU: 72)
73 - Tony Allen (+5)
73 - O.J. Mayo (-4)
73 - Paul George (-1)
72 - DeMar DeRozan (+3)
72 - Arron Afflalo (+1)
72 - Ben Gordon (-2)
72 - J.J. Barea (+7) - Rates 68 @ PG (LU: 73)
72 - Keyon Dooling (+5) - Rates 67 @ PG (LU: 74)
71 - Wesley Matthews (-2)
71 - Jason Richardson (-2) (LU: 73)
71 - Rudy Fernandez (+6) (LU: 70)
70 - J.J. Redick (+6) (LU: 69)
70 - Shane Battier (-7) - Rates 73 @ SF (LU: 71)
70 - Thabo Sefolosha (+2) (LU: 67)
70 - Leandro Barbosa (-1)
69 - Gerald Henderson (0)
69 - Jodie Meeks (+7)
69 - C.J. Miles (+2) - Rates 71 @ SF
69 - Shaun Livingston (+11) - Rates 63 @ PG
69 - Dominique Jones (+6)
68 - Daniel Green (+6) - Rates 70 @ SF
68 - Reggie Williams (+4)
68 - Von Wafer (+9)
67 - Anthony Morrow (+3)
67 - Mike Miller (+2) (LU: 66)
66 - Gary Neal (+2)
66 - Landry Fields (-3) - Rates 68 @ SF (LU: 68)
66 - Bill Walker (+1) - Rates 69 @ SF
66 - DeShawn Stevenson (-4)
63 - Michael Redd (-6) (LU: 64)
63 - Keith Bogans (-5)
62 - Andrew Goudelock (N/A) (LU: 66)
62 - E'Twain Moore (N/A)
61 - Darington Hobson (N/A)
61 - Donald Sloan (N/A)
59 - Jason Kapono (+6) - Rates 60 @ SF (LU: 56)
59 - Matt Carroll (+4)
59 - Cory Higgins (N/A)
59 - Terrel Harris (N/A)
59 - Andy Rautins (+3)
58 - Mychel Thompson (N/A)

SMALL FORWARDS (59)
98 - LeBron James (0)
90 - Kevin Durant (-2) (LU: 88)
84 - Carmelo Anthony (-7)
83 - Andre Iguodala (-2)
83 - Rudy Gay (-3) (LU: 82)
81 - Gerald Wallace (-2)
81 - Paul Pierce (-1) (LU: 83)
79 - Danny Granger (-2) (LU: 78)
79 - Caron Butler (-2) (LU: 80)
77 - Danilo Gallinari (+7) (LU: 71)
77 - Shawn Marion (-1)
77 - Michael Beasley (-1) (LU: 79)
77 - Tracy McGrady (+8) - Rates 75 @ SG
76 - Luol Deng (-1)
76 - Tayshaun Prince (-1)
76 - MarShon Brooks (+9)
76 - Grant Hill (-2) (LU: 78)
76 - Vince Carter (0) - Rates 74 @ SG (LU: 78)
75 - Marvin Williams (+10) (LU: 71)
74 - Hedo Turkoglu (-0) (LU: 73)
74 - Matt Barnes (+3)
74 - Richard Jefferson (+2)
74 - Evan Turner (+3) (LU: 71)
73 - Corey Maggette (-1) (LU: 75)
73 - Jeff Green (-1)
72 - Carlos Delfino (+7) (LU: 71)
72 - Dahntay Jones (-1) - Rates 70 @ SG
71 - Rashard Lewis (-3)
70 - James Johnson (+8)
70 - Nicolas Batum (-4)
70 - Mike Dunleavy (+8)
70 - Austin Daye (+11)
69 - Dorell Wright (-1)
69 - Anthony Tolliver (+9) - Rates 67 @ PF
69 - Terrence Williams (-3)
68 - Metta World Peace (-3) (LU: 70)
68 - Brandon Rush (+1) - Rates 66 @ SG
67 - Kyle Korver (+5)
67 - Chandler Parsons (+6)
67 - Josh Childress (-3)
67 - Jimmy Butler (0)
67 - Jordan Hamilton (N/A)
66 - Corey Brewer (0)
66 - Marquis Daniels (+4) - Rates 64 @ SG (LU: 70)
65 - Devin Ebanks (+2)
65 - Derrick Brown (0)
65 - Gary Forbes (0)
65 - James Jones (+7)
65 - Daequan Cook (+2)
65 - Quentin Richardson (-6)
64 - Gordon Hayward (+1)
63 - Andres Nocioni (-4)
63 - Jerry Stackhouse (-1)
63 - DeAndre Liggins (N/A)
62 - Renaldo Balkman (-2)
61 - Larry Owens (N/A)
61 - Chris Wright (N/A)
59 - Sasha Pavlovic (+4)

POWER FORWARDS (65)
85 - Paul Millsap (+3) (LU: 80)
85 - Blake Griffin (0)
85 - Zach Randolph (+2) (LU: 86)
84 - Kevin Love (+3)
84 - Dirk Nowitzki (-2) - Rates 88 @ SF (LU: 87)
82 - Pau Gasol (-3)
82 - LaMarcus Aldridge (-1)
81 - Chris Bosh (0) - Rates 83 @ SF (LU: 80)
81 - Josh Smith (-3) - Rates 85 @ SF
81 - Carlos Boozer (+4)
81 - Kevin Garnett (-2) (LU: 84)
80 - Amare Stoudemire (-8) (LU: 83)
79 - Nene (+2)
78 - David West (+4) (LU: 80)
78 - Elton Brand (+1)
76 - Kris Humphries (+6) (LU: 77)
76 - David Lee (-3)
75 - Tyler Hansbrough (+4)
75 - Brandon Bass (+5)
75 - Thaddeus Young (+1) - Rates 78 @ SF (LU: 74)
74 - Andrea Bargnani (+6) - Rates 71 @ C and 77 @ SF (LU: 71)
74 - Lamar Odom (-4) (LU: 79)
74 - Kenyon Martin (-2)
73 - Ryan Anderson (+6) (LU: 71)
73 - Luis Scola (-4) (LU: 75)
73 - Al Harrington (+7) - Rates 74 @ SF (LU: 68)
73 - Serge Ibaka (-2)
73 - Tyrus Thomas (0) (LU: 78)
73 - Chuck Hayes (+5)
72 - Antawn Jamison (-2)
72 - Craig Smith (+14)
71 - DaJuan Blair (+3)
71 - Derrick Williams (0) - Rates 72 @ SF (LU: 77)
71 - Taj Gibson (-2)
71 - Glen Davis (+1)
70 - Josh McRoberts (+6)
70 - Udonis Haslem (+2)
70 - Andray Blatche (-1)
68 - Nick Collison (+6) (LU: 65)
68 - JaJuan Johnson (+2) (LU: 69)
67 - D.J. White (+6)
67 - Hakim Warrick (+5)
67 - Jonas Jerebko (+6)
65 - Jon Leuer (+8)
65 - Matt Bonner (+15)
65 - Jason Smith (+10)
65 - Reggie Evans (+2)
64 - Markieff Morris (-2)
63 - Troy Murphy (-3)
63 - Jeff Pendergraph (N/A)
62 - Josh Davis (N/A)
62 - Vladimir Radmanovic (+9)
61 - Bismack Biyombo (+6) (LU: 60)
61 - Shawne Williams (0) - Rates 65 @ SF
61 - Justin Harper (+7) - Rates 64 @ SF
61 - Malcolm Thomas (N/A)
60 - Ivan Johnson (N/A)
60 - Ryan Gomes (-2) - Rates 65 @ SF
60 - Jared Jeffries (+2)
59 - Josh Harrellson (+9) - Rates 57 @ C
59 - Ryan Reid (N/A)
57 - Luke Walton (-1) - Rates 62 @ SF
54 - Steve Novak (+11) - Rates 61 @ SF
54 - Brian Cardinal (+3) - Rates 58 @ SF
53 - Brian Scalabrine (+11) - Rates 55 @ SF (LU: 51)
50 - Mickell Gladness (N/A)

CENTERS (61)
95 - Dwight Howard (+2)
84 - Andrew Bynum (+1) (LU: 80)
82 - Al Jefferson (+1)
81 - Tim Duncan (-3) (LU: 84)
81 - Al Horford (+1)
80 - Marcin Gortat (+7)
80 - Tyson Chandler (+10) (LU: 78)
79 - Marc Gasol (+6) (LU: 76)
79 - DeMarcus Cousins (+8) (LU: 76)
78 - Joakim Noah (-4) (LU: 79)
78 - Emeka Okafor (+5)
77 - Roy Hibbert (+5) (LU: 72)
76 - Andrew Bogut (-2)
76 - Greg Oden (+6)
75 - Greg Monroe (+10) (LU: 68)
75 - Anderson Varejao (+5)
75 - DeAndre Jordan (+3) (LU: 72)
74 - JaVale McGee (+4)
74 - Samuel Dalembert (+6)
74 - Brook Lopez (-2)
73 - Chris Kaman (-3)
73 - Chris Andersen (+8)
72 - Spencer Hawes (+7) (LU: 65)
72 - Amir Johnson (+4) - Rates 73 @ PF
70 - Tiago Splitter (+8) (LU: 69)
70 - Anthony Randolph (+1) - Rates 72 @ PF and 73 @ SF
68 - Jermaine O'Neal (0)
68 - Ronny Turiaf (+6)
68 - Boris Diaw (+3) - Rates 71 @ PF and 75 @ SF
68 - Kwame Brown (+9)
67 - Chris Wilcox (+6)
66 - Kendrick Perkins (-5) (LU: 69)
66 - Brendan Haywood (+1)
65 - Byron Mullens (+8) (LU: 53)
65 - Ian Mahinmi (+19) (LU: 62)
65 - Omer Asik (+10) (LU: 64)
65 - Zaza Pachulia (+5)
65 - Derrick Caracter (+5)
64 - Nazr Mohammed (+6) (LU: 67)
64 - Nikola Pekovic (+8)
64 - Mehmet Okur (-4) (LU: 69)
64 - Shelden Williams (+5)
64 - Brandan Wright (+5)
64 - Sean Williams (N/A)
63 - Timofey Mozgov (+6)
63 - Kurt Thomas (0)
62 - Nikola Vucevic (+5) (LU: 61)
62 - Greg Stiemsma (N/A) (LU: 60)
62 - Johan Petro (+10)
61 - Aaron Gray (+7)
61 - Gustavo Ayon (N/A)
61 - Vernon Mackwell (N/A)
60 - Cole Aldrich (+6)
59 - Kosta Koufos (+7)
58 - Joel Anthony (+3)
57 - Jerome Jordan (N/A)
56 - Jamaal Magloire (+6)
55 - Jason Collins (+9)
55 - Chris Johnson (N/A)
55 - Juwan Howard (+1) - Rates 58 @ PF
54 - Eddy Curry (-2)
53 - Dexter Pittman (+9)
51 - DaSagana Diop (-1)

TOP UNEDITED PLAYERS
80 - Wilson Chandler - China
76 - J.R. Smith - China
75 - Aaron Brooks - China
74 - J.J. Hickson - Kings
74 - Andrei Kirilenko - Russia
73 - Nick Young - Wizards
72 - Carl Landry - Hornets
72 - Trevor Ariza - Hornets
72 - John Salmons - Kings
72 - Patrick Patterson - Rockets
72 - Mickael Pietrus - Celtics
72 - Earl Boykins - Free Agent
70 - Courtney Lee - Rockets
70 - Jason Maxiell - Pistons
70 - Wesley Johnson - Timberwolves
70 - Martell Webster - Timberwolves
70 - Maurice Evans - Wizards
70 - Joey Graham - Free Agent

EASTERN CONFERENCE
84 Bulls (99 Def, 65 Off)* (-5 w/ Luol Deng injury)
81 Heat (99 Def, 79 Off)* (-4 w/ Dwyane Wade injury)
80 Magic (94 Def, 70 Off)
79 Celtics (84 Def, 68 Off)* (-4 w/ decline of Pierce, Garnett)
77 Pacers (85 Def, 68 Off)
77 76ers (82 Def, 70 Off) (-3 w/ Spencer Hawes injury)
74 Hawks (73 Def, 79 Off) (-7 w/ Al Horford injury)
72 Bucks (84 Def, 60 Off)
71 Knicks (61 Def, 77 Off)*
69 Cavaliers (67 Def, 64 Off)
69 Pistons (60 Def, 75 Off)
68 Nets (64 Def, 60 Off) (-5 w/ Brook Lopez injury)
64 Wizards (61 Def, 60 Off)
63 Bobcats (63 Def, 60 Off) (-5 w/ D.J. Augustin injury)
61 Raptors (65 Def, 60 Off) (-3 w/ Andrea Bargnani injury)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
79 Spurs (89 Def, 79 Off) (-3 w/ Manu Ginobili injury)
79 Thunder (72 Def, 82 Off)*
79 Lakers (78 Def, 70 Off)*
79 Clippers (70 Def, 78 Off)
78 Nuggets (67 Def, 99 Off)*
76 Mavericks (79 Def, 88 Off)* (-4 w/ Dirk Nowitzki resting)
76 Suns (79 Def, 76 Off)
74 Jazz (70 Def, 68 Off) (+2 w/ improvement of Paul Millsap)
74 Trailblazers (66 Def, 68 Off)
74 Grizzlies (72 Def, 79 Off) (-9 w/ injury to Zach Randolph, Darrell Arthur)
73 Rockets (68 Def, 67 Off)
71 Hornets (76 Def, 60 Off) (-2 w/ injury to Eric Gordon)
70 Warriors (62 Def, 80 Off)
66 Timberwolves (60 Def, 60 Off) (-4 w/ injury to Michael Beasley, J.J. Barea)
66 Kings (60 Def, 60 Off) (-1 w/ Chuck Hayes injury)

*Denotes team with 100% completed ratings.

INTERNATIONAL PLAYER POLICY
Due to the lockout many players decided to play abroad this season. Some players have out-clauses in their contracts to return at any time, others do not. Four quality players signed in China and do not have out-clauses but are free to rejoin the NBA after the Chinese season ends in late February/early March. Rather than reduce all of these players to 25 rating I have decided it best to reduce only their Stamina & Durability ratings to 25 in the interim. That should lower their overall ratings enough to prevent them from playing prominent roles if signed, and keep their court time to an absolute bare minimum. When the players re-join the NBA, a player can manually alter their Stamina/Durability ratings during an Association mode (and can likewise adjust all International players when they get to the Off-season of their respective Associations). I will also apply this policy to free agent Jeff Green, who is out for the season after his heart surgery.

INTERNATIONAL LIST (Overall/Stamina/Durability)
PG: Aaron Brooks (75), Eugene Jeter (63), Sherron Collins (63), Carlos Arroyo (61), Acie Law (59), Garrett Temple (58), Mustafa Shakur (55), Lester Hudson (55), Chris Quinn (53), Mario West (50)
SG: J.R. Smith (76), Chris Douglas-Roberts (69), Sasha Vujacic (67), Charlie Bell (64), Andy Rautins (59/85/70), Kyle Weaver (58)
SF: Wilson Chandler (80), Jeff Green (73/93/85), Andrei Kirilenko (74), Sonny Weems (67), Antoine Wright (64), Jawad Williams (57)
PF: Kenyon Martin (74/81/55), Josh Powell (61), Pops Mensah-Bonsu (60), Gani Lawal (56), Darius Songaila (54)
C: Joey Dorsey (62), Dan Gadzuric (56), Nenad Krstic (54), Hilton Armstrong (51), David Andersen (49)

Please note that I have not implemented this policy league-wide yet (not at the top of my priorities list like editing players IN the NBA are).

RETIRED PLAYER POLICY
I decided not to "retire" any players until after my opening day roster (12-25). After that they will be reduced to 25 in all ratings to ensure teams do not sign them in any Association modes.

RETIRED LIST
PG:
SG: Brandon Roy (78), Maurice Ager (56)
SF: Peja Stojakovic (59)
PF: Antonio McDyess (65)
C: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (64), Sean Marks (49)
Pending: Earl Boykins (72/PG), Antonio Daniels (63/PG), Morris Peterson (58/SF), Joel Przybilla (63/C), Etan Thomas (56/C), Erick Dampier (55/C), Theo Ratliff (53/C), Malik Allen (47/C)

NBA 2K12 Rookie Rating Analysis

2012-01-10T08:29:00.000-05:00

As of 1/7/12 there are 5 second round picks who have signed contracts but have not been added to 2K's roster yet. There are numerous players who made their teams out of training camp that have not been added to 2K's roster yet.

MISSING SECOND ROUNDERS
Charles Jenkins (Warriors, 44th Overall)
Vernon Mackwell (Pistons, 52nd Overall)
DeAndre Liggins (Magic, 53rd Overall)
E'Twain Moore (Celtics, 55th Overall)
Isaiah Thomas (Kings, 60th Overall)

OTHER MISSING ROOKIES
Cory Higgins (Bobcats)
Darington Hobson (Bucks)
Mychel Thompson (Cavaliers)
Greg Stiemsma (Celtics)
Jeremy Pargo (Grizzlies)
Ivan Johnson (Hawks)
Donald Sloan (Hawks)
Terrel Harris (Heat)
Mickell Gladness (Heat)
Carldell Johnson (Hornets)
Lance Thomas (Hornets) - Waived
Gustavo Ayon (Hornets)
Jerome Jordan (Knicks)
Dennis Horner (Nets)
Julyan Stone (Nuggets)
Malcolm Thomas (Spurs)
Ryan Reid (Thunder)
Chris Wright (Warriors)

2011 FIRST ROUND

Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers, 1st Overall) 76/PG - Added 12/12
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: A-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: A-
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: B
Athleticism: B+
Potential: 89

These ratings were actually well done by 2K Sports. I agree with the vast majority of them. Irving is unlikely to be an all-star right off the bat, but there is little doubt that he is Cleveland's best player and the best player in the 2011 draft right now. He should be the favorite for Rookie of the Year as long as he gets enough minutes. There are many similarities between Irving and rookie Chris Paul. Whether or not he develops along the same track will be revealed with time.

Derrick Williams (Timberwolves, 2nd Overall) 71/PF - Added 12/13
Inside Scoring: B
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: D
Post Defense: C
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: C
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 88

Williams has a lot in common with teammate and former #2 pick Michael Beasley. Beasley started off his career as a PF, and is currently the inefficient starting SF of a bad lottery team. Williams should look to avoid this career trajectory, but he may not have the skillset to avoid being a glorified tweener. If he plays well, it should force the Timberwolves to trade Beasley rather than sign him to a contract extension - a move that would not bode well for Williams' development. Williams (along with Irving) was the first player edited by 2K this year, getting slight boosts to Dunk, Speed, Quickness, and Vertical (Irving saw a boost to his Dunk), leading to +1 Overall (71).

Enes Kanter (Jazz, 3rd Overall) 63/C - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: D-
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: B-
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: B
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: D+
Potential: 82

While Kanter's rating might seem low (due to 2K not knowing how to properly rate centers), he actually ranks 35th among centers. He is a bit of a mystery this year and it's anyone's guess just how effective he will actually be.

Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers, 4th Overall) 66/PF - Added 12/12
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: C-
Post Defense: B-
Ball Handling: D-
Rebounding: C+
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 77

TT is very raw and was a bit of a stretch at the #4 pick. He'll step into a starting role after Antawn Jamison is traded/waived mid-season, but it probably won't be pretty. 76 Dunk, 78 Block, 76 Defensive Awareness make him a poor man's Tyrus Thomas.

Jan Vesley (Wizards, 6th Overall) 63/SF - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: C
Outside Scoring: C
Perimeter Defense: C+
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: C-
Rebounding: C-
Basketball IQ: C
Athleticism: C+
Potential: 80

A lot of analysts seem to be high on Vesley so I'm not sure where 2K got their assessment from. He is considerably worse than fellow Wizard rookie SF Chris Singleton (18th, 67). 2K essentially has Vesley pegged as a less athletic Singleton. It's a mistake to sleep on him, and this could be a player whose rating drastically rises as the season goes on. Vesley could of course make 2K look very smart by not earning anything more than spot minutes in a crowded Wizard front court, but I think the odds of him being better than Singleton are pretty good.

Bismack Biyombo (Bobcats, 7th Overall) 55/PF - Added 12/22
Inside Scoring: C-
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: D+
Post Defense: B
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: C+
Basketball IQ: C-
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 72

Well, I'll give it to 2K Sports. Reports on Biyombo say he is raw offensively, and they certainly made him so. Every single one of Biyombo's Abilities is rated "Poor". Biyombo isn't completely worthless in the post, however. When he wasn't turning the ball over, he managed to finish his post-up plays (63% FG, 1st). As the last first rounder to be added to the roster, I'm sure the Insider was just sick of whatever scouting he/she/it puts it and wanted to get him out of the way.

Brandon Knight (Pistons, 8th Overall) 67/PG - Added 12/13

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B
Potential: 81

Knight is a young scoring point with only average playmaking ability and suspect defense. His defense should improve with time, but unless he also improves his scoring efficiency and passing, he's looking at a sixth man type career.

Kemba Walker (Bobcats, 9th Overall) 76/PG - Added 12/13
Inside Scoring: B
Outside Scoring: B
Perimeter Defense: B
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: A-
Rebounding: D
Basketball IQ: B+
Athleticism: A
Potential: 85

Kemba is tied w/ Irving for highest rated player in the draft class. He is also two years older, which means his ceiling isn't nearly as high. Walker's pass rating might be slightly overrated (70), but his steal rating is as well. Irving and Walker registered 3.0 STL% in college, yet are separated by 10 points (Irving 75, Walker 65).

Jimmer Fredette (Kings, 10th Overall) 63/PG - Added 12/13
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: A-
Perimeter Defense: C
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B-
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B
Potential: 80

2K Sports agreed with me (and most credible NBA analysts) deducing that Jimmer was one of the most over-hyped players in the country, suffering heavily from Adam Morrison & J.J. Redick "Unathletic player overly popular due to whiteness" syndrome. His defense is embarrassingly bad, so bad that it's difficult to ever envision him becoming a starting caliber player. His offensive skills will remind many Kings fans of prime-Mike Bibby, but his defense will remind many fans of... well, Mike Bibby (modern version, sadly).

Klay Thompson (Warriors, 11th Overall) 65/SG - Added 12/15
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: A-
Perimeter Defense: C
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: C
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: C+

Potential: 76

Thompson's outside shooting and poor defense will fit in on a Warriors team that seeks out both. He should get big minutes replacing Reggie Williams on the team.

Alec Burks (Jazz, 12th Overall) 70/SG - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: D-
Ball Handling: B-
Rebounding: D+
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B+

Potential: 75

Burks will give the team his best Ronnie Brewer impression, and I would easily start him over Gordon Hayward. Guess we'll find out whether or not I'm smarter than Tyrone Corbin soon enough.

Markieff Morris (Suns, 13th Overall) 66/PF - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: D
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: B
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: C
Potential: 70

While Markieff's ratings might be accurate, having better ratings than Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick is not. He won't be the team's starting PF just yet.

Marcus Morris (Rockets, 14th Overall) - 63/PF - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: D
Post Defense: C
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: C-
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: C
Potential: 72

It's interesting to me that Marcus was the higher regarded of the Morris' brothers yet rates 3 points behind Markieff. They have very simiar ratings aside from rebounding, where Marcus trails his brother by a large margin.

Kawhi Leonard (Spurs, 15th Overall) 72/SF - Added 12/13
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: D+
Perimeter Defense: B
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: C
Rebounding: B
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: A-
Potential: 68

Spurs fans have been pushing for Leonard to replace Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup since the minute they acquired him. I however, don't see it that way. Jefferson has become one of the league's most underrated players. The corner three has always been important to the San Antonio attack. RJ isn't a great defender, but he's certainly not a BAD one by any stretch, and he is miles better than Leonard offensively. The Spurs will hope that Leonard's defense is good enough to make a noticeable difference, and that they can get away with him in a lineup that already includes DaJuan Blair. I would look for Leonard to be paired in the 2nd unit with Matt Bonner since their deficiencies compliment each other well (or for Bonner to start alongside Leonard).

Nikola Vucevic (76ers, 16th Overall) 57/C - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: D-
Rebounding: B-
Basketball IQ: C-
Athleticism: D
Potential: 66

Vucevic is a shooting center, which never translates well with 2K's flawed overall formula for centers. I was not incredibly high on this pick for Philly as they already have two centers who provide this skill (Hawes and Speights) and were basically just covering their butts in the event Spencer Hawes got an absurd offer sheet the team didn't want to match. Tough to see Vucevic making much of a contribution his rookie season, but could easily be the team's starter a year from now.

Iman Shumpert (Knicks, 17th Overall) 69/PG - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: C
Perimeter Defense: A-
Post Defense: D-
Ball Handling: B
Rebounding: D
Basketball IQ: B
Athleticism: A
Potential: 63

As I type this, Shumpert expressed happiness w/ his rating via twitter, and I am inclined to agree with him.

I_Am_Iman Iman Shumpert

Apparently they did me right on 2K12. Don't play video games....but #S/O to everyone doin work wit me on there! Lol. #S/O 2 da update #NYK

Real2KInsider Rashidi

@I_Am_Iman Your steals rating could be higher, but don't worry, you'll show them.

Shumpert should be somewhere between Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook's rookie seasons. He has a lot of sleeper potential and could steal the starting job of either Toney Douglas or Landry Fields.

Chris Singleton (Wizards, 18th Overall) 67/SF - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: C-
Outside Scoring: C+
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: B-
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: C+
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B
Potential: 60

Singleton's ball handling is particularly bad for a SF and makes him more of a tweener than a legit wing player. Hopefully he can carve out a better career than Renaldo Balkman did. With only 60 potential, that may not be very likely in 2K.

Tobias Harris (Bucks, 19th Overall) 65/SF - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: D+
Post Defense: C-
Ball Handling: D+
Rebounding: C
Basketball IQ: C
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 62

While not a rookie observation, Harris is a teenager 10 years younger than Carlos Delfino: a wing who is in his prime, has started the last two years (about to make it three). These players are both rated 65 overall. Harris isn't the one with the bad rating here.

Nolan Smith (Trail Blazers, 21st Overall) 71/SG - Added 12/13
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: B
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B
Potential: 75

I'm puzzled as to why 2K Sports listed Smith as a SG rather than his natural PG position. He did play SG at Duke before Kyrie Irving's injury, but this was a situation similar to Jrue Holiday playing SG next to Darren Collison at UCLA a few years ago; he is clearly a PG in this league. Smith rates 67 at PG which is much more reflective of his overall ability (he ranks 26th among SG, only 3 spots behind starter Wesley Matthews who has a stranglehold on the starting job). Smith is expected to be the backup PG, rather than Armon Johnson who has all the makings of a career 3rd string.

Kenneth Faried (Nuggets, 22nd Overall) 70/PF - Added 12/12
Inside Scoring: C
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: B+
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: A-
Potential: 72

Faried will be an interesting role player, and is honestly one of the more difficult rookies to accurately rate. He played much of his career as an undersized center, which surely helped pad his gaudy rebound totals. It remains to be seen just how well Faried's rebounding ability will translate to the NBA, but if it's anything like what he did in college, it is definitely underrated by 2K right now.

Reggie Jackson (Thunder, 24th Overall) 68/PG - Added 12/14
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: B
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: A-
Potential: 74

Jackson's ratings might be accurate, but I don't think he is capable of taking out Eric Maynor, who 2K seems to think will be OKC's 4th string.

MarShon Brooks (Nets, 25th Overall) 67/SG - Added 12/13
Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: C-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: C+
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B
Potential: 72

Refer to my analysis of Jimmer Fredette, take away his playmaking, and you have MarShon Brooks in a nutshell. Brooks MIGHT have a better future than Anthony Morrow, but he certainly isn't the better shooter. He's the type of "shot-happy, no-defense" type of player who could find himself out of the league quickly (think Morris Almond).

Jordan Hamilton (Nuggets, 26th Overall) 65/SF - Added 12/12
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: C
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: C+
Rebounding: D+
Basketball IQ: C-
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 73

Hamilton has all the same qualities of Brooks and could take a similar career path. The difference is Brooks only has to go through Anthony Morrow right now, while Hamilton will be hard-pressed to take out Danilo Gallinari.

JaJuan Johnson (Celtics, 27th Overall) 66/PF - Added 12/16
Inside Scoring: C
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: B+
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: A-
Potential: 70

Johnson is a pretty good fit on the Celtics since he mimics Kevin Garnett's faceup game, but his slim frame will leave something to be desired on a team desperately seeking interior toughness. 75 Block is great, 55 Post Defense not so much.

Norris Cole (Heat, 28th Overall) 63/PG - Added 12/16
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B
Perimeter Defense: B
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B-
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B
Potential: 70

I think Norris Cole will be a decent backup PG in the league. He can score a bit and find teammates. However that isn't exactly what Miami needs out of their PG position. They need 3pt shooting and defense. Cole is decidedly average at both. Still, they could have done worse than replacing Carlos Arroyo with the 28th pick.

Cory Joseph (Spurs, 29th Overall) 59/PG - Added 12/19
Inside Scoring: C-
Outside Scoring: B
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B-
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B
Potential: 70

Jimmy Butler (Bulls, 30th Overall) 67/SF - Added 12/16
Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: C+
Post Defense: C-
Ball Handling: C+
Rebounding: D+
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B
Potential: 70

Butler is sort of a jack-of-all trades, master of none. He won't see much playing time in Chicago (especially for a team that apparently can't find room for Keith Bogans on it's roster), but will see playing time if Luol Deng ever gets hurt.

2011 SECOND ROUND

Justin Harper (Magic, 32nd Overall) - Added 12/22
Inside Scoring: C
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: D
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: D+
Basketball IQ: D+
Athleticism: C-
Potential: 68

Shelvin Mack (Wizards, 34th Overall) 63/PG - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: B
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: C+
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: A-
Potential: 69

Tyler Honeycutt (Kings, 35th Overall) 65/SF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B
Perimeter Defense: C
Post Defense: C-
Ball Handling: C-
Rebounding: D+
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B
Potential: 67

Jordan Williams (Nets, 36th Overall) 55/PF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: C
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: B
Basketball IQ: D
Athleticism: C-
Potential: 70

Trey Thompkins (Clippers, 37th Overall) 58/PF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: C+
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: C
Basketball IQ: C-
Athleticism: C-
Potential: 72

Chandler Parsons (Rockets, 38th Overall) 61/SF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C-
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: C
Post Defense: D-
Ball Handling: C
Rebounding: D+
Basketball IQ: C
Athleticism: C
Potential: 70

Jeremy Tyler (Warriors, 39th Overall) 55/PF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C-
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: B-
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: C+
Basketball IQ: D+
Athleticism: C
Potential: 68

Jan Leuer (Bucks, 40th Overall) 57/PF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B+
Perimeter Defense: D-
Post Defense: D
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: C+
Basketball IQ: D+
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 70

Darius Morris (Lakers, 41st Overall) 63/PG - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C
Outside Scoring: C
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: B+
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: B
Potential: 72

Malcolm Lee (Timberwolves, 43rd Overall) 65/SG - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: D+
Outside Scoring: D+
Perimeter Defense: C+
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: D+
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: C
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 67

Lee's grades are not available until he recovers from injury. It is still inexplicable to me why 2K feels the need to injure players when it is a far better gameplay decision to simply move them to the inactive roster (where the player goes whether they have an uneditable injury or not). Injuries do not carry over to any Associations and are only applicable to Quick Games.

Josh Harrellson (Knicks, 45th Overall) 50/C - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: F
Perimeter Defense: F
Post Defense: C+
Ball Handling: F
Rebounding: C+
Basketball IQ: D+
Athleticism: D+
Potential: 60

Andrew Goudelock (Lakers, 46th Overall) 57/PG -Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B
Perimeter Defense: B-
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: C+
Rebounding: D-
Basketball IQ: C-
Athleticism: B
Potential: 68

Travis Leslie (Clippers, 47th Overall) 63/SG - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C-
Outside Scoring: D+
Perimeter Defense: B+
Post Defense: C-
Ball Handling: C-
Rebounding: D
Basketball IQ: C+
Athleticism: A-
Potential:

Josh Selby (Grizzlies, 49th Overall) 56/PG - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: B-
Perimeter Defense: C+
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: C+
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: D+
Athleticism: B+
Potential: 67

Lavoy Allen (76ers, 50th Overall) 57/PF - Added 1/7

Inside Scoring: C+
Outside Scoring: C
Perimeter Defense: D+
Post Defense: C-
Ball Handling: D
Rebounding: C
Basketball IQ: C-
Athleticism: C-
Potential: 65

OTHER ROOKIES

Ricky Rubio (Timberwolves, 2009 Draft) - Original Roster

Inside Scoring: B-
Outside Scoring: C+
Perimeter Defense: C
Post Defense: F
Ball Handling: A-
Rebounding: F
Basketball IQ: B-
Athleticism: B-
Potential: 88

POINT GUARDS
76 - Kyrie Irving
76 - Kemba Walker
69 - Iman Shumpert
67 - Brandon Knight
67 - Ricky Rubio (2009 Draft)
63 - Jimmer Fredette
63 - Norris Cole
63 - Shelvin Mack
63 - Darius Morris
59 - Cory Joseph
57 - Andrew Goudelock
56 - Josh Selby

SHOOTING GUARDS
71 - Nolan Smith
70 - Alec Burks
67 - MarShon Brooks
65 - Klay Thompson
65 - Malcolm Lee
63 - Travis Leslie

SMALL FORWARDS
72 - Kawhi Leonard
67 - Chris Singleton
67 - Jimmy Butler
65 - Tobias Harris
65 - Jordan Hamilton
65 - Tyler Honeycutt
63 - Jan Vesley
61 - Chandler Parsons

POWER FORWARDS
71 - Derrick Williams (+1)
70 - Kenneth Faried
66 - Tristan Thompson
66 - Markieff Morris
66 - JaJuan Johnson
63 - Marcus Morris
58 - Trey Thompkins
57 - Jan Leuer
57 - Lavoy Allen
55 - Bismack Biyombo
55 - Jordan Williams
55 - Jeremy Tyler
54 - Justin Harper

CENTERS
63 - Enes Kanter
57 - Nikola Vucevic
50 - Josh Harrellson

First official 2K Sports NBA 2K12 roster released

2011-12-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

MISSING PLAYERS ADDED

76/PG - Kyrie Irving (Cavaliers)

66/PF - Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers)

56/C - Eddy Curry (Heat)

65/SF - Jordan Hamilton (Nuggets)

70/PF - Kenneth Faried (Nuggets)

Obviously it's disappointing to see only the rookies for Nuggets and Cavs added (Nuggets players surely being the most important signings and ones that held up the roster release, since they needed to replace the Chinese exports). All the rookies will make it in by Christmas, but I'm sure fans worldwide are hoping for another update ASAP.

PLAYERS REMOVED
75/PG - Aaron Brooks (Suns)
78/SG - Brandon Roy (Blazers)

74/SG - J.R. Smith (Nuggets)

80/SF - Wilson Chandler (Nuggets)

76/PF - Kenyon Martin (Nuggets)

64/C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Heat)

54/C - Nenad Krstic (Celtics)

I don't have issue w/ the Nuggets players & Brooks being removed but it's worth noting that all four will be back in the NBA in march when the regular season ends. This will actually leave me (and other roster editors) a difficult decision to make later on in the year when they return to the NBA. Restart my roster to get the official models and associated commentary, or use player CAPs? It would be great if 2K put them back in the game and removed them AFTER the season started (so we could get them in a roster w/ all of the official rookies), but roster editors should not exactly hold their breathe waiting for that to happen.

RATING CHANGES

I did not see any, and honestly I wouldn't expect any until the season starts. For now we will have to live with 65 rated center getting 10 million per year and a 70 rated center getting 14 million.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

Derrick Brown (65/SF) on Bobcats (via Knicks)

Mike Dunleavy (62/SG) on Bucks (via Pacers)

Keyon Dooling (67/PG) on Celtics (via Bucks)

Brandon Bass (70/PF) on Celtics (via Magic)

Caron Butler (81/SF) on Clippers (via Mavericks)

Tracy McGrady (69/SG) on Hawks (via Pistons)

Vladimir Radmanovic (53/PF) on Hawks (via Warriors)

Shane Battier (77/SF) on Heat (via Grizzlies)

Chuck Hayes (68/C) on Kings (via Rockets)

Tyson Chandler (70/C) on Knicks (via Mavericks)

Andy Rautins (56/SG) on Mavericks (via Knicks)

Brandan Wright (59/PF) on Mavericks (via Nets)

Brandon Roy (78/SG) removed from game (via Trail Blazers)

Aaron Gray (54/C) on Raptors (via Hornets)

Jamaal Magloire (50/C) on Raptors (via Heat)

T.J. Ford (69/PG) on Spurs (via Pacers)

Sebastian Telfair (63/PG) on Suns (via Timberwolves)

Shannon Brown (72/SG) on Suns (via Lakers)

Roger Mason (66/SG) on Wizards (via Knicks)

Ronny Turiaf (62/C) on Wizards (via Knicks)

Chauncey Billups (79/PG) in Free Agents (via Knicks)

Richard Hamilton (76/SG) in Free Agents (via Pistons)

Vince Carter (76/SG) in Free Agents (via Suns) (signing w/ Mavericks not official yet)

Anthony Parker (67/SG) in Free Agents (via Cavaliers) (he re-signed today however)

Troy Murphy (66/PF) in Free Agents (via Celtics)

Reggie Evans (60/PF) in Free Agents (via Raptors)

Alexis Ajinca (43/C) in Free Agents (via Raptors)

MISCELLAENOUS CHANGES

Ron Artest (71/SF) name changed to Metta World Peace

ROSTER MISTAKES

Jason Kapono (53/SF) on 76ers; signed w/ Lakers on Friday
Darius Songaila (54/PF) on 76ers; signed in Turkey over summer w/ no out-clause
Garrett Temple (65/SG) on Bobcats; signed in Italy over summer w/ no out-clause

Chris Douglas-Roberts (69/SF) on Bucks; signed in Europe over summer w/ no out-clause

Rasual Butler (58/SF) on Bulls; signed w/ Raptors

Kurt Thomas (63/C) on Bulls; signed w/ Trail Blazers

Joey Graham (70/SF) on Cavaliers; waived by team

Alonzo Gee (67/SF) on Cavaliers; signed in Poland over summer (left team, current free agent)

Von Wafer (59/SG) on Celtics; traded to Magic as part of Brandon Bass trade that 2K made

Damien Wilkins (61/SF) on Hawks; signed w/ Pistons

Hilton Armstrong (51/C) on Hawks; signed in France over summer w/ no out-clause

David West (74/PF) on Hornets; signed w/ Pacers yesterday
David Andersen (49/C) on Hornets; signed in Italy over summer w no out-clause

Lamar Odom (78/PF) on Lakers; was traded to Mavericks yesterday

Gilbert Arenas (77/PG) on Magic; was waived via amnesty provision

Earl Clark (64/SF) on Magic; signed w/ China, left team and became free agent

Ben Uzoh (57/PG) on Nets; signed w/ Russia over summer (though waived after 2 games)

Mario West (50/PG) on Nets; signed w/ Italy over summer w/ no out-clause

Sasha Vujacic (67/SG) on Nets; signed w/ Turkey over summer w/ no out-clause

Dan Gadzuric (56/C) on Nets; signed w/ China over summer w/ no out-clause

Gary Forbes (65/SF) on Nuggets; signed offer sheet w/ Raptors (can understand waiting to see if they match, though presumed they won't)

Melvin Ely (54/C) on Nuggets; signed w/ China over summer w/ no out-clause

Terrico White (63/SG) on Pistons; waived by team (invited to Hornets training camp)

DaJuan Summers (56/SF) on Pistons; signed w/ Italy over summer (left team, invited to Hornets training camp)

Chris Wilcox (61/PF) on Pistons; signed w/ Celtics

Sonny Weems (67/SF) on Raptors; signed w/ Lithuania over summer w/ no out-clause

Joey Dorsey (62/PF) on Raptors; signed w/ Spain over summer w/ no out-clause

Chris Quinn (53/PG) on Spurs; signed w/ Russia over summer w/ no out-clause

Antonio McDyess (65/PF) on Spurs; expected to retire (though team trying to convince him otherwise)

Gani Lawal (56/PF) on Suns; was waived by team

Patrick Mills (62/PG) on Trailblazers; signed in China over summer w/ no out-clause

Acie Law (59/PG) on Warriors; signed in Serbia over summer w/ no out-clause

Jeremy Lin (56/PG) on Warriors; was waived by team and claimed yesterday by Rockets

Mustafa Shakur (55/PG) on Wizards; signed in Italy over summer (presumed no out-clause)

Yi Jianlian (63/PF) on Wizards; signed in China over summer (unlike other players he WILL have an out-clause because he isn't an import)

Mickael Pietrus (72/SF) in Free Agents (why isn't he on Suns after canceled Raptors trade????)

Marquis Daniels (62/SG) in Free Agents (Signed w/ Celtics same day as Bass/Baby trade, would allow them to move Wafer to Magic)

Ryan Hollins (53/C) in Free Agents (he is NOT a free agent and is still on Cavaliers, unlike waived Joey Graham)

The international players are not a big deal since many of them are place-holders until the rookies are added.

To be honest it is puzzling to see so many roster mistakes considering Aaron Gray's signing w/ the Raptors made it into the roster. Gray's signing was one of the more recent (and under the radar!) transactions. Jason Kapono signing w/ the Lakers was reported BEFORE the lockout ended and was one of the first official moves made. His signing is clearly listed on NBA.com's transactions page, which 2K Sports should obviously be going by since it is an NBA licensed game. There is simply no good reason for 3-day old transactions to not be kept up with. Likewise finding Pietrus in the FA pool is simply sloppy, no other way around it. Finding Hollins in the FA pool instead of a player who was waived on the first day of free agency (Graham) is yet another blunder that 2K seemingly cannot avoid from year to year. What does it say when CASUAL roster editors can get moves right more frequently than the game company itself? To quote Eminem, "Maybe there's a little Real 2K Insider in all of us."

MISCELLANEOUS MISTAKES

Contracts seem to be off for the newly signed free agents. For instance, Chuck Hayes' new contract worth 4 years and 22 million, when he signed for 4 years and 19 million. Not a huge deal, but does show a lack of effort and attention to detail considering the contract terms are the 2nd most important thing reported (after the team the player is signing with).

Jason Richardson re-signed w/ the Magic but his contract extension has not been implemented, meaning contracts of players who re-signed w/ their teams will be something to watch for.

Chris Johnson has been on an NBA roster since March. It has been 9 months and he has still not been added to 2K's rosters.

Jeff Pendergraph signed with the Pacers a few days ago. Eddy Curry has returned to the game from temporary exile, but Pendergraph has not.
It isn't worth fretting over team rotations when there are so many rookies missing. Only one I would bother changing is Greg Oden starting over Marcus Camby (we all know why).

SUGGESTED CHANGES

Fixing the aforementioned roster mistakes would be a big one.

Nitpicking specific ratings would not be effective at this stage, however I'm sure 100% of fans would agree that the overall ratings for Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan are awful.

Mavericks have SEVEN Shooting Guards on their roster, which is quite comical (and surely some sort of all-time record). Barea is set to sign w/ Timberwolves, which will leave them with only one Point Guard. Change Rodrigue Beaubois position to PG. Change Corey Brewer to SF, as Shawn Marion is team's only SF at present.

This post has been sent to Ronnie2K's twitter account and it will be interesting to see how 2K Sports responds to it (if at all).

Fixing NBA 2K12, Part II

2011-10-19T02:54:00.000-04:00

I completed my ratings, tendencies, and assigned plays for the Celtics, and instead of running a CPU match I decided to play against them with my also completed Knicks.

SETTINGS
All-Star difficulty
Simulation sliders

Rather than post the box score it might be best to look at each individual player's performance.

Carmelo Anthony
STATS: 44 Points, 6 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 1 Steal, 43 Minutes
SHOTS: 19-30 FG, 1-1 3PT, 5-5 FT
NEGATIVE: 2 Turnovers, 4 Fouls

I had my offensive play calling set to Auto which naturally meant a bunch of Iso and Post plays for Melo. Naturally, I suck at the new Iso & Post controls. I still managed to find some separation here and there, and hit my share of contested shots too (which balanced out the ridiculous rate the CPU hit some of theirs). One thing I don't like about "Simulation" sliders is that the CPU will never swipe at the ball and thus I was kinda free to generate my own shot without losing the ball (PASSING is the absolute worst thing you can do in this game at times). Thus Melo only had 2 turnovers to his 30 FGA, 5 FTA, and 5 assists. The CPU also never goes for Charges which is a main source of Melo's real life turnovers, and unfortunately this is a feature that has been largely absent from the last 4-5 years of 2K.

Paul Pierce
STATS: 38 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 6 Steals, 2 Blocks, 37 Minutes
SHOTS: 15-20 FG, 4-6 3PT, 4-4 FT
NEGATIVE: 1 Turnover, 1 Foul

You can't get any more efficient than the game Pierce had. I played great defense for much of the game (at least as good as one can with Carmelo Anthony), but that is more than one can say about the dreaded CPU. Two straight possessions Pierce was able to hit threes because the CPU got totally lost on their rotations (chasing after a man that already had defensive coverage) while I was busy successfully defending a West/Garnett Pick & Roll.

Pierce also hit a go-ahead three with 1.8 seconds left in OT by literally jogging through a double screen play to hit an uncontested three. I didn't have much of a beef with his shot selection but the CPU defensive AI (who I honestly think intentionally function worse when rubberband AI is in effect) made his line a bit gaudier than it should have been (32 points on 13-18 FG and 2-4 3PT I can live with). Pierce also didn't take many FTs so maybe I could have been more physical with him on his drives... though the CPU managed to avoid contact from even the help defender on a few occasions.

Pierce also had 6 steals mainly from reaching on post entry passes to Melo. I wish my CPU would aggressively go after post entry passes.

Amare Stoudemire
STATS: 28 Points, 8 Rebounds, 2 Blocks, 44 Minutes
SHOTS: 12-24 FG, 4-5 FT
NEGATIVE: 3 Turnovers, 3 Fouls

After fixing the assigned plays, Amare ran more Pick and Rolls than he normally would, which was very pleasing. He should be utilizing his quickness against Garnett rather than playing with his back to the basket against one of the best post defenders in the league. I was also able to find him on a few basket cuts during one of Melo's isolation plays (this was not part of the play diagram, and I doubt the CPU would make this kind of recognition).

Amare also hit the game winning shot (unfortunately not a buzzer beater for the achievement, 0.3 seconds left) as I gave the CPU a taste of it's own medicine. For whatever reason my team wasn't running an inbounds play so I grabbed Amare (who was standing 30 feet from the basket with 1.8 seconds left looking for a pass like an idiot) and ran him towards the basket where he belongs. Garnett got caught behind Fields, Jermaine O'Neal (inbound defender), and Pierce (defending Fields) which gave Amare a clear path to the basket. Amare caught the ball 10 feet away and pulled up for a jumper. If I missed the shot I probably would have kicked myself for not going for the layup (though if time expired I would have kicked myself for not going for the shot). I think I pulled up simply because I was so shocked I was open. Either way, the shot went down, and Boston had no timeouts remaining (and w/ 0.3 ticks left, not enough time to get a shot anyway).

Kevin Garnett
STATS: 12 Points, 3 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 2 Blocks, 43 Minutes
SHOTS: 6-15 FG, 0-1 3PT
NEGATIVE: 2 Turnovers, 3 Fouls

I took Garnett very seriously because I remember how unstoppable his fadeaway is in previous 2K games. Late in the game I started doubling off Rondo anytime KG got it in the post. He got a few good looks due to poor CPU rotation but at the end of the day he did not have a good offensive game (zero assists, no free throws, 9 missed shots).

One important feature to note is that Garnett played within himself and didn't dribble around the court. One of fan's biggest complaints is that bigs have Isolation tendencies that are much too high (Garnett's in particular was a team leading 91). Isolations only made up 5% of KG's offense IRL so this was appropriately dealt with.

Chauncey Billups
STATS: 11 Points, 4 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 29 Minutes
SHOTS: 4-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-1 FT
NEGATIVE: 1 Turnover, 6 Fouls

I was a bit reach happy with Billups on the defensive end, forgetting that it was Simulation setting where on-ball steal success is very low. Billups actually had some good fouls, preventing an alley oop (fouling the passer), and another that stopped a fastbreak so it wasn't all bad. I am not a fan of his man defense anyway as he isn't nearly quick enough to keep up with Rondo. I was flabbergasted when Avery Bradley checked into the game in the 4th quarter and then proceeded to blow by Billups for a dunk no more than 5 seconds later. Offensively, I didn't have a bad game with Billups as he ran the offense and I took smart shots, but his defensive struggles kept the Celtics in the game and I wasn't sad to see him foul out late in the 4th quarter.

Rajon Rondo
STATS: 24 Points, 2 Rebounds, 7 Assists,4 Steals
SHOTS: 9-22 FG, 6-8 FT
NEGATIVE: 1 Turnover, 6 Fouls

As mentioned before, Billups struggled to keep up with Rondo, and I also played off Rondo to double down on Garnett. The result is the CPU took more shots than Rondo normally would. He was only 1-6 between the 4th quarter and OT and fouled out via intentional foul on the 2nd to last possession of OT (I bricked one FT which set up Pierce's go-ahead three on the next possession). I definitely picked my poison properly by staying at home on the big three. I probably could have defended his penetrations better, but I was also using one of the league's worst defensive teams and I've spent the bulk of my time editing ratings. Cut me some slack.

Landry Fields
STATS: 11 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal, 39 Minutes
SHOTS: 3-4 FG, 3-3 3PT, 2-2 FT
NEGATIVE: 2 Turnovers

Fields didn't get many plays run for him (a few Pick & Rolls w/ Amare) but was able to do most of his damage giving post-entry passes to Melo. Anytime Allen made any effort to double I was able to hit Fields for a three. Allen was late just enough that he wouldn't put his hands up and Fields was able to get B quallity shots on a Perfect Release that all went down. Defensively, he struggled to stay in front of Ray Allen at times, but was usually athletic enough to (eventually) recover. At one point Fields grabbed an offensive board, shot faked, and went to the line. All told, this was really how Fields plays in real life.

Ray Allen
STATS: 17 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal
SHOTS: 6-17 FG, 1-5 3PT, 4-5 FT
NEGATIVE: 2 Turnovers, 1 Foul

If there was one player I was determined not to let beat me, it was Ray Allen. I made sure not to leave it to the CPU to chase Allen around on screens. I didn't overreact to Allen when he was on the 3pt line getting a pick from Garnett. He isn't going to take the shot in motion. Just get over and put your hands up. Only jump when the shot clock is down to one. The end result is I defended Allen much better than I'd thought. Most of his successful shots were fastbreak layups and dunks (or a layup he was able to get based on how tight I played him on the perimeter). I can live with 17 points on 17 shots from Ray Allen.

Ronny Turiaf
STATS: 4 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal, 1 Block, 35 Minutes
SHOTS: 1-1 FG, 2-2 FT
NEGATIVE: 2 Turnovers

Turiaf had the biggest shot of the night. Down 2 points with 5 seconds left, I inbounded the ball to Toney Douglas, 35 feet from the basket, momentarily forgetting it was the end of the game. Douglas drove in but was stopped by Rondo at the FT line. Turiaf showed up running over Douglas' left shoulder. Garnett was on my right side chasing Turiaf. With 1.6 seconds left I figure what the hell and give it to cutting Turiaf half-praying it was Amare (it wasn't... Amare was standing behind the 3pt line in the corner, home position for a PF/C in the 2Kverse). Turiaf catches the ball but has been re-picked up by Garnett on his right hand side. Turiaf swoops to the basket and lays it in over Garnett with no time remaining on the clock to send it into overtime.

Aside from that, no plays were ever called for Turiaf and he did his best to stay out of Amare & Melo's way. He played some solid team defense and helped limit KG but I'd have a bitter taste in my mouth if it weren't for him being in the right place at the right time.

Jermaine O'Neal
STATS: 4 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 3 Steals, 22 Minutes
SHOTS: 0-1 FG
NEGATIVE: 1 Foul

Like Turiaf, O'Neal got out of the way and focused on defense and rebounding. 3 steals in 22 minutes for O'Neal is a lot considering he only had 2 steals the entire season (458 minutes). Boston had 18 steals to my 6, which is ultimately what kept them in the game despite my 58% shooting to their 48%. I was pretty careful with my passing aside from one stint late in the 4th where I turned it over 3 straight times, so I don't know what one can really do to cut back on the CPU's success on this end. Obviously the Celtics are a good defensive team and get lots of steals, but not from Jermaine O'Neal (0.2 STL% last season).

Toney Douglas
STATS: 7 Points, 3 Rebounds, 10 Assists, 3 Blocks, 33 Minutes
SHOTS: 1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-6 FT
NEGATIVE: 9 Turnovers, 2 Fouls

Douglas with the epic 1.11 A/T ratio. His low pass rating probably had something to do with passes getting picked, as Billups had no problem making those same passes. Unlike Billups however, Douglas had no problem keeping Rondo in front as evidenced by his 3 blocks. Believe it or not, Douglas actually lead the team in Plus/Minus with +8 while Billups was -5. Now that I mention it, I did say Rondo was 1-6 in the 4th and OT (including 0-4 in OT which Douglas played all of) so really, we saw the best and worst of the Knick PGs. Both have to be used differently. 2K's playcalling system doesn't do a great job of recognizing this. One thing I definitely would have done if I were calling the shots would be to use Douglas in the Pick and Roll more with Amare rather than exclusively featuring Melo every time down, even if Melo was having his way offensively (when he actually got the ball - hence the reason why Douglas is best used in P/R situations).

Jeff Green
STATS: 5 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 26 Minutes
SHOTS: 1-3 FG, 3-4 FT
NEGATIVE: 1 Foul

Not much to say about Green's performance except that he stayed out of the way. He posted up a few times with Pierce out of the game but he's not a big time scorer. His lone basket came on a fastbreak.

Jared Jeffries
STATS: 4 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Steals
SHOTS: 1-1 FG, 2-4 FT
NEGATIVE: N/A

Jeffries is only 58 overall but still found a way to impact the game, be it coming up with a loose ball underneath or helping out on the defensive end. In typical Knick fan fashion, I found myself screaming at the TV anytime Jeffries came up with a ball and was timid about going up for a shot (resulting in a drawn foul). Part of that is my stick control, the other is just the shock from the CPU not coming up with the loose ball.

Glen Davis
STATS: 4 Points, 6 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Block, 22 Minutes
SHOTS: 2-4 FG, 0-1 3PT
NEGATIVE: 2 Fouls

Like most opponents, I didn't really care when Davis had the ball on the perimeter, though he inexplicably was able to blow by Amare on the baseline (w/ Amare sagging off!) thanks to the game's unresponsive defensive controls.

THE REST
Bill Walker: 2 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Block, 13 Minutes (1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT)
Shawne Williams: 2 Rebounds, 1 Foul, 10 Minutes (0-2 FG, 0-1 3PT)
Iman Shumpert: 3 Points, 1 Turnover, 1 Foul, 6 Minutes (1-1 FG, 1-1 3PT)
Delonte West: 5 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 1 Foul, 16 Minutes (2-4 FG, 1-2 FT)
JaJuan Johnson: 4 Poinrs, 3 Rebounds, 11 Minutes (2-4 FG)
Avery Bradley: 4 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 5 Minutes (2-2 FG)

SUMMARY
This was a great gaming experience for me as it was a realistic and back and forth game with some huge highlights for both teams. I can live with some of the CPU's steals since I was playing the Celtics and most came against a guy who really can't run the point, and even the Knicks' defensive mistakes by the CPU (it IS the Knicks we're talking about). One major concern however is how many steals the CPU had when they weren't even reaching for the ball. Turning up that slider would probably make me want to rip my hair out (though it would also lead to more steals on my end). I also would have liked to see more P/R play from the Celtics which can be attributed to the "Look for Post Players" slider being increased on the Simulation slider set (that certainly isn't a player tendency issue however).

I was basically able to shut down Boston's halfcourt offense (aside from Pierce) but those fastbreaks simply killed me. Celtics had 64 Points in the Paint, 22 Fastbreak Points, and 28 Points off Turnovers. They shot 48% from the field, but when you factor in how many of those baskets came on the break, I did a much better defensive job than the numbers showed. When the CPU wasn't forcing turnovers, I more or less took them to town with my superior shot selection (58% from the field and 7-11 on threes). The game was ONLY close because I had 15 more turnovers than they did.

All told however, this was one of the most realistic NBA experiences I have ever played, and a big improvement over what we were seeing with the default rosters. I'm looking forward to working on the other 28 teams. I will also upload the roster right now so you guys can download and try it out for yourselves (remember: only the Knicks and Celtics are completed so far). I would love to hear your results.

Real 2K Insider fixed the NBA 2K12 gameplay

2011-10-17T15:34:00.002-04:00

I completed my tendencies last night for the New York Knicks and tested them in a CPU match. I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

In previous Knicks simulations Carmelo Anthony would take 30+ shots while Amare Stoudemire took about 10, and the rest of the team even less than that. Frustrating, because Melo and Amare had identical Shot & Touch tendencies (93 & 99 respectively). Melo would post up on nearly every possession. The reality is he isolates on 37% of his possessions (most in the league!) and posts up on only 13% of the time (a high mark for a SF, but certainly not every trip down the floor. Amare/Melo both prefer to face the basket and attack! The post ups (which is a league-wide problem) also drive down assist totals. This is a Mike D'Antoni team and passing for 3pt shots and pick & rolls are the name of the game!

Gameplay was set to Simulation setting. All-Star difficulty on 12 minute quarters.

PTS-REB-AST-STL-BLK-TO-MINS

Ronny Turiaf: 6-4-1-0-3-1-24 (3-4 FG)

Amare Stoudemire: 12-7-4-0-0-0-35 (4-11 FG, 4-6 FT)

Carmelo Anthony: 22-6-3-1-1-0-36 (7-15 FG, 3-5 3PT, 5-6 FT)

Landry Fields: 14-9-4-0-1-0-35 (5-11 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-2 FT)

Chauncey Billups: 18-4-7-0-1-1-32 (7-12 FG, 3-7 3PT, 1-1 FT)

Toney Douglas: 10-3-0-1-2-2-21 (3-6 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT)

Jared Jeffries: 8-1-0-0-0-0-16 (4-4 FG, 0-1 FT)

Iman Shumpert: 6-0-1-0-0-0-8 (2-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-2 FT)

Shawne Williams: 3-3-0-0-0-1-20 (1-3 FG, 1-2 3PT)

Bill Walker: 0-2-0-0-0-0-13 (0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT)

Josh Harrellson: 0-2-0-0-0-0-5 (0-1 FG, 0-2 FT)

Derrick Brown: DNP

TEAM: 99-41-20-2-8-48 (36-72 FG, 12-26 3PT, 15-22 FT)

Fields lead the team in scoring in the first half with 12 which was certainly a bright spot. He didn't hesitate to take a three when left open. Melo took over scoring in the second half to lead the team but on far fewer shots than previous simulations. The scoring and shot distribution was much more balanced this time around.

The team was pitted against the Boston Celtics who will be the next team I complete all ratings and tendencies for. They certainly need it as Paul Pierce scored 25 points on 27 shots. Ray Allen was next with 23 points and only 13 shots, while Kevin Garnett took only 7 shots in 34 minutes (5-7 against Pierce's 8-27). Jeff Green finished with 12 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting.

My tendencies & ratings lead to a more balanced attack for the Knicks and the featured player was whoever had the hot hand at the time. Fields had 12 of his 14 in the first half while Melo had 10 of his 22 in the 4th quarter. 2K's tendencies & ratings on the other hand lead to a more scripted game as Paul Pierce was going to take a shot whether it was a good one or not.

The best part is these results can only improve. I meant to edit each player's assigned plays but completely forgot as I wanted to test the tendencies out ASAP. I will run another simulation with those tweaks (if there are any). Completing the opposing team's ratings/tendencies/plays should also help.

Another thing I should also try is the gameplay on Default setting rather than Simulation. Shot sliders are down on the sim setting but the CPU will also not attempt on ball steals which lead to a very low amount of steals and turnovers. The Celtics are a superb defensive team with one of the league's best ball hawks at PG yet didn't disrupt much of the Knicks' offensive flow. A combination of both slider settings will probably generate more realistic gameplay. Finally, I will also test out a Human vs CPU game to see if the CPU reacts any differently towards a user than it's fellow CPU.

I will upload another roster later tonight so you guys can run your own tests. Only one team has completed rating/tendencies so far but that will change over the coming weeks.

NBA 2K12 Post Up Tendencies & Synergy Data

2011-10-16T22:33:00.000-04:00

I've started the ground work on my player tendencies and have come across some disturbing trends among NBA 2K12's defaults. One thing I've noticed from watching and playing against the CPU in NBA 2K12 is that players post up much more than they do in real life. I've seen CPU Derrick Rose score twice in the post during a game, which is something he did twice ALL SEASON. Naturally the Post Up tendency was one of the first I wanted to check out.

Post Up data compiled from the highly recommended Synergy Sports.

Minutes = Regular Season + Playoffs

Dwight Howard
99 Tendency
1113 Post Ups (59.0% of Offense)
16.73 PU Per 48 Minutes (3193 Minutes)

Zach Randolph
98 Tendency
714 Post Ups (39.9% of Offense)
10.58 PU Per 48 Minutes (3239 Minutes)

These two players post up more than anyone else in the league. They are the bar for what a max rating should look like.

Amare Stoudemire
99 Tendency
246 Post Ups (12.0% of Offense)
3.93 PU Per 48 Minutes (3004 Minutes)

Amare Stoudemire posts up nowhere near as frequently yet he boasts an extremely high tendency (even higher than Randolph!)

Kwame Brown
94 Tendency
149 Post Ups (27.4% of Offense)
4.17 PU Per 48 Minutes (1714 Minutes)

I can understand a high tendency for Kwame since a great deal of his offense comes from the post. However since he is a low volume scorer one can also make a case for him to have a low tendency since the frequency of his offense being used is not so great (though still more frequent than Amare Stoudemire).

Jason Collins
6 Tendency
7 Post Ups (5.2% of Offense)
0.44 PU Per 48 Minutes (751 Minutes)

It would appear going with the per minute # might be more prudent because percentage-wise Collins is posting up half as much as Amare. Ultimately it depends on how other tendencies (specifically Shot and Touch) affect the Post tendency.

It also appears that 6 is the minimum post tendency 2K gave out, which doesn't quite make sense to me since 1 or 0 is used for most other attributes. Collins certainly posts up more than say...

Derrick Rose
7 Tendency
9 Post Ups (0.3% of Offense)
0.11 PU Per 48 Minutes (3675 Minutes)

Rose has reportedly been working on his post game (although considering 2K rates all his post moves as "Good" why would he need to?) but until he starts showing it, even guys like Jason Collins should have higher tendencies.

D.J. Augustin
11 Tendency
0 Post Ups (0.0% of Offense)
0.00 PU Per 48 Minutes (2757 Minutes)

The diminutive Augustin never even posts up, yet boasts a higher tendency than the guy who inspired this post.

Kobe Bryant
98 Tendency
337 Post Ups (14.4% of Offense)
5.16 PU Per 48 Minutes (3133 Minutes)

Moving to the other side of the spectrum, Kobe posts up more than any other guard in the league. While he doesn't post up nearly as much as Zach Randolph, he does so much more than Amare Stoudemire.

LeBron James
97 Tendency
205 Post Ups (8.1% of Offense)
2.46 PU Per 48 Minutes (3985 Minutes)

LeBron posts up far more than he is given credit for (and is actually successful when he does so), but there is obviously no way he can justifiably have a similar tendency to Kobe.

Dwyane Wade
73 Tendency
145 Post Ups (6.0% of Offense)
1.90 PU Per 48 Minutes (3652 Minutes)

Wade's tendency might be a bit more realistic for LeBron. Until you consider that only 25 points separate Wade and Zach Randolph. Both Heat players need to be considerably lower. They are isolation players, not constant post threats!

Tyrus Thomas
15 Tendency
70 Post Ups (15.5% of Offense)

3.90 PU Per 48 Minutes (861 Minutes)

Tyrus posts up more than LeBron or Wade yet his Post tendency is only 4 points greater than Augustin. He posts up as frequently as Amare Stoudemire yet 84 points separate them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is no rhyme or reason to this. These are so poorly done it's an open question as to whether 2K even used Synergy to determine their tendencies or if they simply went with "feel" and the "honest" eyeball. A Synergy subscription costs $30, which is half the price of one sold copy of NBA 2K. I shouldn't have to write this.

I am no statistician. This is a basic application of elementary math that even SAT cheaters like Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom could do. 2K Sports for whatever reason has chosen to ignore mathematics whilst touting itself as an NBA simulation. This is MIND BOGGLING.

Nitpicking these numbers does not make for a compelling read, nor is it very important to the average NBA 2K fan. However what IS important to the average NBA 2K fan is the gameplay and for the past few years 2K's abominable tendencies have greatly hindered that end. Rather than make improvements in these fields it seems like 2K is content with the status quo and then wondering why users complain once they get past the paid-off exclusive reviews (IGN) and find a buggy game that they paid 65 dollars to beta test.

(What other game in the world asks this of their fanbase year after year?)

List of NBA 2K12 Team & NBA's Greatest Ratings

2011-10-06T19:10:00.002-04:00

What do you think of the "NBA's Greatest" teams? Which teams would you like to have seen?

Here's a list of the numerical team ratings (the actual number, not the team ranks) for the teams in NBA2K12. Rather than use 2K's broken Overall rating (for teams), I've found that averaging the Offense and Defense ratings provides far greater accuracy.

NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE
94.5 Heat (99 Def, 90 Off, 89 Ovr)
83.5 Bulls (99 Def, 68 Off, 85 Ovr)
82.5 Celtics (85 Def, 80 Off, 86 Ovr)
81.0 Magic (87 Def, 75 Off, 81 Ovr)
80.0 Hawks (76 Def, 84 Off, 78 Ovr)
74.0 Knicks (61 Def, 87 Off, 74 Ovr)
74.0 76ers (79 Def, 69 Off, 75 Ovr)
71.5 Pacers (78 Def, 65 Off, 73 Ovr)
70.0 Bucks (80 Def, 60 Off, 73 Ovr)
66.5 Pistons (60 Def, 73 Off, 69 Ovr)
63.0 Cavaliers (66 Def, 60 Off, 66 Ovr)
63.0 Raptors (66 Def, 60 Off, 64 Ovr)
62.0 Wizards (64 Def, 60 Off, 68 Ovr)
62.0 Nets (64 Def, 60 Off, 67 Ovr)
62.0 Bobcats (64 Def, 60 Off, 64 Ovr)

The East's Top 9 is down to a T when you look beyond the overall rating. It's clear that Miami is extremely overrated. In my most recent sim they went 73-9. They're good, but they're not that good. Cavaliers on the surface might seem overrated but it's often forgotten they were a decent team for a month and a half until Anderson Varejao got hurt. Bobcats also come out low, but they also traded Stephen Jackson (83) for Corey Maggette (74).

NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE
89.0 Mavericks (79 Def, 99 Off, 84 Ovr)
85.5 Spurs (87 Def, 84 Off, 81 Ovr)
83.5 Nuggets (70 Def, 97 Off, 80 Ovr)
83.0 Grizzlies (77 Def, 89 Off, 84 Ovr)
82.0 Lakers (89 Def, 75 Off, 86 Ovr)
80.0 Thunder (77 Def, 83 Off, 83 Ovr)
79.0 Suns (74 Def, 86 Off, 78 Ovr)
75.0 Hornets (80 Def, 70 Off, 77 Ovr)
73.0 Jazz (73 Def, 73 Off, 78 Ovr)
73.0 Warriors (65 Def, 81 Off, 74 Ovr)
71.5 Trailblazers (77 Def, 66 Off, 80 Ovr)
70.0 Clippers (71 Def, 69 Off, 76 Ovr)
69.0 Rockets (74 Def, 64 Off, 75 Ovr)
62.5 Kings (65 Def, 60 Off, 69 Ovr)
60.0 Timberwolves (60 Def, 60 Off, 63 Ovr)

The West is more of a mixed bag. Nuggets and Grizzlies better than Lakers and Thunder? During a 3 year association simulation, Nuggets went to the NBA Finals once and the Conference Finals twice. Hornets with healthy David West worse than the Suns? Warriors better than the Blazers with healthy Greg Oden and Raymond Felton replacing Andre Miller?

SPECIAL TEAMS
99.0 East All-Stars (99 Def, 99 Off, 94 Ovr)
96.5 West All-Stars (94 Def, 99 Off, 96 Ovr)
70.0 Rookies (60 Def, 80 Off, 71 Ovr)
74.5 Sophomores (84 Def, 65 Off, 76 Ovr)
99.0 NBA 2K (99 Def, 99 Off, 95 Ovr)
99.0 2K Sports (99 Def, 99 Off, 94 Ovr)
98.0 VC (97 Def, 99 Off, 92 Ovr)
97.0 2K China (95 Def, 99 Off, 97 Ovr)

Rookies and Sophs are last year's R/S (meaning the Rookie team will be the Sophs when the real rookies sign contracts). The last 4 teams are unlockable w/ the following codes.

2ksports
2kchina
nba2k
vcteam
payrespect - Unlocks ABA ball

I'm not sure who actually uses those teams (aside from the 2K devs themselves) and I would hate to think a substantial amount of time goes into a feature that the fans hardly use.

NBA's GREATEST TEAMS
99.0 [64-65 Celtics] (99 Def, 99 Off, 98 Ovr)
95.0 [64-65 Lakers] (94 Def, 96 Off, 95 Ovr)
97.5 [70-71 Bucks] (96 Def, 99 Off, 97 Ovr)
95.0 [70-71 Lakers] (91 Def, 99 Off, 94 Ovr)
92.0 [70-71 Hawks] (85 Def, 99 Off, 92 Ovr)
96.0 [71-72 Lakers] (93 Def, 99 Off, 94 Ovr)
96.5 [71-72 Knicks] (95 Def, 98 Off, 95 Ovr)
96.5 [76-77 76ers] (94 Def, 99 Off, 96 Ovr)
94.5 [84-85 76ers] (94 Def, 95 Off, 93 Ovr)
91.5 [84-85 Bucks] (91 Def, 92 Off, 92 Ovr)
83.5 [85-86 Bulls] (81 Def, 88 Off, 85 Ovr)
99.0 [85-86 Celtics] (99 Def, 99 Off, 98 Ovr)
79.5 [85-86 Hawks] (80 Def, 79 Off, 81 Ovr)
98.5 [86-87 Lakers] (98 Def, 99 Off, 98 Ovr)
97.0 [88-89 Pistons] (95 Def, 99 Off, 95 Ovr)
93.5 [88-89 Bulls] (85 Def, 98 Off, 91 Ovr)
90.0 [89-90 Cavaliers] (84 Def, 96 Off, 89 Ovr)
95.0 [90-91 Bulls] (92 Def, 98 Off, 94 Ovr)
97.0 [90-91 Lakers] (95 Def, 99 Off, 96 Ovr)
92.0 [90-91 Trailblazers] (89 Def, 95 Off, 92 Ovr)
91.0 [90-91 Warriors] (85 Def, 97 Off, 90 Ovr)
95.0 [92-93 Bulls] (94 Def, 96 Off, 95 Ovr)
91.5 [92-93 Hornets] (85 Def, 98 Off, 90 Ovr)
94.5 [93-94 Rockets] (90 Def, 99 Off, 93 Ovr)
88.0 [93-94 Nuggets] (86 Def, 90 Off, 88 Ovr)
92.0 [94-95 Knicks] (92 Def, 92 Off, 92 Ovr)
96.0 [94-95 Magic] (93 Def, 99 Off, 95 Ovr)
97.0 [95-96 Bulls] (95 Def, 99 Off, 96 Ovr)
95.0 [95-96 Supersonics] (97 Def, 93 Off, 94 Ovr)
97.5 [97-98 Bulls] (96 Def, 99 Off, 94 Ovr)
92.0 [97-98 Jazz] (91 Def, 93 Off, 91 Ovr)
93.5 [97-98 Lakers] (92 Def, 95 Off, 93 Ovr)
94.0 [97-98 Spurs] (95 Def, 93 Off, 93 Ovr)
93.5 [01-02 Kings] (88 Def, 99 Off, 93 Ovr)

You know offensive ratings are out of wack when the 94 Rockets and 95 Knicks are better offensive teams than they are defensive teams. All of these teams with the exception of the 86 Hawks (79) and 86 Bulls (88) are 90+ offensively. Some of these teams were stacked offensively (1991 & 1996 Bulls, 1998 Jazz) but that certainly wasn't the case with the 95 Knicks (#1 Defense, #16 Defense), or 94 Rockets (#1 Defense, #15 Offense) They were one star teams that played some of the toughest defense ever played. The 93 Hornets, while a popular team, were not a great team, only winning 44 games (5th in the east), with the #9 Offense (rated 98?) and #19 Defense (rated 85?).

Obviously it's very cool that these teams were added and they were meant to add some fun to the game, but the one thing I've noticed is that defense is impossible in these games as players simply don't miss shots even when you do defend them well. Offensive ratings are much too high, and in many cases, various liberties were taken to "enhance" the user experience. As with every other 2K game, it will be up to roster editors to fix the mess 2K has created to make the game as enjoyable as it was meant to be (for most players).

Rather than nitpick here I think it would be great to make featured posts highlighting various teams.

NBA 2K12 List of NBA's Greatest Player Ratings

2011-10-06T08:44:00.002-04:00

There are 34 Retro teams in NBA 2K12, unlocked by completing the "NBA's Greatest" challenges.

What teams would you have liked to see, and why?

NOTE: Some teams are missing a key player here or there (most notably the 85 Sixers who are missing Charles Barkley). If a team does not have 12 players on the roster a generic player will take the spot: Michael Davis, David Miller, John Brown, William Jones, Robert Williams, James Smith, or Richard Johnson.

64-65 Boston Celtics
97 - Bill Russell (C)
89 - Sam Jones (SG)
87 - John Havlicek (SF)
84 - Tom Sanders (PF)
81 - Tom Heinsohn (PF)
81 - K.C. Jones (PG)
70 - Larry Siegfried (PG)
60 - Mel Counts (C)
52 - John Thompson (C)

64-65 Los Angeles Lakers
94 - Elgin Baylor (SF)
91 - Jerry West (PG)
83 - Rudy LaRusso (PF)
80 - Dick Barnett (SG)
66 - LeRoy Ellis (C)
65 - Don Nelson (SF)
64 - Walt Hazzard (PG)
63 - Darrall Imhoff (C)
62 - Jim King (SG)

70-71 Milwaukee Bucks
97 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (C)
94 - Oscar Robertson (PG)
88 - Bob Dandridge (SF)
73 - Greg Smith (PF)
72 - Bob Boozer (PF)
72 - Jon McGlocklin (SG)
70 - Lucius Allen (PG)
60 - Dick Cunningham (C)

70-71 Los Angeles Lakers
94 - Wilt Chamberlain (C)
92 - Jerry West (PG)
85 - Gail Goodrich (SG)
76 - Elgin Baylor (SF)
74 - Keith Erickson (SF)
72 - Jim McMillian (SF)
61 - Rick Roberson (C)
61 - Willie McCarter

70-71 Atlanta Hawks
86 - Lou Hudson (SF)
85 - Pete Maravich (SG)
80 - Walt Bellamy (C)
80 - Bill Bridges (PF)
77 - Walt Hazzard (PG)
67 - Jerry Chambers (SF)
61 - Len Chappell (PF)
61 - Jim Davis (C)

71-72 Los Angeles Lakers
93 - Wilt Chamberlain (C)
90 - Jerry West (PG)
87 - Gail Goodrich (SG)
77 - Jim McMillian (SF)
76 - Elgin Baylor (SF)
73 - Keith Erickson (SF)
70 - Flynn Robinson (PG)
62 - LeRoy Ellis (C)

71-72 New York Knicks
89 - Walt Frazier (PG)
87 - Jerry Lucas (PF)
85 - Dave DeBusschere (PF)
83 - Willis Reed (C)
78 - Earl Monroe (PG)
77 - Bill Bradley (SF)
74 - Dick Barnett (SG)
70 - Phil Jackson (PF)
51 - Luther Rackley (C)

76-77 Philadelphia 76ers
96 - Julius Erving (SF)
93 - George McGinnis (PF)
81 - Doug Collins (SG)
80 - World B. Free (PG)
80 - Henry Bibby (PG)
73 - Steve Mix (PF)
73 - Darryl Dawkins (C)
72 - Joe Bryant (SF)
67 - Harvey Catchings (C)
63 - Mike Dunleavy (PG)

84-85 Philadelphia 76ers
94 - Moses Malone (C)
93 - Julius Erving (SF)
83 - Maurice Cheeks (PG)
74 - Bobby Jones (SF)
71 - Clint Richardson (SG)
67 - George Johnson (PF)
66 - Clemon Johnson (C)

84-85 Milwaukee Bucks
91 - Sidney Moncrief (SG)
89 - Terry Cummings (PF)
86 - Paul Pressey (SG)
76 - Ricky Pierce (SF)
72 - Mike Dunleavy (PG)
68 - Alton Lister (C)
66 - Craig Hodges (PG)
63 - Charles Davis (SF)
60 - Randy Breuer (C)
57 - Paul Mokeski (C)

85-86 Chicago Bulls
92 - Michael Jordan (SG)
81 - George Gervin (SF)
81 - Orlando Woolridge (SF)
73 - Charles Oakley (PF)
68 - John Paxson (PG)
66 - Rod Higgins (SF)
66 - Sidney Green (PF)
66 - Kyle Macy (PG)
62 - Dave Corzine (C)

85-86 Boston Celtics
97 - Larry Bird (SF)
88 - Kevin McHale (PF)
86 - Robert Parish (C)
80 - Dennis Johnson (PG)
77 - Bill Walton (C)
74 - Danny Ainge (SG)
73 - Scott Wedman (SF)
64 - Jerry Sichting (PG)
63 - Sam Vincent (PG)

85-86 Atlanta Hawks
93 - Dominique Wilkins (SF)
76 - Doc Rivers (PG)
73 - Kevin Willis PF)
71 - Spud Webb (PG)
68 - Randy Wittman (SG)
66 - Antoine Carr (PF)
66 - Cliff Levingston (PF)
65 - Eddie Johnson (PG) - Interesting typo: 9 years pro, Age 8
62 - Tree Rollins (C)
59 - Jon Koncak (C)
52 - Scott Hastings (PF)

86-87 Los Angeles Lakers
95 - Magic Johnson (PG)
85 - James Worthy (SF)
84 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (C)
83 - Byron Scott (SG)
82 - Michael Cooper (SG)
75 - A.C. Green (PF)
67 - Kurt Rambis (PF)
66 - Billy Thompson
64 - Mychal Thompson
62 - Frank Brickowski

88-89 Detroit Pistons
91 - Isiah Thomas (PG)
89 - Joe Dumars (SG)
80 - Mark Aguirre (SF)
79 - Bill Laimbeer (C)
78 - Dennis Rodman (PF)
77 - Vinnie Johnson (SG)
70 - Darryl Dawkins (C)
65 - Rick Mahorn (C)
64 - John Salley (PF)
61 - James Edwards (C)

88-89 Chicago Bulls
99 - Michael Jordan (SG)
82 - Scottie Pippen (SF)
77 - Horace Grant (PF)
71 - Bill Cartwright (C)
69 - John Paxson (PG)
68 - Craig Hodges (PG)
68 - Sam Vincent (PG)
62 - Charles Davis (PF)
60 - Dave Corzine (C)
57 - Brad Sellers (C)
53 - Will Perdue (C)

89-90 Cleveland Cavaliers
84 - Mark Price (PG)
82 - Brad Daugherty (C)
79 - Larry Nance (SF)
76 - John Williams (PF)
75 - Craig Ehlo (SG)
70 - Reggie Williams (SF)
68 - Steve Kerr (PG)
61 - Tree Rollins (C)
52 - Paul Mokeski

90-91 Chicago Bulls
99 - Michael Jordan
89 - Scottie Pippen
82 - Horace Grant
71 - John Paxson (PG)
69 - B.J. Armstrong (PG)
67 - Craig Hodges (PG)
66 - Bill Cartwright (C)
64 - Cliff Levingston (PF)
62 - Stacey King (PF)
61 - Will Perdue (C)
60 - Scott Williams (PF)

90-91 Los Angeles Lakers
95 - Magic Johnson (PG)
87 - James Worthy (SF)
79 - Byron Scott (SG)
77 - Vlade Divac (C)
75 - Sam Perkins (PF)
74 - A.C. Green (PF)
66 - Larry Drew (PG)
64 - Elden Campbell (C)
59 - Mychal Thompson (C)

90-91 Portland Trailblazers
92 - Clyde Drexler (SG)
85 - Terry Porter (PG)
81 - Jerome Kersey (SF)
75 - Buck Williams (PF)
74 - Cliff Robinson (PF)
73 - Danny Ainge (SG)
72 - Drazen Petrovic (SG)
71 - Kevin Duckworth (C)
57 - Mark Bryant (PF)

90-91 Golden State Warriors
90 - Chris Mullin (SF)
90 - Mitch Richmond (SG)
90 - Tim Hardaway (PG)
76 - Sarunas Marciulionis (SG)
72 - Rod Higgins (SF)
67 - Mario Elie (SG)
64 - Alton Lister (C)
63 - Tom Tolbert (PF)
60 - Vincent Askew (SG)
52 - Paul Mokeski (C)

92-93 Chicago Bulls
99 - Michael Jordan (SG)
90 - Scottie Pippen (SF)
83 - Horace Grant (PF)
71 - B.J. Armstrong (PG)
67 - Rodney McCray (SF)
67 - John Paxson (PG)
65 - Bill Cartwright (C)
64 - Stacey King (PF)
63 - Scott Williams (PF)
61 - Will Perdue (C)
57 - Ed Nealy (PF)

92-93 Charlotte Hornets
89 - Alonzo Mourning (C)
89 - Larry Johnson (PF)
81 - Kendall Gill (SG)
81 - Mugsey Bogues (PG)
75 - Dell Curry (SG)
72 - Johnny Newman (SF)
70 - David Wingate (SG)
66 - Kenny Gattison (PF)
65 - Sidney Green (PF)
58 - Tony Bennett (PG)
55 - Kevin Lynch (SG)

93-94 Houston Rockets
97 - Hakeem Olajuwon (C)
80 - Otis Thorpe (PF)
77 - Vernon Maxwell (SG)
75 - Sam Cassell (PG)
75 - Robert Horry (SF)
74 - Kenny Smith (PG)
71 - Mario Elie (SG)
66 - Scott Brooks (PG)
57 - Matt Bullard (PF)

93-94 Denver Nuggets
85 - Dikembe Mutombo (C)
82 - Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (PG)
80 - Laphonso Ellis (PF)
79 - Reggie Williams (SF)
78 - Bryant Stith (SG)
73 - Robert Pack (PG)
72 - Rodney Rogers (PF)
63 - Tom Hammonds (PF)

94-95 New York Knicks
93 - Patrick Ewing (C)
82 - John Starks (SG)
78 - Charles Oakley (PF)
76 - Anthony Mason (SF)
73 - Doug Christie (SG)
73 - Greg Anthony (PG)
72 - Derek Harper (PG)
68 - Charles Smith (PF)
67 - Hubert Davis (SG)
65 - Monty Williams (SF)
62 - Anthony Bonner (PF)
58 - Herb Williams (C)

94-95 Orlando Magic
94 - Shaquille O'Neal (C)
86 - Penny Hardaway (PG)
82 - Horace Grant (PF)
81 - Nick Anderson (SG)
74 - Dennis Scott (SF)
69 - Anthony Bowie (SG)
69 - Donald Royal (SF)
68 - Brian Shaw (PG)
64 - Jeff Turner (SF)
59 - Tree Rollins (C)

95-96 Chicago Bulls
99 - Michael Jordan (SG)
92 - Scottie Pippen (SF)
84 - Dennis Rodman (PF)
76 - Toni Kukoc (SF)
74 - Ron Harper (PG)
69 - Steve Kerr (PG)
63 - John Salley (PF)
63 - Luc Longley (C)
60 - Jud Buechler (SG)
58 - Dickey Simpkins (PF)
57 - Bill Wennington (C)
53 - James Edwards (C)

95-96 Seattle Supersonics
90 - Shawn Kemp (PF)
90 - Gary Payton (PG)
80 - Detlef Schrempf (SF)
80 - Hersey Hawkins (SG)
73 - Sam Perkins (PF)
72 - Nate McMillian (PG)
71 - David Wingate (SG)
66 - Vincent Askew (SG)
63 - Ervin Johnson (C)
59 - Frank Brickowski (PF)

97-98 Chicago Bulls

99 - Michael Jordan (SG)
88 - Scottie Pippen (SF)
85 - Dennis Rodman (PF)
77 - Toni Kukoc (SF)
74 - Ron Harper (PG)
69 - Steve Kerr (PG)
67 - Luc Longley (C)
60 - Jud Buechler (SG)
58 - Dickey Simpkins (PF)
56 - Bill Wennington (C)

97-98 Utah Jazz
93 - Karl Malone (PF)
87 - John Stockton (PG)
81 - Jeff Hornacek (SG)
74 - Shandon Anderson (SF)
73 - Bryon Russell (SF)
69 - Howard Eisley (PG)
65 - Antoine Carr (PF)
64 - Greg Ostertag (C)
61 - Adam Keefe (SF)
56 - Greg Foster (PF)

97-98 Los Angeles Lakers
95 - Shaquille O'Neal (C)
85 - Eddie Jones (SG)
80 - Kobe Bryant (SG)
77 - Robert Horry (PF)
72 - Elden Campbell (C)
69 - Jon Barry (SG)
68 - Derek Fisher (PG)
58 - Corie Blount (PF)

97-98 San Antonio Spurs
93 - David Robinson (C)
89 - Tim Duncan (PF)
76 - Vinny Del Negro (SG)
76 - Avery Johnson (PG)
75 - Sean Elliott (SF)
69 - Jaren Jackson (SG)
67 - Monty Williams (SF)
67 - Chuck Person (SF)
61 - Will Perdue (C)

01-02 Sacramento Kings
93 - Chris Webber (PF)
81 - Vlade Divac (C)
81 - Peja Stojakovic (SF)
81 - Doug Christie (SG)
77 - Bobby Jackson (PG)
77 - Mike Bibby (PG)
71 - Hedo Turkoglu (SF)
68 - Gerald Wallace (SF)
63 - Lawrence Funderburke (PF)
60 - Scot Pollard (C)

NBA 2K12 Small Forward Ratings + Changes

2011-10-03T03:27:00.001-04:00

________________________________________________________________________________

SMALL FORWARD RATINGS

TOP 1-10
98 - LeBron James
92 - Kevin Durant
91 - Carmelo Anthony
86 - Rudy Gay
83 - Gerald Wallace
82 - Paul Pierce
81 - Danny Granger
81 - Caron Butler
80 - Grant Hill
80 - Wilson Chandler

Carmelo Anthony is perhaps the league's most overrated superstar, and his 2K rating is indicitive of that. His shot selection is awful and his defense even worse. Allegedly one of the league's clutchest offensive players, there are plenty of forced turnovers he commits by trying to play hero ball. The Knicks were a sub .500 team after trading for Melo, and were notably swept in the playoffs, with Melo only showing up for one of the games. Melo simply does not hold a candle to Kevin Durant, who is already a 2x scoring champ and 2x All-NBA First teamer at the young age of 22. The scary thing is Durant still has PLENTY of time to improve, whereas Melo at 26, doesn't stand to get much better (which is not a good prospect for the NY Knick defense).

Rudy Gay joins Andre Iguodala as another super athlete with overrated skills that has never made an all-star team. Gay missed half of the season and the Grizzlies didn't even skip a beat, beating a 1st seed Spurs team and taking the Thunder to 7 games. Does that sound like a team who was missing an 86 rated player?

Caron Butler missed 53 regular season games and the entire playoffs, but still went up in rating. Butler's shooting efficiency fell off a cliff in 2010 and stayed that way in 2010 so it will be interesting to see where this boost came from.

Wilson Chandler is the top rated Nugget and he just signed in China for a mere 3 million. I think that says it all about that rating's legitimacy.

TOP 11-20
78 - Shawn Marion
78 - Michael Beasley
77 - Luol Deng
77 - Shane Battier
77 - Tayshaun Prince
74 - Thaddeus Young
74 - Corey Maggette
74 - Andrei Kirilenko
74 - Hedo Turkoglu
74 - Rashard Lewis

Shane Battier is a bit high considering his defense has slipped a little bit with age, and thinking of Turkoglu as a top 20 SF is a bit laughable, but overall no major complaints.

TOP 21-30
74 - Nicolas Batum
74 - Paul George
74 - Dorell Wright
72 - Richard Jefferson
72 - Trevor Ariza
72 - Terrence Williams
72 - Jared Dudley
72 - Mickael Pietrus
71 - Ron Artest
71 - Matt Barnes

Here is where the **** hits the fan. Ron Artest is not a good offensive player, but he is easily the best defensive SF in the league (right up there with 1st teamer LeBron). It's tough to imagine a world where he is worse than Dorell Wright who likewise stands in a corner on offense and isn't nearly the defender Artest is.

Terrence Williams is rated equally to Richard Jefferson and Trevor Ariza. I don't need to elaborate here.

Mickael Pietrus could not crack the rotation in Orlando and Phoenix, but we're expected to believe he is a top 30 SF.

TOP 31-40
71 - Quentin Richardson
70 - Joey Graham
70 - Josh Childress
70 - Martell Webster
70 - Maurice Evans
69 - Josh Howard
69 - Chase Budinger
69 - Damion James
69 - Al-Farouq Aminu
69 - Chris Douglas-Roberts

The insanity continues. CDR barely got off the bench after Carlos Delfino came back yet is the top rated SF on the team. CDR signed internationally without an out-clause, so at least we won't have to live with the rating incompetence for long.

Joey Graham likewise was a 3rd string on the Cavs and is the highest rated SF on the team. Few teams in the league would take him over Jamario Moon. Aminu was brutal as a rookie and likewise did not outplay Moon.

TOP 41-50
69 - Francisco Garcia
68 - Sam Young
68 - C.J. Miles
67 - Danilo Gallinari
67 - Andres Nocioni
67 - Alonzo Gee
67 - Jamario Moon
67 - Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
67 - James Posey
67 - James Anderson

That's right folks. Danilo Gallinari isn't a top 40 SF. In fact, he rates 13 points worse than his backup, Wilson Chandler, and 24 points worse than the guy who replaced him in NY. In case you are wondering, 23 points separate Steve Nash and Jannero Pargo. Talk to Knick and Nugget fans about that and see what they tell you. Gallinari is rated equally to Nocioni which really says it all. Hell, he isn't rated any better than the worst starters at the position (Gee and Prince MAM), or guys who couldn't even get off their team's benches (Posey and Anderson).

TOP 51-60
67 - Sonny Weems
66 - Travis Outlaw
66 - Al Thornton
65 - Carlos Delfino
65 - Marvin Williams
65 - Dominic McGuire
65 - Cartier Martin
65 - Gary Forbes
65 - Derrick Brown
64 - Renaldo Balkman

Carlos Delfino being rated this low is an absolute joke if you've watched him as a member of the Bucks. Marvin Williams' rating is likewise just as bad although you won't find many people jumping up to defend him. Both players are easily far superior to D-League fodder like Dominic McGuire and Cartier Martin.

TOP 61-70
64 - Earl Clark
64 - Reggie Williams
63 - Gordon Hayward
63 - Luke Walton
63 - Devin Ebanks
63 - Ime Udoka
62 - Ryan Gomes
62 - Daniel Green
62 - Linas Kleiza
62 - James Johnson

Gordon Hayward showed at the end of the season that at the very least he is a much better player than a hobbled Luke Walton and a 2nd round Laker rookie with no BBall IQ.

Ryan Gomes started most of the year for the Clippers. Ime Udoka spent most of the year outside of the league. Facts like these are lost on 2K Sports. The same applies for Linas Kleiza and James Johnson as it pertains to Daniel Green for that matter.

TOP 71-80
61 - Julian Wright
61 - Damien Wilkins
61 - Shawne Williams
61 - Mike Harris
61 - Omri Casspi
60 - Christian Eyenga
60 - Dante Cunningham
60 - Donte Greene
59 - Austin Daye
59 - Peja Stojakovic

Austin Daye and Peja Stojakovic are worse than Donte Greene, Shawne Williams, Christian Eyenga, and don't even register as top 75 as the position. 2K Sports: If it's in the game, don't look at us man.

TOP 81-95
59 - Luke Babbitt
59 - Bobby Simmons
58 - James Jones
58 - Rasual Butler
58 - Lazar Hayward
58 - DeMarre Carroll
58 - Rodney Carney
58 - Quincy Pondexter
57 - Patrick Ewing Jr.
57 - Stephen Graham
57 - Jawad Williams
56 - DaJuan Summers
55 - Sasha Pavlovic
55 - Ronald Dupree
53 - Jason Kapono

Luke Babbitt = Bobby Simmons = Austin Daye = Peja Stojakovic

Babbitt & Simmons > James Jones

Logical equations you won't find in any math textbook. BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT LOGICAL.
________________________________________________________________________________

RATING CHANGES

LeBron James
98 Overall (+2)
97 Overall 2K11 (+1)
97 Inside (+2)
83 Close (+6)
86 Mid (+5)
79 3pt (+5)
76 FT (-1)

LeBron quietly has become one of the league's top mid-range shooters. He shot 45% which was up from 40% the two previous years. While he has surely improved his jumper since entering the league, some of this probably had to do with Wade and Bosh playing on his team. LeBron couldn't really be triple teamed like he was in Cleveland.... although this did NOT help Wade's shooting numbers. It is probably a little of both, and we'll find out this season whether it was a fluke or not. One thing that IS clear however is that LeBron's shot ratings were underrated for much of last season.

Kevin Durant
92 Overall (-1)
94 Overall 2K11 (+1)
95 Inside (+2)
86 Close (+1)
85 Mid (-1)
81 3pt (+5)
88 FT (0)

Durant only hit 40% of his mid-range shots, so this causes a large discrepancy in the LeBron/Kobe debate. LeBron is 5% better but only 1 rating point better. Kobe was only 2% worse and 7 points worse. All three players were among the leaders in mid-range attempts, so something is surely amiss with these ratings here.

Carmelo Anthony
91 Overall (-1)
93 Overall 2K11 (+1)
87 Inside (-3)
82 Close (+5)
90 Mid (+7)
84 3pt (+5)
84 FT (0)

Well, it's honestly a little baffling how Melo got a reputation boost but Kobe did not. Melo shot 43% from mid-range as a Nugget and only 40% as a Knick. Melo only shot 40% in 2010 and 39% in 2009. He is clearly overrated when looking at where everyone else has fallen on the scale. Melo's Close rating is also a bit high for someone who only shot 26% (32% as Nugget) from 3-9 feet and 37% (38% as Nugget) from 10-15 feet.

Rudy Gay
86 Overall (-1)
87 Overall 2K11 (0)
86 Inside (+7)
85 Close (-5)
79 Mid (-3)
86 3pt (+4)
81 FT (+3)

Back to some normalcy. Gay shot 39% from mid-range and his 79 mid-range falls right in line with Kobe's. 2K clearly has a scale in there somewhere but their implementation is spotty at best.

Gerald Wallace
83 Overall (-1)
85 Overall 2K11 (+2)
85 Inside (-3)
72 Close (+22)
70 Mid (+1)
79 3pt (+2)
75 FT (+1)

Crash shot 40% from mid-range as a Blazer (1.9 attempts) and 37% as a Bobcat (3.6 attempts). Overall he was 81-215 (37.8%). It's good that 2K took sample size and attempts into account... since otherwise people would be freaking out about Kobe and Gerald Wallace being rated equally in mid-range. Unfortunately, this does little to explain Crash's Close rating - he was 23-76 (30%) from 3-9 feet and a mere 3-13 (23%) from 10-15 feet. Very difficult to see the rationale behind a 22 point increase in that category.

Paul Pierce
82 Overall (-1)
84 Overall 2K11 (+1)
93 Inside (+6)
84 Close (+5)
80 Mid (-4)
84 3pt (+5)
86 FT (0)

Pierce's ratings are pretty standard. He shot 42% from mid-range but on only 2.8 attempts.

Danny Granger
81 Overall (-1)
81 Overall 2K11 (-1)
83 Inside (-2)
71 Close (-7)??? (Rating indiscernible in video, I'll find out in 24 hours)
75 Mid (-4)
86 3pt (+6)
85 FT (+1)

Granger shot only 35% from mid-range but did so on 4.3 attempts, and there isn't much to say about him right now since I was unable to get a good visual on his close rating.

Caron Butler
81 Overall (0)
83 Overall 2K11 (+2)
77 Inside (-1)
78 Close (+5)
88 Mid (+9)
75 3pt (+11)
77 FT (-8)

Butler's 3pt rating skyrocketed which is partially due to the 3pt scale boost, but also because Butler shot a high percentage in his 29 games played. He shot 45% from mid-range in 2011, but perhaps more importantly, also shot 45% in 483 attempts in 2010. Of course, Butler's rating (88) doesn't exactly match up with LeBron's rating (85) and body of work (45% on 424 attempts).

Grant Hill
80 Overall (-2)
81 Overall 2K11 (-1)
90 Inside (-3)
83 Close (-4)
72 Mid (-12)
84 3pt (+5)
83 FT (+1)

It will be very interesting to see how these ratings play out in the game as Hill's 3pt rating has drawn a lot of concern. Hill shot 40% from deep this season and 44% last season, but did so in a limited sample size. Hill mainly takes only open set shots which limits his total attempts. The concern is whether he will be dropping multple threes per game with an 84 rating. Hill averaged a career high 0.6 threes per game this past season.

Wilson Chandler
80 Overall (0)
81 Overall 2K11 (+1)
89 Inside (+7)
71 Close (-5)
75 Mid (0)
82 3pt (+4)
81 FT (+1)

China man Wilson Chandler shot 40% from mid-range on 3.7 attempts (37% on 2.6 attempts as a Knick).

________________________________________________________________________________

Honestlly there wasn't anything discovered about the new shot ratings that we didn't already figure out from the list of SG rating changes. As with the PGs and SGs, overall ratings didn't change all that drastically with this new formula, and if anything the SFs were the least affected by it.

NBA 2K12 Shooting Guard Ratings + Changes

2011-10-01T21:41:00.002-04:00

Shooting guard ratings have always been a weak point for 2K Sports as their formula is generally broken. Teams value shooting and defense from this position, while 2K seems to think it is ball handling ability (which is why many PGs in the league rate even higher as a SG than they do as a PG). As such, many starting players end up with lower ratings than the players coming off the bench behind them.

________________________________________________________________________________

SHOOTING GUARD RATINGS

TOP 1-10
96 - Dwyane Wade
94 - Kobe Bryant
85 - Manu Ginobili
85 - Andre Iguodala
84 - Joe Johnson
83 - Stephen Jackson
83 - Monta Ellis
82 - Eric Gordon
80 - Ray Allen
80 - Tyreke Evans

The 4th best SG in the league has never even been to an all-star game. Another year of Iguodala being absurdly overrated (nevermind the fact that he didn't even play SG last year). You can say that about Stephen Jackson too, as he is ridiculously overrated for a player who can't score the ball efficiently at all. No other SG in the top 10 approaches anything nearly as bad as Jackson's annual 40-42% shooting. Tyreke Evans had a nightmare season and while this was partially due to injury, I don't think anyone would take him over the #11 player.

TOP 11-20
79 - Kevin Martin
78 - Brandon Roy
78 - Jamal Crawford
77 - O.J. Mayo
76 - Jason Terry
76 - J.R. Smith
76 - Vince Carter
76 - Richard Hamilton
74 - Ben Gordon
74 - James Harden

Kevin Martin is one of the league's best scorers, significantly more efficient than Jackson, Monta, Iguodala, Joe Johnson, and Eric Gordon. Why he trails these players by 3-6 points is anyone's guess. Martin may not be the world's strongest defender, but neither is Monta Ellis.

Shooting guard is an interesting position in that many of the top players are sixth men (SEVEN of the top twenty to be exact). That said, not all of these players are accurately rated.

Brandon Roy's career quickly turned into a tragic train wreck, and he is no longer the best SG on his own team. Roy had a big game against Dallas but was invisible the rest of the series. This is not a player who is the 12th best at his position anymore.

Jamal Crawford regressed from his career best 2010, when he was named sixth man of the year. Nobody is taking him over Jason Terry ever again.

O.J. Mayo was awful this season and has not lived up to the potential 2K thought he had AT ALL. His mediocre athleticism means he isn't a great finisher at the basket, and defensively he is nowhere close to Tony Allen's (who definitely should be on the top 20 based on last season's performance).

As with the other sixth men, Ben Gordon did not have a good year and looks like a shell of his former self. He is far more likely to score 3 points than he is 30. The Bulls correctly deduced that he was a one-trick pony and while not re-signing him in 2009 was unpopular, it ultimately gave the Bulls the cap space needed in 2010 to build a deep team in free agency.

TOP 21-30
74 - Marcus Thornton
73 - Wesley Matthews
73 - Jason Richardson
73 - Nick Young
73 - Dahntay Jones
72 - John Salmons
72 - Shannon Brown
71 - Arron Afflalo
71 - Landry Fields
71 - Evan Turner

Dahntay Jones has barely played over the last few years but that is hardly his fault. Indiana has chosen not to use him in favor of 3pt shooters like Mike Dunleavy, and Jones always performs as expected when he is called upon. That said, he is really only a role player and he rated too high even when he was being used properly. He is basically Wesley Matthews without a jumper.

I consider it pretty laughable that Evan Turner had a worse season than Landry Fields, but also acknowledge that Turner still has a much higher ceiling. Fields won't get much better than what he is now, while Turner is just biding time until an Iguodala trade.

TOP 31-40
71 - Leandro Barbosa
70 - Wesley Johnson
70 - Courtney Lee
70 - DeShawn Stevenson
69 - Rodrique Beaubois
69 - Gerald Henderson
69 - DeMar DeRozan
69 - Michael Redd
69 - Tracy McGrady
69 - Ronnie Brewer

Another year of Leandro Barbosa as the Raptors' top rated player. DeMar DeRozan isn't exactly an all-around force, but Barbosa hasn't exactly played all that well of late either.

Beaubois is listed at SG because he started next to Kidd late in the year before getting hurt again. He should be moved to PG since the Mavs have like 6 SGs on the team. His rating will drop appropriately to a Barea-like level (by the way, can we stop pretending Barea is all that much better than Beaubois? He's really not).

TOP 41-50
68 - Tony Allen
68 - Keith Bogans
68 - Randy Foye
68 - Raja Bell
68 - Thabo Sefolosha
67 - Anthony Parker
67 - Willie Green
67 - Sasha Vujacic
66 - Jordan Crawford
66 - Corey Brewer

Ask the San Antonio Spurs if Tony Allen isn't a top 40 SG. Thabo Sefolosha he is not.

Corey Brewer was a SF in Dallas and obviously should be moved there due to the glut.

TOP 51-60
66 - Roger Mason
65 - Bill Walker
65 - Garrett Temple
65 - Rudy Fernandez
65 - Mike Miller
65 - Brandon Rush
65 - Gary Neal
64 - J.J. Redick
64 - Anthony Morrow
64 - Marco Belinelli

Roger Mason did nothing all year for the Knicks and is rated higher than Bill Walker, who he played behind, legit rotation players like Fernandez/Miller/Rush/Redick and players who started for their teams like Morrow/Belinelli.

Aside from the fact that Garrett Temple is a PG (where he rates lower) it's really a bit laughable that he is on par witth the aforementioned players as a SG. Broken formula much?

TOP 61-70
64 - Manny Harris
64 - Xavier Henry
64 - Charlie Bell
64 - Jerry Stackhouse
63 - Antoine Wright
63 - Quinton Ross
63 - Dominique Jones
63 - Elliot Williams
63 - Terrico White
62 - Marquis Daniels

10 players who barely played in the NBA this season. The only one who was a rotation player was Marquis Daniels (before injury), and he is the lowest rated of the bunch. These ratings are especially poor when you consider....

TOP 71-85
62 - Jodie Meeks
62 - Kyle Korver
62 - Mike Dunleavy
61 - Daequan Cook
61 - Jermaine Taylor
60 - Wayne Ellington
59 - Trey Johnson
59 - Von Wafer
58 - Lance Stephenson
58 - Kyle Weaver
56 - Maurice Ager
56 - Andy Rautins
55 - Matt Carroll
55 - Robert Vaden
54 - Morris Peterson

Jodie Meeks is not even a top 70 SG in the league. Meeks saved Philadelphia's season when he entered their starting lineup. Yet he isn't even on Jerry "Radio Show" Stackhouse's level. Kyle Korver and Mike Dunleavy are right behind him and there isn't a soul in the world who would take anyone in the likewise the #72 and in the league and there isn't a soul in the world who would take the 61-70 bracket over them.

________________________________________________________________________________

RATING CHANGES

Dwyane Wade
96 Overall (0)
96 Overall 2K11 (0)
96 Inside (+4)
79 Close (-1)
73 Mid (-5)
75 3pt (+5)
76 FT (+2)

Wade really didn't move much, and the important thing to note is his overall didn't either.

Kobe Bryant
94 Overall (-1)
95 Overall 2K11 (0)
88 Inside (0)
99 Close (+10)
78 Mid (-6)
78 3pt (+6)
83 FT (-1)

Kobe's mid-range rating has been discussed to death already but here's a recap. He only hit 38% of his 16-23 ft shots. Close rating is half of mid-range game (recall that this rating didn't even exist until a few years ago). Kobe's heralded post game (those fadeaways, etc) occur in the Close range. His 3pt% has declined 4% over the last 4 years. His range is declining as his health worsens. That's life. You will notice that Kobe EASILY has the best close rating among other SGs. The next closest SG in the top ten is 15 points away.

Manu Ginobili
85 Overall (-3)
86 Overall 2K11 (-2)
86 Inside (-3)
79 Close (+1)
64 Mid (-16)
81 3pt (-3)
87 FT (0)

Another sticking point for fans has been the decrease of Ginobili's mid-range game. Manu shot 36% in his limited attempts and only shot 31% in similarly limited attempts in 2010. He is not a mid-range player and never has been. Drives and threes have always been his game. He is still the #3 SG in the league which is really all that matters.

Andre Iguodala
85 Overall (-2)
91 Inside (0)
73 Close (0)
72 Mid (-5)
79 3pt (+3)
69 FT (-2)
86 Overall 2K11 (-1)

As I mentioned prior, Iguodala should be a SF, but doesn't deserve such a high rating at either position. This has little to do with his shot rating changes though, which were all deserved. It is worth noting that Iguodala is one of the players that 100% doesn't have any ratings changed aside from his shot ratings. His 2 point drop indicated formula change since he otherwise would have dropped only 1 point in 2K11. This is most likely due to Iguodala's low "Close" rating, and probably not helped by his low FT rating (another rating I speculate is slightly more important).

Joe Johnson
84 Overall (-1)
85 Overall 2K11 (0)
90 Inside (+4)
81 Close (-8)
75 Mid (-6)
75 3pt (+6)
80 FT (-1)

Kobe fans, please take note that Joe Johnson has a lower Mid rating despite shooting 39%.

Stephen Jackson
83 Overall (-1)
84 Overall 2K11 (0)
80 Inside (-2)
73 Close (-1)
76 Mid (-4)
80 3pt (+4)
81 FT (-1)

Jackson shot 36% from mid-range and enjoys a 1 point edge over Joe Johnson. Manu Ginobili also shot 36%, but Jackson also took twice as many shots as he did. I'm not really following this whole Close/Inside rating either. Inside is allegedly "At Rim" + "3-9 Feet" which leaves Close to "10-15 Feet". However Jackson shot 48% from 10-15, a full 20% better than Iguodala (in a similar amount of attempts) yet both players have a 73 rating, This leads me to think Close ALSO factors in the 3-9 foot shot, just as Inside does. Of course, that still means Iguodala is way overrate since he likewise shot 28% from 3-9 feet (please note the similarities between Iggy's 3-9 and 10-15 and tell me 3-9 feet shouldn't count toward Close rating instead of Inside).

Monta Ellis
83 Overall (-4)
87 Overall 2K11 (0)
91 Inside (-3)
68 Close (-13)
82 Mid (0)
82 3pt (+4)
79 FT (+5)

Monta Ellis shot 38% from mid and has an 82 rating. Rather than point to this as evidence that Kobe is underrated, it's more likely that Monta is overrated. What you haven't noticed yet is that Kobe's 78 mid-range is actually the highest we've seen so far until Monta. Monta's overall rating dropped the most which probably has a bit to do with the increased importance of Close rating.

Eric Gordon
82 Overall (-2)
83 Overall 2K11 (-1)
87 Inside (-2)
74 Close (+6)
68 Mid (-14)
83 3pt (+4)
83 FT (+2)

Gordon shot 38% from mid-range and is rated 10 points worse than Kobe. Kobe fans need to stop crying effective immediately. It is a bit ludicrous that these players are fluctuating all over the place despite 2K's alleged focus on stats.

Ray Allen
80 Overall (-1)
80 Overall 2K11 (-1)
85 Inside (-6)
83 Close (-5)
84 Mid (-4)
91 3pt (+4)
88 FT (-1)

Ray shot 46% from mid-range and I see no reason why Monta should be within 2 points of him. Monta should certainly drop down to Kobe's level if we're going to be using Kobe's rating as a base (which I think 2K has done so far since he still maintains an edge from 16-23 feet on all the other SGs.

Tyreke Evans
80 Overall (-1)
81 Overall 2K11 (0)
83 Inside (-5)
72 Close (+7)
67 Mid (-5)
73 3pt (+6)
77 FT (+2)

Tyreke shot 33% from mid-range. One can make an argument for Ginobili's 36% deserving a higher rating, but Tyreke also took twice as many attempts as Ginobili. Also, Tyreke only shot 25% from 3-9 feet AND 10-15 feet (again, coincidence, i think not), which really doesn't do much to explain how he ended up with 72 close rating.
________________________________________________________________________________

As with the point guards, changes were relatively incremental and had as much to do with formula changes as any. 2K's statistical implementation was spotty at best, however, and these players will need to be reviewed on a case by case basis to see how accurate they really are. At the very least, we've seen that going by the stats, Kobe Bryant deserves no greater than 82 on his mid-range rating.

NBA 2K12 Point Guard Ratings + Changes

2011-09-30T21:07:00.002-04:00

Real 2K Insider is breaking down the NBA 2K12 ratings one step further, now sorting them by position and seeing if we can learn anything (not to mention see who the worst rating offenders are). As I've mentioned in other posts, 2K has changed up their ratings formula. More on that in the second half of this post, where I list the rating changes and their effects on the much maligned Overall rating.

__________________________________________________________________________________

POINT GUARD RATINGS

TOP 1-10
93 - Chris Paul
92 - Derrick Rose
90 - Deron Williams
88 - Russell Westbrook
85 - Rajon Rondo
84 - Steve Nash
82 - John Wall
80 - Stephen Curry
80 - Tony Parker
79 - Chauncey Billups

Aside from John Wall (who was closer to to 7th best rookie than he was to 7th best PG), I don't really have any complaints here. 2K typically does an okay job of rating their star players - more often than not they're the only ones that get any sort of attention. Everyone of these players saw multiple revisions throughout the year, which is more than one can say about the players towards the bottom of the list.

TOP 11-20
79 - Jrue Holiday
78 - Devin Harris
78 - Brandon Jennings
77 - Michael Conley
77 - Jason Kidd
77 - Ty Lawson
77 - Gilbert Arenas
76 - Kyle Lowry
75 - Raymond Felton
75 - Darren Collison

In reality, Gilbert Arenas isn't even in the top half of BACKUPS anymore, much less the top half of starters. Instead of improving in distraction free Orlando he put up a dreadful 8.6 PER, and his disappearing act was the main reason Orlando flopped in the first round. He can't guard the position, was never any good at setting up teammates, and this was BEFORE injuries ravaged his legs. He is DONE.

TOP 21-30
75 - Aaron Brooks
74 - Jameer Nelson
74 - Mo Williams
74 - Louis Williams
74 - Rodney Stuckey
74 - Nate Robinson
73 - Baron Davis
72 - Ramon Sessions
72 - D.J. Augustin
72 - Earl Boykins

Nate Robinson, Ramon Sessions, and Earl Boykins are top 30 NBA point guards. These guys are THIRD STRINGS on their own teams.

TOP 30-40
72 - Kirk Hinrich
72 - George Hill
71 - Andre Miller
70 - Jonny Flynn
69 - Jose Calderon
69 - Delonte West
69 - Toney Douglas
69 - T.J. Ford
69 - Will Bynum
69 - Ishmael Smith

Jonny Flynn was absolute GARBAGE for Minnesota last season, contributing heavily to their 65 loss season. He is a crappier, smaller version of Jerryd Bayless when healthy. In the world of 2K, he's an alternative to Andre Miller or Jose Calderon.

Ishmael Smith. I don't need to say anything else.

TOP 41-50
68 - Mario Chalmers
68 - Luke Ridnour
67 - Ricky Rubio
67 - Derek Fisher
67 - Keyon Dooling
67 - Chris Duhon
66 - Beno Udrih
65 - J.J. Barea
65 - Jerryd Bayless
65 - Jarrett Jack

Udrih. Barea. Bayless. Jack. Worse than Chris Duhon. In stores October 4th.

TOP 51-60
65 - C.J. Watson
65 - Eric Bledsoe
64 - Steve Blake
64 - Eric Maynor
63 - Jeff Teague
63 - Jordan Farmar
63 - Goran Dragic
63 - Earl Watson
63 - Sebastian Telfair
63 - Antonio Daniels

Let's pretend for a moment that Eric Maynor, Jeff Teague, Jordan Farmar, and Goran Dragic didn't play AT ALL over the last two years. In other words, pretend that they're Antonio Daniels.

TOP 61-70
63 - Sherron Collins
63 - Eugene Jeter
62 - Marcus Banks
62 - Patrick Mills
62 - Ronnie Price
61 - Jannero Pargo
61 - Daniel Gibson
61 - Carlos Arroyo
61 - Avery Bradley
61 - Eddie House

I think it's a nice touch that Sherron Collins is rated equally to the rest of the players in the top 60.

Daniel Gibson might have played as many minutes this season as the rest of these players COMBINED.

TOP 71-80
60 - Mike Bibby
60 - Sundiata Gaines
60 - Zabian Dowdell
60 - Armon Johnson
59 - Acie Law
58 - Shaun Livingston
58 - Willie Warren
57 - Ben Uzoh
56 - Jeremy Lin
55 - Mustafa Shakur

Mike Bibby is apparently not a top 70 NBA point guard. I am sure the Heat would have gone to the Finals with Jeremy Lin as their starting PG. I personally can't wait until the rookies come in and knock Bibby down another 10 spots.

It's always amusing to see a player with a 3 year, 10 million dollar contract (Livingston) surrounded by D-Leaguers. 2K Sports calls this "business as usual."

TOP 81-91
55 - Greivis Vasquez
55 - Lester Hudson
54 - Luther Head
53 - Anthony Carter
53 - Chris Quinn
52 - A.J. Price
51 - Royal Ivey
50 - John Lucas
50 - Orien Greene
50 - Mario West
48 - Pape Sy

A.J. Price has been the Pacers backup PG for two years now. Considering the last two PGs on this list aren't PGs, can someone let the Pacers know they've been using the 5th worst PG in the entire league all this time? No wonder T.J. Ford hates it there in Indiana.

Can somebody let the Spurs know that they got lit up by the #81 PG in the league?

Nothing new here. The players with the worst ratings are still the same as last year... and the year before that... and the year before that...

__________________________________________________________________________________

RATING CHANGES

I uncovered in a previous post that the vast majority of players (perhaps 99% of them, from the looks of it) ONLY had their shot ratings adjusted. Since those were conveniently the only ratings shown in the ratings video, this makes it much easier to tell why players went up and down.

I implemented the shot rating changes into 2K's final 2K11 roster to see how the player's overall rating was affected. This helped me see how 2K's Overall formula has changed.

POINT GUARD FORMULA CHANGES
2K Sports (finally) started using HoopData for their shooting stats. 2K used "At Rim" to determine Inside Shot, which on the surface is the right decision but is going to lead to some REALLY awkward ratings for big men, but for the point guards who mostly aren't big dunkers, this isn't that big of a deal (and in many cases takes care of some PGs whose Inside rating was way too high).
Close range also seems to have a higher rating value for PGs, perhaps even as valuable as Mid-Range rating. I actually agree with that assessment because this is the range where a PG's tear drops and floaters are coming from. For the record, I believe that Close range is a combination of "3-9 feet" and "10-15 feet", as percentages & attempts from these ranges are usually similar.
Medium range has seen a much stricter, statistical approach. Fans have already been quick to complain about Kobe Bryant's mid-range rating, which I addressed here.
The 3pt rating formula seems to have been overhauled. Most players saw 4-6 point improvement in their 3pt rating which likely means the scale is just 5 points higher than it was previously. This should hopefully fix 3pt% which was usually very low in online games as players needed to be totally wide open to hit shots more often than not.

Chris Paul
93 Overall (0)
93 Overall 2K11 (0)
80 Inside (-10)
81 Close (-3)
84 Mid (-1)
85 3pt (+2)
88 FT (-1)

It is worth noting that CP3's pass rating is shown as 97 in 2K11 but this is because he is wearing a shoe that gives him +3 pass rating. I have no idea if he is wearing the same shoes in 2K12, if they have the same attribute boosts, if any at all (I hope not, but that's a story for another day). Presuming he still has that +3 pass shoe, his overall drops by a point which makes sense since his Inside also dropped by 10 points.

Derrick Rose
92 Overall (+1)
91 Overall 2K11 (0)
88 Inside (0)
80 Close (-4)
77 Mid (-5)
79 3pt (0)
86 FT (+3)

By the way 2K fans, Derrick Rose ALSO shot 38% from 16-23 feet. Why the Kobe complaints but no love for the MVP? You might want to simultaneously note that Rose trails Kobe by 19 points from Close. But enough about the obvious. What you might not have noticed is that Rose saw decreases but his overall WENT UP. Considering his high Inside rating, this was the first major clue that the rating held more importance for PGs. It is also worth noting that Rose is the only player in the top 10 that did not see a boost in 3pt rating (really solidifying that the scale is higher).

Deron Williams
90 Overall (-1)
91 Overall 2K11 (0)
84 Inside (-5)
73 Close (-7)
81 Mid (-3)
80 3pt (+3)
85 FT (+2)

Deron had a tale of two seasons as his shooting percentages were GREAT until he hurt his wrist, and shut it down after some miserable production in New Jersey. Going off his Utah only numbers, he would surely rate at least a point higher.

Russell Westbrook
88 Overall (0)
89 Overall 2K11 (+1)
87 Inside (-1)
77 Close (+2)
75 Mid (-4)
76 3pt (+12)
84 FT (-3)

Westbrook helps confirm that the 3pt scale went up. Granted he did hit 33% in his limited attempts. I'm definitely seeing an error with his close rating though, as it should be worse than Deron's given his production from 10-15 feet and 3-9 feet. Westbrook isn't nearly as effective when he isn't getting all the way to the rim (60% at rim compared to 26% from 3-9 feet).

Rajon Rondo
85 Overall (-2)
87 Overall 2K11 (0)
85 Inside (-5)
50 Close (-22)
68 Mid (0)
61 3pt (+9)
57 FT (+3)

Rondo helped confirm that Close is much more important than it was last year. It's worth noting that he really isn't that much worse than Westbrook from there; whether that positively benefits Rondo or negatively benefits Westbrook remains to be seen.

Steve Nash
84 Overall (-1)
84 Overall 2K11 (-1)
89 Inside (-9)
88 Close (-7)
80 Mid (-10)
86 3pt (+1)
91 FT (-3)

A few fans have pointed out that Nash's 80 mid-range seems low, and I agree completely. While he didn't have the awesome efficiency he did during his prime (50% from 2007-2009) he still hit 44%, only 1% worse than Paul who has an 84. Nash was also 6% better than Rose who he leads by only 3 points. The math just doesn't add up here. Nash was still over 50% from 3-15 feet, which is why he has the best Close rating among PGs (though it also seems a bit low compared to other ratings we've seen).

John Wall
82 Overall (0)
81 Overall 2K11 (-1)
83 Inside (-2)
64 Close (-6)
64 Mid (-8)
73 3pt (+7)
77 FT (+2)

Wall's close/mid ratings tanked but that gets canceled out by the 3pt formula change. His solid inside rating and athleticism (another area benefitting 2K12 players) keeps him status quo. Worth noting that Wall was 11% worse from Mid-range than Rondo yet only trails him in Mid by 4 points. This is because Rondo (41%) is actually a bit underrated. 2K didn't want to give Rondo a higher mid-range rating than Kobe because they knew they would have gotten laughed at even harder, but Rondo (91-223) certainly deserves a much better one than Wall (86-287).

Stephen Curry
80 Overall (-2)
83 Overall 2K11 (+1)
84 Inside (0)
72 Close (-7)
92 Mid (+6)
90 3pt (+4)
93 FT (+1)

It's really weird to me how selective 2K is with their implementation of stats. Curry shot 48% from mid-range and has 92. Nash shot 44% on one fewer attempt and has 84. Rondo shot 41% on one fewer attempt per game and is 24 points worse. I mean, if they're going to be selective, why bother following the stats on Kobe/Rose and just appease their fans?

Tony Parker
80 Overall (-4)
83 Overall 2K11 (-1)
97 Inside (+2)
78 Close (-14)
72 Mid (-8)
78 3pt (+8)
77 FT (-1)

Parker took a big Close hit and saw his overall rating plummet. I have a feeling other ratings of his might have changed (probably defense related) to make up for the rest of his drop, which is greater than everyone else's so far. I am also going to assume 2K is using 3-9 feet for their Inside rating which is the only way to explain Parker's high Inside rating and low Close rating given his 52% from that range. Given that the description of "Inside" shot is "shots taken under the rim", this is probably a mistake, but will wait for some gameplay testing to make a full assessment.

Chauncey Billups
79 Overall (-3)
82 Overall 2K11 (0)
78 Inside (-10)
80 Close (+9)
69 Mid (-11)
87 3pt (+5)
92 FT (+1)

As with Deron, Billups shooting numbers took a hit after being moved at the trade deadline, mainly due to an injury suffered shortly after the move. As with other players, Inside once again plays a huge role in overall rating now, as Billups' rating doesn't even budge in 2K11 with those shot ratings.

__________________________________________________________________________________

All in all, I don't have a problem with the overall rating of Point Guards. Once I get to the other positions, then you'll see some rage unleashed.

Confirming 2K's new rating formula

2011-09-28T07:55:00.004-04:00

Using the fanshot video again...

Elton Brand 2K12 (2K11 change in parenthesize)
77 Overall (-1)
83 Inside (-2)
99 Close (+9)
71 Mid (-3)
25 3pt (0)
?? LPS (82) - Not shown on roster screen; hopefully it's still a rating.
78 FT (+10)
48 Layup (0)
58 Dunk (0)
55 S.Dunk (0)
?? SOD (67) - Not shown on roster screen; same as with LPS.
68 SIT (0)
?? Handle (45) - Not shown, but surely still a rating.
33 OHD (0) - For whatever reason OHD is shown on roster screen but NOT handle? Weird.
34 SEC (0)
27 Pass (0)
72 Block (0)
71 Steal (0)
86 Hands (0)
62 OBD (0)
85 O-Reb (0)
70 D-Reb (0)
?? O-Post (79) - Not shown on roster screen, are they insane??? Roster interface is garbage if that's the case since this is one of most important ratings. IF IT AIN'T BROKE WHY FIX IT?????
70 D-Post
79 O-Awr (0)
72 D-Awr (0)
?? O-Clutch (35)
?? D-Clutch (25)
70 Cons (0)
83 Stam (0)
47 Speed (0)
45 Quick (0)
73 Str (0)
52 Vert (0)
77 Hustle (0)
55 Dur (0)
?? Pot (92)
?? Emo (60)

I think it's safe to assume that the hidden ratings remained unchanged as the ONLY ratings that DID change for Brand were his shot ratings. That is probably the case with most players (Yet another lazy summer for 2K Sports).

Brand saw a substantial increase in Close (+9) and FT (+10) ratings, minimal decreases from Inside (-2) and Mid (-3), YET STILL DROPPED ONE POINT OVERALL.

Brand with those EXACT ratings in 2K11 has 79 overall, TWO POINT HIGHER than his 2K12 rating

RATING FORMULA CHANGE CONFIRMED

As with Brand, Jrue Holiday's non-shot ratings are also identical to last season. Let's go over his changes and see why he didn't decrease in rating.

Jrue Holiday

79 Overall (0)
79 Inside (-10)
76 Close (-3)
80 Mid (+10)
82 3pt (+6)
82 FT (+3)

Holiday is an 80 (+1) in 2K11 with those changes. Let's look at a SG now.

Evan Turner
71 Overall (+1)
78 Inside (-5)
77 Close (+7)
74 Mid (+2)
74 3pt (+13)

The reasons for Turner's improvement should be obvious, as that is a huge boost to his 3pt rating. Turner with those changes rates 72 overall in NBA 2K11.

Time for a SF.

Thaddeus Young
74 Overall (-1)
99 Inside (+11)
69 Close (-2)
70 Mid (-3)
76 3pt (0)

Young with those changes is still 75 overall in 2K11. That is three players who have rated +1 in 2K11 using their 2K12 ratings, whereas Elton Brand, a PF, was +2 (confirming that bigs are taking larger hits than smalls).

Unfortunately, the way the video was shot, we cannot confirm all of Spencer Hawes' specific ratings... but given that he was never even edited the entire year last season, we can safely assume that he still hasn't been touched!

Spencer Hawes
59 Overall (-7)
85 Inside (+3)
70 Close (-5)
81 Mid (+5)
66 3pt (-1)

Hawes with those ratings is still 66 overall in 2K11. He doesn't drop in rating at all. 2K12 knocks him down a whopping 7 overall points. WHAT IN THE HELL? Either something is majorly up with those hidden post offense ratings, or 2K added a new rating that is not at all favorable towards bigs. This rating imbalance is so awful that it almost feels like a glitch to me. Players are being PENALIZED for playing the center position. This would make sense if the league were chock full of quality centers and crappy guards (like the 1960s), but the league has historically had it's share of stiffs and THE MAJORITY OF BACKUP CENTERS WERE ALREADY THE LOWEST RATED PLAYERS IN THE GAME.

Marreese Speights
67 Overall (-4)
88 Inside (+2)
78 Close (+3)
89 Mid (+11)
54 3pt (+7)

LOL at 2K Sports finding hoopdata.com and going wayyyyyyyy overboard with it. All statistics require context. 89 Mid for Speights is about the most laughable rating I have seen so far. He only shot 42% last season in a limited sample (54-129) and more importantly was assisted on 80% of his shots! Anyway Speights went up in ALL FIVE shot categories yet still dropped 4 points. 2K11 Speights would be 72 overall which is 5 points higher than his 2K12 counterpart.

Tony Battie
47 Overall (-10)
60 Inside (-14)
64 Close (-22)
65 Mid (-8)
46 3pt (+14)

Battie was worthy of a substantial drop. However after making those changes in 2K11 he only drops 3 points overall. Seven more points are dropped by 2K12 for only god knows why?

I could comb over every player (and I might), but I think my point has been made clear. Nothing has changed, but everything has gotten worse.

NBA 2K12 Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

2011-09-28T07:11:00.000-04:00

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
ShamSports Salaries

ROSTER
79 - Tyrus Thomas (C/PF)
77 - Corey Maggette (SF)
77 - Kemba Walker (PG/SG)#
75 - D.J. Augustin (PG)
75 - Boris Diaw (PF/C)
72 - Kwame Brown (C)*
71 - Bismack Biyombo (C/PF)#
70 - Gerald Henderson (SG)
69 - D.J. White (PF/C)
66 - Dante Cunningham (SF/PF)*
66 - Dominic McGuire (SF)*
60 - Matt Carroll (SG/SF)
58 - DaSagana Diop (C)
56 - Eduardo Najera (PF)

* Denotes Free Agent
# Denotes Rookie

ROTATION/ROLES
LINEUP
C Kwame Brown (25) - Starter
PF Boris Diaw (34) - Starter
SF Corey Maggette (31) - Starter
SG Gerald Henderson (33) - Starter
PG D.J. Augustin (33) - Starter
BENCH
PG Kemba Walker (31) - Sixth Man
C Tyrus Thomas (22) - Role Player
SF Dante Cunningham (17) - Role Player
C Bismack Biyombo (14) - Prospect
PF D.J. White (0) - Prospect
SF Dominic McGuire (0) - Bench Warmer
SG Matt Carroll (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
PF Eduardo Najera (0) - Bench Warmer
C DaSagana Diop (INJURED) - Bench Warmer

POSITION ANALYSIS
OFF = Points Per Possession, calculated by Synergy Sports
DEF = Points Allowed Per Possession, calculated by Synergy Sports
NET = The difference between these two (OFF-DEF = NET)
AVS = Average rating of starter at position)

REGARDING "NET"
This rating is not meant to say player X was more important to his team than player Y. If a player with a limited role has +20 NET it means the player could handle more offensive touches or tougher defensive assignments (since backups typically face more lenient competition). It can also mean the player was used expertly by his coach. Conversely, a starter with a negative NET rating would likely benefit from fewer touches or better coaching. It goes without saying that a star with +20 NET is just doing business as usual while a 3rd string backup with -20 NET is more or less wasting a roster spot (if you can't beat other 3rd strings in garbage time, who can you beat?).

TEAM AVERAGE
0.91 OFF (22nd)
0.90 DEF (13th)
+1 NET

POINT GUARD (AVS = 77)
77 - Kemba Walker#
75 - D.J. Augustin (0.93 OFF, 0.92 DEF, +1 NET)

I am leaning towards Kemba starting in Charlotte... perhaps not at first but certainly before the end of the year. They need scoring and a star caliber presence to sell tickets. Augustin is also in a contract year and the team probably can't afford to pay him if he has another season like the last (where he went from an inefficient scorer that couldn't run an offense to a passable 3pt shooter with an extremely solid A/T ratio. Augustin really isn't anything more than a backup due to his defensive deficiencies anyway, and the time to sell high before losing him for nothing is effective immediately.

SHOOTING GUARD (AVS = 74)
70 - Gerald Henderson (0.93 OFF, 0.88 DEF, +5 NET)
60 - Matt Carroll (0.95 OFF, 1.12 DEF, -17 NET)

Henderson rebounded from a really poor rookie year to become a serviceable starter. He won't score much, but he can defend, and he'll need to playing next to undersized PGs.

Carroll, like other Bobcats, clings to the league solely because of his guaranteed contract. He can still shoot when left open, but not much else.

SMALL FORWARD (AVS = 76)
77 - Corey Maggette (0.96 OFF, 0.95 DEF, +1 NET)

65 - Derrick Brown (0.95 OFF, 0.98 DEF, -3 NET)

66 - Dante Cunningham (0.95 OFF, 0.95 DEF, 0 NET)
66 - Dominic McGuire (0.76 OFF, 0.80 DEF, -4 NET)

Maggette replaces Stephen Jackson as the high volume scorer of the team, a role he is surely better suited for than Jackson. Maggette won't get his teammates involved, which is great, because most of his teammates are AWFUL offensively. I question his ability to stay healthy (or rather, his willingness to play hurt, given the team's lottery projection and his large guaranteed contract), and he doesn't really fit the defensive mindset the rest of the team shares.

Cunningham and McGuire are both free agents, and assuming both are brought back, they will fight for the right to be the anti-Maggette. McGuire actually IS the anti-Maggette since he is one of the best defenders and worst offensive players in the league. Cunningham is the tweener in the middle - he has a solid mid-range jumper but not much else on offense, while he is a bit undersized to defend PFs and not quite quick enough to defend SFs.

POWER FORWARD (AVS = 79)
75 - Boris Diaw (0.94 OFF, 0.86 DEF, +8 NET)
69 - D.J. White (1.08 OFF, 1.04 DEF, +4 NET)
56 - Eduardo Najera (0.76 OFF, 0.98 DEF, -22 NET)

Diaw does a lot of the little things, ranking 8th in offensive rebound efficiency, and 7th in transition. He also ranked 38th in post offense (0.97 PPP), 90th in post defense (0.90 PPP), 70th as a P/R Roller (0.99 PPP) and 59th defending it (0.92 PPP) which is a bit surprising given how undersized he usually is at PF and C. I guess that's why he still plays those positions after all these years rather than his natural SF.

White has shown in his limited minutes that he can play, and could use some real burn now that it's his contract year.

Najera does not belong in the NBA at this point, and hasn't for the duration of the contract he signed with New Jersey 3 years ago. What makes this inexcusable is that the Bobcats could have opted out last season but instead decided Najera would be worth 5 million over last season and the upcoming season. Big mistake.

CENTER (AVS = 75)
79 - Tyrus Thomas (0.92 OFF, 0.88 DEF, +4 NET)
72 - Kwame Brown* (0.96 OFF, 0.89 DEF, +7 NET)
71 - Bismack Biyombo#
58 - DeSagana Diop (0.52 OFF, 0.86 DEF, -34 NET)

Tyrus Thomas is listed at center because he actually played a little more than half his minutes there (Diaw plays heavy minutes at PF and never misses games, I would obviously switch him back if Diaw were traded though). Tyrus has quietly developed a solid mid-range game, and even sports a mediocre post game nowadays (which is much improved from where it was 4 years ago). Creating shots off the dribble is never going to be a strength for him though, and 12% of his shots came in Isolation (with only 0.65 PPP). Flat out giving up on those types of shots and giving them to Kemba and Maggette would go a long way towards making him a very efficient offensive player. I think Tyrus will finally break out this season if he can finally stay healthy. Larry Brown is finally gone, Diaw has an expiring contract, Kwame may not even return as a free agent, and Biyombo is as raw as Tyrus was all those years ago.

Speaking of the rawness that is Biyombo, he will be brutal offensively, but all signs are that he will rebound and block shots at an elite level. He might be able to give 15 solid minutes the way prime DeSagana Diop did.

Diop is DONE as an NBA player as he wasn't doing much on the court and that was BEFORE tearing his achilles which knocked him out for the year. He will not return until January 2012 at the earliest. The former "High School Shaq" is 30 years old already, and after a major injury and minimal contributions, it's tough to see an NBA team taking another flier on him. He's made his money and can sail off into the horizon.

Unlike Diop, Kwame doesn't seem to be going anywhere and had a career renaissance last season. Kwame was actually ranked 67th at Post offense (27% of his possessions) thanks to an excellent foul drawing rate (19.5% vs 8.1 TO%). He would do well to stay in Charlotte, the only team he's had substantial success for, the only team that can offer him a starting job, and perhaps most importantly, the only team that would be willing to offer him a decent contract.

DISCLAIMER
Rashidi is not employed by 2K Sports and these are not NBA 2K12's actual ratings. These are the personal ratings of Rashidi, "The Real 2K Insider", calculated on NBA 2K11 using all available data/sources including but not limited to: Basketball-Reference, 82games, Hoopdata, SynergySports, and DraftExpress. Rashidi calculates his ratings using the same formulas 2K Sports does but is FAR more consistent in their implementation (and thus maintains his roster is what 2K Sports' would look like if they had him on the team). Rashidi's current NBA 2K11 roster "The Real NBA 2K12" can be downloaded for XBox360 via 2K Share.

SYNERGY SPORTS NOTE
Synergy is an excellent tool and I highly recommend you SUBSCRIBE to it (IF you have a quality computer and internet connection). Back in June I was working nights and wasn't able to watch the NBA Finals as they happened. Every night I got home from work and was able to watch every game commercial free thanks to Synergy. No timeout delays (when the game returns from commercial break and takes 20 seconds to get back to game action), no unwanted replays, no players complaining to the referees before lining up at the FT line. Just the on-court action straight through. The ability to select any play from any game for viewing is completely invaluable. Please, give them your hard earned money just like EA Sports did for their basketball game that doesn't even exist.

Official NBA 2K12 ratings released

2011-09-27T05:48:00.014-04:00

Editors Note: If anyone can help me get 2K12 early so I can finish this list and provide analysis on the Legends and their teams, please send an email to thereal2kinsider@gmail.com.

Via a fanshot YouTube video (updated video w/ all player ratings)

The initial fan reaction from these ratings has been negative. A lot of people are complaining that their players went down in rating. It would appear that this was a global change which seems to imply a change in 2K's rating formulas since it is HIGHLY DOUBTFUL that they would edit 300+ players when they have only shown willingness to edit a maximum of 20 per summer.

This is especially evident when looking at the ratings of lesser players that 2K never bothers editing. Just about every center went down 5-6 overall points. Most PFs went down 3-5 points. SFs, SGs, and PGs mostly went down 1-2 points, so the big losers here were the big men. This doesn't make a ton of sense to me. Last season my ratings for the average starter were as follows: PG/77, SG/73, SF/76, PF/79, C/75. For the most part, the ratings were balanced to reflect the overall talent in the league - PF is the deepest position, while SG is the weakest.

The main complaint that could be made about the previous formula is that shooting PF/C came out underrated; if one gave a PF a 99 3pt rating it would only improve their overall rating by 2 points... and we all know that a PF/C with a 99 3pt rating would be one of the best players of all-time (and certainly a very valuable commodity in the NBA where every team now utilizes a "stretch PF". One would have thought that Dirk Nowitzki carrying the Mavericks to the championship would have earned this long needed formula change, since he is the biggest name that is underrated.

One of 2K's biggest flaws with 2K's ratings is that PF/C are way too slow in the game (low speed and quickness ratings). It would appear that athleticism has taken a greater effect on the overall rating, which might help explain why LeBron and Rose went up a point, while Dwight Howard is one of only three centers to not drop in rating.

Here is a list of all the players that remained status quo or increased in rating.

POINT GUARD
Jrue Holiday (0)
Louis Williams (+1)
Brandon Jennings (0)
Earl Boykins (+2)
Derrick Rose (+1)
Ishmael Smith (+3)
Jeff Teague (0)
Marcus Banks (0)
Rodney Stuckey (0)
Zabian Dowdell (+1)
John Wall (0)
Sherron Collins (0)

It would appear that the league's most athletic PGs did not get hit with a decrease. It seems that dunking as a greater effect on overall rating as all of these players can dunk (even Ish Smith with a 49 dunk rating and ridiculous speed/quick ratings) It would have been nice to see 3pt specialists get a boost (such as Mike Bibby, Daniel Gibson, Derek Fisher, Steve Blake) since those players are generally regarded as better players than say, ISHMAEL SMITH.

SHOOTING GUARD
Evan Turner (+1)
Garrett Temple (+2)
Matt Carroll (0)
Keith Bogans (0)
Manny Harris (+2)
Dwyane Wade (0)
Bill Walker (0)
Trey Johnson (0)
Sasha Vujacic (+1)
J.R. Smith (+1)
Gary Neal (0)
Thabo Sefolosha (+1)
Daequan Cook (+2)
Nick Young (+2)
Jordan Crawford (0)
Quinton Ross (0)

There are two different types of players among the SGs: defensive specialists, and 3pt specialists (Young and Smith are more than specialists but there is no denying their 3pt ability). It seems Wade didn't drop because his defensive ratings are among the best in the game at SG.

SMALL FORWARD
Dominic McGuire (+2)
Joey Graham (+2)
Alonzo Gee (0)
Jamario Moon (+2)
Shane Battier (+1)
Sam Young (+3)
Damien Wilkins (+1)
LeBron James (+2)
Patrick Ewing Jr. (+1)
Francisco Garcia (0)
Quentin Richardson (+1)
Earl Clark (+1)
Caron Butler (0)
Shawn Marion (+1)
Wilson Chandler (0)
Paul George (+1)
Tayshaun Prince (+1)
Sonny Weems (+2)
James Anderson (0)
Mickael Pietrus (0)
Jared Dudley (+1)
Martell Webster (+1)
Maurice Evans (+3)
Cartier Martin (0)
Ime Udoka (0)
Ronald Dupree (+1)

It is very clear to me that defense counts more towards SF overall, and this is the main reason why LeBron went up 2 points from the end of last season. While I was compiling the ratings list I raised an eyebrow when Battier, went up, had my suspicions when Q-Rich of all people went up, confirmed when Marion/Prince went up and Chandler didn't drop (making him the highest rated Nugget player), and nailed the coffin shut when Maurice Evans went up by 3 points, more than any other player (though he now shares this dubious trait with Ishmael Smith).

Athletic defensive specialist Dominic McGuire now has an equal overall rating to that of Boris Diaw, which brings up an important point: "Overall" rating is NOT an overall rating. Players with all-around abilities (like Diaw) do NOT fare well if they are at the PF position which values rebounding and shot blocking. McGuire has absolutely no talent beyond his defense and this rates him as just as good "overall" because 2K has decided to place a high premium on defense and dunk rating. There isn't a soul in the world who thinks McGuire or Diaw are comparable on any level. This formula change leads to an unbalanced association mode. Players like McGuire and Diaw are now on equal footing when it comes to trades and the ability to start for the team. That is just... idiotic and terrible implementation by 2K Sports. If it wasn't broke, why fix it?

POWER FORWARD
Tyrus Thomas (+2)
Larry Sanders (0)
Kevin Garnett (0)
Zach Randolph (+2)
Paul Millsap (0)
Darnell Jackson (0)
Amare Stoudemire (0)
Dirk Nowitzki (0)
Kevin Seraphin (+1)

CENTER
Joakim Noah (0)
Dwight Howard (0)
Chris Andersen (0)
Alexis Ajinca (0)

Only three PF/C went up in the entire game, and only thirteen avoided a rating decrease. The players that were spared are almost overwhelmingly good defensive players. I would be willing to bet that Millsap is one of the few players that actually had their rating improved from 2K11, it just doesn't "show" due to formula change, although he could also fall under the "athleticism" blanket since Amare was also spared (though Amare does also have much better defense/rebound ratings than he actually deserves). Dirk on the other hand has already been confirmed to get improved ratings (he has 99 Close/Mid rating this year).

Now that I have confirmed the formula changes, PLEASE STOP CRYING ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER DROPPING! Here is the list that you've all been waiting for. Take out the formula changes and it doesn't differ very much from 2K11. Complain to 2K about THAT.
______________________________________________________________________________

2K12 rating - Player (2K11 Final Rating / 2K11 Default Rating)

76ERS
POINT GUARD
79 - Jrue Holiday (79/70)
74 - Louis Williams (73/73)
63 - Antonio Daniels (63/63)
SHOOTING GUARD
85 – Andre Iguodala (87/85)
71 - Evan Turner (70/76)
62 - Jodie Meeks (64/58)
SMALL FORWARD
74 – Thaddeus Young (75/71)
67 – Andres Nocioni (68/68)
53 – Jason Kapono (58/58)
POWER FORWARD
77 - Elton Brand (78/73)
59 - Craig Brackins (65/65)
54 - Darius Songaila (65/62)
CENTER
67 – Marreese Speights (71/72)
59 - Spencer Hawes (66/66)
47 – Tony Battie (C) (57/57)

BOBCATS
POINT GUARD
72 – D.J. Augustin (74/69)
SHOOTING GUARD
69 – Gerald Henderson (70/67)
65 - Garrett Temple (63/63)
55 – Matt Carroll (55/55)
SMALL FORWARD
74 - Corey Maggette (74/78)
65 – Dominic McGuire (63/63)
60 - Dante Cunningham (61/61)
POWER FORWARD
73 – Tyrus Thomas (71/71)
65 - Boris Diaw (70/70)
61 - D.J. White (61/61)
55 - Eduardo Najera (63/63)
CENTER
63 - Joel Przybilla (67/67)
59 - Kwame Brown (62/62)
52 - DeSagana Diop (58/59)

BUCKS
POINT GUARD
78 - Brandon Jennings (78/75)
72 - Earl Boykins (70/70)
67 - Keyon Dooling (69/69)
66 - Beno Udrih (69/66)
58 - Shaun Livingston (60/60)
SHOOTING GUARD
83 – Stephen Jackson (84/84)
69 - Michael Redd (73/73)
SMALL FORWARD
69 - Chris Douglas-Roberts (71/71)
67 - Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (70/71)
65 – Carlos Delfino (68/68)
POWER FORWARD
66 - Drew Gooden (70/65)
66 - Ersan Ilyasova (69/63)
65 - Larry Sanders (65/65)
52 - Jon Brockman (53/53)
CENTER
78 – Andrew Bogut (84/82)

BULLS
POINT GUARD
92 – Derrick Rose (91/85)
65 - C.J. Watson (68/68)
61 - Jannero Pargo (62/62)
50 - John Luvas (48/48)
SHOOTING GUARD
69 – Ronnie Brewer (71/69)
68 - Keith Bogans (68/65)
62 - Kyle Korver (65/63)
SMALL FORWARD
77 - Luol Deng (79/77)
58 - Rasual Butler (61/61)
POWER FORWARD
77 - Carlos Boozer (85/85)
73 - Taj Gibson (75/69)
40 - Brian Scalabrine (44/44)
CENTER
82 - Joakim Noah (82/73)
63 - Kurt Thomas (68/68)
55 - Omer Asik (59/59)

CAVALIERS
POINT GUARD
73 - Baron Davis (78/79)
72 - Ramon Sessions (73/69)
61 - Daniel Gibson (61/61)
SHOOTING GUARD
67 - Anthony Parker (69/70)
64 - Manny Harris (62/62)
SMALL FORWARD
70 - Joey Graham (68/68)
67 - Alonzo Gee (67/68)
61 - Omri Casspi (66/66)
60 - Christian Eyenga (56/NA)
POWER FORWARD
74 - Antawn Jamison (79/78)
61 - Samardo Samuels (64/64)
51 - Luke Harangody (58/58)
CENTER
70 - Anderson Varejao (72/68)
57 - Semih Erden (58/NA)
53 - Ryan Hollins (54/55)

CELTICS
POINT GUARD
85 - Rajon Rondo (87/87)
69 - Delonte West (71/71)
61 - Avery Bradley (65/67)
61 - Carlos Arroyo (64/64)
SHOOTING GUARD
80 - Ray Allen (81/79)
59 - Von Wafer (59/61)
SMALL FORWARD
82 - Paul Pierce (84/83)
55 - Sasha Pavlovic (57/)
POWER FORWARD
83 - Kevin Garnett (83/80)
74 - Jeff Green (78/77)
70 - Glen Davis (72/64)
66 - Troy Murphy (72/72)
CENTER
68 - Jermaine O'Neal (74/74)
54 - Nenad Krstic (59/59)

CLIPPERS
POINT GUARD
74 – Mo Williams (76/76)
65 - Eric Bledsoe (68/64)
58 - Willie Warren (59/59)
SHOOTING GUARD
82 - Eric Gordon (84/74)
68 - Randy Foye (70/70)
SMALL FORWARD
69 - Al-Farouq Aminu (72/68)
67 – Jamario Moon (66/65)
62 - Ryan Gomes (66/66)
POWER FORWARD
85 - Blake Griffin (86/76)
58 - Craig Smith (62/62)
54 - Ike Diogu (56/56)
50 - Brian Cook (54/54)
CENTER
76 - Chris Kaman (79/78)
65 - DeAndre Jordan (66/54)

GRIZZLIES
POINT GUARD
77 - Michael Conley (78/73)
69 - Ishmael Smith (66/66)
55 - Greivis Vasquez (57/57)
SHOOTING GUARD
77 - O.J. Mayo (77/80)
68 - Tony Allen (72/66)
64 - Xavier Henry (66/66)
SMALL FORWARD
86 - Rudy Gay (87/81)
77 - Shane Battier (76/76)
68 - Sam Young (65/65)
POWER FORWARD
83 - Zach Randolph (81/80)
69 - Darell Arthur (71/63)
64 - Leon Powe (65/65)
CENTER
73 - Marc Gasol (77/77)
48 – Hamed Haddadi (54/54)

HAWKS
POINT GUARD
72 - Kirk Hinrich (75/74)
63 - Jeff Teague (63/63)
48 - Pape Sy (52/52)
SHOOTING GUARD
84 - Joe Johnson (85/88)
78 - Jamal Crawford (78/76)
SMALL FORWARD
65 - Marvin Williams (66/66)
61 - Damien Wilkins (60/60)
POWER FORWARD
84 - Josh Smith (86/83)
61 - Josh Powell (64/64)
CENTER
80 - Al Horford (82/78)
60 - Zaza Pachulia (65/65)
56 - Etan Thomas (61/61)
51 - Hilton Armstrong (58/58)
45 - Jason Collins (51/51)

HEAT
POINT GUARD
68 - Mario Chalmers (69/69)
61 - Eddie House (65/56)
60 - Mike Bibby (71/73)
SHOOTING GUARD
96 – Dwyane Wade (96/97)
65 – Mike Miller (70/72)
SMALL FORWARD
98 – LeBron James (96/97)
58 – James Jones (58/58)
POWER FORWARD
80 - Chris Bosh (83/87)
68 - Udonis Haslem (71/71)
54 - Juwan Howard (60/58)
CENTER
64 - Zydrunas Ilgauskas (70/70)
55 – Joel Anthony (58/58)
55 – Erick Dampier (60/60)
50 - Jamaal Magloire (57/57)
44 - Dexter Pittman (50/50)

HORNETS
POINT GUARD
93 - Chris Paul (94/95)
65 - Jarrett Jack (69/69)
62 - Marcus Banks (62/62)
SHOOTING GUARD
67 – Willie Green (69/69)
64 - Marco Belinelli (66/66)
SMALL FORWARD
72 - Trevor Ariza (75/79)
58 - Quincy Pondexter (62/66)
57 - Patrick Ewing Jr. (56/56)
POWER FORWARD
74 - David West (76/75)
72 - Carl Landry (74/75)
55 - Jason Smith (59/56)
CENTER
73 - Emeka Okafor (78/77)
54 - Aaron Gray (58/62)
49 - David Andersen (57/57)
45 - D.J. Mbenga (51/51)

JAZZ
POINT GUARD
78 - Devin Harris (80/78)
63 - Earl Watson (64/64)
62 - Ronnie Price (63/63)
SHOOTING GUARD
68 - Raja Bell (70/70)
SMALL FORWARD
74 - Andrei Kirilenko (75/74)
68 - C.J. Miles (69/58)
63 - Gordon Hayward (64/64)
POWER FORWARD
80 - Paul Millsap (80/74)
70 - Derrick Favors (73/73)
56 - Jeremy Evans (57/57)
CENTER
81 - Al Jefferson (83/80)
68 - Mehmet Okur (75/75)
55 - Francisco Elson (61/61)
43 - Kyrylo Fesenko (49/49)

KINGS
POINT GUARD
63 - Eugene Jeter (60/60)
SHOOTING GUARD
80 - Tyreke Evans (81/82)
74 - Marcus Thornton (75/69)
72 – John Salmons (74/74)
SMALL FORWARD
69 - Francisco Garcia (69/66)
60 - Donte Greene (62/62)
POWER FORWARD
74 – J.J. Hickson (75/65)
66 - Jason Thompson (71/71)
51 - Darnell Jackson (51/51)
CENTER
71 - DeMarcus Cousins (74/70)
68 - Samuel Dalembert (74/70)
49 - Hassan Whiteside (54/54)

KNICKS
POINT GUARD
79 - Chauncey Billups (82/83)
69 – Toney Douglas (72/70)
53 - Anthony Carter (57/57)
SHOOTING GUARD
71 - Landry Fields (72/NA)
65 – Bill Walker (65/6500)
66 – Roger Mason (68/68)
56 - Andy Rautins (58/60)
SMALL FORWARD
91 - Carmelo Anthony (92/93)
65 - Derrick Brown (67/67)
64 - Renaldo Balkman (66/66)
61 - Shawne Williams (63/NA)
POWER FORWARD
88 - Amare Stoudemire (88/86)
58 - Jared Jeffries (62/62)
CENTER
62 – Ronny Turiaf (67/66)
59 - Shelden Williams (61/60)

LAKERS
POINT GUARD
67 - Derek Fisher (68/69)
64 - Steve Blake (68/68)
SHOOTING GUARD
94 - Kobe Bryant (95/97)
72 - Shannon Brown (78/73)
59 - Trey Johnson (59/59)
SMALL FORWARD
71 - Ron Artest (76/79)
71 - Matt Barnes (73/73)
63 - Luke Walton (66/66)
63 - Devin Ebanks (66/66)
POWER FORWARD
86 - Pau Gasol (89/89)
78 - Lamar Odom (79/79)
60 - Derrick Caracter (63/63)
56 - Joe Smith (62/62)
CENTER
79 - Andrew Bynum (81/77)
53 - Theo Ratliff (60/60)

MAGIC
POINT GUARD
77 - Gilbert Arenas (81/83)
74 - Jameer Nelson (75/75)
67 - Chris Duhon (69/69)
SHOOTING GUARD
73 - Jason Richardson (75/73)
64 - J.J. Redick (66/66)
SMALL FORWARD
74 - Hedo Turkoglu (76/73)
71 - Quentin Richardson (70/70)
64 - Earl Clark (63/63)
POWER FORWARD
70 - Brandon Bass (71/71)
63 - Ryan Anderson (65/62)
49 - Malik Allen (58/58)
CENTER
93 - Dwight Howard (93/88)
50 - Daniel Orton (59/59)

MAVERICKS
POINT GUARD
77 - Jason Kidd (82/83)
65 - J.J. Barea (69/69)
SHOOTING GUARD
76 - Jason Terry (78/78)
70 - DeShawn Stevenson (71/68)
65 - Rudy Fernandez (66/68)
69 - Rodrigue Beaubois (73/69)
66 - Corey Brewer (71/70)
63 - Dominique Jones (66/66)
SMALL FORWARD
81 - Caron Butler (81/81)
78 - Shawn Marion (77/78)
POWER FORWARD
85 - Dirk Nowitzki (85/83)
51 - Brian Cardinal (56/)
CENTER
70 - Tyson Chandler (72/66)
65 - Brendan Haywood (71/71)
46 - Ian Mahinmi (51/51)

NETS
POINT GUARD
90 - Deron Williams (91/92)
63 - Jordan Farmar (67/67)
60 - Sundiata Gaines (64/64)
57 - Ben Uzoh (60/60)
50 - Mario West (52/57)
SHOOTING GUARD
67 - Sasha Vujacic (66/67)
64 - Anthony Morrow (65/65)
SMALL FORWARD
69 - Damion James (70/70)
66 - Travis Outlaw (68/69)
57 - Stephen Graham (58/)
POWER FORWARD
70 - Kris Humphries (74/62)
59 - Brandan Wright (64/64)
CENTER
76 - Brook Lopez (78/81)
56 - Dan Gadzuric (61/61)
52 - Johan Petro (56/56)

NUGGETS
POINT GUARD
77 - Ty Lawson (78/75)
71 - Andre Miller (76/76)
SHOOTING GUARD
76 - J.R. Smith (75/71)
71 - Arron Afflalo (72/65)
SMALL FORWARD
80 – Wilson Chandler (80/74)
67 – Danilo Gallinari (73/72)
65 - Gary Forbes (66/NA)
POWER FORWARD
76 - Kenyon Martin (77/77)
66 - Al Harrington (73/74)
CENTER
77 - Nene (80/75)
65 - Chris Andersen (65/66)
57 - Timofey Mozgov (61/NA)
54 - Melvin Ely (59/59)
52 - Kosta Koufos (58/58)

PACERS
POINT GUARD
75 - Darren Collison (76/80)
72 - George Hill (73/76)
69 - T.J. Ford (72/72)
52 - A.J. Price (53/53)
SHOOTING GUARD
73 - Dahntay Jones (72/74)
65 - Brandon Rush (69/65)
62 - Mike Dunleavy (65/65)
58 - Lance Stephenson (60/60)
SMALL FORWARD
81 - Danny Granger (82/83)
74 - Paul George (73/71)
67 - James Posey (69/70)
POWER FORWARD
71 - Tyler Hansbrough (73/68)
64 - Josh McRoberts (66/54)
CENTER
72 - Roy Hibbert (76/71)
62 - Jeff Foster (66/66)

PISTONS
POINT GUARD
74 – Rodney Stuckey (74/74)
69 – Will Bynum (71/71)
SHOOTING GUARD
76 – Richard Hamilton (77/77)
74 – Ben Gordon (77/76)
69 – Tracy McGrady (76/73)
63 - Terrico White (66/66)
SMALL FORWARD
77 – Tayshaun Prince (76/76)
59 – Austin Daye (61/60)
56 – DaJuan Summers (58/58)
POWER FORWARD
70 – Jason Maxiell (71/71)
67 – Charlie Villanueva (71/71)
61 – Chris Wilcox (62/62)
61– Jonas Jerebko (63/66)
CENTER
69 – Ben Wallace (74/74)
65 – Greg Monroe (70/67)

RAPTORS
POINT GUARD
69 - Jose Calderon (72/72)
65 - Jerryd Bayless (66/66)
SHOOTING GUARD
71 - Leandro Barbosa (73/75)
69 - DeMar DeRozan (71/64)
SMALL FORWARD
67 - Sonny Weems (65/60)
62 - Linas Kleiza (63/55)
62 – James Johnson (63/64)
61 - Julian Wright (64/64)
POWER FORWARD
68 - Amir Johnson (71/63)
66 - Ed Davis (67/67)
62 - Joey Dorsey (63/63)
60 - Reggie Evans (64/63)
CENTER
68 - Andrea Bargnani (73/74)
51 - Solomon Alabi (57/57)
43 - Alexis Ajinca (43/43)

ROCKETS
POINT GUARD
76 - Kyle Lowry (81/75)
70 - Jonny Flynn (74/74)
63 - Goran Dragic (68/68)
SHOOTING GUARD
79 - Kevin Martin (81/80)
70 - Courtney Lee (71/68)
SMALL FORWARD
72 - Terrence Williams (76/76)
69 - Chase Budinger (70/70)
POWER FORWARD
77 - Luis Scola (81/78)
72 - Patrick Patterson (74/72)
67 - Jordan Hill (69/69)
CENTER
70 - Chuck Hayes (72/68)
51 – Hasheem Thabeet (59/59)

SPURS
POINT GUARD
80 - Tony Parker (84/78)
53 - Chris Quinn (56/56)
SHOOTING GUARD
85 - Manu Ginobili (88/87)
65 - Gary Neal (65/65)
SMALL FORWARD
72 - Richard Jefferson (77/74)
67 - James Anderson (67/66)
62 - Daniel Green (63/63)
POWER FORWARD
84 - Tim Duncan (85/90)
65 - Antonio McDyess (68/68)
62 - Tiago Splitter (64/64)
43 - Steve Novak (45/45)
CENTER
68 - DeJuan Blair (72/69)
50 - Matt Bonner (58/58)

SUNS
POINT GUARD
84 - Steve Nash (85/85)
75 - Aaron Brooks (77/80)
60 - Zabian Dowdell (59/59)
SHOOTING GUARD
76 - Vince Carter (81/81)
SMALL FORWARD
80 - Grant Hill (82/77)
72 - Jared Dudley (71/71)
72 - Michael Pietrus (72/72)
70 - Josh Childress (71/77)
POWER FORWARD
64 - Channing Frye (70/63)
62 - Hakim Warrick (65/64)
56 - Gani Lawal (59/59)
CENTER
73 - Marcin Gortat (75/69)
63 - Robin Lopez (64/64)
52 - Garret Siler (59/59)

THUNDER
POINT GUARD
88 - Russell Westbrook (88/81)
74 - Nate Robinson (75/76)
64 - Eric Maynor (67/67)
51 - Royal Ivey (53/53)
SHOOTING GUARD
74 - James Harden (75/74)
68 - Thabo Sefolosha (67/66)
61 - Daequan Cook (59/59)
55 - Robert Vaden (56/56)
SMALL FORWARD
92 - Kevin Durant (93/91)
POWER FORWARD
75 - Serge Ibaka (76/65)
62 - Nick Collison (63/63)
CENTER
71 - Kendrick Perkins (73/72)
58 – Nazr Mohammed (65/65)
54 - Cole Aldrich (64/64)
40 - Byron Mullens (46/46)

TIMBERWOLVES
POINT GUARD
68 - Luke Ridnour (72/72)
67 - Ricky Rubio (ROOKIE)
63 - Sebastian Telfair (65/65)
SHOOTING GUARD
70 - Wesley Johnson (71/73)
60 - Wayne Ellington (61/61)
SMALL FORWARD
78 - Michael Beasley (80/74)
70 - Martell Webster (69/69)
58 - Lazar Hayward (63/63)
POWER FORWARD
81 - Kevin Love (82/74)
69 – Anthony Randolph (70/70)
60 - Anthony Tolliver (62/62)
CENTER
62 - Darko Milicic (67/57)
56 - Nikola Pekovic (61/61)
58 - Brad Miller (66/66)

TRAILBLAZERS
POINT GUARD
75 – Raymond Felton (78/73)
62 – Patrick Mills (66/66)
60 - Armon Johnson (64/64)
SHOOTING GUARD
78 – Brandon Roy (83/88)
73 – Wesley Matthews (76/66)
63 – Elliot Williams (64/64)
SMALL FORWARD
83 – Gerald Wallace (84/84)
74 – Nicolas Batum (76/69)
59 – Luke Babbitt (63/63)
POWER FORWARD
83 – LaMarcus Aldridge (84/77)
CENTER
71 – Marcus Camby (78/78)
70 – Greg Oden (75/75)
47 - Earl Barron (58/58)
X - Chris Johnson (MISSING since April, played games with Celtics even earlier than that)

WARRIORS
POINT GUARD
80 – Stephen Curry (82/80)
59 - Acie Law (61/61)
56 - Jeremy Lin (62/62)
SHOOTING GUARD
83 – Monta Ellis (87/84)
64 – Charlie Bell (65/66)
SMALL FORWARD
74 – Dorell Wright (77/64)
66 - Al Thornton (68/68)
64 – Reggie Williams (67/67)
POWER FORWARD
79 – David Lee (81/83)
64 – Epke Udoh (68/68)
60 - Louis Amundson (64/64)
53 – Vladimir Radmanovic (56/53)
CENTER
61 – Andris Biedrins (65/69)

WIZARDS
POINT GUARD
82 - John Wall (82/81)
55 - Mustafa Shakur (63/63)
SHOOTING GUARD
73 - Nick Young (71/66)
66 – Jordan Crawford (66/65)
SMALL FORWARD
74 - Rashard Lewis (76/76)
70 – Maurice Evans (67/67)
69 - Josh Howard (71/71)
POWER FORWARD
71 - Andray Blatche (73/72)
66 - Trevor Booker (66/66)
63 - Yi Jianlian (67/67)
55 - Kevin Seraphin (54/58)
CENTER
70 - Javale McGee (73/59)
51 - Hamady N'Diaye (57/57)

FREE AGENT
POINT GUARD
63 - Sherron Collins (63/63)
55 - Lester Hudson (58/58)
54 - Luther Head (58/58)
50 - Orien Greene (53/53)
SHOOTING GUARD
64 - Jerry Stackhouse (66/66)
63 - Antoine Wright (64/64)
63 - Quinton Ross (63/63)
62 - Marquis Daniels (64/64)
61 - Jermaine Taylor (62/62)
58 - Kyle Weaver (59/59)
56 - Maurice Ager (57/57)
54 - Morris Peterson (56/56)
SMALL FORWARD
65 - Cartier Martin (65/65)
63 - Ime Udoka (63/63)
61 - Mike Harris (64/64)
59 - Peja Stojakovic (61/61)
59 - Bobby Simmons (62/62)
58 - DeMarre Carroll (59/59)
58 - Rodney Carney (59/59)
57 - Jawad Williams (58/58)
55 - Ronald Dupree (54/54)
POWER FORWARD
60 - Pops Mensah-Bonsu (63/63)
57 - Jeff Adrien (61/61)
CENTER
51 - Brian Skinner (56/56)
49 - Sean Marks (53/53)
48 - Solomon Jones (53/53)
43 - Jarron Collins (48/48)

TOP 10 NBA 2K12
98 - LeBron James
96 - Dwyane Wade
94 - Kobe Bryant
93 - Chris Paul
93 - Dwight Howard
92 - Kevin Durant
92 - Derrick Rose
91 - Carmelo Anthony
90 - Deron Williams
88 - Amare Stoudemire

TOP 10 NBA 2K11
96 - LeBron James
96 - Dwyane Wade
95 - Kobe Bryant
95 - Chris Paul
93 - Dwight Howard
93 - Kevin Durant
92 - Carmelo Anthony
91 - Derrick Rose
91 - Deron Williams
88 - Amare Stoudemire

Notice any similarities? 2K hasn't done a damn thing.

NBA 2K12 Preview: Philadelphia 76ers

2011-09-21T00:15:00.003-04:00

PHILADELPHIA 76'ERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
ShamSports Salaries

ROSTER
82 - Andre Iguodala (SF/SG)
80 - Elton Brand (PF/C)
78 - Thaddeus Young (PF/SF)*
76 - Jrue Holiday (PG)
75 - Louis Williams (PG/SG)
71 - Marreese Speights (C)
70 - Spencer Hawes (C)*
70 - Evan Turner (SG/SF)
69 - Jodie Meeks (SG)
67 - Nikola Vucevic (C)#
66 - Lavoy Allen (PF)#
65 - Andres Nocioni (SF/PF)
64 - Tony Battie (C)*
62 - Craig Brackins (PF)

* Denotes Free Agent
# Denotes Rookie

ROTATION/ROLES
LINEUP
C Spencer Hawes (21) - Starter
PF Elton Brand (34) - Starter
SF Andre Iguodala (37) - Starter
SG Jodie Meeks (30) - Starter
PG Jrue Holiday (35) - Starter
BENCH
PF Thaddeus Young (29) - Sixth Man
PG Louis Williams (23) - Role Player
SG Evan Turner (22) - Role Player
C Marreese Speights (9) - Prospect
SF Andres Nocioni (0) - Bench Warmer
PF Craig Brackins (0) - Prospect
C Nikola Vucevic (0) - Prospect
RESERVE
C Tony Battie (0) - Bench Warmer
PF Lavoy Allen (0) - Bench Warmer

POSITION ANALYSIS
OFF = Points Per Possession, calculated by Synergy Sports
DEF = Points Allowed Per Possession, calculated by Synergy Sports
NET = The difference between these two (OFF-DEF = NET)
AVS = Average rating of starter at position)

Regarding "NET" - These ratings are not meant to say player X was more important to his team than player Y. If a player with a limited role has +20 NET it means the player could handle more offensive touches or tougher defensive assignments (since backups typically face more lenient competition). It can also mean the player was used expertly by his coach. Conversely, a starter with a negative NET rating would likely benefit from fewer touches or better coaching. It goes without saying that a star with +20 NET is just doing business as usual while a 3rd string backup with -20 NET is more or less wasting a roster spot (if you can't beat other 3rd strings in garbage time, who can you beat?).

TEAM SUMMARY
0.94 OFF (14th)
0.88 DEF (7th)
+6 NET

POINT GUARD (AVS = 77)
76 - Jrue Holiday (0.88 OFF, 0.90 DEF, -2 NET)
75 - Louis Williams (0.95 OFF, 0.92 DEF, +3 NET)

Holiday at a mere 21 years of age is on the fast track to be a star. Had he stayed in school he almost certainly would have been a top 5 pick in this year's draft, so kudos go to Philly's scouting department who drafted him after a subpar freshman season. Holiday was 13-21 in the Post, with 11 SF% and 7 TO%, quietly ranking him the 6th most efficient post player in the league, which bodes extremely well for his development. If the 6'4" Holiday can make this a staple of his game the way Chauncey Billups, Andre Miller, and Sam Cassell did it will make him that much more dangerous on the court.

"Sweet Lou" was an excellent compliment to Holiday, and showed an ability to carry the team offensively with Holiday out of the game. (ranking 7th in P/R efficiency). He split his time at PG and SG (2K Rating 79 @ SG), and his presence keeps Evan Turner on the bench just as much as Iguodala.

SHOOTING GUARD (AVS = 74)
70 - Evan Turner (0.87 OFF, 0.93 DEF, -6 NET)
69 - Jodie Meeks (1.07 OFF, 0.85 DEF, +22 NET)

Evan Turner had a much maligned rookie campaign and it's tough to see him substantially improving given the current roster. He found ways to score in isolations (56th) and in the post (38th), but his jumpshot was much worse than originally thought (223rd on Spotups). More concerning was that he was EVEN WORSE on the break (only 248th with 0.98 PPP in transition) which is a bit puzzling given his reputation and the Sixers play style. Improving his jumper and fastbreak decisions would be a step in the right direction as he waits for an Iguodala trade.

Jodie Meeks was one of the season's biggest surprises for a team sorely needing 3pt shooting. It's worth noting that Meeks was actually a better 3pt shooter coming off screens (42%) and in transition (49%) than he was spotting up (37%). That adds to his value because lots of players can shoot a high percentage spotting up. It also means Meeks has room for improvement (though it could also mean he is due for some regression).

SMALL FORWARD (AVS = 76)
82 - Andre Iguodala (0.90 OFF, 0.81 DEF, +9 NET)
65 - Andres Nocioni (0.94 OFF, 1.03 DEF, -9 NET)

Iguodala took a lesser offensive role last season, and this allowed him to return to his defensive stopper roots. Iguodala will never have what it takes to be a #1 option (or even a legit #2 option) but so long as he can set teammates up, run the break, and hit open threes, he will still prove highly valuable on the offensive end. Iguodala was 46-117 (39.3%) on Spotup threes and only 18-80 (22.5%) in all other situations, so cutting the others out of his arsenal would do him (and the team) some good.

Nocioni really didn't do much aside from hit threes. I remember when Nocioni entered the league and he had a defensive reputation, but all he's really shown in the league is that he's not afraid to foul hard. Nocioni spends most of his time as a stretch PF that can't rebound or defend bigger players, and only sees playing time because Turner and Young can't shoot.

POWER FORWARD (AVS = 79)
80 - Elton Brand (1.01 OFF, 0.87 DEF, +14 NET)
78 - Thaddeus Young* (1.00 OFF, 0.93 DEF, +7 NET)
66 - Lavoy Allen#
62 - Craig Brackins (0.50 OFF, 0.89 DEF, -39 NET)

Brand had an offensive resurgence and had no short of weapons in the half-court, ranking highly in Post game (32nd), P/R game (84th), and Spotups (82nd). He won't ever be the scorer he was 5 years ago, but makes a solid #2 man. Unfortunately, he's the best Philly's got.

Young is quickly becoming the ultimate tweener, and the team's decision to play him predominately at PF is obvious to the statistical community. Young's Post game (24th) and Pick/Roll game (51st as the Roll man) are great weapons while his Spotup game (323rd) is simply not. Young also takes advantage of his speed on other PFs by ranking 12th in Transition offense. Overall this might sound great, but on the defensive end Young doesn't have the strength to match other bigs and his Post Defense ranks 248th (1.02 PPP), meaning he is getting back just as much as he is giving. Young is still "young" (only 23) and has time to develop but I'm not sure sure leaving as a free agent to be the starting SF of another team (like New Jersey) is much of a solution.

Allen and Brackins will essentially fight Andres Nocioni for 3rd string PF minutes. That could change quickly if Young leaves as a free agent.

CENTER (AVS = 75)
71 - Marreese Speights (0.93 OFF, 0.74 DEF, +19 NET)
70 - Spencer Hawes* (0.82 OFF, 0.86 DEF, -4 NET)
67 - Nikola Vucevic#
64 - Tony Battie* (0.87 OFF, 0.89 DEF, -2 NET)

Even if one doesn't take much stock into Synergy it's pretty easy to see that Marreese Speights did not get a fair shot under Doug Collins, spending most of the season fighting Tony Battie for backup center minutes. He desperately needs a change of scenery to show the offensive promise he showed his first two seasons was no fluke.

Hawes had a decent year and will probably come back for the qualifying offer (worth about 4 million for him). It's unlikely he actually develops into Brad Miller as those in Sacramento optimistically predicted, but at the least he's proven he could be a competent backup center on a contending team.

Drafting Vucevic is the Sixers covering their butts in case Hawes gets a huge RFA offer the team doesn't want to match. He also takes Speights' place when he gets traded, and could also push Battie out of town.

Battie only played 377 minutes over 38 games but was ahead of Speights in the rotation most of the year. Battie actually played well in his limited time, but at age 35 he's not likely to repeat it.

DISCLAIMER
Rashidi is not employed by 2K Sports and these are not NBA 2K12's actual ratings. These are the personal ratings of Rashidi, "The Real 2K Insider", calculated on NBA 2K11 using all available data/sources including but not limited to: Basketball-Reference, 82games, Hoopdata, SynergySports, and DraftExpress. Rashidi calculates his ratings using the same formulas 2K Sports does but is FAR more consistent in their implementation (and thus maintains his roster is what 2K Sports' would look like if they had him on the team). Rashidi's current NBA 2K11 roster "The Real NBA 2K12" can be downloaded for XBox360 via 2K Share.

SYNERGY SPORTS NOTE
Synergy is an excellent tool and I highly recommend you SUBSCRIBE to it (IF you have a quality computer and internet connection). Back in June I was working nights and wasn't able to watch the NBA Finals as they happened. Every night I got home from work and was able to watch every game commercial free thanks to Synergy. No timeout delays (when the game returns from commercial break and takes 20 seconds to get back to game action), no unwanted replays, no players complaining to the referees before lining up at the FT line. Just the on-court action straight through. The ability to select any play from any game for viewing is completely invaluable. Please, give them your hard earned money just like EA Sports did for their basketball game that doesn't even exist.

Rashidi simulates the 2011 NBA Playoffs

2011-06-14T08:35:00.000-04:00

Over the last few weeks I have been using Synergy Sports to update my NBA 2K11 roster. Now that the playoffs are over and I have fully edited the playoff rotations of nearly all the playoff teams, I feel it's worth it to run a simulation and see how closely it follows the events of real life.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND

1. Spurs - 4
8. Grizzlies - 1

The Spurs did not get upset by the Grizzlies as they did in real life, which surely had something to do with a healthy Manu Ginobili. Manu dropped 40 points in a tone-setting 31-point game 1 blowout.

4. Thunder - 0
5. Nuggets - 4

OKC was surpisingly swept by the lower seed Nuggets. It's worth noting that they are my highest rated western conference team so this was probably an aberration. Kevin Durant did everything he did to stave off elimination, dropping 40 points (13-29 FG, 4-12 3PT, 10-12 FT) in game 4, but the Nuggets had five players in double figures including Raymond Felton (24 points, 7 assists), Danilo Gallinari (19 points in 20 minutes), and Nene (16 points, 20 rebounds).

3. Mavericks - 4
6. Trail Blazers - 2

This is how the series went down in real life.  Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry lead the way in game 6 with 24 points apiece, while LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller could only muster 15 apiece.

2. Lakers - 4
7. Hornets - 3

LA held off the Hornets in 6 games in real life. Kobe had 25 points (9-11 FG) in game 7 while Chris Paul had 31 points and 7 assists.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND

1. Bulls - 4
8. Pacers - 3

The Bulls had a bit more trouble with the Pacers than they did in real life, but still escaped the series victorious. Rose had 31 points (11-28 FG) and 6 assists in game 7 while Danny Granger had 25 points (7-18 FG) and 6 rebounds.

4. Magic - 4
5. Hawks - 1

The one east series that didn't follow real life's events (though the simulation is certainly what we all expected). It is worth noting that Kirk Hinrich did not play in my simulation as he did in real life, though that probably wasn't enough of a factor to sway the series' end result. Al Horford spent game 5 in foul trouble, playing only 20 minutes, while Dwight Howard cruised to 23 points (10-11 FG, 3-8 FT). Similar to real life, Howard posted a huge game 1 line of 38 points (13-20 FG, 12-19 FT), 24 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

3. Celtics - 4
6. Knicks - 2

New York put up a little bit more of a fight, as Amare Stoudemire didn't have a lingering back injury in this simulation. Just as in real life, Carmelo Anthony had a huge game 3 line with 44 points (17-29 FG, 2-2 3PT, 8-12 FT), 13 rebounds, and 5 assists, which the Knicks were able to turn into a win. Melo had another big line with 42 and 8 (16-23 FG, 9-11 FT) in game 5 but in a losing effort. Melo predictably flamed out in the deciding game 6 with 18 points on only 4-17 FG, while Kevin Garnett came up strong with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 steals to seal NY's fate.

2. Heat - 4
7. Sixers - 1

Another series that followed real life. The big three were just too much to handle, scoring 68 points in game 5 while the entire Sixers team could only muster 75 (lead by Lou Williams' 14). Elton Brand finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds but was much worse than that, shooting 1-9 from the field and commiting 8 turnovers.

WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND

1. Spurs - 2
5. Nuggets - 4

This matchup was Thunder/Grizzlies in reality. At least the 4/5 bracket made it to the Conference Finals over San Antonio. As with the previous series, Denver had a balanced offensive attack while Tim Duncan faltered in series clinching game six, scoring only 8 points on 3-16 shooting.

2. Lakers - 2
3. Mavericks - 4

LA managed to get two more victories in the simulation than they did in real life. LA actually crushed Dallas in the first two games, but Dallas won the last four, so at least that made it similar to a sweep. Series clinching game 6 saw Dirk drop his usual 24 points (10-15 FG) and 8 rebounds, while reserves Peja and Barea combined for 36 points in 37 minutes as Dallas blew LA out by 34 points. Which is pretty much what happened in real life.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND

1. Bulls - 4
4. Magic - 3

The matchup we all would have rather seen instead of Bulls/Hawks. Game 7 saw Howard go for 30 and 20 (10 offensive boards) but he got absolutely no help from his teammates as he was the only player in double figures on his team. Rose on the other hand was even better, with 31 points and 13 assists. Boozer and Deng were the main beneficiaries, scoring 22 points apiece, and the Bulls handily advance to the Conference Finals.

2. Heat - 4
3. Celtics - 2

Simply too much LeBron and Wade in this series. Series clinching game 6 saw the Heat rip Boston's hearts out in Overtime. Wade finished with 35-5-6 while LeBron had 32-9-5 and 6 steals. Ray Allen gave it his best, finishing with 27 [pomts but Paul Pierce only had 16 points on 5-17 FG which wasn't enough to keep pace with Miami's star studded perimeter.

CONFERENCE FINALS

3. Mavericks - 4
5. Nuggets - 1

While the opponent might have been different, the end result was not, as Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals in 5 games. Dallas crushed Denver by 47 in the deciding game 5, giving Denver a taste of their own depth. Seven Dallas players finished in double figures including 33 by Jason Terry and 22 for Dirk. Nene had 19 and 15 for the Nuggets but it just simply wasn't enough to combat Dallas' offensive onslaught.

1. Bulls - 0
2. Heat - 4

The simulation gave us the same eastern conference final, with a near identical result.  Miami lost game 1 before winning 4 straight, and the simulation just removed game 1 from the equation. Game 4 saw Derrick Rose go for 36 points and 6 assists, but he only shot 12-32 from the field, which was a microcosm of his real life struggles. The big three finished with 72 points (including 30-7-7 for LeBron) and the Heat advance to the NBA Finals.

NBA FINALS

2. Heat - 4
3. Mavericks - 2

Regardless of the series result, I consider it extremely awesome that I was able to generate a match of this season's NBA Finals.  The Heat won this in 6 as opposed to Dallas in real life.

Game 1: Wade has 32-8-3-2 while LeBron has 28-6-5-5. Dirk only plays 23 minutes due to foul trouble, scoring 11 points. Miami wins 92-89.

Game 2: Dirk avenges game 1 with 31 points (12-19 FG). Wade has 34-5-4-3 but LeBron "struggles" to 19-6-8-3. Dallas wins 97-92.

Game 3: Dirk posts 24 and 7, Tyson Chandler has 14 and 14, and Peja drops 21 (8-10 FG, 5-7 3PT) in only 19 minutes off the bench. Still, it's not enough as LeBron triple doubles for 27-10-13. Wade finishes with 23-3-10. That's a lot of assists for your top two players. Miami holds on for a 104-102 win.

Game 4: Dirk gets stuck in foul trouble again, scoring 20 points but in only 29 minutes. The bench picks up the slack as Terry, Barea, and Peja combine for 55 points. LeBron gets 39-8-4-3 but Wade only musters 14-3-5-3 on 4-13 FG. Dallas wins 114-92.

Game 5: Dirk rebounds to post 26 points and 12 boards, and LeBron came back to earth with only 15-6-9. However Dwyane Wade took over, finishing with 38-9-4-2-3 and the Heat squeezed out the game 5 win they couldn't in real life, 94-90.

Game 6: Dirk dropped 35 points (11-23 FG, 12-12 FT) but got an anti-clutch performance from Jason Terry (12 points, 3-15 FG). LeBron (39-9-7-3) and Wade (25-5-8-5) put the nail in the coffin by holding Dallas to a mere 3 points in the 3rd quarter. Miami wins game 6 and the NBA Championship by the score of 103-84.

LeBron clearly did not wilt under the Finals pressure, which is what seperates a video game simulation from reality. The coaching adjustments Rick Carlisle made to neutralize LeBron (hard doubles, force him into playing PG) did not show up here. Dallas also removed Stojakovic from the Finals rotation, which I did not do here, and could have been a factor in the series (since he was pulled in real life due to his inability to stay in front of LeBron). As I said before though, it is tough to be disappointed with the result, because in reality the series was very close and it could have gone either way.

The Real NBA 2K11 [04-15-11]

2011-04-16T16:18:00.038-04:00

PHILADELPHIA 76'ERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
ShamSports Salaries

SRS: 1.00 (14th)
ORTG: 106.6 (17th)
DRTG: 105.0 (7th)

ROSTER
82 - Andre Iguodala (SF/SG)
80 - Elton Brand (PF/C)
78 - Thaddeus Young (PF/SF)
76 - Jrue Holiday (PG)
75 - Louis Williams (PG/SG)
71 - Marreese Speights (C)
70 - Spencer Hawes (C)
70 - Evan Turner (SG/SF)
69 - Jodie Meeks (SG)
65 - Andres Nocioni (SF/PF)
64 - Tony Battie (C)
63 - Antonio Daniels (PG)
62 - Darius Songaila (PF/C)
62 - Craig Brackins (PF)
58 - Jason Kapono (SF)

LINEUP
C Spencer Hawes (20) - Starter
PF Elton Brand (37) - Starter
SF Andre Iguodala (36) - Starter
SG Jodie Meeks (25) - Starter
PG Jrue Holiday (38) - Starter
BENCH
PG Louis Williams (26) - Role Player
PF Thaddeus Young (25) - Sixth Man
SG Evan Turner (19) - Prospect
C Tony Battie (8) - Bench Warmer
C Marreese Speights (6) - Prospect
SF Andres Nocioni (0) - Role Player
PG Antonio Daniels (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
SF Jason Kapono (0) - Bench Warmer
PF Darius Songaila (0) - Bench Warmer
PF Craig Brackins (0) - Bench Warmer

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
ShamSports Salaries

SRS: -4.08 (24th)
ORTG: 103.4 (26th)
DRTG: 107.8 (17th)

ROSTER
79 - Tyrus Thomas (C/PF)
78 - Stephen Jackson (SF/SG)
75 - D.J. Augustin (PG)
74 - Boris Diaw (PF/C)
71 - Kwame Brown (C)
70 - Gerald Henderson (SG)
69 - D.J. White (PF/C)
67 - Shaun Livingston (PG/SG)
66 - Dante Cunningham (SF/PF)
66 - Dominic McGuire (SF)
64 - Joel Przybilla (C)
60 - Matt Carroll (SG/SF)
58 - DaSagana Diop (C)
58 - Garrett Temple (PG/SG)
56 - Eduardo Najera (PF)

LINEUP
C Kwame Brown (37) - Starter
PF Boris Diaw (38) - Starter
SF Dante Cunningham (31) - Role Player
SG Gerald Henderson (35) - Starter
PG D.J. Augustin (35) - Starter
BENCH
PF D.J. White (19) - Prospect
SF Dominic McGuire (17) - Bench Warmer
SG Matt Carroll (15) - Bench Warmer
PG Garrett Temple (13) - Bench Warmer
SF Stephen Jackson (INJURED) - Starter
PG Shaun Livingston (INJURED) - Role Player
C Tyrus Thomas (INJURED) - Sixth Man
RESERVE
PF Eduardo Najera (INJURED) - Bench Warmer
C Joel Przybilla (INJURED) - Bench Warmer
C DaSagana Diop (INJURED) - Bench Warmer

MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: -1.01 (17th)
ORTG: 101.6 (30th)
DRTG: 102.5 (4th)

ROSTER
80 - Andrew Bogut (C)
78 - Brandon Jennings (PG)
77 - Corey Maggette (SF)
74 - John Salmons (SG/SF)
73 - Earl Boykins (PG)
72 - Carlos Delfino (SF/SG)
71 - Drew Gooden (C/PF)
70 - Ersan Ilyasova (PF/C)
70 - Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (PF/SF)
70 - Chris Douglas-Roberts (SG/SF)
69 - Keyon Dooling (PG/SG)
66 - Michael Redd (SG/SF)
66 - Larry Sanders (C/PF)
66 - Jon Brockman (PF/C)

LINEUP
C Drew Gooden (27) - Role Player
PF Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (27) - Starter
SF Carlos Delfino (29) - Starter
SG John Salmons (36) - Starter
PG Brandon Jennings (38) - Starter
BENCH
PF Ersan Ilyasova (27) - Sixth Man
PG Keyon Dooling (17) - Role Player
SF Corey Maggette (15) - Role Player
SG Michael Redd (13) - Bench Warmer
C Larry Sanders (11) - Prospect
PG Earl Boykins (0) - Bench Warmer
SG Chris Douglas-Roberts (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
C Andrew Bogut (INJURED) - Starter
PF Jon Brockman (INJURED) - Bench Warmer

CHICAGO BULLS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: 6.53 (2nd)
ORTG: 108.3 (11th)
DRTG: 100.3 (1st)

ROSTER
93 - Derrick Rose (PG)
84 - Carlos Boozer (PF/C)
80 - Joakim Noah (C)
79 - Luol Deng (SF/PF)
76 - Taj Gibson (PF)
74 - C.J. Watson (PG)
73 - Ronnie Brewer (SG)
69 - Kyle Korver (SF/SG)
68 - Kurt Thomas (C)
68 - Omer Asik (C)
62 - Keith Bogans (SG)
60 - Rasual Butler (SG/SF)
60 - Jannero Pargo (PG/SG)
59 - John Lucas (PG)
56 - Brian Scalabrine (PF)

LINEUP
C Joakim Noah (33) - Starter
PF Carlos Boozer (32) - Starter
SF Luol Deng (43) - Starter
SG Keith Bogans (19) - Starter
PG Derrick Rose (41) - Star
BENCH
PF Taj Gibson (18) - Sixth Man
SF Kyle Korver (17) - Role Player
SG Ronnie Brewer (16) - Role Player
C Omer Asik (10) - Prospect
PG C.J. Watson (9) - Role Player
C Kurt Thomas (2) - Role Player
SG Rasual Butler (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
PF Brian Scalabrine (0) - Bench Warmer
PG John Lucas (0) - Bench Warmer
PG Jannero Pargo (0) - Bench Warmer

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: -8.88 (30th)
ORTG: 102.2 (29th)
DRTG: 111.8 (29th)

ROSTER
78 - Baron Davis (PG)
76 - J.J. Hickson (PF/C)
74 - Antawn Jamison (PF)
74 - Anderson Varejao (C)
71 - Ramon Sessions (PG)
70 - Alonzo Gee (SF/SG)
69 - Joey Graham (SF)
68 - Samardo Samuels (C/PF)
67 - Anthony Parker (SG/SF)
67 - Ryan Hollins (C)
67 - Manny Harris (SG)
66 - Daniel Gibson (PG/SG)
64 - Christian Eyenga (SF)

LINEUP
C Ryan Hollins (29) - Role Player
PF J.J. Hickson (32) - Sixth Man
SF Alonzo Gee (28) - Starter
SG Anthony Parker (26) - Starter
PG Baron Davis (26) - Starter
BENCH
PG Daniel Gibson (25) - Role Player
PG Ramon Sessions (24) - Role Player
PF Luke Harangody (21) - Prospect
SF Christian Eyenga (13) - Prospect
C Semih Erden (11) - Prospect
SG Manny Harris (9) - Prospect
SF Joey Graham (5) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
C Samardo Samuels (INJURED) - Prospect
PF Antawn Jamison (INJURED) - Starter
C Anderson Varejao (INJURED) - Starter

BOSTON CELTICS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
ShamSports Salaries

SRS: 4.83 (6th)
ORTG: 106.2 (18th)
DRTG: 100.3 (2nd)

ROSTER
86 - Rajon Rondo (PG)
83 - Kevin Garnett (PF)
82 - Paul Pierce (SF)
79 - Shaquille O'Neal (C)
79 - Ray Allen (SG)
76 - Glen Davis (PF/C)
75 - Jeff Green (SF/PF)
72 - Jermaine O'Neal (C)
70 - Nenad Krstic (C)
69 - Delonte West (PG/SG)
68 - Von Wafer (SG)
67 - Carlos Arroyo (PG)
66 - Troy Murphy (PF)
61 - Avery Bradley (PG)
60 - Sasha Pavlovic (SF/SG)

LINEUP
C Jermaine O'Neal (23) - Role Player
PF Kevin Garnett (34) - Starter
SF Paul Pierce (39) - Starter
SG Ray Allen (40) - Starter
PG Rajon Rondo (42) - Star
BENCH
PF Glen Davis (25) - Sixth Man
SF Jeff Green (17) - Role Player
PG Delonte West (14) - Role Player
C Nenad Krstic (6) - Role Player
SG Von Wafer (0) - Bench Warmer
PF Troy Murphy (0) - Bench Warmer
SF Sasha Pavlovic (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
PG Carlos Arroyo (0) - Bench Warmer
PG Avery Bradley (0) - Bench Warmer
C Shaquille O'Neal (INJURED) - Starter

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
86 - Blake Griffin (PF/C)
86 - Eric Gordon (SG)
76 - Chris Kaman (C)
74 - Mo Williams (PG)

LINEUP

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
86 - Zach Randolph (PF/C)
83 - Rudy Gay (SF/PF)
80 - Marc Gasol (C)
77 - Darrell Arthur (PF)
76 - Michael Conley (PG)
74 - Tony Allen (SG/SF)
73 - Shane Battier (SF)
71 - O.J. Mayo (SG)
68 - Sam Young (SF)
66 - Hamed Haddadi (C)
66 - Leon Powe (PF/C)
66 - Ishmael Smith (PG)
65 - Greivis Vasquez (PG/SG)
62 - Xavier Henry (SG/SF)
25 - Jason Williams (PG)

LINEUP

ATLANTA HAWKS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
84 - Al Horford (C/PF)
83 - Josh Smith (PF/SF)
79 - Joe Johnson (SG/SF)
77 - Jamal Crawford (SG/PG)
71 - Kirk Hinrich (PG)
71 - Marvin Williams (SF/PF)
70 - Zaza Pachulia (C)
69 - Jeff Teague (PG)
61 - Jason Collins (C)

LINEUP

MIAMI HEAT
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
97 - LeBron James (SF/PF)
91 - Dwyane Wade (SG/PG)
83 - Chris Bosh (PF/C)
73 - Udonis Haslem (PF)
71 - Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C)
67 - Mike Miller (SG/SF)
66 - Mario Chalmers (PG)
65 - Joel Anthony (C)
65 - Erick Dampier (C)
64 - James Jones (SF/SG)
63 - Mike Bibby (PG)
63 - Eddie House (PG/SG)
62 - Juwan Howard (PF)
60 - Jamaal Magloire (C)
60 - Dexter Pittman (C)

LINEUP
C Joel Anthony (27) - Starter
PF Chris Bosh (40) - Star
SF LeBron James (44) - Star
SG Dwyane Wade (39) - Star
PG Mario Chalmers (24) - Role Player
BENCH
PF Udonis Haslem (24) - Sixth Man
PG Mike Bibby (21) - Starter
SG Mike Miller (12) - Role Player
PF Juwan Howard (6) - Bench Warmer
PG Eddie House (3) - Bench Warmer
C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (0) - Bench Warmer
C Jamaal Magloire (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
C Erick Dampier (0) - Bench Warmer
SF James Jones (INJURED) - Role Player
C Dexter Pittman (INJURED) - Prospect

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
89 - Chris Paul (PG)
82 - David West (PF)
81 - Emeka Okafor (C)
75 - Carl Landry (PF)
71 - Trevor Ariza (SF/SG)
70 - Jarrett Jack (PG)
70 - Jason Smith (PF/C)
69 - Willie Green (SG/PG)
66 - Marco Belinelli (SG/SF)

LINEUP

UTAH JAZZ
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
82 - Al Jefferson (C/PF)
81 - Paul Millsap (PF)
80 - Devin Harris (PG)
73 - Derrick Favors (PF/C)
72 - Andrei Kirilenko (SF/PF)
72 - C.J. Miles (SF/SG)
70 - Mehmet Okur (C)
69 - Earl Watson (PG)
67 - Ronnie Price (SG/PG)
63 - Raja Bell (SG)

LINEUP

SACRAMENTO KINGS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
79 - Tyreke Evans (SG/PG)
78 - DeMarcus Cousins (C/PF)
76 - Jason Thompson (PF/C)
74 - Marcus Thornton (SG/SF)
72 - Samuel Dalembert (C)
71 - Beno Udrih (PG)

LINEUP

NEW YORK KNICKS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: 0.48 (15th)
ORTG: 110.9 (7th)
DRTG: 110.1 (22nd)

ROSTER
86 - Amar'e Stoudemire (PF/C)
84 - Carmelo Anthony (SF/PF)
77 - Chauncey Billups (PG)
71 - Ronny Turiaf (C)
70 - Toney Douglas (PG/SG)
70 - Landry Fields (SG/SF)
68 - Shelden Williams (C/PF)
66 - Bill Walker (SG/SF)
65 - Shawne Williams (PF/SF)
65 - Derrick Brown (SF/PF)
64 - Roger Mason (SG)
63 - Jared Jeffries (C/PF)
62 - Renaldo Balkman (SF)
60 - Anthony Carter (PG/SG)
58 - Andy Rautins (SG/PG)

LINEUP
C Ronny Turiaf (19) - Starter
PF Amare Stoudemire (34) - Star
SF Carmelo Anthony (39) - Star
SG Landry Fields (18) - Starter
PG Toney Douglas (32) - Sixth Man
BENCH
PF Shawne Williams (25) - Role Player
SG Bill Walker (22) - Prospect
PF Jared Jeffries (21) - Role Player
SG Roger Mason (18) - Bench Warmer
PG Anthony Carter (12) - Bench Warmer
C Shelden Williams (0) - Bench Warmer
SF Derrick Brown (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
SF Renaldo Balkman (0) - Bench Warmer
PG Chauncey Billups (INJURED) - Starter
SG Andy Rautins (INJURED) - Bench Warmer

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: 6.01 (3rd)
ORTG: 111.0 (6th)
DRTG: 104.3 (6th)

ROSTER
91 - Kobe Bryant (SG/SF)
83 - Pau Gasol (PF/C)
80 - Lamar Odom (PF)
79 - Andrew Bynum (C)
76 - Matt Barnes (SF)
76 - Shannon Brown (SG)
74 - Ron Artest (SF/PF)
66 - Derrick Caracter (C)
66 - Luke Walton (SF/PF)
63 - Joe Smith (PF)
63 - Steve Blake (PG)
62 - Derek Fisher (PG)
62 - Devin Ebanks (SF/PF)
61 - Theo Ratliff (C)
60 - Trey Johnson (SG)

LINEUP
C Andrew Bynum (32) - Starter
PF Pau Gasol (36) - Star
SF Ron Artest (32) - Starter
SG Kobe Bryant (35) - Star
PG Derek Fisher (32) - Starter
BENCH
PF Lamar Odom (28) - Sixth Man
SG Shannon Brown (16) - Role Player
PG Steve Blake (16) - Role Player
SF Matt Barnes (13) - Role Player
PF Joe Smith (0) - Bench Warmer
SG Trey Johnson (0) - Bench Warmer
SF Luke Walton (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
C Theo Ratliff (0) - Bench Warmer
C Derrick Caracter (0) - Prospect
SF Devin Ebanks (INJURED) - Bench Warmer

ORLANDO MAGIC
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: 4.92 (5th)
ORTG: 107.7 (14th)
DRTG: 101.8 (3rd)

ROSTER
94 - Dwight Howard (C)
77 - Jameer Nelson (PG)
77 - Brandon Bass (PF/C)
75 - Ryan Anderson (PF)
73 - Hedo Turkoglu (SF/PF)
73 - Jason Richardson (SG/SF)
72 - Gilbert Arenas (PG/SG)
69 - J.J. Redick (SG)
67 - Quentin Richardson (SF)
66 - Earl Clark (PF)
65 - Chris Duhon (PG)
61 - Daniel Orton (C)
55 - Malik Allen (C)

LINEUP
C Dwight Howard (42) - Star
PF Brandon Bass (24) - Starter
SF Hedo Turkoglu (34) - Starter
SG Jason Richardson (32) - Starter
PG Jameer Nelson (36) - Starter
BENCH
PF Ryan Anderson (25) - Sixth Man
SG J.J. Redick (20) - Role Player
PG Gilbert Arenas (12) - Role Player
SF Quentin Richardson (15) - Role Player
C Malik Allen (0) - Bench Warmer
PF Earl Clark (0) - Prospect
PG Chris Duhon (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
C Daniel Orton (INJURED) - Prospect

DALLAS MAVERICKS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
88 - Dirk Nowitzki (PF)
79 - Tyson Chandler (C)
79 - Jason Terry (SG)
79 - Caron Butler (SF)
78 - Shawn Marion (SF/PF)
76 - Jason Kidd (PG)
72 - J.J. Barea (PG/SG)
72 - Rodrigue Beaubois (PG/SG)
70 - Brendan Haywood (C)
69 - DeShawn Stevenson (SG/SF)
69 - Peja Stojakovic (SF)
69 - Dominique Jones (SG//SF)
68 - Corey Brewer (SF)
66 - Ian Mahinmi (C)
60 - Brian Cardinal (PF/SF)

LINEUP
BENCH
RESERVE

NEW JERSEY NETS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
86 - Deron Williams (PG)
80 - Kris Humphries (PF/C)
77 - Brook Lopez (C)
72 - Jordan Farmar (PG/SG)

LINEUP

DENVER NUGGETS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
80 - Nene (C)
80 - Raymond Felton (PG/SG)
78 - Ty Lawson (PG)
77 - Wilson Chandler (SF/SG)
74 - J.R. Smith (SG/SF)
74 - Kenyon Martin (PF)
73 - Danilo Gallinari (SF/PF)
73 - Arron Afflalo (SG)
73 - Al Harrington (PF/C)
71 - Chris Andersen (C/PF)

LINEUP

INDIANA PACERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: -1.38 (19th)
ORTG: 104.8 (23rd)
DRTG: 106.0 (12th)

ROSTER
78 - Danny Granger (SF/PF)
78 - Tyler Hansbrough (PF)
77 - Roy Hibbert (C)
76 - Darren Collison (PG)
73 - Dahntay Jones (SF/SG)

LINEUP
C Roy Hibbert (26) - Starter
PF Tyler Hansbrough (33) - Starter
SF Danny Granger (37) - Starter
SG Paul George (27) - Starter
PG Darren Collison (29) - Starter
BENCH
C Jeff Foster (19) - Role Player
PF Josh McRoberts (16) - Sixth Man
PG A.J. Price (16) - Role Player
SG Mike Dunleavy (14) - Role Player
SF Dahntay Jones (12) - Bench Warmer
SG Brandon Rush (11) - Role Player
PG T.J. Ford (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
PF James Posey (0) - Bench Warmer
C Solomon Jones (0) - Bench Warmer
SG Lance Stephenson (0) - Bench Warmer

DETROIT PISTONS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
79 - Tayshaun Prince (SF/PF)
76 - Rodney Stuckey (PG/SG)
76 - Tracy McGrady (SG/PG)
74 - Richard Hamilton (SG/SF)
73 - Ben Gordon (SG)
69 - Greg Monroe (C/PF)

LINEUP

TORONTO RAPTORS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
75 - Amir Johnson (PF)
74 - Jose Calderon (PG)
73 - Andrea Bargnani (C)
72 - Leandro Barbosa (SG)
71 - Ed Davis (PF/C)
71 - Jerryd Bayless (PG/SG)

LINEUP

HOUSTON ROCKETS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
80 - Luis Scola (PF)
78 - Kevin Martin (SG)
78 - Yao Ming (C)
75 - Kyle Lowry (PG)
73 - Chuck Hayes (C/PF)
72 - Courtney Lee (SG)
67 - Brad Miller (C)

LINEUP

SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: 5.86 (4th)
ORTG: 111.8 (2nd)
DRTG: 105.6 (11th)

ROSTER
86 - Tim Duncan (C)
86 - Manu Ginobili (SG/SF)
80 - Tony Parker (PG)
75 - Richard Jefferson (SF/PF)
74 - DeJuan Blair (PF/C)
73 - Tiago Splitter (C)
69 - George Hill (PG/SG)
68 - Matt Bonner (PF)
67 - Antonio McDyess (PF/C)
64 - Gary Neal (SG/SF)
62 - James Anderson (SF/SG)

LINEUP

PHOENIX SUNS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
86 - Steve Nash (PG)
81 - Marcin Gortat (C)
78 - Grant Hill (SF/SG)
75 - Vince Carter (SG/SF)
75 - Aaron Brooks (PG)
71 - Jared Dudley (SF/SG)
70 - Channing Frye (PF/C)
70 - Hakim Warrick (PF)
66 - Robin Lopez (C)
66 - Josh Childress (SG/SF)
65 - Mickael Pietrus (SG/SF)

LINEUP

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

SRS: 3.81 (9th)
ORTG: 111.2 (5th)
DRTG: 107.2 (15th)
ROSTER
88 - Kevin Durant (SF/PF)
86 - Russell Westbrook (PG)
77 - James Harden (SG/SF)
75 - Serge Ibaka (PF/C)
73 - Kendrick Perkins (C)
72 - Nazr Mohammed (C)
71 - Eric Maynor (PG)
69 - Nick Collison (PF/C)
69 - Nate Robinson (PG/SG)
67 - Thabo Sefolosha (SG/SF)
65 - Cole Aldrich (C)
64 - Royal Ivey (SG/PG)
63 - Daequan Cook (SG)
62 - Robert Vaden (SG/SF)
57 - Byron Mullens (C)

LINEUP
C Kendrick Perkins (28) - Starter
PF Serge Ibaka (29) - Starter
SF Kevin Durant (42) - Star
SG Thabo Sefolosha (20) - Starter
PG Russell Westbrook (37) - Star
BENCH
SG James Harden (32) - Sixth Man
PF Nick Collison (24) - Role Player
PG Eric Maynor (13) - Role Player
SG Daequan Cook (11) - Bench Warmer
C Nazr Mohammed (4) - Role Player
PG Nate Robinson (0) - Bench Warmer
SG Royal Ivey (0) - Bench Warmer
RESERVE
C Cole Aldrich (0) - Prospect
C Byron Mullens (0) - Bench Warmer
SG Robert Vaden (0) - Bench Warmer

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
86 - Kevin Love (PF/C)
79 - Michael Beasley (SF/PF)
75 - Anthony Randolph (PF/C)
73 - Luke Ridnour (PG)
69 - Jonny Flynn (PG)
67 - Sebastian Telfair (PG)

LINEUP

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
83 - LaMarcus Aldridge (PF/C)
79 - Gerald Wallace (PF/SF)
76 - Andre Miller (PG)
74 - Brandon Roy (SG/SF)
74 - Greg Oden (C)
72 - Wesley Matthews (SF/SG)
72 - Marcus Camby (C)
69 - Nicolas Batum (SF/PF)

LINEUP

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
85 - Monta Ellis (SG/PG)
83 - Stephen Curry (PG)
78 - David Lee (PF/C)
70 - Dorell Wright (SF/PF)

LINEUP

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Basketball-Reference
Hoopdata
82games
Shamsports Salaries

ROSTER
77 - Andray Blatche (PF/C)
76 - JaVale McGee (C)
76 - John Wall (PG)
74 - Rashard Lewis (SF/PF)
73 - Nick Young (SG/SF)

LINEUP

EASTERN CONFERENCE
91.0 Magic (94 Def, 88 Off, 89 Ovr)
89.5 Celtics (94 Def, 85 Off, 85 Ovr)
89.0 Bulls (99 Def, 79 Off, 88 Ovr)
88.0 Heat (93 Def, 83 Off, 86 Ovr)
81.0 Hawks (83 Def, 79 Off, 78 Ovr)
81.0 76ers (82 Def, 80 Off, 78 Ovr)
80.5 Bucks (90 Def, 71 Off, 77 Ovr)
78.0 Knicks (72 Def, 84 Off, 76 Ovr)
76.0 Pacers (78 Def, 74 Off, 74 Ovr)
74.0 Bobcats (82 Def, 66 Off, 73 Ovr)
74.0 Nets (77 Def, 71 Off, 71 Ovr)
74.0 Raptors (72 Def, 76 Off, 71 Ovr)
73.5 Cavaliers (78 Def, 69 Off, 72 Ovr)
71.5 Wizards (77 Def, 66 Off, 71 Ovr)
70.5 Pistons (71 Def, 70 Off, 68 Ovr)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
87.5 Thunder (91 Def, 84 Off, 88 Ovr)
85.0 Lakers (90 Def, 80 Off, 85 Ovr)
85.0 Nuggets (84 Def, 86 Off, 79 Ovr)
82.5 Mavericks (86 Def, 79 Off, 80 Ovr)
82.0 Spurs (85 Def, 79 Off, 79 Ovr)
81.5 Suns (78 Def, 85 Off, 78 Ovr)
81.5 Jazz (81 Def, 82 Off, 80 Ovr)
81.0 Grizzlies (81 Def, 81 Off, 80 Ovr)
80.0 Blazers (80 Def, 78 Def, 79 Ovr)
79.0 Clippers (82 Def, 76 Off, 76 Ovr)
78.0 Kings (79 Def, 77 Off, 77 Ovr)
78.0 Warriors (73 Def, 83 Off, 74 Ovr)
76.5 Hornets (76 Def, 77 Off, 75 Ovr)
75.5 Rockets (73 Def, 78 Off, 74 Ovr)
68.0 Timberwolves (69 Def, 67 Off, 67 Ovr)

The Real NBA 2K11 [02-02-11]

2011-02-02T11:17:00.006-05:00

FILE NAME: The Real NBA 2K11 [12-24-10]
SYSTEM: Xbox 360
GAMERTAG: Real 2K Insider

DETAILS
85% of league's players have edited ratings and tendencies using advanced statistics from Basketball-Reference, 82games, and Hoopdata
Updated tendencies for all edited players, assisted by Synergy Sports
100% Accurate team rotations using clubhouse & lineup data from Basketball-Reference.
100% Accurate player contracts as per Sham Sports
Updated coach profiles

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLAYER RATINGS

Rating - Player (2K Sports difference)

LU = Change from last update (denoted by bold).

POINT GUARDS (72/80)
93 – Chris Paul (-3) (LU: -1)
89 – Derrick Rose (0) (LU: +1)
88 – Deron Williams (-4) (LU: -1)
87 - Russell Westbrook (-1) (LU: -1)
87 – Rajon Rondo (-3)
84 – Steve Nash (-1) (LU: -1)
83 – Stephen Curry (+1) (LU: -1)
83 – Tony Parker (+1)
82 – Raymond Felton (+4) (LU: +1)
81 – Devin Harris (+1)
80 – Jameer Nelson (+5)
79 – John Wall (-5)
78 – Chauncey Billups (-5) (LU: +1)
78 – Brandon Jennings (0)
78 – Darren Collison (+2) (LU: -1)
77 – Aaron Brooks (-3)
76 – Rodney Stuckey (+2)
76 – Jrue Holiday (-3) (LU: +1)
76 – Kyle Lowry (-3) (LU: +1)
75 – Andre Miller (-1)
75 – Michael Conley (-3)
75 – Jason Kidd (-7)
75 – Mo Williams (-3) (INJURED, OUT INDEFINITELY)
75 – Baron Davis (0) (LU: +1)
75 – Ty Lawson (0) (LU: +2)
75 – Gilbert Arenas (-8)
74 – Jose Calderon (+2)
74 – Louis Williams (+1)
73 – Jerryd Bayless (+7)
73 – Luke Ridnour (+1)
73 – Jonny Flynn (-1)
73 – Nate Robinson (-2)
72 – Jordan Farmar (+5)
72 – Eric Maynor (+5)
71 – Beno Udrih (+3) (LU: +1)
71 – D.J. Augustin (+2) (LU: +2)
71 – Toney Douglas (0) (LU: -1)
71 – Goran Dragic (+3)
71 – Earl Boykins (+6) (LU: +3)
71 – Rodrigue Beaubois (+2) (INJURED, OUT INDEFINITELY)
70 – T.J. Ford (-2)
70 – Jose Barea (+1)
69 – Jarrett Jack (0) (LU: -1)
68 – Mike Bibby (-5)
68 – Eric Bledsoe (0)
68 – Will Bynum (-3)
68 – C.J. Watson (0)
67 – Mario Chalmers (-2) (LU: -1)
67 – Carlos Arroyo (+3)
67 – Ramon Sessions (-2) (LU: +1)
67 – George Hill (-9)
67 – Keyon Dooling (-2)
67 – Jeff Teague (+4)
67 – Earl Watson (+3)
67 – A.J. Price (+14)
67 – Ishmael Smith (+1) (D-LEAGUE) (LU: NEW)
66 – Patrick Mills (0)
65 – Derek Fisher (-3)
65 – Steve Blake (-3)
65 – Chris Duhon (-4)
64 – Shaun Livingston (+3)
64 – Marcus Banks (+2)
63 – Greivis Vazquez (+6)
63 – Eddie House (-2)
62 – Luther Head (0)
62 – Avery Bradley (-3) (D-LEAGUE)
61 - Chris Quinn (+5)
61 – Acie Law (0)
61 – Sherron Collins (-2)
59 – Willie Warren (0)
59 – Anthony Carter (+2)
51 – Andy Rautins (-9)

SHOOTING GUARDS (72/82)
94 – Dwyane Wade (-2)
93 - Kobe Bryant (-3)
86 – Manu Ginobili (-2)
85 – Monta Ellis (-2) (LU: +1)
83 – Eric Gordon (-1) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY) (LU: +2)
82 – Kevin Martin (+1) (LU: +1)
82 – Joe Johnson (-5) (LU: +1)
80 – Brandon Roy (-4) (INJURED, ETA MARCH) (LU: -1)
79 – Jamal Crawford (+1) (LU: +2)
79 – Tyreke Evans (-2) (LU: -1)
78 – Ray Allen (-3) (LU: +1)
78 – Vince Carter (-3)
77 – Stephen Jackson (-7) (LU: -1)
76 – Shannon Brown (-1) (LU: -1)
76 – Kirk Hinrich (+2)
76 – James Harden (+2)
75 – Jason Terry (-3)
75 – J.R. Smith (+9) (LU: +1)
75 – Delonte West (+4) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
74 – Jason Richardson (-1) (LU: -1)
74 – John Salmons (0) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY) (LU: +1)
73 – Nick Young (+3) (LU: +1)
73 – Ben Gordon (-4) (LU: -3)
73 – Richard Hamilton (-4) (INACTIVE) (LU: -1)
73 – Leandro Barbosa (-1) (INJURED, OUT INDEFINITELY) (LU: +1)
72 – Arron Afflalo (0)
72 – Wesley Johnson (-1)
72 – Daniel Gibson (+11) (INJURED, OUT INDEFINITELY)
71 – Landry Fields (-1)
71 – O.J. Mayo (-6) (SUSPENDED, ETA FEBRUARY)
71 – Ronnie Brewer (0) (LU: +1)
71 – Courtney Lee (+3) (LU: +2)
71 – Terrence Williams (-5)
70 – Willie Green (+1)
70 – Marcus Thornton (-1)
70 – Dahntay Jones (-2)
69 – Demar DeRozan (-2) (LU: +4)
69 – Reggie Williams (+2)
69 – J.J. Redick (+3)
69 – Mike Miller (-2)
69 – Rudy Fernandez (+1) (LU: +1)
69 – Chris Douglas-Roberts (-2) (LU: -2)
69 – Evan Turner (-7)
69 – Tony Allen (+3) (LU: NEW)
68 – Anthony Morrow (+3)
68 – DeShawn Stevenson (-3) (LU: +3)
68 – Marco Belinelli (+2)
68 – Brandon Rush (-1) (LU: +1)
68 – Thabo Sefolosha (+2) (LU: +2)
68 – Dominique Jones (+2)
67 – Randy Foye (-1)
67 – Raja Bell (-3)
67 - Ronnie Price (+4) (LU: -1)
67 – Anthony Parker (-2)
67 – Mike Dunleavy (+4)
67 – Sasha Vujacic (+1) (LU: +5)
67 – Rasual Butler (+6)
67 – Jordan Crawford (+3)
66 – Jodie Meeks (+2) (LU: -2)
66 – Corey Brewer (-4) (LU: NEW)
66 – Von Wafer (+5)
66 – Michael Redd (-7) (INJURED, OUT INDEFINITELY)
64 – Bill Walker (-1)
64 - Roger Mason (-4)
64 – Royal Ivey (+11) (LU: +6)
63 – Xavier Henry (-5)
63 – Gerald Henderson (-4) (LU: +2)
63 – Stephen Graham (+5) (LU: -3)
63 – Daequan Cook (+4)
62 – Keith Bogans (-5)
61 – Matt Carroll (+6)
61 – Jermaine Taylor (-1)

SMALL FORWARDS (67/82)
95 – LeBron James (-1) (LU: +1)
87 – Kevin Durant (-6) (LU: -1)
86 – Carmelo Anthony (-7) (LU: -1)
82 – Paul Pierce (0) (LU: +2)
82 – Rudy Gay (-5) (LU: -1)
82 – Danny Granger (-2) (LU: -1)
81 – Gerald Wallace (-3)
79 – Andre Iguodala (-6) (LU: +1)
79 – Michael Beasley (+1)
77 – Grant Hill (0)
77 – Andrei Kirilenko (+3)
77 – Caron Butler (-4) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
76 – Tayshaun Prince (0) (LU: +1)
76 – Luol Deng (-1)
76 – Matt Barnes (+3) (INJURED, ETA MARCH)
75 – Rashard Lewis (-1) (LU: +3)
75 – Corey Maggette (+1) (LU: -1)
74 – Wesley Matthews (-2)
74 – Richard Jefferson (-1) (LU: -2)
74 – Shawn Marion (-3)
74 – Hedo Turkoglu (-2) (LU: +1)
73 – Shane Battier (-3) (LU: +1)
73 – Nicolas Batum (-3) (LU: +1)
73 – Ron Artest (-6)
73 – Tracy McGrady (-2) (LU: +3)
73 – Carlos Delfino (+5)
73 – C.J. Miles (+6) (LU: +4)
72 – Danilo Gallinari (0) (LU: -1)
72 – Sonny Weems (+9) (LU: +2)
71 – Dorell Wright (-6) (LU: +1)
71 – Trevor Ariza (-4)
71 – Al-Farouq Aminu (-1)
70 – Marvin Williams (+4)
70 – Ryan Gomes (+4)
70 – Francisco Garcia (+3) (LU: +1)
70 – Jared Dudley (-1)
70 – Mickael Pietrus (-2)
70 – Omri Casspi (+4) (LU: -1)
70 – Paul George (-1) (LU: NEW)
70 - Kelenna Azubuike (-2) (INJURED, OUT INDEFINITELY)
69 – Linas Kleiza (+4) (LU: -1)
69 – Jamario Moon (+3)
69 – Joey Graham (+1)
69 – Chase Budinger (-2) (LU: NEW)
68 – Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (-2)
68 – Kyle Korver (+2)
68 – Quentin Richardson (-2)
68 – Marquis Daniels (+4)
68 – Shawne Williams (+12) (LU: +3)
68 – Damien Wilkins (+8)
68 – Renaldo Balkman (+2)
67 – Travis Outlaw (-2) (LU: -3)
67 – Andres Nocioni (-1)
67 – Quincy Pondexter (+5)
67 – James Johnson (+4) (D-LEAGUE)
66 – Sam Young (+1) (LU: NEW)
66 – Donte Greene (+4)
66 - Peja Stojakovic (+5) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
66 – Derrick Brown (-1)
65 – Maurice Evans (-2)
63 – James Jones (+5) (LU: -1)
63 – Dominic McGuire (0)
63 – Julian Wright (-1)
63 – Devin Ebanks (-3)
59 – Morris Peterson (+3)
59 – Pape Sy (+7) (D-LEAGUE)
58 – Jason Kapono (0)

POWER FORWARDS (81/88)
86 – Blake Griffin (+1) (LU: +3)
85 – Dirk Nowitzki (0) (LU: +1)
85 – Kevin Love (+3) (LU: +1)
84 – Carlos Boozer (-1)
83 – Kevin Garnett (0)
82 – Zach Randolph (+1) (LU: +2)
82 – Josh Smith (-2)
81 – LaMarcus Aldridge (-1) (LU: +3)
81 – David West (+5)
81 – Tyrus Thomas (+10) (INJURED, ETA MARCH) (LU: -1)
80 – Lamar Odom (+1)
80 – Chris Bosh (-3)
80 – Paul Millsap (+3) (LU: -2)
80 – Luis Scola (-1)
79 – Elton Brand (+1)
78 – David Lee (-3)
78 – Andray Blatche (+5)
77 – Wilson Chandler (-3) (LU: -1)
76 – Serge Ibaka (-1) (LU: +1)
75 – Taj Gibson (+3)
74 – Brandon Bass (+2)
74 – Antawn Jamison (-5) (LU: -1)
74 – Kris Humphries (+6) (LU: -1)
74 – DeJuan Blair (+5)
74 – Kenyon Martin (-3) (LU: -1)
73 – Jeff Green (-5) (LU: -2)
73 – Amir Johnson (+10) (LU: -1)
73 – Glen Davis (+1) (LU: -2)
73 – Carl Landry (-2)
73 – Al Harrington (-1)
73 – Thaddeus Young (-2)
73 – Udonis Haslem (+2) (INJURED, ETA APRIL)
73 – Troy Murphy (+1) (INACTIVE) (LU: NEW)
72 – Jason Thompson (+1)
72 – J.J. Hickson (+0)
72 – Tyler Hansbrough (+4)
72 – Ryan Anderson (+7) (LU: +2)
71 – Boris Diaw (+1) (LU: +1)
71 – Derrick Favors (-2) (LU: NEW)
71 – Hakim Warrick (+7)
71 – Drew Gooden (+1)
71 – Charlie Villanueva (0)
71 – Patrick Patterson (-3) (LU: +2)
71 – Anthony Randolph (+1) (LU: -1)
70 – Channing Frye (+7)
70 – Craig Smith (+8) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
70 – Darrell Arthur (+7)
70 – Ed Davis (+3) (LU: +1)
70 - Jason Maxiell (-1) (LU: -2)
70 – Jonas Jerebko (+4) (INJURED, ETA MARCH)
69 – Chris Wilcox (+7) (LU: +2)
69 - Louis Amundson (+5)
69 – Jordan Hill (0) (LU: NEW)
68 – Reggie Evans (+5) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
68 – Antonio McDyess (0) (LU: NEW)
68 – Matt Bonner (+10)
68 – Ersan Ilyasova (-1)
68 – Josh McRoberts (+3) (LU: +1)
68 – Jason Smith (+9)
68 – Austin Daye (+7)
68 – D.J. White (+7) (LU: -3)
68 – Leon Powe (+3) (INJURED, ETA MARCH)
67 – Shelden Williams (+7)
67 – Anthony Tolliver (+5)
67 – Jared Jeffries (+5) (INJURED) (LU: NEW)
66 - Josh Powell (+2)
66 – Darius Songaila (+1)
66 – Ike Diogu (+10)
65 – Luke Harangody (+7) (LU: -2)
64 – Dante Cunningham (0) (LU: -3)
64 – Juwan Howard (+6)
64 – Craig Brackins (-1) (D-LEAGUE)
63 – James Posey (-7) (LU: NEW)
63 – Jon Brockman (+10)
62 – Luke Walton (-4)
62 – Joe Smith (0)
61 – Vladimir Radmanovic (+8)
60 – Eduardo Najera (-3)
58 – Brian Cook (+4)
57 – Brian Cardinal (+1) (LU: +2)
55 – Brian Scalabrine (+11)

CENTERS (83/98)
94 – Dwight Howard (+5) (LU: +1)
86 – Amare Stoudemire (-2)
86 – Tim Duncan (+1)
85 – Pau Gasol (-4)
84 – Al Horford (+2)
81 – Nene (+1) (LU: +3)
81 – Joakim Noah (-1) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
81 - Andrew Bogut (-2) (LU: -1)
80 – Andrew Bynum (+1) (LU: +3)
80 – Yao Ming (-3) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
79 – Al Jefferson (-1) (LU: +1)
79 – Emeka Okafor (0) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY) (LU: +1)
78 – Roy Hibbert (+2) (LU: -3)
77 – Marc Gasol (0)
77 – Shaquille O’Neal (0) (LU: -2)
77 – Kendrick Perkins (+4)
76 – Brook Lopez (-2)
76 – Marcus Camby (-2) (INJURED, ETA MARCH)
75 – Tyson Chandler (+3)
74 – Marcin Gortat (+5)
74 – Greg Oden (-1) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
73 – Andrea Bargnani (-1) (LU: +1)
73 – DeMarcus Cousins (+3) (LU: +1)
73 – Chris Kaman (-5) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
73 – Mehmet Okur (-1) (LU: -3)
73 – Jermaine O’Neal (-1) (INJURED, ETA MARCH) (LU: -2)
72 – Anderson Varejao (0) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
71 – Zydrunas Ilgauskas (+1) (LU: -1)
71 – JaVale McGee (+4)
71 – Nazr Mohammed (+6)
71 – Brad Miller (+5) (INJURED)
71 – Samuel Dalembert (+1)
70 – DeAndre Jordan (+4) (LU: +6)
70 – Robin Lopez (+6) (LU: -1)
70 – Brendan Haywood (-1)
70 – Chris Andersen (+4) (INJURED)
70 – Marreese Speights (-1)
70 – Tiago Splitter (+6)
69 – Ben Wallace (-5) (LU: -1)
69 – Darko Milicic (+2)
69 – Chuck Hayes (+1)
69 - Ronny Turiaf (+2)
68 – Spencer Hawes (+2)
68 – Kwame Brown (+6) (LU: +4)
68 – Nick Collison (+5)
68 – Kurt Thomas (0)
68 – Zaza Pachulia (+3)
68 – Ryan Hollins (+13)
68 – Larry Sanders (+3)
67 – Andris Biedrins (-2)
67 – Greg Monroe (-3) (LU: +1)
66 – Nenad Krstic (+7) (LU: +1)
66 – Joel Przybilla (-1) (LU: -3)
66 – Epke Udoh (-2)
66 – Joey Dorsey (+3) (LU: +7)
65 – Joel Anthony (+7)
65 – David Andersen (+8)
64 – Erick Dampier (+4) (LU: -2)
64 – Hasheem Thabeet (+4)
63 – Ian Mahinmi (+12)
63 – Omer Asik (+4) (LU: +1)
63 – Timofey Mozgov (+4)
63 – DJ Mbenga (+12)
63 – Derrick Caracter (0)
63 – Cole Aldrich (-1) (D-LEAGUE) (LU: -4)
62 – Tony Battie (+5)
62 – Semih Erden (+4)
62 – Theo Ratliff (+2) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
62 – Johan Petro (+6)
62 – Hassan Whiteside (+8)
62 – Etan Thomas (+1)
61 – Hamed Haddadi (+7)
61 – Jamaal Magloire (+4)
60 – Kyrylo Fesenko (+11)
60 – Solomon Jones (+7)
60 – Melvin Ely (+1)
60 – Dexter Pittman (+10) (D-LEAGUE)
59 – Eddy Curry (-5) (INACTIVE)
59 – DeSagana Diop (+1) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON) (LU: -1)
58 – Jason Collins (+7) (LU: +4)
56 – Byron Mullens (+10)
56 – Sean Marks (+3) (LU: NEW)
55 – Malik Allen (-3) (INJURED)
53 – Alexis Ajinca (+12)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEAM RATINGS
Rating is average of Defense and Offense (2K's Overall proven to be inaccurate)

Rating, Team (Defense-Offense-Overall)

Please note that injuries are factored in, and that team rotations & player minutes matter just as much as the player ratings (if not more so). For instance, taking a mere two minutes away from Kobe Bryant and giving them to Derek Fisher will result in a 1 point reduction to the team's defensive rating (-0.5 overall). Taking Matt Barnes out of the rotation and giving all of his minutes to Luke Walton would result in a 3 point reduction to defense and a 1 point reduction to offense (-2.0 overall).

EASTERN CONFERENCE
89.5 Magic (90-89-88) (LU: -0.5)
88.0 Celtics (92-84-86) (LU: +5.0)
87.0 Heat (93-81-85) (LU: +0.5)
84.5 Bulls (94-75-84) (LU: +1.5)
84.5 Knicks (77-92-79) (LU: -1.0)
82.0 Hawks (82-82-78) (LU: +4.0)
80.5 Bucks (90-71-80) (LU: +3.0)
79.0 Sixers (79-79-76) (LU: +1.0)
77.0 Bobcats (84-70-75) (LU: -0.5)
77.0 Wizards (77-77-74) (LU: +3.5)
75.0 Pacers (78-72-73) (LU: 0.0)
72.5 Raptors (71-74-70) (LU: -1.5)
71.0 Cavaliers (76-66-71) (LU: -5.0) - still not bad enough, though it's a start
70.0 Nets (75-65-68) (LU: -0.5)
68.0 Pistons (68-68-68) (LU: -1.5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
87.0 Thunder (89-85-86) (LU: -0.5)
85.5 Jazz (87-84-81) (LU: -1.0) - defense will be lowered in next update
85.0 Lakers (91-81-85) (LU: -0.5)
83.5 Nuggets (80-87-80) (LU: -1.5)
83.0 Spurs (87-79-81) (LU: +2.0)
80.0 Suns (77-83-78) (LU: 0.0)
77.5 Warriors (72-83-74) (LU: +4.5)
76.0 Grizzlies (73-81-77) (LU: -2.0)
76.0 Rockets (76-76-75) (LU: +1.0)
75.5 Mavericks (79-72-73) (LU: -4.0) - dragged down by current starter Brian Cardinal
75.5 Hornets (73-78-72) (LU: -3.0) - just lost Okafor to injury
75.5 Kings (74-77-76) (LU: 0.0)
74.5 Trailblazers (79-70-75) (LU: 0.0)
71.5 Clippers (74-69-71) (LU: -0.5)
70.5 Timberwolves (72-69-72) (LU: -1.0)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INJURED LIST

Players not in the team rotation due to injuries. If you're wondering why your team's rating is low, this is probably why.

76ers - N/A
Bobcats - Tyrus Thomas (81/PF), DeSagana Diop (59/C)
Bucks - John Salmons (74/SG), Drew Gooden (71/PF), Michael Redd (66/SG)
Bulls - Joakim Noah (81/C)
Cavaliers - Mo Williams (75/PG), Anderson Varejao (72/C), Daniel Gibson (72/SG), Leon Powe (68/PF)
Celtics - Jermaine O'Neal (75/C), Delonte West (75/SG)
Clippers - Eric Gordon (83/SG), Chris Kaman (73/C), Craig Smith (70/PF)
Grizzlies - O.J. Mayo (71/SG)
Hawks - N/A
Heat - Udonis Haslem (73/PF)
Hornets - Emeka Okafor (78/C)
Jazz - N/A
Kings - Francisco Garcia (70/SF)
Knicks - Kelenna Azubuike (70/SF)
Lakers - Matt Barnes (76/SF), Theo Ratliff (62/C)
Magic - Daniel Orton (59/C)
Mavericks - Caron Butler (77/SF), Rodrigue Beaubois (71/PG), Peja Stojakovic (66/SF)
Nets - Damion James (70/SF)
Nuggets - Chris Andersen (70/C)
Pacers - N/A
Pistons - Jonas Jerebko (70/PF), Terrico White (65/SG)
Raptors - Leandro Barbosa (73/SG), Linas Kleiza (69/SF), Reggie Evans (68/PF)
Rockets - Yao Ming (80/C), Brad Miller (71/C), Jared Jeffries (67/PF)
Spurs - Matt Bonner (68/PF)
Suns - Gani Lawal (60/PF)
Thunder - N/A
Timberwolves - N/A
Trailblazers - Brandon Roy (80/SG), Marcus Camby (76/C), Greg Oden (74/C), Elliot Williams (64/SG)
Warriors - N/A
Wizards - Josh Howard (71/SF)

The Real NBA 2K11 [12-24-10]

2010-12-21T03:59:00.010-05:00

FILE NAME: The Real NBA 2K11 [12-24-10]
SYSTEM: Xbox 360
GAMERTAG: Real 2K Insider

DETAILS
85% of league's players have edited ratings and tendencies using advanced statistics from Basketball-Reference, 82games, and Hoopdata
Updated tendencies for all edited players, assisted by Synergy Sports
100% Accurate team rotations using clubhouse & lineup data from Basketball-Reference.
100% Accurate player contracts as per Sham Sports
Updated coach profiles

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLAYER RATINGS

Bold denotes new addition or change from previous update.

POINT GUARDS (75/82)
94 – Chris Paul (-2)
89 – Deron Williams (-3)
88 - Russell Westbrook (0)
88 – Derrick Rose (-1)
87 – Rajon Rondo (-3) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER)
85 – Steve Nash (0)
84 – Stephen Curry (+1) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER) (LW: +1)
83 – Tony Parker (+2)
81 – Devin Harris (+1)
81 – Raymond Felton (+3) (LW: +1)
80 – Jameer Nelson (+5)
79 – John Wall (-5) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER)
79 – Darren Collison (+1)
78 – Brandon Jennings (0) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY/FEBRUARY)
77 – Chauncey Billups (-6)
77 – Aaron Brooks (-3)
76 – Rodney Stuckey (+2)
75 – Andre Miller (-1) (LW: +2)
75 – Michael Conley (-3)
75 – Jason Kidd (-8)
75 – Jrue Holiday (-3)
75 – Mo Williams (-3)
75 – Kyle Lowry (-3)
75 – Gilbert Arenas (-8)
74 – Baron Davis (-6)
74 – Louis Williams (+1)
74 – Jose Calderon (+2)
73 – Jerryd Bayless (+7)
73 – Luke Ridnour (+1)
73 – Jonny Flynn (-1)
73 – Ty Lawson (-2)
73 – Nate Robinson (-2)
72 – Jordan Farmar (+5)
72 – Toney Douglas (+1)
72 – Eric Maynor (+5)
71 – Goran Dragic (+3)
71 – Rodrigue Beaubois (+2) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY)
70 – Beno Udrih (+4)
70 – T.J. Ford (-2)
70 – Jarrett Jack (+1)
70 – Jose Barea (+1)
69 – D.J. Augustin (0)
68 – Mike Bibby (-5)
68 – Eric Bledsoe (0)
68 – Mario Chalmers (-1)
68 – Will Bynum (-3)
68 – C.J. Watson (0)
68 – Earl Boykins (+3)
67 – Carlos Arroyo (+3)
67 – George Hill (-9)
67 – Keyon Dooling (-2)
67 – Jeff Teague (+4)
67 – Randy Foye (-3)
67 – Jason Williams (-3)
67 – Earl Watson (+3)
67 – A.J. Price (+14)
66 – Ramon Sessions (-3)
66 – Patrick Mills (0) (LW: +6)
65 – Derek Fisher (-4)
65 – Steve Blake (-3)
65 – Chris Duhon (-4)
64 – Shaun Livingston (+3)
64 – Marcus Banks (+2)
63 – Greivis Vazquez (+6)
63 – Eddie House (-2)
62 – Luther Head (0)
62 – Avery Bradley (-3)
61 - Chris Quinn (+5)
61 – Acie Law (0)
61 – Sherron Collins (-2)
59 – Willie Warren (0)
59 – Anthony Carter (+2)
59 – John Lucas (+11)
58 – Royal Ivey (+5)
51 – Andy Rautins (-9)

SHOOTING GUARDS (68/80)
94 – Dwyane Wade (-1)
93 - Kobe Bryant (-4)
86 – Manu Ginobili (-2)
84 – Monta Ellis (-2) (LW: +1)
81 – Kevin Martin (0)
81 – Eric Gordon (+2)
81 – Brandon Roy (-7) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER) (LW: -1)
81 – Joe Johnson (-4)
80 – Tyreke Evans (0)
78 – Vince Carter (-3)
78 – Stephen Jackson (-6)
77 – Ray Allen (-3)
77 – Shannon Brown (-1)
77 – Jamal Crawford (-1)
76 – Ben Gordon (-1)
76 – Kirk Hinrich (+2)
76 – James Harden (+2)
75 – Jason Richardson (0)
75 – Jason Terry (-3)
75 – Delonte West (+4) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY)
74 – J.R. Smith (+8)
74 – Richard Hamilton (-3)
73 – John Salmons (-1)
72 – Arron Afflalo (0)
72 – Wesley Johnson (-1)
72 – Daniel Gibson (+11)
72 – Nick Young (+6)
72 – Leandro Barbosa (-2)
71 – Landry Fields (-1)
71 – O.J. Mayo (-6)
71 – Chris Douglas-Roberts (0)
71 – Terrence Williams (-5)
70 – Ronnie Brewer (-1) (LW: +1)
70 – Willie Green (+1)
70 – Marcus Thornton (-1)
70 – Dahntay Jones (-2)
69 - Reggie Williams (+2) (NEW)
69 – J.J. Redick (+3)
69 – Mike Miller (-3)
69 – Courtney Lee (+1)
69 – Francisco Garcia (+2)
69 – Evan Turner (-7)
68 – Anthony Morrow (+3)
68 – Marco Belinelli (+2)
68 – Jodie Meeks (+4)
68 – Rudy Fernandez (0)
68 – Dominique Jones (+2) (D-LEAGUE)
68 - Ronnie Price (+5)
67 – Raja Bell (-3)
67 – Anthony Parker (-2)
67 – Mike Dunleavy (+4)
67 – Brandon Rush (-2)
67 – Rasual Butler (+6)
67 – Jordan Crawford (+3)
66 – Thabo Sefolosha (0)
66 – Von Wafer (+5)
66 – Michael Redd (-7) (INJURED, ETA MARCH)
65 – Demar DeRozan (0)
65 – DeShawn Stevenson (-5)
64 – Bill Walker (-1)
64 - Roger Mason (-4)
63 – Xavier Henry (-5)
63 – Daequan Cook (+4)
62 – Keith Bogans (-5)
62 – Sasha Vujacic (-4)
61 – Gerald Henderson (-6)
61 – Matt Carroll (+6)
61 – Jermaine Taylor (-1)

SMALL FORWARDS (64/83)
94 – LeBron James (-3)
88 – Kevin Durant (-5)
87 – Carmelo Anthony (-6)
83 – Rudy Gay (-3)
83 – Danny Granger (-1)
81 – Gerald Wallace (-3)
80 – Paul Pierce (-2)
79 – Michael Beasley (+1)
78 – Andre Iguodala (-8)
77 – Grant Hill (0)
77 – Andrei Kirilenko (+2)
77 – Caron Butler (-4)
76 – Richard Jefferson (+1)
76 – Luol Deng (-1)
76 – Matt Barnes (+3)
76 – Corey Maggette (-2)
75 – Tayshaun Prince (-1)
74 – Wesley Matthews (+4) (LW: +1)
74 – Shawn Marion (-4)
73 – Danilo Gallinari (+1)
73 – Hedo Turkoglu (-1)
73 – Ron Artest (-6)
73 – Carlos Delfino (+5) (INJURED)
72 – Rashard Lewis (-4)
72 – Shane Battier (-4)
72 – Nicolas Batum (-3) (LW: -1)
71 – Trevor Ariza (-6)
71 – Al-Farouq Aminu (+1)
71 – Omri Casspi (+5)
70 – Travis Outlaw (+1)
70 – Dorell Wright (-4)
70 – Marvin Williams (+4)
70 – Sonny Weems (+7)
70 – Linas Kleiza (+5)
70 – Ryan Gomes (+4)
70 – Jared Dudley (-1)
70 – Mickael Pietrus (-2)
70 – Tracy McGrady (-3)
70 - Kelenna Azubuike (-2) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY)
69 – C.J. Miles (+11)
69 – Jamario Moon (+3)
69 – Joey Graham (+1) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY)
68 – Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (-2)
68 – Kyle Korver (+2)
68 – Quentin Richardson (-2)
68 – Marquis Daniels (+4)
68 – Damien Wilkins (+8) (LW: -1)
68 – Renaldo Balkman (+2)
67 – Andres Nocioni (-1)
67 – Quincy Pondexter (+5)
67 – James Johnson (+4)
66 – Donte Greene (+4)
66 - Peja Stojakovic (+5) (INJURED)
66 – Derrick Brown (-1)
66 – Stephen Graham (+8)
66 – Antoine Wright (+2)
65 – Maurice Evans (-2)
65 – Shawne Williams (+9)
64 – James Jones (+6)
64 – Jawad Williams (+6)
63 – Dominic McGuire (0)
63 – Julian Wright (-1)
63 – Devin Ebanks (-3)
59 – Morris Peterson (+3)
59 – Pape Sy (+7)
58 – Jason Kapono (0)

POWER FORWARDS (76/89)
84 – Dirk Nowitzki (-1)
84 – Kevin Love (+5)
84 – Carlos Boozer (-1)
83 – Kevin Garnett (+3)
83 – Blake Griffin (+1)
82 – Paul Millsap (+3)
82 – Tyrus Thomas (+11)
82 – Josh Smith (-2)
81 – David West (+5)
80 – Luis Scola (-1)
80 – Lamar Odom (+1)
80 – Zach Randolph (0)
80 – Chris Bosh (-3)
79 – Elton Brand (+1)
78 – LaMarcus Aldridge (0) (LW: +1)
78 – Wilson Chandler (-1) (LW: +1)
78 – David Lee (-2) (LW: -1)
78 – Andray Blatche (+5)
75 – Antawn Jamison (-4)
75 – Kenyon Martin (-2)
75 – Kris Humphries (+7)
75 – Jeff Green (-3)
75 – Serge Ibaka (-2)
75 – Taj Gibson (+3)
75 – Glen Davis (+3)
74 – Amir Johnson (+11)
74 – Brandon Bass (+2)
74 – DeJuan Blair (+5)
73 – Carl Landry (-2)
73 – Al Harrington (-1)
73 – Thaddeus Young (-2)
73 – Udonis Haslem (+2) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
72 – Jason Thompson (+1)
72 – J.J. Hickson (+0)
72 - Jason Maxiell (+1)
72 – Tyler Hansbrough (+4)
72 – Anthony Randolph (+2)
71 – Hakim Warrick (+7)
71 – Drew Gooden (+1)
71 – Charlie Villanueva (0)
71 – D.J. White (+10)
70 – Boris Diaw (0)
70 – Channing Frye (+7)
70 – Craig Smith (+8) (LW: -1)
70 – Darrell Arthur (+7)
70 – Ryan Anderson (+8)
70 – Jonas Jerebko (+4) (INJURED, ETA MARCH)
69 - Louis Amundson (+5)
69 – Patrick Patterson (-3)
69 – Ed Davis (+2)
68 – Reggie Evans (+5) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
68 – Matt Bonner (+10)
68 – Ersan Ilyasova (-1)
68 – Jason Smith (+9)
68 – Austin Daye (+7)
68 – Leon Powe (+3)
67 – Shelden Williams (+7)
67 – Josh McRoberts (+11)
67 – Anthony Tolliver (+5) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY)
67 – Dante Cunningham (+6)
67 – Chris Wilcox (+5)
67 – Luke Harangody (+9)
66 - Josh Powell (+2)
66 – Darius Songaila (+1)
66 - Ike Diogu (+10)
64 – Juwan Howard (+6)
64 – Craig Brackins (-1)
63 – Jon Brockman (+10)
62 – Luke Walton (-4)
62 – Joe Smith (0)
61 - Vladimir Radmanovic (+8)
60 – Eduardo Najera (-3)
58 – Brian Cook (+4)
55 – Brian Scalabrine (+11)
55 – Brian Cardinal (-1)
53 – Steve Novak (+8)

CENTERS (85/99)
93 – Dwight Howard (+4)
86 – Amare Stoudemire (0)
86 – Tim Duncan (+1)
85 – Pau Gasol (-4)
84 – Al Horford (+3)
82 - Andrew Bogut (-1)
81 – Joakim Noah (-1) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY/MARCH)
81 – Roy Hibbert (+3)
80 – Yao Ming (-3) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
79 – Shaquille O’Neal (+2)
78 – Al Jefferson (-2)
78 – Nene (+3)
78 – Emeka Okafor (0)
77 – Marc Gasol (0)
77 – Andrew Bynum (0)
77 – Kendrick Perkins (+4) (INJURED, ETA FEBRUARY)
76 – Brook Lopez (-2)
76 – Marcus Camby (-2)
76 – Mehmet Okur (+1) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER)
75 – Tyson Chandler (+3)
75 – Jermaine O’Neal (+1) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER)
74 – Marcin Gortat (+5)
74 – Greg Oden (-1) (INJURED, OUT FOR SEASON)
73 – Chris Kaman (-5) (INJURED, ETA JANUARY)
72 – Andrea Bargnani (-2)
72 – Anderson Varejao (0)
72 – Zydrunas Ilgauskas (+2)
72 – DeMarcus Cousins (+2)
71 – JaVale McGee (+4)
71 – Nazr Mohammed (+6)
71 – Robin Lopez (+7)
71 – Brad Miller (+5)
71 – Samuel Dalembert (+1)
70 – Ben Wallace (-4)
70 – Brendan Haywood (-1)
70 – Chris Andersen (+4) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER)
70 – Marreese Speights (-1)
70 – Tiago Splitter (+6)
69 – Darko Milicic (+2)
69 – Chuck Hayes (+1)
69 - Ronny Turiaf (+2)
69 – Joel Przybilla (+2)
68 – Spencer Hawes (+2)
68 – Zaza Pachulia (+3)
68 – Ryan Hollins (+13)
68 – Larry Sanders (+3)
68 – Nick Collison (+5)
68 – Kurt Thomas (0)
67 - Andris Biedrins (-2)
67 – Cole Aldrich (+3)
66 – Greg Monroe (-1)
66 - Epke Udoh (-2)
66 – Erick Dampier (+6)
65 – Nenad Krstic (+6)
65 – Joel Anthony (+7)
65 – David Andersen (+8)
64 – DeAndre Jordan (+3)
64 – Hasheem Thabeet (+4)
64 – Kwame Brown (+2)
63 – Ian Mahinmi (+12)
63 – DJ Mbenga (+12)
63 – Timofey Mozgov (+4)
63 – Derrick Caracter (0)
62 – Tony Battie (+5)
62 – Omer Asik (+3)
62 – Semih Erden (+4)
62 – Theo Ratliff (+2) (INJURED, ETA DECEMBER)
62 – Johan Petro (+6)
62 – Hassan Whiteside (+8)
62 – Etan Thomas (+1)
61 – Hamed Haddadi (+7)
61 – Jamaal Magloire (+4)
60 – Kyrylo Fesenko (+11)
60 – DeSagana Diop (+2)
60 – Solomon Jones (+7)
60 – Melvin Ely (+1)
60 – Dexter Pittman (+10)
59 – Joey Dorsey (-4)
59 – Brian Skinner (+3)
59 – Eddy Curry (-5)
56 – Byron Mullens (+10)
55 – Malik Allen (-3)
55 – Jarron Collins (+7)
54 – Jason Collins (+3)
51 – Alexis Ajinca (+10)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TEAM RATINGS
Rating is average of Defense and Offense (2K's Overall proven to be inaccurate)

Rating, Team (Defense-Offense-Overall)

Please note that injuries are factored in, and that team rotations & player minutes matter just as much as the player ratings (if not more so). For instance, taking a mere two minutes away from Kobe Bryant and giving them to Derek Fisher will result in a 1 point reduction to the team's defensive rating (-0.5 overall). Taking Matt Barnes out of the rotation and giving all of his minutes to Luke Walton would result in a 3 point reduction to defense and a 1 point reduction to offense (-2.0 overall).

EASTERN CONFERENCE
90.0 Magic (90-90-88) (LW: +1.0)
86.5 Heat (92-81-84)
85.5 Knicks (78-93-80) (LW: +0.5)
83.0 Bulls (92-74-82) (LW: -1.0)
83.0 Celtics (86-80-81)
78.0 Hawks (81-75-77) (LW: -1.5)
78.0 Sixers (79-77-75)
77.5 Bucks (87-68-78) (LW: -1.0)
77.5 Bobcats (85-70-77) (LW: -0.5)
76.0 Cavaliers (81-71-73) (LW: +0.5)
75.0 Pacers (79-71-72) (LW: -0.5)
74.0 Raptors (72-76-70)
73.5 Wizards (76-71-70)
70.5 Nets (76-65-70) (LW: -1.5)
69.5 Pistons (71-68-68) (LW: -0.5)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
87.5 Thunder (92-83-86) (LW: +2.5)
86.5 Jazz (89-84-82) (LW: +1.0)
85.5 Lakers (92-81-86) (LW: -0.5)
85.0 Nuggets (82-88-80) LW: +1.5)
81.0 Spurs (85-77-80) (LW: -1.0)
80.0 Suns (78-82-77)
79.5 Mavericks (82-77-77)
78.5 Hornets (77-80-75) (LW: +0.5)
78.0 Grizzlies (72-84-77) (LW: +1.0)
75.5 Kings (75-76-75) (LW: +1.0)
75.0 Rockets (75-75-74)
74.5 Trailblazers (80-69-75) (LW: -3.5)
73.0 Warriors (70-76-73) (LW: +1.0)
72.0 Clippers (76-68-70) (LW: -1.0)
71.5 Timberwolves (72-71-73) (LW: -0.5)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INJURED LIST

Players not in the team rotation due to injuries. If you're wondering why your team's rating is low, this is probably why.

76ers - N/A
Bobcats - N/A
Bucks - Brandon Jennings (78/PG), Carlos Delfino (73/SF), Michael Redd (66/SG)
Bulls - Joakim Noah (81/C)
Cavaliers - Joey Graham (69/SF)
Celtics - Rajon Rondo (87/PG), Kendrick Perkins (77/C), Jermaine O'Neal (75/C), Delonte West (75/SG)
Clippers - Chris Kaman (73/C), Craig Smith (70/PF)
Grizzlies - N/A
Hawks - Jamal Crawford (77/SG)
Heat - Udonis Haslem (73/PF)
Hornets - N/A
Jazz - N/A
Kings - N/A
Knicks - Kelenna Azubuike (70/SF)
Lakers - Theo Ratliff (62/C)
Magic - Daniel Orton (59/C)
Mavericks - Rodrigue Beaubois (71/PG)
Nets - Damion James (70/SF), Anthony Morrow (68/SG)
Nuggets - N/A
Pacers - N/A
Pistons - Terrico White (65/SG)
Raptors - Reggie Evans (68/PF), Peja Stojakovic (66/SF)
Rockets - Yao Ming (80/C)
Spurs - George Hill (72/PG), James Anderson (67/SF)
Suns - N/A
Thunder - Nenad Krstic (65/C)
Timberwolves - Anthony Tolliver (67/PF)
Trailblazers - Brandon Roy (81/SG), Greg Oden (74/C), Elliot Williams (64/SG)
Warriors - Stephen Curry (84/PG), Brandan Wright (64/PF)
Wizards - John Wall (79/PG), Yi Jianlian (67/PF)

My favorite tweet of all-time

2010-12-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Ronnie2K

BTW, the 2K Insider is on vacation (his first in years). So an #NBA2K11 update is held up until he returns.

Seriously? Nobody on the 2K Sports team knows how to make a player trade? What an embarrassing predicament. I'm actually going to get my roster up before them.

The Real NBA 2K11 [12-02-10]

2010-12-03T04:22:00.005-05:00

I just uploaded the roster to Xbox 360's 2K Share.

Between 70-80% of the league has been edited (including tendencies). All rotations are accurate. The usual.

TOP 10 NBA PLAYERS
94 - Chris Paul (PG)
93 - Dwight Howard (C)
93 - LeBron James (SF)
93 - Kobe Bryant (SG/SF)
92 - Dwyane Wade (SG/PG)
89 - Kevin Durant (SF/PF)
89 - Deron Williams (PG)
88 - Russell Westbrook (PG/SG)
87 - Carmelo Anthony (SF/PF)
87 - Rajon Rondo (PG)

TOP 10 POINT GUARDS
94 – Chris Paul (-2)
89 – Deron Williams (-3)
88 - Russell Westbrook (0)
87 – Rajon Rondo (-3)
86 – Derrick Rose (-2)
85 – Steve Nash (0)
83 – Stephen Curry (+1)
83 – Tony Parker (+2)
81 – Devin Harris (+1)
80 – John Wall (-4)

TOP 10 SHOOTING GUARDS
93 - Kobe Bryant (-4)
92 – Dwyane Wade (-3)
86 – Manu Ginobili (-2)
83 – Monta Ellis (-3)
83 – Brandon Roy (-5)
82 – Joe Johnson (-3)
80 – Eric Gordon (+1)
80 – Tyreke Evans (0)
79 – Kevin Martin (-2)
79 – Stephen Jackson (-5)

TOP 10 SMALL FORWARDS
93 – LeBron James (-4)
89 – Kevin Durant (-4)
87 – Carmelo Anthony (-6)
83 – Rudy Gay (-3)
83 – Danny Granger (0)
82 – Gerald Wallace (-2)
80 – Michael Beasley (+2)
79 – Paul Pierce (-3)
79 – Andre Iguodala (-6)
79 – Wilson Chandler (0)

TOP 10 POWER FORWARDS
85 – Carlos Boozer (0)
84 – Amare Stoudemire (-2)
83 – Dirk Nowitzki (0)
83 – Kevin Love (+4)
82 – Paul Millsap (+3)
82 – Blake Griffin (+4)
81 – Josh Smith (-3)
81 – Chris Bosh (-2)
81 – Kevin Garnett (+1)
80 - David West (+5)

TOP 10 CENTERS
93 – Dwight Howard (+4)
86 – Tim Duncan (+2)
85 – Pau Gasol (-4)
85 – Al Horford (+4)
82 – Yao Ming (-1)
81 – Joakim Noah (+1)
81 – Roy Hibbert (+3)
80 – Emeka Okafor (+2)
78 – Al Jefferson (-2)
78 – Nene (+3)

TEAM RATINGS
Rating is average of Defense and Offense (2K's Overall proven to be inaccurate)

EASTERN CONFERENCE
88.0 Magic (93-83-86)
86.0 Celtics (89-83-84)
85.5 Heat (91-80-82)
84.5 Bulls (93-76-84) - Boozer's return means big things
83.0 Knicks (77-89-79)
79.0 Bucks (88-70-81)
79.0 Bobcats (86-72-78)
77.0 Sixers (78-76-75)
76.5 Hawks (79-74-74) - As bad as Joe Johnson's been, they'll miss him.
76.5 Pacers (79-74-73)
76.5 Cavaliers (82-71-75)
76.5 Wizards (76-77-72)
73.5 Raptors (72-75-70)
72.0 Nets (76-68-72)
70.0 Pistons (72-68-67)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
86.5 Thunder (91-82-85) - Will lower defense soon; good last season (6th) but hasn't carried over (19th).
85.5 Jazz (88-83-81)
85.0 Lakers (89-81-85)
83.0 Nuggets (80-86-79)
82.5 Spurs (86-79-82)
78.5 Mavericks (81-76-76)
78.5 Hornets (77-80-76)
77.5 Suns (72-83-74)
77.5 Trailblazers (79-76-77)
77.0 Grizzlies (71-83-77)
74.5 Warriors (70-79-74)
73.5 Clippers (77-70-71)
72.5 Rockets (75-70-73)
71.0 Kings (71-71-71)
69.5 Timberwolves (71-68-71)

Analysis of NBA 2K11's [12-1-10] Roster

2010-12-02T14:56:00.002-05:00

EDIT: Now includes the few player edits from the 12-4-10 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

NEW! From 12-4-10 roster

O.J. Mayo
77 Overall (-3)
75 Medium (-6)
80 FT (-3)
80 Layup (-5)
72 SOD (-9)
75 Security (+18)
46 Pass (-3)
62 Steal (-14)
31 OffReb (-1)
38 DefReb (-2)
78 OffAwr (-2)
45 Consistency (-15)

LeBron James
77 Close (+7)
80 Medium (-3)
72 3pt (-4)

David West
76 Overall (+1)
93 Inside (+6)
81 Close (+4)

George Hill
77 Overall (+1)
78 3pt (-4)
72 DefAwr (+8)

One major edit and three minor edits in three days. Ain't that incredible?

From 12-1-10 roster

Rajon Rondo

90 Overall (-1)

93 Steal (-4)

Joe Johnson

85 Overall (-2)
86 Inside (-1)

87 Close (-4)

71 3pt (-5)

80 FT (-2)

79 SOD (-2)

64 Steal (-6)

90 OffAwr (-3)

80 DefAwr (-2)

60 OffClutch (-10)

Dwyane Wade

95 Overall (-2)

92 Inside (-3)

80 Close (-6)

72 Medium (-9)

67 3pt (-2)

Chris Paul

96 Overall (+1)

84 3pt (+1)

97 Steal (+5)

Marco Belinelli

85 3pt (+4)

Tyreke Evans

80 Overall (-2)

88 Inside (+3)

65 Close (-8)

72 Medium (-3)

54 3pt (-7)

75 FT (-2)

90 Layup (-2)

65 Dunk (-5)

70 SOD (-4)

75 SIT (-2)

36 OffReb (+3)

52 DefReb (-3)

50 OffClutch (-10)

30 DefClutch (-5)

55 Consistency (-5)

J.R. Smith

66 Overall (-5)

77 Inside (-6)

76 Medium (-3)

67 OffAwr (-9)

41 DefAwr (-8)

30 Consistency (-30)

Kevin Martin

81 Overall (+1)

92 Inside (+8)

82 Medium (+3)

84 3pt (+3)

Tony Parker

81 Overall (-2)

72 OBD (-4)

68 DefAwr (-8)

Kevin Durant

79 Medium (-3)

75 3pt (-4)

Russell Westbrook

88 Overall (+2)

88 Inside (+2)

64 3pt (+6)

87 FT (+2)

76 SOD (+4)

70 SIT (+10)

89 Steal (+4)

93 OffAwr (+4)

86 DefAwr (+3)

60 OffClutch (+20)

40 DefClutch (+15)

Wesley Matthews

70 Overall (+4)

84 Inside (+7)

72 Close (+11)

69 3pt (-10)

81 FT (+7)

78 Layup (+4)
82 Dunk (-5)

63 SIT (+14)

75 Handle (+2)

69 OHD (+2)

52 Security (+11)

66 Steal (+10)

74 Hands (+12)

41 DefReb (+6)

68 OffAwr (+6)

50 Consistency (+15)

85 Stamina (+6)

85 Speed (+3)

88 Quickness (+4)

55 Strength (+4)

82 Hustle (+30)

NEW PLAYERS

There are no missing players.

MISSING PLAYERS

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

ROTATION ERRORS

Sixers: Jodie Meeks is STILL missing from the active roster.

Bobcats: Kwame Brown is STILL not on the active roster instead of Sherron Collins. He is ONLY the team's backup center ahead of DeSagana Diop.

Clippers: Baron Davis is starting over Eric Bledsoe. He came off the bench last night.

Hawks: Announed yesterday that Joe Johnson is out for the next 4-6 weeks, but he's still starting.

Hornets: David Andersen has yet to play a game for the Hornets and he's in their rotation ahead of Mbenga and Pondexter.

Jazz: Earl Watson isn't in the rotation. Kyrylo Fesenko and Gordon Hayward barely play, but they are the team's 7th and 8th men.

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

Mavericks: Dominique Jones was sent down to the D-League.

INJURED LIST

New Injuries: Delonte West (Celtics), Devin Harris (Nets), Reggie Evans (Raptors)

Recovered: Chris Douglas-Roberts (Bucks), Carlos Boozer (Bulls), Baron Davis (Clippers), Ed Davis (Raptors), Brandon Roy (Blazers), David Lee (Warriors)

Incorrect: Gerald Henderson (Bobcats) has now missed the last 9 games but STILL isn't "injured". Joe Johnson is out for the next 4-6 weeks due to elbow surgery.

Usable Injured (Minor injury, on active online roster): None

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: Carlos Delfino (-10), Darington Hobson (-4), Michael Redd (-24)

Bulls: None

Cavaliers: None

Celtics: Jermaine O'Neal (-10), Kendrick Perkins (-10), Delonte West (-12)

Clippers: 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: Devin Harris (-14)

Nuggets: Kenyon Martin (-10)

Pacers: None

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

Raptors: Reggie Evans (-9)

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: Greg Oden (-10), Joel Przybilla (-22), Elliot Williams (-20)

Warriors: 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 [11-24-10] Roster

2010-11-26T14:23:00.003-05:00

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)