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Clarifying My Opinion of 7-Footers in MyPark

If you’ve seen the Thanksgiving special of NBA 2KTV, you would have noticed that both JaoSming and Leftos appeared on camera; but did you know that another NLSC Team Member was also featured in the episode? It just so happens that one of my tweets made it onto the #2ktvthanks section.

I know, it’s a bit of a stretch to say that I was “featured” in the episode, but I was pretty stoked about it. Not only did my tweet appear in the episode itself, but it was also shown in the NBA 2K16 main menu during the preview of the episode. I won’t lie; I watched the preview several times, waiting for my name to appear. I also took quite a few screenshots, just in case the previous ones were unclear. For those who didn’t seen it, this is what I wrote:

Admittedly it was quite a provocative thing to write, considering MyPark is filled with 7-footers who love to camp in the lane; but I thought the addition of the rule deserved a mention, because it really has made MyPark a lot more playable for people who choose to be a guard or a wing player. Since it was featured on NBA 2KTV, I thought I was going to get a bunch of people commending me for telling it how it is. Instead, I ended up getting a couple of responses from people who didn’t agree with me.

One person wrote to me saying how displeased they were with 2K adding the three second rule to MyPark, adding that he is in fact one of the “7-foot cheesers” I was talking about. He then followed up by challenging me to a one-on-one game, which I respectfully declined. Let me just state now that I don’t like one-on-one games; not just because I’m bad at them, but because I believe they enable the annoying shoot-first mentality a lot of MyPark players tend to adopt. After all, who are you going to pass the ball to in a one-on-one game? Your opponent?

CreatedPlayer

Another person told me that streetball should only have fouls and out of bounds, and that NBA rules should be taken out altogether. I will admit this argument does have some merit to it; I mean, if you’re playing a pickup game, you’ll seldom find anyone getting called for a three second violation. However, I would also argue that you seldom find 7-footers in pickup games as well.

Back when I was doing an exchange semester at CSU, the tallest guys playing pickup ball were about 6’7″ and 6’8″. After that, I was generally the third tallest player on the court at 6’4″. The times I played in Brisbane were generally the same. In fact, I’m often pigeon-holed as a centre or power forward because I’m usually one of the taller players. If there really were that many 7-footers in real life, you would think I’d have more experience on the perimeter.

Before you think I’m against all post players, let me just state this; I have no problem with people making 7-footers. In fact, one of my issues with NBA Live Pro-Am was constantly getting teamed up with guards, which led to me matching up against players like Roy Hibbert and Kelly Olynyk. This was an even bigger nightmare in the NBA Live 16 demo, since rebounds and blocks seemed almost impossible to get.

WiltTheStilt

The main thing I am preaching here is balance. If the 7-footers get their way and they’re able to constantly camp in the lane (particularly the protected area), it creates an unfair advantage for them. Furthermore, it could also lead other users to create centres out of necessity, which would then lead to a further imbalance in MyPark. By changing the rules, 2K is acknowledging the imbalance, which is actually quite realistic considering that players like Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan influenced some major rule changes during their respective eras.

While I still don’t like that 7-footers have a clear advantage in MyPark, at least the three second rule is keeping them honest. I believe further changes need to be made in order to level out the playing field, such as slower progression for players who want to be 7’1″ or taller, and the inability to be the same size as Shaq while having the shooting touch of Dirk. I know these changes probably can’t be implemented until NBA 2K17 – if they are implemented at all – but I believe they are worthy of consideration. Until then, I guess I’ll continue to try and punch above my weight in NBA 2K16 MyPark.

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JaoSming
JaoSming
December 14, 2015 4:27 am

For the record, this isn’t the only time the “iron stein” has shown up on 2KTV 😉

At any rate, sorry people went after you. And yes, your tweet was chosen based on relevance with patch 3’s change.

As someone who had nothing to do with implementing that change and who actually did camp the paint in MyPARK when playing…..it’s not that big of a deal. You get what feels like a very liberal 3 seconds in there. Just like guards who get a “hold ball too long” negative teammate grade, I’m glad there is some sort of deterrent to simply standing still.

….also really glad we got BdotAdot5 to mimic those cheesers like myself in this week’s episode *plug*.

Andrew
NLSC
Andrew
December 14, 2015 8:38 am

It’s the Internet, some folks are bound to take things the wrong way. Or dislike it when they’re called out on their BS, as the case may be. 😉

I can appreciate cutting down on the NBA rules in MyPARK, but when there’s a cheap exploit like that, I believe it’s only fair to address it. Sure, you don’t want to ruin the fun by being too draconian with the rules or anything, but things should also be fair and sporting.

randallb21
randallb21
December 15, 2015 2:51 am

I am a post player in my park (6’10” PF) and I like the rule change. Makes for more real basketball. Rarely have I ever seen people camp in the key during real pickup basketball games I have ever played in. It’s almost like an unwritten rule of the pick up game. Don’t camp in the key if you have a decided, almost unguardable advantage. I still can get buckets with my post. I just have to be smart about it.

Andrew
NLSC
Andrew
December 15, 2015 10:44 am
Reply to  randallb21

Great point. Unless you’re gaming with friends sitting next to you on the couch, it’s hard to get people to agree to unwritten rules like that about sportsmanship and fair play. I think your comment about it being more like real basketball rings very true as well, and ties into something we’re often discussing. It’s like Da_Czar says: Don’t play video games, play basketball. If you can exploit cheap tactics, you’re not so much playing basketball, as finding an easy route to beating a video game.