Balance the Double Team

The Double Team is a long-time legacy issue. TOO LONG. If memory serves me correctly it was redesigned as a mechanic in 2K6 (before that it was really weak and slow). If you held the ball too long it forced a tie-situation and so it was a really good way to disrupt offenses and force turnovers. Soon after, cheesers online (PS2 online) started setting double teams on everyone from the menu screen and disrupting offenses like crazy.


Here's Chris Smoove talking about it in NBA 2K17:

Here's an OS thread from 2012 discussing how to combat the double team.

But before I start about how badly the Double Team (hereafter referred to as DT) needs balance, i'd like to first touch on Single Outcomes and how they affect balance. Now they're not specific to 2K (they're spread across the many genres) but they are literally what savvy players and cheesers live for. So what are they? In essence, a mechanic where the user knows what the result will be and can trigger it easily--also when too many of the results are skewed badly in one direction. In Madden 2006 a buddy of mine would have his weak-side LB shoot the B-gap between the LT and LG. The flawed blocking logic would make the LT pick him up giving the LE a free rush at the QB.

EVERY TIME. A Single Outcome.

Keep in mind the RBs were still ineffective pass blockers so no amount of adding them to protection would help. If you did anything but a super-quick pass to the TE or dump-off to the RB you were sacked. Which was neutralized when he set his defense to "Double TE" and played press coverage outside on your wideouts. In essence, you faced instant pressure and had to either run the ball (difficult--he had the Giants) and totally keep him off-balance to compete. Its just one example of how Single Outcomes can be manipulated to completely unbalance H2H gameplay.

Which brings me to the DT in NBA 2K...............................🤨

Now we all know about how the DT generates steals and ties up offensive players forcing jump ball situations. But it also makes you lose your dribble and force you into a contested animation. Last year you could quickly call a timeout when the tie-up animation started, but not anymore. My personal favorite? When the pass logic disregards the closest recipient and chooses a target who's heavily covered and more likely to cause a turnover.....good times. 

One of the real benefits of the new steal system is that cheesers make the DT a force multiplier and combine the two. They call for a DT and then play the passing lanes for the pass they know HAS to come. That they have two come "through" your player doesn't matter I guess.

Did you notice in the play above that the DT also cancelled out my play-call? Scary right? Oh you think you're running plays? NOPE. The double instantly wipes out any plays you  were running. Wait, so if the DT wipes play-calls, what if you're running something at the end of the half on a final possession? GASP! What about the end of the game? Glad you asked. See for yourself:

 So what fixes this thing anyway? How do we actually balance it? A few ways:

1) The speed of the animation should have some variety, sometimes the defense should execute it quickly, on the other hand sometimes defenders should react more slowly. It also can't force our players into animations like jump passes or losing our dribble.

2) Fatigue - Have you ever seen a defense scrambling around to double team the offense? It takes alot of energy--and is extremely taxing. We should see defenders that are double teaming take a significant stamina hit.

3) Foul Outcome - You're telling me the DT generates steals and there's never instances where a contact or reaching foul makes sense? Pffft, OF COURSE IT DOES. Just like Sideline Cheese got an out-of-bounds turnover outcome. The DT badly needs foul outcomes more than any other mechanic in the game. No system in the game can be this one-sided without balancing it with bad outcomes.

4) Make Defenders Commit to it - Right now its extremely easy to break which results in things like doubling down and then recovering to the 3pt line. The ability of defenders to break out of the DT should be slowed down.

4) Split the DT - First off, this should be rare....maybe it can be a badge. Attacking quickly should allow some players to split the DT. Now it can't just be anyone. There should be a required ball-handling/strength minimum for this. Only players with elite skills (i'm thinking the badge or a 90 rated strength or ball-handling) the DT has a place in the game--it just needs balance. We don't need a "split the double" animation to play 3-4 times a game like chase-downs.....PLEASE.

 I know what you're thinking..."But what about finding the open man?" You'd think that'd be the one counter to the DT, right? Sure, that's logical...here's the thing: The Double Team actually forces bad pass outcomes. I'm serious--you rarely see them anywhere else in gameplay but yuuuuuup, when you move the ball to beat the double in 2K there's a pretty big chance you'll throw a bad pass--which is absolutely BANANAS. Doubt it? See for yourself:

Talk about things that CAN'T HAPPEN. That's literally the patron saint of bad gameplay design. If you were considering a way to implement a DT into an NBA game, bad passes would be the last thing you'd put as a frequent outcome--but alas, here we are. The bad pass outcome simply can't happen when you combine all the other ways the double team generates favorable results for the defense.

And that my friends, is what ultimately makes it a Single Outcome and why you'll continue to see it as a tactic in H2H play from savvy players and cheesers alike.

If you can't split the double team, cant call timeout and cant pass out of it, how are we supposed to combat it? Your guess is as good as mine, folks. My suggestion? Wait for the devs to fix it.