NBA 2K11 says Carmelo Anthony is better than KD

No matter what Lamaruc Aldridge is rated, in gameplay EA has made him a combination of God, Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlin. Plus he is incapable of comitting a foul. If he was half as good as EA makes him he would be the best PF in the NBA. And, I may have said this already, he NEVER commits fouls.

just traded Wilson Chandler, Danillo Gallinari & Eddy Curry for Melo. Killin them now with Melo & STAT.

What are you guys talking about carmello is better than durant he scores consistently in the league maybe in the next two or three years (if Kevin stays consistent) than Kevin should be higher than melo but right now he is top four in the league the dude can score guys but you gotta think Kevin is the only scorer on his team so of course he will have a higher ppg

Don't compare overalls for a PG to a SF for example.

I'm not sure about the extent to which Dwight was wronged by his rating. I expect to see other centers substantially lower than him, which really makes sense - Dwight probably is a little better than his rating, but probably doesn't measure up to the best centers of all time yet - he's just better than anyone else around given the current dearth of centers in the NBA.

Durant, however, was wronged. Carmelo is super talented, but never has put it together enough on defense, shooting efficiency, or rebounding. Durant meanwhile was 2nd in MVP voting last year, became a great defender, and shot absurdly efficiently at a high volume. Carmelo might have more natural talent right now, but he isn't better by any statistical measure.

This is a great blog for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and for younger fans, this topic is perfect.
Growing up, I played all the 2K video games and the rankings of the players on those games was very important.
The 2K11 staff obviously has some of their stats wrong to say that Carmelo Anthony is better than Kevin Durant.
Melo hasn't put up great numbers (in comparison to his draft class) since his rookie year.
KD has surpassed his draft class and is competing with the big of Melos draft class.

Mark! :@Goose
Try the demos, they’re both out.

Have you tried them both? Thoughts?

You know, Minnesota has some interesting potential. I sort of like their roster. Does that make me crazy? I still think they're going to flame out, but that's more from other factors like inept management and Rambis only interested in winning if it's winning his way.

I'm not crazy about Flynn, but he's not terrible. And it remains to be seen if Johnson can play SG in the league. And their centers are Milichic and Pekovic, so who knows how that will go.

But Love is great, and I'd like to see Beasley get a chance at SF. And I really like Webster, Tolliver and Ridnour as bench player.

Their defense is going to be terrible though.

@Goose

Try the demos, they're both out.

Ozark :Hmmm…
Looks like Tom Chambers had a PER of 31.5 in ’97-’98 and a PER of -3.9 in ’96-97.
Just goes to show what limited sample size can do to a PER.

Although Greg Odens' 2009-2010 season was short, let's not get carried away with hyperbole. Chambers played 10 minutes in 1998 and 80 minutes in 1997. Oden played 500 minutes last year, generally against other team's starters.

Nobody's even brought up PER. According to 82games, Oden had a very positive effect on almost everything Portland was doing. Rebounding, own FG%, opponent FG%, all better when Oden was on the court. Oden probably won't put up 65% TS over the course of a full season, but other than that, I don't see anything about his productivity that's way out of line.

The first evidence that Elite is going to be better this year! :P

Also, not surprised they're rating Durant a little lower than they might have otherwise given his cover status for Elite. They've also poked fun at him w/ the Durant exclusive achievement.

@Mark!

In other words, Howard is probably very dominant in rebounding, athleticism, dunks, post defense, blocks, etc. but the game isn't weighing those things enough for his dominance to show through in the overall rating. But he would still be very good at doing the things you want and expect him to do, so it's kinda irrelevant.

My guess would be mid-range shooting is holding him back. Maybe some other things, dunno.

The overall ratings aren't necessarily indicative of how good a player is. It's very similar to any real life statistic that tries to put a single value on a player like PER, SPM, etc.

Basically, Durant's 91 is the rating it spits out after combining and weighting Durant's rating in all the different categories... layups, dunks, short/mid/long range shooting, defense, athleticism, etc etc...

It's probably better at judging relative value within the same position (PGs to PGs, SFs to SFs, etc.) than across positions simply because the game appears to weight certain skills lower. Even better are judging players who have similar skill sets like Williams vs Paul or Durant vs Carmelo.

I don't know how much positional correction there is, but I know there's some, ie passing gives less rating for big men than guards. Apparently there isn't enough tho if Howard is an 88.

Hmmm...

Looks like Tom Chambers had a PER of 31.5 in '97-'98 and a PER of -3.9 in '96-97.

Just goes to show what limited sample size can do to a PER.

Greg Oden is definitely better than current Marcus Camby...

Seriously, though, he looks like he's had a suspensory ligament tear.

I am a "survivor" of a "non-surgical" tear of exactly the same nature.

I also had to give up my rec-league basketball after suffering two torn ACL's, two dislocated hips, and too many shoulder dislocations to even count.

DSMok1 :
Ozark, Greg Oden really has been excellent when healthy. He’s a top 5 or 6 center in the league (that’s a fuzzy position, I know) when healthy. He’s better than Tyson Chandler, probably around Marcus Camby level when healthy. And that’s with quite limited experience.
I’d like to hear more about your connective tissue disorder theories.

You asked for it!!!

In certain notorious photographs of Oden, it appears he may have suffered a suspensory ligament tear.

J/K, I didn't look that close.

DSMok1 - I agree he's a top 5 or 6 center when healthy, just not Wilt territory like Blazers fans like to imagine.

Bouzi - Flopping is one thing, it's gamemanship. Turning the game into an epic drama that actually hurts your team is more like Melo territory.

Ozark, Greg Oden really has been excellent when healthy. He's a top 5 or 6 center in the league (that's a fuzzy position, I know) when healthy. He's better than Tyson Chandler, probably around Marcus Camby level when healthy. And that's with quite limited experience.

I'd like to hear more about your connective tissue disorder theories.

@Ozark
I thought that was Paul Pierce!

@Sammy

He's not terrible, in fact he's pretty darn good, but I wouldn't drink the "Greg Oden had a really high PER" last year" Kool-Aid either.

If I had the time or inclination to do so, I'd wager I could go find a 21 game snippet of, say, Tom Chambers back in the 80's where he had a PER like Hakeem.

Also, if they are going to rate Melo higher than KD, did they program something into the game where he fakes an injury and then lies on the floor for 2 possessions having a terrible 2 tantrum, while all the other players ignore him and actually step over him while continuing to play, only to return to the game perfectly fine 5 minutes later?

Naw, the don't have a "personality disorder" rating on the game...

@Ozark
Oden's a tremendously productive player when healthy. He still has a major fouling problem, but watching him play, his game is pretty much there (not to say that the latest injury might have set him back a bit after being away for so long). If healthy, the Blazers are championship contenders.

@Keith

I actually really wonder seriously about the connective tissue disorder issue with Oden. I think the fact that they are freak injuries and occur all over and not in one specific place actually lends credence to the connective tissue disorder theory. I know he's a pretty good player when healthy, although Blazer fans like to cherry pick stats and make him look better than he really is.

I think there is still a role for him in this league, but it is going to be as a situation specific role player, I don't think he'll ever hold up well over the course of a season, but I can see a championship contender still wanting to shell out a few mill for him to come in during specific situations to help get them to the next level.

@Ozark
You would think so, but probably not. Oden is still one of those stories I like to follow. On one hand, all his injuries have been "freak" accidents - no real common theme or body part that could be wearing down over and over. On the other, I'm not sure if it's better that a guy who looks 40 has weak bones/joints all over. I know he has the talent to be the next Hakeem, but he also has the injury history of a motorcycle daredevil.

I still want to see Oden succeed, but every time he comes down from a jump on those uneven lengthed legs, I wonder if that is the last time he'll be able to jump.

@Ozark
Good stuff, Doc!

So did they program in a connective tissue disorder for Greg Oden to simulate injuries?

I mean, as a physician if someone walked into my office with a complaint of multiple orthopedic injuries and with a face that looks 20 years older than stated age, connective tissue disorder is the first thing that jumps to mind...

These ratings seem insane. Dirk at 83? Like Lee or Josh Smith? That's just plain crazy. Another reason not to play video games. Dwight at 88 is funny, too. Jeff Green better than all those guys...man...who came up with these? Stevie Wonder?

@justin
I think I'd take all these players over Uncle Jeff. Maybe not West, but Think of our offense with any of these guys replacing Jeff at the starting 4.

I would absolutely swap Jeff Green for Kevin Love or Nene... or Blake... or Noah, or Aldridge, or possibly West.

But I think KD is #4 in the league. Carmelo ain't better than KD.

@Sammy
Andrew Bynum is rated the same as Jeff Green, think the Lakers would swap?

justin :
Jeff Green is rated higher than LaMarcus Aldrige, Joakim Noah, Blake Griffin, David West, Carl Landry, Nene, Andrea Bargnani, and Kevin Love.
This is why I think he’s going to want mega dollars. Perception…

Let's trade him for something pretty!

@Sammy
Oden could conceivably be rated higher, as he is great when he can play, they just need to make an exception where his injury rating is dead last and you can't turn off injuries when he is on your team.

Really interesting, though OVR ratings rarely tell the whole story. I'm fine with these ratings as long as they player are reflected well in their specifics. OVR is like PER or a box score measurement, it tries to simplify everyone to a single thing, but is always dependent on weighting of specific stats.

Howard as an 88 seems very low, but he probably takes a significant hit for his offense (or perceived lack thereof), he'll still be a monster when user-controlled. Durant at 91 seems about where I'd put him, but Melo is too high. I think he is helped by the Denver system in these games. Because the goal of programmers is to have simulations decently replicate actual seasons, Melo may have been "beefed up" to counter a problem in simulating pace.

batum and thabo got about the same rating, batum is much better on offense

Blazers got pretty shafted. JGreen scoring the same as LaMarcus Aldridge is funny. And whoever gave Oden and Batum a 75 and 67 (respectively) obviously doesn't really know very much about basketball.

Jeff Green is rated higher than LaMarcus Aldrige, Joakim Noah, Blake Griffin, David West, Carl Landry, Nene, Andrea Bargnani, and Kevin Love.

This is why I think he's going to want mega dollars. Perception...

krstic is the 3rd best fg% center from 16-23 feet that had more then 100 attempts, i hope he at least has a good outside shot rating

Dirk at 83 with Josh Smith and David Lee. :)

Yowch, 88 for Howard is awful.

And I'd much rather have JaVale McGee than Krstic.

Joe Johnson and Dwight Howard sharing the same rating doesn't seem right.

I dunno if they calculate the ratings for these players with the intention of them being compared that way.

KD got the shaft last year as well. He was only an 81 last year

justin :
What is Dwight Howard’s rating?

88.

That seems way wronger than KDs.

Russell Westbrook ranked as a Top 10 PG is neat.

its because past seasons are used as well, so players who have been consistently good are rated higher.

plus we can always good edit the rosters.

im still waiting to see if elite turns out better for the first time in a decade. Maybe durant should go sign copies at a gamestop or something

justin :What is Dwight Howard’s rating?

88 for Dwight Howard is an affront :)

What is Dwight Howard's rating?

It's still reasonable to argue that Carmelo is better than KD. If KD puts up another year like he just did, it'd become a lot more difficult to justify.

7th is in the ballpark, and isn't an affront. You can make cases for all those players over Durant. I'd have more of an issue with Deron Williams than Carmelo Anthony, though.