What's up everyone?

Now I know what you're thinking, "Is this the first official gameplay blog?"  Nope, not yet!  You get to hear from me once more until we get into the meat of our game (presentation, visuals, gameplay and menus).  What's the topic for today; new rookie DNA and overall ratings.  You're probably wondering why each year we don't show screens of the rookies in their new uniforms and show off their overall rating like Madden does.  Well, the fast answer to this question is because the NBA Players Association is very different from the NFL Players Association.  In the NFL, when a player reports to the combine, they're officially part of the NFL Players Association.  However, in the NBA a rookie isn't part of the NBA Players association until they sign their team contract.  We aren't allowed to show anything (screens, ratings, etc.) until a player signs on the dotted line.  With that said, we CAN sign a player for marketing purposes, and this year we did just that.

If you were watching the NBA Draft last week, you may have seen the "EA SPORTS" medallion once or twice.   That's because we were the official sponsors of the NBA Draft.  We signed Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet and Stephen Curry.   In today's blog I'm going to reveal what their collegiate DNA does for the Clippers, Grizzlies and Warriors respectively, and also show what their team's DNA looks like without them in the starting lineup.  I'll also reveal their overall ratings for you ratings junkies. 

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin is a monster.  Some compare him to a young "Mailman" Karl Malone, or a Josh Smith.  Where Griffin's potential will lead him is the exciting part.  Let's take a look at his DNA that will be implemented into NBA LIVE 10, and see what comes up...

This is Blake Griffin's individual Player DNA that Synergy Sports Technology gave us from his playing days at Oklahoma.  The luxury of having Dynamic DNA is that each year when you have new rookies in the NBA, as a NBA video game, you don't start from scratch with made up / subjective ratings and tendencies.  As you can see by looking at the above picture, Blake spends a majority of his time in the post.  I think the average basketball fan knows this.   What is REALLY interesting is that he has an Isolation percentage of 12.  Blake's a fast athletic 4 that can take his defender to the basket for a dunk or layup.  In NBA LIVE 10 you will see Blake, on occasion, in isolation. 

In order to take a look at how Griffin will impact his new team (the Clippers), let's take a look at their Team DNA before Blake is inserted in the starting 5. NOTE: I took a screenshot of both the Clippers and Grizzlies squaring off against each other because of Griffin and Thabeet.

With Griffin out of the lineup, you can see that the Clippers are more of an isolation / pick and roll / spot up team.  Baron Davis is leading the isolation charge with contributing heavily to their 20% isolation.  Now what happens when we put Blake Griffin into the starting lineup?

As I expected, the Clippers are now a big time Post Up team.  With Blake in the lineup, the Clippers go from a Post Up of 10% to 21%!  I think have a post presence may help the Clippers establish balance in their offensive game.  He hasn't played a single minute for Los Angeles, but if the Dynamic DNA is of any indication, he should make an impact.

Hasheem Thabeet 

Thabeet was an obvious choice for Memphis.  They have Marc Gasol at the 5, but he doesn't intimidate anyone.  The Grizzlies needed a defensive minded center, and Thabeet fell into their laps.  Memphis is a young team packed with a lot of talent.  What does Thabeet's collegiate DNA from Connecticut tell us?

During his time in Connecticut, Thabeet was playing against smaller / less physical players.  This made Hasheem look like a man among boys.  Unfortunately for him, he won't have that going for him when he suits up in the NBA.  The NBA is big man country, and Thabeet should go through some growing pains, but that doesn't mean that his potential to blossom into a Marcus Camby-type player is out of the question.  If you look above, Thabeet's DNA is heavily favored towards his post game.  In college Thabeet would get the ball in a post up situation drawing a double team.  He'd then kick out the ball out for a shot, or dish to a cutting teammate.  Thabeet must work on his footwork in the post if he wants to become a force offensively.  I think if you look at how Thabeet will impact the Grizzlies, you'll probably see less of a change considering he isn't much of a scorer...

With Thabeet out of the lineup, the Grizzlies are a big pick and roll team led by SG OJ Mayo (37% Pick and Roll). 

With Hasheem in the starting 5 for Memphis, their game doesn't change much.  This is because Thabeet is what he is at this point in his career.  He's post up player that has many similarities, at least in DNA Player Type, to Marc Gasol (47% Post up).  Because of this, the Grizzlies Team DNA doesn't change too much with him in the lineup meaning that from an offensive perspective, Mayo, Gay and Conley will have to continue carrying the load.  That's alright though, where Thabeet can contribute right away is at the defensive end of the floor by way of blocks and rebounds. 

Stephen Curry

When the Warriors drafted Stephen Curry, the Knicks cried and we all cheered.  Every year we hope that the Warriors can turn the talent that they have on paper into a good team on the floor.  With Monta Ellis out much of last year, Golden State fell out of the playoffs.  With a healthy starting 5, and Curry developing as a bench player, they may surprise some people this season.  Maybe their solution is in Curry's individual Player DNA...

Curry is an isolation player to the max!  With 48% of his possessions in ISO, Curry can pull up off a drive, or take his defender to the basket.   This DNA mixes well with the Warriors who are mostly an isolation and pick and roll team.  What this tells me is that Curry will pick up where Golden State left off when he comes off the bench.  Golden State's team DNA without Curry proves this.

As you can see, the Warriors are already an isolation and pick and roll offense.  What happens though when Curry is inserted into the starting 5?

With Stephen Curry in Golden State's lineup, the Warriors turn into an isolation team primarily. 

What do you guys think of these examples of individual player DNA and Team DNA?  What's really cool about this stuff is that you'll see each player play according to their Player DNA, and then the team will play like their Team DNA indicates.  If you're playing the Clippers, expect a balanced offense with Griffin in the lineup.  With the Grizzlies, expect them to play pretty much the same way they play with or without Hasheem Thabeet.  And when you're up against the Warriors, watch out for Curry off the bench.  His isolation game matched with Golden State's preference to run their offense through the isolation will create a lot of one on one matchups. 

Next season, when these rookies play their first game, their Player DNA and Team DNA could change completely.  THAT'S the beauty of Dynamic DNA in NBA LIVE.  If the players change in any way, the game changes the very next day.  Most of these rookies will have to adapt to the NBA game, so expect their DNA to change before any of the veterans.   This is just a small touch of things that will be included in Dynamic DNA for NBA LIVE 10 so stay tuned.  Seriously, "if it's in the game, it's in NBA LIVE 10."   

Now, for the overall player ratings....

We're changing the overall ratings scale BIG TIME in NBA LIVE 10.  Last year, an 80 rated player was not really that good in our game.  We think that's crap, so the average players will be around the 75 range, and 80 rated players are pretty damn good!  We think you'll really like way we did this for NBA LIVE 10.  These three rookie overall ratings are just starting points.  Like their DNA, Dynamic DNA will move their overall ratings up or down depending on how they play during the regular season.  You should see this change all the time. 

Blake Griffin = 75
Hasheem Thabeet = 69
Stephen Curry = 70

Thanks for coming back to the Inside EA SPORTS Blog to read our weekly NBA LIVE 10 blogs!  I know you're patiently awaiting the gameplay blogs, and we'll be getting to them soon enough!  With that said, Artest a Laker?  Seriously?  Seriously!?

by Marcus Stephenson

Hey everyone!

I’m back post trade deadline to rewrite history, and see what would’ve happened if the trade deadline rumors actually came true.  This will be a 3-part series focusing on 3 then potential blockbusters that may have brought on new found success, or imminent disaster for a team.  The first spotlight will be on the rumored trade of Amar’e Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns for Jerryd Bayless and LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland Trailblazers.

Let’s first take a look at each team’s DNA to get an idea how each team is currently playing.

The Suns DNA is dramatically different than when we last looked at it in the “Rebirth of Shaq” piece.  Since Terry Porter’s departure, the Suns have moved back to a run-style offense that has led to a lot of high-scoring games.   As you can see, the DNA is spread out fairly evenly.  This tells us that they’re spending more time pushing the ball and shooting spot-up (24%) shots in “7 seconds or less.”

When looking at the Blazers’s team DNA above, they spend a lot of time shooting spot up shots as well.  This makes a lot of sense when you look at their playmakers.  Brandon Roy is having a fantastic season with 22.6 PPG.   Aldridge hasn’t been too bad himself either averaging 17.8 PPG, shooting almost 50% from the field and 7 RPG.   The PG doesn’t spend a whole lot of time with the ball which explains the fairly average “Pick and Roll Ball Handler” percentage (18%).  The Trailblazers are either getting the ball to Aldridge in the post for a face-up spot up shot, or Brandon Roy for a quick spot up shot.

NOW let’s see what happens when we make the trade happen!

As you can see, the Suns team DNA has changed.  If Terry Porter were still coaching, I think he’d be pleased to know that they’re now running a more half-court style offense.  With LaMarcus Aldridge now on the Suns, you’re seeing them post up more as well (16% vs 18%).  Would Terry Porter have been fired had this trade been made?  We’re all left wondering now…

Let’s move to Portland and check out their team DNA differences.

At first glance, you don’t see too much of a change.  Look closely though.  Having a guy like Amar’e on your team effects everything.  In this case, most everything is, by a small margin.  Although the “Isolation” percentage has dropped 1 percentage point ( 14% - 13%), the “Pick and Roll Ball Handler” percentage has decreased by 4 points.  The “Pick and Roll Roll Man” has increased as well as the “Cuts” because that’s the type of player Amar’e is when he’s in the half-court offense.  Do you think of Amar’e as a post up player?  Portland doesn’t either.  That’s why his “Post Up” percent has decreased by 2 points.   The new Portland team DNA looks eerily similar to the original Suns team DNA.  This is the Amar’e factor in full force.  By the looks of this, it appears that the Blazers are trying to play to Amar’e’s strengths by running.  That would explain the decrease in most of these fields.

NBA LIVE 09 is all about NBA LIVE 365 and Dynamic DNA.   If this trade happened, it looks like Phoenix would have been better off than Portland.  LaMarcus Aldridge is more of a diverse player that can adapt, while Amar’e is what he is.  Bayless would help out Phoenix’s isolation game off of the bench.  Portland and Phoenix, “what if” this trade actually happened?  Answer = Portland, be glad it didn’t.

-Marcus