First of all, I probably would have been playing slowdown. They out-depthed the hell out of you. Second, I would argue that a LOT of coaches - many of whom are generally much better at this game than me - massively overrate the importance of ath/speed "advantages." I don't think there is any logic anywhere in the game engine that compares ATH or SPD directly between two opposing players. In fact, I'd bet a lot that there isn't, because I've seen plenty of slow players with good ATH/DEF in man defenses do a good job against opponents who are much faster but not necessarily all that talented. I think instead that some sort of overall set of offensive ratings for interior, perimeter, and possibly midrange scoring are generated from some formulae containing the individual ratings. Similarly, an overall defensive rating (likely just one, though maybe one for inside D and one on the perimeter?) are generated. For an individual possession only those composite ratings would be taken into account.