What does it take to effectively run a 2-3 or 3-2 zone defense in HD? Speed, ath, def? And what should my settings be for games ideally + or -?

Well, the zone is the most forgiving in regards to what you need to run it, but having higher numbers in those catagories you mentioned never hurt; they are the core to playing any defense.

As to the +/- that is purely a situational issue. He has more power inside, you go -, conversely + if he's a heavy outside shooter.

Decent shotblockers really help too.

Quote: Originally posted by childplease on 4/19/2010What does it take to effectively run a 2-3 or 3-2 zone defense in HD? Speed, ath, def? And what should my settings be for games ideally + or -?

85 min of practice in Zone is the key

REBOUNDING!!! Because the zone is prone to giving up def. rebounds, your front court needs high rebounding ratings.

And shotblocking. The defense is designed to benefit sb more. Not having any = playing against the engine, which generally is a bad idea.

In general, you still need SPD + ATH for your offense, but it helps in zone as well. SPD helps limit the number of open shots your opponent gets. SPD + BLK helps block shots a little.

But if you play 3-2 you definitely need extremely high REB.

I'm not convinced running a zone is worth it with the current engine. The decrease in fouls and interior FG% seem to be offset by the increase in steals and FBP you'd have running the press. And if you have high SPD+ATH guys for their offense, why not run press?

Well, one difference is Zone gives you more strategic tools. 3 - 2 vs 2 - 3, doubling specific players, hiding individual defensively weak players. It tires your players out less, so you can run a shallower bench.

REB and Shot Blocking. Speed is a must for PG, SG, SF, to get to the open shooters alot quicker on the perimeter.

Ok thats some good info, since I run the flex I have good SPD and ATH so I will do ok then.

I don't think it really makes sense to run flex and zone. I'm new to this game, so I don't really know. I guess if you have one or 2 guys with bad DEF then maybe zone makes sense. Seems to me zone fits best with the triangle, man fits best with flex/motion, and the press works best with fb in terms of requiring similar skill sets.

Quote: Originally posted by dahsdebater on 4/19/2010I don't think it really makes sense to run flex and zone.  I'm new to this game, so I don't really know.  I guess if you have one or 2 guys with bad DEF then maybe zone makes sense.  Seems to me zone fits best with the triangle, man fits best with flex/motion, and the press works best with fb in terms of requiring similar skill sets.

why don't you think it makes sense to play flex/zone? and, why do you think zone goes best with triangle? its great you are trying to make these kinds of connections, despite being new to the game.

I would think that zone would fit best with the triangle because both cases allow you to get away with slower players and less athletic guards. I already proved to myself in 1 season that a slow guard with good perimeter shooting can be an effective scorer. I had a freshman SG with <50 perimeter and >30 speed who ended up 5th in the conference in 3% while leading my team in scoring in spite of the fact that his IQ in the system was very bad to start the season. He's already on pace to become the 2nd highest scorer in franchise history and is likely to improve in future seasons. He has 51 defense, so I'm very comfortable playing him in the zone. However, I'd be terrified to play a guy that slow (currently up to 30) in a man-to-man against some of the other SGs in the conference. He's be totally worthless in a press.

On the other hand, if you're running a fastbreak offense everybody on your team has to be fast and have good stamina already. Might as well press since you can afford to; it also helps you avoid having to recruit as much defense and shot blocking as you might need to in other schemes.

I would think if you play the flex you should have enough speed and athleticism at all positions (if your players are well-suited to the flex offense) that unless your players are really poor defensively you should be able to run a man-to-man defense. If the defense is that bad the press is probably a much better fit than the zone.

But that being said, if you have good SPD, ATH, shouldnt it not matter what defensive set you run? For example like Syracuse.
They play a suffocating zone defense and they cause problems to all the teams that play them.
I understand that man to man or press might be more effective but the zone should work fine for my team.

Quote: Originally Posted By dahsdebater on 4/19/2010

I already proved to myself in 1 season that a slow guard with good perimeter shooting can be an effective scorer.

As gillispie said, it is good that you are trying to figure things out about the game early on. But, you need to be careful about making claims based on limited data.

You have played a horrible SOS this season (which is not your fault since you inherited the sim schedule), so that could be part of the reason. You have only played 5 games against teams in the top 100 RPI. In those 5 games, your SG Tompkins has combined to go 12-38 from the field with 22 TOs.