Posted by hypnotoad on 11/18/2022 6:31:00 PM (view original):
So if you have a SF that is a converted PF (so slower, high LP, lower PE, meh ball skills), is the 2-3 always the better option? What if the C is only a mediocre defender?
I’ve really had trouble with the 2-3 and seem to be more successful with the 3-2 regardless of personnel.
the thing to keep in mind is the center is averaged into your defense regardless of whether its the 2-3 or 3-2. the FAQ or whatever about zone, says you can hide a bad defender, but to me it is the opposite. you CANT hide a bad defender, because if he's on the court, he's being averaged into your team defense. it doesn't matter if its the 2-3, 3-2, a pg, sf, center... they are playing a significant role in the defense of every shot. meanwhile, in man, you can move a defender to face less scoring - to me, that is hiding the defender. press is much more man-like than zone-like. so IMO zone is the place you can least hide a bad defender.
the decision about the 3-2 versus 2-3 primarily comes down to the offense of the other team. in general in this game, you are supposed to play your team first, and the opponent a distant second - meaning, your team setup should be tailored to your strengths, with tweaks for the opponents that don't cost you much. when in doubt, stick to your strengths. zone defense is one of the few places i don't take such a strong stance on the subject. the 3-2 versus 2-3 is a lot about the other team. 3-2 is the best 3pt defense in the game. the 2-3 is the best defense for close to mid range 2s in the game. the SF you have, how much your team needs rebounding, these are also factors, but in general if you are playing an unbalanced team, which perhaps most are, that is going to be the most important factor.
i'm not sure where you play, but 3pt scoring is pretty powerful in a lot of segments of this game. high d1 is probably the most balanced, in most other settings, 3pt scoring is at a premium. as a result, the 3-2 tends to be pretty powerful in lots of settings in HD.
couple things about the SF. high lp, low per, meh ball skills... those kinds of things are totally irrelevant. its about the defense, and whether you are a pg or a center, in any defense in this game, ath/def are very important. blk is more important as you get closer to the center, and speed the closer to the pg, but the significant majority of defensive quality for all players in all systems in all scenarios, is ath/def. so its not like you can really have a good defensive sf in 3-2 who is **** in 2-3, or vice versa. i personally like to have a SF in high d1 zone who is like, 90s ath/def with like 60 speed, so i am confident he'll perform at a high level no matter what i play. its normal for folks in zone to overly worry about spd and blk in their sf, and i would recommend not doing that.