NBA 2K15: How to Attack 2-3 Zone, Dante Exum Ratings Boost and More

The Utah Jazz's young nucleus is making strides on the court, and it's being reflected in the NBA 2K15 ratings. Two weeks ago, Rudy Gobert saw a ratings boost. This week, point guard Dante Exum is seeing a significant climb in his ratings.

Mike Stauffer, NBA 2K ratings and roster coordinator and Operation Sports contributor, gave Exum the highest boost to his overall rating of any player who received an update.

Exum climbed from a 71 to 74 overall. The boost is largely due to massive upgrades in on-ball defensive IQ (+11), pick-and-roll IQ (+14), help defense I.Q. (+8) and defensive consistency (+25).

Exum is still struggling with his shot, though. In fact, from March 18-21, he didn't score a single point in a three-game span. He played a total of 60 minutes in that time.

Despite his inability to drop a Skittle in the ocean, Exum has buckled down on defense to become effective on that end of the floor. He's playing the type of defense that doesn't always show up in the box score, though he is averaging one steal per game in his last five contests.

Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated wrote, "No rookie comes into the NBA a fully formed defender. Exum, though, is already impressive for how he bothers opposing point guards with his length and maneuvers to complicate their drives."

It's good to know Stauffer and his crew aren't just making updates based on the obvious statistics. Exum has been elevated to the starting lineup ahead of Trey Burke for a reason—not that Burke isn't a good player—which proves the Australian is doing something to warrant a consistent spot in the rotation.

Another notable ratings boost belongs to the Boston Celtics' Luigi Datome. He jumped two overall ratings points to a 69. A 17-point increase in Standing Three will do that for a man.

The Fallers

On the other end of the spectrum, the Charlotte Hornets' Brian Roberts and Denver Nuggets' Gary Harris saw their overall rankings fall two points. The culprit for both is a big decrease in their three-point shooting percentage.

The return of Kemba Walker to the lineup and a woeful 0-of-10 shooting performance has produced a "did-not-play coach's decision" for Roberts in eight of his last nine games. In the month of March, he's shooting just under 7 percent from three-point range.

Harris is 1-of-16 from three-point range this month for a similar percentage.

Alternate Jerseys

Image from NBA 2K15, provided by 2K Sports

Per Stauffer, a bevy of new alternate jerseys are now available in the game, as well as some distinct upgrades to existing uniforms and player accessories. Check out the list of team jersey color updates below, per Stauffer's post on Operation Sports. You can click the link to see all of the cosmetic changes.

Team Color Updates

"

• Bulls St. Patrick’s Day Jersey Rubberbands Red. Socks/Shoes White
• Cavs Alternate Jersey Socks/Shoes White
• Celtics St. Patrick’s Day Jersey Arm Sleeves Black. Rubberbands/Socks/Shoes White
• Hornets Alternate Jersey Socks/Shoes Black
• Kings Home Jersey Arm Sleeves Black
• Lakers Away Jersey Arm Sleeves Purple
• Magic Home Jersey Arm Sleeves Blue
• Pelicans Alternate Jersey Headbands Red
• Pistons Away Jersey Headbands/Arm Sleeves Blue. Rubberbands Red
• Rockets Home Jersey Headbands White
• Rockets Away Jersey Headbands White
• Rockets Alternate Jersey Socks/Shoes White. Headbands Yellow
• Trail Blazers Alternate Jersey Headbands/Arm Sleeves/Socks/Shoes Black
• Warriors Home Jersey Rubberbands Blue
• Warriors Away Jersey Rubberbands Blue

"

NBA 2KTV

Carl Lentz, Attacking the 2-3 Zone and Epic Fails

In the latest episode of NBA 2KTV, host Rachel DeMita talks NBA 2K with avid fan and mentor to several NBA stars, Carl Lentz. The conversation leads to a locker code tagged: shoot2much500.

If redeemed in the game, gamers will get 500 virtual currency.

Also in the episode, 2K's resident former professional player and gameplay wiz Scott O'Gallagher continues his Winning Tips segment. This time, he tells gamers how to attack a 2-3 zone. It's always cool to see how the game employs simulation principles.

Are you a part of Sim-Nation?

The usual highlight plays from the community were included, but to be honest, they were a little on the weak side this time around. Perhaps it's because I'm not a big MyPark player, and that's usually what dominates the countdown.

For next week's episode, DeMita is asking fans to send in their biggest bloopers, or should I say their virtual Shaqtin a Fool moments. That could be pretty interesting.

MYGM/MyLeague

Building a Realistic Draft Class

The Ultimate Legends roster now has over 6,000 downloads. It took a lot of time and effort to create, but it's been a blast to play with. Next up for this roster-and-draft class-creating fool is my annual attempt at the most realistic draft class.

Since the cancellation of the College Hoops 2K series (pours out some virtual liquor), gamers have had to create their own crop of rookies to inject some realism into their NBA draft experience.

Ideally, this one will be done by mid-to-late April, which would be well before the real NBA draft takes place. Here's a sneak peek at the work in progress.

MyCareer and MyPark

QJB Takes on the T'Wolves and Signs a Shoe Deal

So many cool MyCareer series are taking place online, but QJB is one YouTuber who keeps you entertained as you follow him on his virtual hoops journey.

In his latest episode, Neal (in my QJB voice) "Babababa" Bridges takes on Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves and begrudgingly agrees to a new shoe endorsement.

Yes, this is a game.

Flashback Friday Jerseys Have Come and Gone

Those who are old-school and want to style at the park should grab new retro jerseys to put on their MyPlayers. If you're rocking the throwback, you might look like the rapper Fabolous back in the day.

Now, you just need to spell your name after every made shot.

MyTeam

Mitch Richmond, Luis Scola and Chris Kaman Onyx Cards

These aren't the biggest names or stars for a Throwback Thursday pack, but it will serve to deliver a bit of variety. Two Bros. Gaming on YouTube give his review of the newest onyx cards.

When They Played Challenge

This week's MyTeam challenge is against a team stacked with former coaches. Expect all ratings associated with awareness to be high, and virtually every player should have the mentor badge.

Dev Speak

Dunk Contest Getting More Love in NBA 2K16?

How do you know you're thirsty for information for NBA 2K16? When you're digging out potentially meaningless clues in seemingly unrelated tweets from developers—that's when you have to admit you might have a problem.

Community manager Chris "LD2K" Manning poked fun at a Team Flight Brothers' fail, but in the process, did he acknowledge or hint that there might be a little more love shown to the dunk contest in NBA 2K16?

It could be nothing, but Zach LaVine did breathe new life into the event with his performance this year. Perhaps the next version of NBA 2K will try to capitalize on the momentum.

2KStauff Kicking Butt and Taking Screens

When Stauffer isn't updating rosters, he's apparently giving the online community the business on the sticks. He recently tweeted this image of triumph before his opponent rage-quit the game.

This inspired me to issue a challenge to the man behind the numbers. If he accepts—and I believe he will—perhaps I'll be able to personally request a cool feature for NBA 2K16 if I win. Maybe I'll lose and hope no one remembers this portion of the article.

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