The last seven games mean nothing anymore for four teams looking to squeeze through to the semifinals. On Thursday, August 30, it all comes down to one match for Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.
The United States and Argentina have already secured their spots in the semifinals and will play a rather meaningless game for first seed in the next round. The United States is expected to beat Argentina in the same manner that they’ve handled everybody else. Argentina, however, won’t mind one bit. As long as they can win their semifinal game they’ll secure a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The top two finishers in the FIBA Americas Tournament automatically qualify; positions 3, 4, and 5 will have another chance to qualify next year.
On Thursday, Brazil will be playing against Uruguay in a “must-win” game. If Brazil loses, they’ll likely open up the door for Canada to finish third. This would mean that they, after losing to the Americans next round (assumed), would have to try to qualify again next year.
The match doesn’t mean all that much for Uruguay, except that they’ll have the chance to play spoilers on this eventful day. Uruguay is pretty much out of the running based on points for versus points against. They would have to beat Brazil by an impossible amount in order to end up on the winning side of a possible tie-breaker.
If Brazil wins, they are guaranteed third position and a likely game against Argentina. However, if Uruguay is successful in ruining the day for Barbosa and company, then Canada and Puerto Rico both have a chance at third instead.
Canada needs to beat the favored Puerto Ricans in order to finish with 11 points, which would be one more than Brazil (if they lose). Puerto Rico, however, won’t be giving them an easy time. If they beat Canada, they are guaranteed a spot in the semifinals. If they beat Canada and Brazil loses in the earlier game, then they will likely secure third (assuming they win by enough to cover their current four point deficit to Brazil in the “points for/points against” category).
If this sounds confusing then it’s because it is. Here are the possible scenarios:
Brazil > Uruguay and Canada > Puerto Rico = Brazil 3rd, Canada 4th
Brazil > Uruguay and Puerto Rico > Canada = Brazil 3rd, Puerto Rico 4th
Uruguay > Brazil and Canada > Puerto Rico = Canada 3rd, Brazil 4th
Uruguay > Brazil and Puerto Rico > Canada = Puerto Rico 3rd, Brazil 4th (unless both games are within 2 points)
It’ll be really interesting to see how it all works out. I’m expecting Brazil to come out firing to lock up that third spot. If they don’t, however, it would add to the excitement between Canada and Puerto Rico. Either way, they will be great games with a lot of intensity. This is when it’s all on the line – this is when every play matters.
My Prediction: Brazil wins and Canada wins.
My Hope: Canada wins and Brazil wins.
What do you think is going to happen? Who are you cheering for?
I’ve been playing the EA Sports NBA Live series for over ten years now; my first game being NBA Live 97 with Mitch Richmond on the cover. I remember spending hours fuming about Michael Jordan being listed as “Roster Guard”; I remember the year the PC version would display a cheerleader picture when exiting saying: “are you sure you want to exit the game” (I would say “no” and try it again until I saw the T-Wolves hottie); and I also remember the thousands of glitches along the way. However, I have remained true to the Live series, never once trying my hand at NBA 2Kwhatever. I’ve heard great things about that game, but I’m simply too loyal (or stubborn) to EA Sports to switch.
Nonetheless, I do expect improvement from year to year and, for the most part, EA Sports has provided this. There have been a couple times when I’ve wondered if all they did was change the rosters. Sometimes it seemed that way, but there would end up being slight adjustments that would keep me coming back for more, year after year.
I am getting older though. I think the older you get the more money seems to matter. At least at 22, it seems to matter quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind spending money; but I don’t like spending money on something that holds no value. The March Madness series, for example, holds no value.
Throughout the year I’ve kept note of things that I wanted to see change before buying NBA Live 08. If there weren’t significant changes, then I wouldn’t buy the product. It’s got to the point where the other option (NBA 2K) is cheaper while also gathering great reviews. If EA Sports wants me to stay loyal, they’ll need to step it up with NBA Live 2008. Gilbert Arenas on the cover is a nice touch, but I still want more.
Here are the five main things that I hope to see changed, as well as the early indications on what EA Sports has done to solve them:
1. Artificial Intelligence
The AI was pretty good in a number of ways, but there were also major errors in the programming. When Rafer Alston takes 18 shots for the computer, you know there’s a problem – especially when Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady both finish the game with less than 12 shots combined.
The AI in NBA Live 07 tends to favor the point guards, taking a number of threes as well as making contested layups over shot-blocking big men. Sure, they can be blocked quite easily a number of times, but they should be blocked nearly every time if you’re squared up waiting for them.
So what has EA Sports done about this? According to the producer’s blog:
“The first thing to consider is that we want our AI on both the team level and the individual player level to be realistic…Basketball games have always had issues with the point guard being too dominant in the offense and taking too many shots due to the fact that they are typically the primary ball handler. We have taken a unique approach to solving this issue in LIVE 08 with the implementation of what we are calling the ‘featured scorer.’
This logic is based on real player skills and tendencies: a player like Steve Nash is an excellent passer and known for passing first whereas Allen Iverson is a great scorer and known for being a shoot first player. Both players have prominent roles within their team’s offensive philosophy but in very different ways. As a result we assign a larger percentage of the offensive shot attempts to a player like Iverson vs. a player like Nash. You’re probably wondering what happens when you have multiple players on a team who are capable of being featured scorers which is the case for a team such as the San Antonio Spurs. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan are all capable of shouldering the load offensively. In this case each player is assigned a percentage of possessions where the offense is run through them. When the AI is evaluating the goal of a given possession they take this into consideration and run their offense accordingly.”
If they meet their goals, I don’t see why this should be much of a continued problem. It has never been a big deal; it just has made it feel more like an arcade than it needs to be. I’m looking forward to this improvement, mostly because I’m sick and tired of being owned by scrubs like Bobby Sura and Damon Stoudamire.
2. Glitches
Once in a blue moon, a computer-controlled player will be dribbling the ball in one spot and run out the entire shot clock. This has helped me get back into a few games here and there, but overall it is a nuisance. If they are aiming to be a realistic simulation, then they need to fix these kinds of issues. This isn’t an AI problem, it’s a glitch.
Another common glitch is the phantom steal. A pass is seemingly deflected, causing the ball to change direction and go out of bounds. However, while the path of the ball changed, it wasn’t “actually” deflected. The attempt causes the ball to move as though it was, but the other team gets the ball since there was no physical (metaphysical?) contact.
A few other problems I have noticed are: unrealistic dunks through the backboard, too much defensive rebounding (Earl Boykins over Dwight Howard), easy double-team steals on the inbounds, and excessive blocking with big men.
The game-play has supposedly been improved on quite a bit. I guess we’ll find out soon whether or not they addressed these specific issues.
3. No “Create-A-Team”
I, personally, enjoy creating teams of my own. I like making characters and putting them together to form a team like we would do in pick-up ball. NBA Live hasn’t had this option for quite a while. This year is no different. However, one cool addition to the game is the “Quick Pick Play.” This feature allows you to create your dream-team for single-game matches. If you only want to pick your starting five, then it has a built in “auto-fill” feature as well. Sounds like a great addition and one that I would have never thought of, but I’m still waiting for the “Create-A-Team” option to be introduced.
4.Lack of Variety
Every year I am impressed by the large selection of new phrases that the commentators use, the added dunks, and the variety of celebrations that are introduced. It’s too bad that I’m only impressed for the first week: the sayings soon grow old, the dunks seem limited, and the celebrations don’t seem all that unique anymore.
I don’t really expect this to change. Besides, what are they supposed to do? It’s crazy to think that they should have four facts about each player in the game. It would be nice, but it’s crazy nonetheless.
EA Sports has, however, added 15-20 new celebrations, a new “Signature Go To Moves” feature, and new commentating (as always). The celebrations and commentating are expected, but I am genuinely interested to see how the go-to-moves feature works out. Here’s what they say about it:
“The important thing to know about them is that they don’t require a special button presses or controller move to make happen- they are just shots that happen under the right contextual circumstances for certain players. For example, if you get Kevin Garnett in the post and shoot a fadeaway jumper you will get KG’s fadeaway and not a generic one. This is really the evolution of the signature jump shots that we did last year, but this year you get full on signature moves instead of just jump shots.”
The signature jump shots were awesome last year, so this new go-to-move should be a lot of fun!
5. International Teams
One of my favorite features about the FIFA and NHL series’ is the International competition modes. I really enjoy playing the tournament mode. It’s not really a big thing; it’s just a nice alternative. Well, in FIFA it’s a big thing, in NHL it’s just an alternative. However, for some reason NBA Live has never incorporated this type of option. It probably has to do with contractual agreements with FIBA. Whatever the case…it has finally been taken care of.
This year the game has eight international teams and the option of playing with them in either “Play Now” mode or the new “FIBA World Championship” mode. I’m really looking forward to this new addition, my only disappointment is that it’s only eight teams. The teams include: Argentina, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United States. Those are all great teams, but what about Serbia & Montenegro, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Canada, Lithuania, Australia, Russia, New Zealand, Turkey, Angola, and numerous others? I can’t wait to play international mode, but if you’re going to add it then you should commit to adding the whole package. Find out more information about the deal with FIBA.
Wish List
I know it’s not going to happen anytime soon. To be honest, I don’t expect it to ever happen. However, if NBA Live ever introduced a “Superstar Mode” like Madden has, it would be awesome. This mode allows you to begin your career as a specific rookie (or created one). You go through each season playing the role of that player: negotiating contracts, having interviews, etc. Unlike Madden, I would want to still be able to control all the players on the court. If they ever implemented this, I would be absolutely thrilled.
What are some of the things that you’re hoping for in this year’s game? What are some of your favorite things about NBA Live? How about least favorite things? How does it compare to the NBA 2K series in your mind?
The top ten teams in the Americas are gathered together in Las Vegas to fight for two Olympic berths for the 2008 summer games in Beijing. Many star players have decided to sit this tournament out, due to contract negotiations with club teams or other prior commitments. Team USA, however, has brought a full-squad that is beginning to look like it might actually deserve the “Dream Team” status.
No, they don’t have all the greatest players in the game – but the chemistry that they’ve displayed thus far is proving to make up for the absences of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson, and others. In fact, it seems as though this team is almost better without them.
There is enough star power to guarantee results, while there are also legitimate role players that don’t go by the name of Bruce Bowen. Michael Redd, in particular, has stood out in being a great scoring presence for the American team.
Other countries are left to fight for scraps as the Americans are expected to go 10-0. That leaves Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela clawing away for 2nd place; with Panama and the Virgin Islands already eliminated.
Since the first round is done, here is a breakdown of each team’s performance so far, and the projections for the quarter-finals and beyond.
(Note: First-round statistics are carried through while disregarding records against teams eliminated in the preliminary matches)
Argentina
Argentina has shown itself to be the (non-USA) favorite for earning a berth to the Olympics in 2008; even though they are without Manu Ginobili, Walter Herrmann, Andres Nocioni, and Fabricio Oberto. Throughout the first round of the tournament, they have impressed many with their balanced attack, due to great chemistry and role-players.
Argentina romped through the preliminary round, going 4-0 with an average spread of over 17 points, their one scare coming in a 109-92 OT thriller versus Panama, of all teams.
Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets is the leader of this well-spread team, averaging over 17ppg and 8rpg. If you haven’t seen the soft touch this big man has, check out this short clip from the game against Panama in which he scored 20 points:
The next round features games against Venezuela, Canada, Brazil, and the United States. This is, arguably, the most difficult quarter-final schedule. However, with Carlos Delfino clicking of late, after a poor outing in the opening game, there’s no reason why Argentina shouldn’t be able to win three of these games. Although, with points and statistics being carried over from round one, they are almost guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals regardless of how they perform.
Brazil
Brazil was painted as a top three team from the start. They are one of the most explosive teams offensively with Leandro Barbosa, Nene “no longer Hilario,” and Tiago Splitter leading the way. The only worry so far is that there is a lot to worry about; and I’m not talking about the 37 point loss to the American squad.
Brazil started the tournament off slowly, with a narrow 75-67 win over Canada in a game that was much closer than expected. Brazil then cleaned up against Venezuela, bringing more hope to their followers, before narrowly escaping against the Virgin Islands, 93-89.
(The game against the Americans is irrelevant, so I won’t mention it; keep in mind everybody is fighting for second place)
The good news for Brazil is that they won’t have a tough schedule this round. There should be no reason they cannot come out of it at least 3-1 with matches against Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay. The game against Argentina will be the real test, one that will surely prepare them for the semi-final round.
Canada
Team Canada playing without Steve Nash is the equivalent to the Virgin Islands playing without Tim Duncan; except Nash is actually allowed to play for Canada. All kinds of reasons for Nash’s absence have been stated: he’s upset that Jay Triano is no longer the coach, he’s got a very tight schedule, and his body can no longer take the wear and tear of international play on top of the regular season. No matter what the reasoning truly is, without Nash this squad is like a Canadian Flag without the red maple leaf.
It should also be noted that Jamaal Magloire, Rick Fox, Jim Carey, and Mike Myers have also decided to not don the Team Canada jersey in Vegas.
Nonetheless, this Canadian squad has done quite well thus far (remember, we are still not taking the American games into account). They held close to Brazil, snuck by Venezuela, and topped the Virgin Islands by 10. Samuel Dalembert, who received citizenship only days before the tournament, is the lone NBA player for this squad. He has created a presence that is felt on both ends of the court. He is leading the team in scoring, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage.
The Canadian team has put together a well rounded effort and has a chance of moving on to the semi-finals because of an easier schedule than most (translation: they don’t need to play USA). They are going up against Uruguay, Argentina, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
Mexico
Mexico, led by ex-UNLV standout Romel Beck, barely squeezed through the preliminary round in Las Vegas. If it weren’t for Panama’s fourth-quarter collapse against Argentina, then Beck and ex-Phoenix Sun Horacio Llamas would be heading home.
Beck is currently second overall in tournament scoring, with 22.8 points per game. However, unless Mexico can start winning key games, all of his efforts will be wasted; other than the fact that he’ll have earned some NBA tryouts.
Mexico beat Puerto Rico 100-89 in their opener, but has since fallen flat with three losses. They will have the difficult task of playing the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Venezuela in the second round. With a first round record of 1-2, they will very likely be heading home – although they’ll have a few chances to play “spoilers” first.
Panama
Panama has been eliminated in a very disappointing tie-breaker with Mexico, who they had beaten in preliminary play. What adds insult to injury, however, is that they were set to be moving on in the tournament as they led Argentina by nine points with just over four minutes remaining in their final game of the round. However, they let Argentina fight back and eventually lost by 17 points in overtime. On top of that, they had another overtime loss against Uruguay that, if it had gone the other way around, would have pushed them through as well.
So long and farewell.
At least they can claim to be one of the only teams in the tournament to not lose by 30 points or more, as they didn’t have to play against USA. Oh wait, they lost by 41 to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is the Jekyll & Hyde of this tournament. One night they lose to Mexico by 11 and then the next they beat up on Panama by 41. After finishing the opening round 1-3, Puerto Rico will be hoping for much more if they are going to squeeze through the second round of action.
Elias Ayuso and Carlos Arroyo, the American killers from the 2004 Olympics, have been the leading scorers for this team. However, if they are going to move on they will needed more production from Jose Barea, who was suspended for two games, and Peter Ramos; both of whom have NBA experience.
Puerto Rico has a difficult schedule to work with this round and it seems unlikely that they will advance unless they can pull off wins against Brazil, Venezuela, and Canada. Their other match is against the U.S.
Uruguay
Uruguay, one of the big surprises in the opening round, finished second in Group A at 3-1, with close wins against Panama and Puerto Rico. Although they finished the preliminary round in fine shape, they will be in tough if they don’t find a way to win games more convincingly.
Esteban Batista, of the Atlanta Hawks, has been a force throughout the tournament so far. He led the tournament in points and rebounds through the first round of action, with 23ppg and 14.5rpg.
Uruguay, however, has the difficult task of going against USA and Brazil this round. They’ll need to have wins against Canada and Venezuela if they want a chance of marching through.
USA
The American team is looking better than ever. This team is, without a doubt, going to win the tournament. I just don’t see any other possibility.
Brazil is worried about missing Anderson Varejao, Canada is disappointed to not have Nash and Magloire, and Argentina is battling without four key players. However, the Americans could practically send their “Z Team” and still come out on top. Besides, the American Select Team, made up of various young players and rookies, gave the Senior Team a much better run for their money than anybody in this tournament thus far; and there is no way that anybody from that squad, aside from Andre Iguodala, would have a chance of cracking the main roster.
The American team is simply too much, as they have been for years. However, this time they seem to have chemistry as well. If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last week, check out the top 3 plays from Wednesday of last week.
Venezuela
Venezuela has been beaten by everyone they’ve played except for the Virgin Islands. Since the Virgin Islands were eliminated, they go into the second round with a 0-3 record as well as a very difficult first matchup in the second round against Argentina, which will surely leave them at 0-4 overall.
Hector Romero, Venezuela’s center, has been a stand-out player for this squad. Through the first round of action Romero is averaging 21ppg and 7rpg.
While the opening match against Argentina is a tough one, Venezuela has a better chance in their three other matchups against Uruguay, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. However, even if they steal all three games they will still be sitting at 3-4, a record which is unlikely to get them through to semi-final action.
Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands finished their campaign without a win. The highlight of their tournament included a nail-biter loss to Brazil, where they had a 12 point lead early midway through the game.
Though the team is eliminated, there was some great play demonstrated by Jason Edwin. He had a 26 point game against Canada and a 32 point effort versus Venezuela.
Predictions
Since the first round records are carried over, it shouldn’t be too hard to say that USA and Argentina are guaranteed spots in the final round, after sweeping through their first four games. Uruguay and Brazil are also looking good at 2-1 (with wins over eliminated teams erased).
However, I’m not going to throw the top four teams from the first round through to the semi-finals just yet. Brazil is a better team than Uruguay and should be able to pull off a victory against them in the quarterfinals. I don’t see a reason why they won’t win at least two of their four games, although they’ll probably take at least three. In fact, with the depth of the Brazilian squad, regardless of not having Anderson Varejao, I’m going to put them through.
Uruguay had the advantage of playing in a weaker opening group and they will fall short in the quarterfinals with losses against the Americans, Brazil, and Canada. To be honest, I think they’ll even have a tough time against Venezuela.
So, with USA, Argentina, and Brazil already considered locks; who does the final spot go to? Here is my best case scenario breakdown for the remaining teams:
Canada: Currently 1-2 – Best Case 4-3
Mexico: Currently 1-2 – Best Case 3-4
Puerto Rico: Currently 0-3 – Best Case 3-4
Uruguay: Currently 2-1 – Best Case 4-3
Venezuela: Currently 0-3 – Best Case 3-4
I think Canada will come out with three wins in this round, Mexico is out of it, Puerto Rico might surprise (but it won’t be enough), Uruguay will fade, and Venezuela doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, none of this really matters unless Brazil fails to win two of their second round games.
We’ll most likely see Brazil and Argentina squaring off in the semi-final on one side, with USA and Canada on the other (unless Uruguay continues its Cinderella story). Remember, only two teams get a berth to the Olympics. So Canada’s only consolation prize would be that they have another chance at qualifying next year.
The last seven games mean nothing anymore for four teams looking to squeeze through to the semifinals. On Thursday, August 30, it all comes down to one match for Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay.
I’ve been playing the EA Sports NBA Live series for over ten years now; my first game being NBA Live 97 with Mitch Richmond on the cover. I remember spending hours fuming about Michael Jordan being listed as “Roster Guard”; I remember the year the PC version would display a cheerleader picture when exiting saying: “are you sure you want to exit the game” (I would say “no” and try it again until I saw the T-Wolves hottie); and I also remember the thousands of glitches along the way. However, I have remained true to the Live series, never once trying my hand at NBA 2Kwhatever. I’ve heard great things about that game, but I’m simply too loyal (or stubborn) to EA Sports to switch.
2. Glitches
