NBA Live OTP night five recap
February 18, 2008 by pastapadre · 19 Comments
It was an interesting night of OTP with the new roster update plus some different developments. That led into a really entertaining dunk contest at All-Star Saturday Night which I was glad that I didn’t pass up watching.
The first real problem participant was involved and it took two attempts at games to figure out who it was. He was calling timeout after timeout prompting technical fouls and was intentionally fouling on defense. That is why I’ve suggested there needs to be a way to boot someone from a game but this also showed that someone who is calling timeouts or intentionally fouling over and over should be booted automatically.
Game wise the Suns-Lakers matchup was relatively competitive but Andrew Bynum was an unstoppable force. At points the Suns felt helpless on defense even when the Lakers missed they were often there to grab the offensive board. The All-Star game matchup was a complete fiasco as the East routed the West in the most lopsided game in OTP history. 24 turnovers for the West in the game and those turnovers early dug a hole that was just too much to ever recover from.
Continue on to view the stats of the games and watch highlights from the Suns-Lakers video (trust me no one wants to watch the ASG one). Thanks to Im P Dub for putting this video together.
NBA Live OTP night five
February 15, 2008 by pastapadre · 27 Comments
With the new roster update out this week’s NBA Live 08 OTP being set up for tomorrow should be entertaining. Since it is All-Star Saturday night we’ll begin playing earlier than usual @ 3pt/6et. I’m going to attempt to record the games and get them posted up along with recaps by Monday.
The first matchup will be Suns @ Lakers. Vote below for the second game from a short list of choices I put together.
Update: The suggestion was made to play the ASG. So the second game will be East @ West. The poll below will determine one of the games for next week.
NBA Live OTP night four recap
February 10, 2008 by pastapadre · 13 Comments
There was only one game on night four of NBA Live 08 OTP which had the Chicago Bulls @ LA Clippers. It turned out to be one of the cleanest played games thus far even though one side was in control the entire way throughout. Where some of the earlier games had a frantic pace and predominantly centered on quick scores and easy baskets, this one had a more controlled pace and came down to half court offense and rebounding.
The rebounding discrepancy tells the story of the game. Chris Kaman alone matched the entire Bulls team with 20 rebounds. The Clippers prevented the Bulls from getting the number of second chance opportunities that they had.
Overall it was just a good team effort by the Clippers. Continue on to read the full stats and watch the video of the game. Thanks to Im P Dub from over at NLSC for recording and uploading this one.
NBA Live OTP night four
February 8, 2008 by pastapadre · 20 Comments
Another session of NBA Live 08 online team play will go on tonight (Friday) with a meet-up in the created pastapadre lobby room at 5pm PT / 8pm ET. The game will be recorded and I’ll be taking down the stats for a recap. Due to different circumstances I’m limited to just taking part in one game tonight and won’t be available tomorrow but I still wanted to attempt to get one in.
The next roster update (currently scheduled for around All-Star Weekend) will bring some matchups that have added intrigue. The Suns with Shaq vs the Lakers with Gasol will make for an especially fun game. That’ll probably be the first one that is run following the update.
Vote on tonights matchup of which I’ve put together some teams that haven’t been used before and should be somewhat evenly matched. (The winner in a close race is Chi @ LAC).
Next NBA Live OTP night
February 1, 2008 by pastapadre · 21 Comments
This week the NBA Live OTP will take place on Saturday (2/2) beginning at 5PT/8ET. Two more games will be played and likely recorded with recaps and videos going up by Monday. Same procedures to be followed as the first two nights (meet in the pastapadre created lobby room with password otp).
Vote in the poll for the two matchups to be played. I’ve tried again to put together teams that are relatively even and aren’t dominated by a single superstar.
Update: Based on the voting it’ll be Golden State @ Detroit followed by New Jersey @ Toronto.
Poll results and recap of the night follow.
NBA Live OTP night two recap
January 28, 2008 by pastapadre · 11 Comments
Both of the second night games were evenly matched and well played. I’ve definitely noticed improvement as everyone playing has gotten more comfortable with the mode, their assignments, and communication. One aspect I haven’t really written much about is how great it is to have communication with only your teammates. Next year hopefully they’ll have more ways to take advantage of that (setting picks, posting up, ect). Despite that it is tough getting back on defense to prevent easy hoops because there is really no way to judge where your player is at when off-screen so hopefully there is some solution to that as well.
Again both games were three on three with no lag. Thanks to njnetsfanforlif, moeandamigo, Im P Dub, hells hurrican3, elmira express, and tdoggy for joining in. Look for another OTP night next Friday or Saturday with details being posted the morning of. Continue on to read the recaps and check out videos of the full games. Thanks to Im P Dub recording and uploading them and you can check out his own game recaps over at NLSC.
NBA Live OTP night one recap
January 26, 2008 by pastapadre · 14 Comments
Another two games of NBA Live 08 OTP will be played tonight and after the success of the first night I’m really looking forward to it. The games were a lot of fun and it was nice to have some teamwork and ball distribution to go along with no lag to speak of. The six minute quarters seemed to be the right length as well. Just a great experience all around. Both games had 3 users on each team with the other two players controlled by the CPU. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Tonight the two matchups based off the voting will be:
- Nuggets @ Spurs (5pt/8et)
- Trailblazers @ Hornets (following the completion of the first game)
I’ll be recording one or both of the games for posting by Monday. Follow the same procedures as the first night. Continue on to read the two game recaps and stats as well as a full game video broken down by quarter.
NBA Live 08 OTP night one
January 25, 2008 by pastapadre · 15 Comments
This evening brings the first PP NBA Live 08 OTP night (360) and thanks to the voting we have the matchups for the two scheduled games. The time to be there is 5pt/8et with the first game starting up promptly (even if not completely full).
Head to the user created room pastapadre and the password will be OTP. From there I will create the game and send invites. I believe I’ll have to invite from my friends list so once in the room and situated send me a friend request if you aren’t already on my list. At that point the other nine participants for the game will be determined (first come first serve basis). Anyone who makes it in late is of course free to run another game.
Based on the voting the games for the evening will be:
- Magic @ Celtics (approximately 5pt/8et)
- Mavericks @ Suns (following the end of the first game)
First NBA Live 08 OTP nights
January 22, 2008 by pastapadre · 10 Comments
The voting has been going now for a few days and it has come in strongly towards Friday and Saturday. So this week lets shoot for opening up a lobby room on both nights and trying to get a couple good games of Online Team Play in on the 360.
360 permitting (status is questionable right now) I’ll be able to hop on both evenings at 5pt/8et and play through at least one if not two games. I’d likely record at least one to post up on the site soon after completion. Spots won’t be held they’ll just be filled until all 10 positions are controlled or until the group decides to go ahead and start. If there are more people looking to play there could always be more games running.
Given that most of the team matchups I’ve been involved in so far were somewhat boring lets vote on the first game. I think I’ll be happy as long as San Antonio and Cleveland aren’t used. I’ve added a few pairings that seem like they’d be fun and would keep everyone interested regardless of position controlled. After the first game it could just be determined on the spot what teams are used but I figured it would be a good idea to plan ahead on the first one. Late on Thursday or early Friday I’ll post up more details on the first night as well as a poll for the first game to be played on the second night.
NBA Live 08 OTP impressions
January 20, 2008 by pastapadre · 17 Comments
After playing through several games of Online Team Play in NBA Live 08 I’ve been able to form some initial thoughts on the mode. This is really a unique way to play the game and seems to be the natural evolution of online play. It had been a big success in NHL 08 and FIFA 08 and that is definitely the case with Live as well. Controlling a single player in a basketball game is probably the most natural and engaging of all the sports.
Any configuration of up to five on five is allowed. It is nice that the teams don’t have to be balanced or filled up completely. If there is a full five then each user chooses a position to lock into and controls only the player at that position. If there is less than five the choice opens to allow either locking into a position or leaving it open to switch between players. Any not user controlled are taken over by the CPU. So there is a lot of opportunity for variety as the games can be put together in any number of ways.
