Playing good interior defense can give you a huge advantage in terms of winning in NBA 2K22 and the quickest way to get blown out if you’re weak down low. In this NBA 2K22 guide, we are going over with you some basics and things you might not have known to help improve the interior defense in NBA 2K22 on current and next-gen consoles.
Defensive Tip 1 – Switch Defenders
The first thing we want to go over with you is you must be comfortable switching on to the player closest to the basket for many reasons, but one of the first is to avoid files by the computer. Because when you don’t switch to the last line of defense and your opponent whether it’s the computer or human goes up for a shot, they’re going to rely on the defender’s file tendencies more often than not to determine how that interaction is going to go, and a lot of bigs have super high foul tendencies, so your opponent is almost guaranteeing themselves at least a trip to the line if you leave it up to the computer to defend. Now some gods have super low file tendencies allowing them to straight dominate you if you go at them crazy, but more often than not you’re going to have to switch on to cancel the foul tendency of that player that’s about to kick in.
At the switch, you either hit a or x on your controller to the closest player to the ball or hit R1 or RB on your controller, then L1 or LB to switch to the player closest to the basket to take control of that player.
Defensive Tip 2 – Hands Up!
Now once you have switched on to the defender closest to the basket, it’s time to defend it. And although not as effective as in years past, there’s still a time and a place where it’s your best option and that’s hands up defense, which you perform by holding the right stick up and the further away from the room you are. Basically as long as your defender is not parked in the restricted area and you’re already between the ball handler and the basket is when you’re gonna want to utilize this to give yourself the best shot of the shooter missing the shot.
There are instances where you want to transition from hands up into a block attempt and it’s when you notice the animation the game has given your opponent is actively avoiding your hands of defense, and if you see that occurring you just hit Y or triangle to adjust and attempt to block it. Because not every time you’re going to get a stone shot attempt that looks like this, sometimes it’s going to look like this, and unless you adjust they will have a very good shot of scoring on you.
Defensive Tip 3 – When To Jump
The game does reward you for actually jumping and this comes into play when you’re out of position chasing or push nearly under the rim. The two things you must always avoid when jumping: to block jumping too soon like a rookie which is a temptation for many and fouling like your pat bev. You can avoid jumping before they even attempt to shot or at the first sign of a pump fake by just staring at the player’s body which you should buy NBA 2K22 MT, so you have a cue to go off of instead of what you expect to happen. Because players know what the normal player will expect in certain situations and feed off of that. So let the block come to you by having them confirm through their body that they’re airborne, just because they lift first doesn’t mean you won’t get to the ball or affect the shot in time. Increasing your patience can expose players who solely are relying on you jumping early and you can force them into a terribly contested shot.
To further detail the times when you’re going to need to jump is again when you’re clearly beaten and when you’re pushed under the rim, because hands up defense won’t be able to help you consistently here. Not sure if you know this but there are two different types of block attempts that you’re going to have to have at your disposal
When you’re beat, you’re going to want to be aggressive with your block attempt which you can do by holding the right trigger and then triangle or Y on your controller to increase your chances of blocking the shot. But you’re also more likely to completely remove yourself from the play, if you miss. You hope to not be in this situation often, but when it does occur, you want to do anything possible to prevent that guaranteed two points.
Then there’s the opportunity when you’re pushed nearly under the rim which is bad news for you, you’re going to want to simply hold the Y or triangle button to lessen the chance of filing and more, so you do it to affect the shot then block it and get the ball handler in the red.
Defensive Tip 4 – First Player Back
Another way to improve the interior defense is getting the right players in position to do so. A lot of the times when you miss a shot and a fast break starts your two big men who 99.99% of the time or your best interior defenders are usually the last people up the court, because of their position that previously on offense. So another way to boost your interior defense and this is talking more so for modes when you’re playing with regular players, what can apply to others is altering the positioning of some of your players that makes sense, like running plays or freelances where your best big defender is stationed around the wing or at the top of the key instead of in the corner. So if you somehow miss a shot guess who’s the first player back ready to defend any immediate threats instead of your 6-3 point guard.
Defensive Tip 5 – Post Steals
Lastly now if you want to cause more havoc in the post, you can generate steel opportunities in the post when the player goes to attack, by simply hitting X or square on your controller. Whether it’s from a regular match-up or a mismatch hitting the steel button once your opponent starts to attack is a good way to create turnovers for yourself. Now it won’t always work and you may leave yourself exposed to something easy, but you increase your chances of stopping them cold if you time you still attempt right when they show the ball.
