I played my best game of 2K last night.
I’m still replaying the game in my head with a goofy smile on my face. I didn’t get caught up shooting threes. I didn’t try to score repeatedly with the same player. I wasn’t turning the ball over trying to break my defender’s ankles. I found the open man time and time again. I took high percentage shots and dominated with the points in the paint. I swung the ball from player to the player; the ball never staying in one place too long. When a three pointer was there, I took it. Sometimes, I found myself pump faking and heading to the hoop, which would leave the lane open for a teammate. I used my big men to establish myself in the post and I scored much needed hoops when I had to. I got out to an early lead and never looked back, even when my 10 point 2nd quarter lead became a 1 point deficit in the 3rd quarter. My defense was the best I ever played. I finally managed to stay on top of that 7 foot wunderkind and caused him to miss more threes than he made. I did let that triple doubling point guard score but I was still able to contain him when I needed to. So many loose balls came back to us on the defensive end, leading to crucial, momentum changing fast breaks. Shots were being blocked and corralled, then passed safely into my point guard’s hands. The offensive rebounds were uncanny, as I got two and three shots in one possession several times. Every time I was close to turning the ball over, a steady pair of hands swept in and kept the ball where it belonged. The rotation and timeouts were perfect; every player slipped into their roles like a pair of brand new leather gloves. I couldn’t ask for more. And I won. Winning eluded me the night before in a pair of games where I got in my head and did everything wrong, losing both by a few points. Last night, I won by double digits against one of the best teams in the game. It felt effortless. It felt great. It was truly my best game of 2K since I had NBA 2K7. I had traded for Baron Davis and some other player who I can’t think of and I was able to win the NBA Championship. That was the last time the games went so well. It was awesome to be able to get back to that. Now I fear I may have peaked. I may never have a game of 2K that good again. Or maybe this is a new beginning for me with the 2K series. Either way, I took a moment in game last night to say, “I love 2K.” Really, I was saying I love basketball. With my diminished skills on a real court, this is as close as I can get lately.
But dat game doe…