The first month of NBA basketball is coming to an end. There have been many NBA 2K11 roster updates so far but who are some players that need to get jacked up a little in the ratings department that have been missed? Eric Gordon has been dominating all season averaging 25 points and 5 assist while shooting a good field goal percentage. I would like to see him around an 85 overall especially when you consider some of the other players with higher ratings that are not playing half as good. The Hornets and Spurs which are the hottest surprise teams in the NBA early on. I would like to see them also get an overall team boost so they can compete with them other top teams online.

The official and probably only patch for NBA 2K11 has been released today for the XBOX 360 and PLAYSTATION 3. No word on when the patch for the PC will drop. So what are the 5 things you need to know about NBA 2K11.5 aka post patch.

1 – Dunking in traffic has been taken out of the game. No more exploiting right stick dunk animations such as the infamous spin dunk. Now you will see more layup animations which can be easily blocked or altered if your a good defensive player.

2 – Shooting is significantly more difficult. Perfect release in NBA 2K11 is vital to making jumpers and threes. Your margin for error on player release points has been reduced. It will take lots of practice to get down the new release points.

3 – Cherry picking is still in the game but is not nearly as effective. Full court passes, once caught are now bobbled quite a bit allowing the defense to get back into position in time to prevent easy fast break dunks. Also many times a cherry picker will bobbled the long pass out of bounds resulting in a turn over.

4 – Rebounding is now a factor. Before the patch even the worst rebounding teams in the NBA could look like Dwight Howard. Now poor rebounding teams in NBA 2K11 will really feel it. I think this was fixed due to correcting player box out animations.

5 – Many little things have been fixed like players being able to come back into the game after fouling out have been fixed. The game is pretty polished now for better or for worse. What are some of your thoughts on NBA 2K11 post patch?

I think this is one of the best lineups in the game inside and out defensively and offensively. PG – Westbrook, SG – Harden, SF – Green, PF – Durant, and C – Ibaka. The thunder have always had one problem in NBA 2K games, that is paint defense. This lineup with Durant at the PF spot with his height (updated to 6ft10) and defensive awareness gives you a nasty paint protecting presence with the help of Ibaka who is a great shot blocker. Durant can also rebound the ball well and you will be surprised at how good of a shot blocker he is because of his great defensive awareness, height, and athleticism. You don’t want Green at the PF because he is pretty short, not a good rebounder, and is much better suited guarding other SF’s out on the perimeter. Offensively Durant will really stretch things out and will be a constant mis match for opposing PF’s to guard him because of his speed and well you know – his beastliness. Take advantage of this mis match by running alot of quick isolation with Durant starting at the top of the key, it will be easy blowing past PF’s that are not half as quick as him. Also because of Durant’s speed look for him on the fast break. Lead passing to him anywhere is dominate because of his 99 offensive awareness and Westbrooks high awareness and passing ability. Also if your looking to stretch out the defense even more you can bring Krstic in at the center position. Now all 5 guys on the court can hit the mid range shot. So go try this Thunder lineup (basically putting Durant at the PF and Green at the SF.) And check out some Kevin Durant NBA 2K11 highlights, dropping 36 points in a ranked match half.