NBA 2K15 Utah Jazz wishlist

Like most of the 14 to 44 age group, I enjoy me some video games. One of the game types I really enjoy are sports games, specifically basketball. I've been buying them consistently yearly since the NBA Live '95 days, but was raised on the Lakers vs. Celtics IBM game that came on two 5 1/4" discs ('88 roster, teams were Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Seattle Super Sonics, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, and both All-Star teams, included NBA playoffs from 2nd round onwards).

This is what fun used to look and sound like. Also Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was O.P. like crazy in this game.

I spent hours and hours playing TECMO NBA Basketball on the NES 8-Bit system (early '92 roster, all teams, full season, full playoffs).

This game has super moves that everyone could do, depending on situation or skill.

More money than I care to admit went into arcade coin-ops like NBA Jam and then Run 'n Gun.

I do remember that the sequel had the best non-licensed version of Chris Morris ever for the "Salt Lake City" team.

And I can't tell you how many months of my life have been spent using the Utah Jazz to win the title over and over again, since I was a teen. But today, despite EA's best offerings, the only 'real' game in town is 2K Games' NBA 2K series.

Seriously, if Dante Exum is in your promo-vids, you've got my attention.

Yeah, I've been playing these games since the old Atari basketball cartridge, and technology has made countless quantum leaps since then. But things aren't perfect, specifically for a fan of an un-cool / small market team like the Utah Jazz. It doesn't help that the people who make this game, ostensibly the only game in town, seem to be biased against the Jazz too. (*cough* 1992 version of Karl Malone can't dunk, and is balding. *cough*)

Anyway, here's a short list of things I'd love to see (or alternatively not see) in the next version of the game -- that they know I'm going to buy anyway . . .

• Real face for Ian Clark please? Even Rudy Gobert made fun of him for this. In NBA 2K14 Ian Clark (even after all official roster updates) has the player face of Maccabi Tel Aviv center Shawn James (of Duquesne). Ian Clark is not even in the base game before updates, despite lighting the NBA Summer League on fire months before the game was released.
• Also, real EnergySolutions Arena please? The guys at 2K have the Jazz playing under the old Delta Center Jumbotron (built in 1991), and not the massive $15 million HD masterpiece they currently have and played under all LAST season (renovation in 2013).
• Faster release point for Trey Burke -- who made game winners in the real NBA last year, but needs to be absolutely open in the game to make sure his shot doesn't get blocked by an AI controled defender's elbow (by mistake).
• A gold level player. Last season the Jazz were one of four NBA teams to not have one (including the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Orlando Magic -- AKA the teams fighting for a Top 3 lotto seed for most of the year). I think the fact that Gordon Hayward was one of the last cuts for the USA Basketball roster would suggest that he's at least in contention of being called one. Last year the Brooklyn Nets had 5, and even the awful New York Knicks had 2. If you don't like Hayward, well, Derrick Favors is at least as solid as, well, the Serge Ibaka, a gold level player.
  
• An Alec Burks that can a) make contact layups, b) avoid contact and make circus shot layups, and c) get to the line. If it's in the game, then it's in the game. Oh wait, that was EA Sports. My bad. Keep making him the lesser player than Brandon Rush. (I guess the Jazz radio and TV guys get their assessment of our players from 2K sports)
• Get the numbers right for our players, please. You know Rodney Hood is going to come out of the gate with a #6, even though he has the #5 right now.
• Less emphasis on filling out the full roster for European teams, better attention to detail for the actual NBA teams (not just Jazz related, but all over); including internally consistent ratings. Trevor Booker is a lot faster than DeMarcus Cousins, for example. Just go to DraftExpress.com and check out their combine scores. (N.B. Self realization moment here -- I know that I actually go to the combine yearly, and 2K sports does not. So maybe this is me being a jerk...) But if *I* can find accurate info, why can't people who are paid to make an accurate game do the same? And no, Al Jefferson isn't a better paint defender than Derrick Favors. If you don't think so we can test for this with the control group of the San Antonio Spurs and re-watch the first round of the 2012 playoffs again.
• If they are going to continue putting in the legends teams, can we please have Bryon Russell for the Jazz finals years? He played the 2nd most playoff minutes for the Jazz during their two finals trips. He was a pretty solid three point option for a team that did not have many, and was the three and d prototype before that was a thing. (I can almost forgive the yearly slights to John Stockton 's sub-80 overall rating, because you have to be good to use him.)
  

I could go on and on, but I will leave some of that up to the commenters. 2K has my money already (I spent four digits on those card packs for MyTeam the last year). But let's make the game a little more a) accurate for all teams, and b) try not to fully piss off small market fans. The Jazz won 25 games last year. I know. Bad team. Unpopular. And in a small market. This season with all the youth, a new coach, and hopefully improved players -- a more fun team to watch in real life -- AND USE ONLINE with.

And, really, if you are only going to watch one of these videos, watch this one. Watch all of this one. You may need to save your spot and watch it quarter by quarter. It's an English guy and his dad discovering NBA 2K14 -- and basketball -- through a preseason game between the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat. I love how they discover that some shots are worth three points in the fourth quarter. Moreover, their strategies are hilarious. If you are a Kyle Korver fan you'll want to watch this as he is integral to the dad's strategy down the stretch.

Please note that there are curse words in this, and it's NSFW because of, well, just their reactions to in-game events. It is -- still -- the best video you'll see all day. And it's one of the most exciting games of basketball ever, it goes down to the wire, and in August, if you are a hoophead, you'll take what you can get.

Please watch that vid. It's hilarious. And please, 2K Games/2K Sports, let's not take a dump on the Jazz every year.