Offense
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| Pick & Roll (D-pad Down) Like in most basketball games, this will be your bread and butter play for the majority of your trips down court. The difference in NBA 08 is that the primary threat comes from the spot up shooting off of this pick. The relative ease at which you can hit open jumpers coupled with the defenses’ uncanny ability to intercept passes make the entry pass an unnecessary risk. This play isn’t as effective against human opponents but should still distract your opponent long enough to hoist up a shot or blow past him to the rim. |
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 | Isolation (D-pad Left) This adjustment will clear one half of the court allowing the ball carrier more room to break down his defender. Effective against computer opponents as contortion of right analog and six-axis will eventually blow by any defender. This play is less effective against human opponents only because most will double team the ball carrier immediately. Because the remaining players are crammed onto one half of the court, the remaining three defenders do an adequate job of cutting off passing angles. |
Post Position (D-pad Up) This will direct one of your teammates to get open in the low post or under the rim. This can involve coming off a pick set by one of your other teammates or even just a quick slash to the paint in hopes of getting solid positioning. Although this can be a viable source of points provided you have talented bigs, make sure you get some separation from the defender before hoisting up the shot. Blocks are very common and can quickly start the break the other way. |  |
 | Change Formation (D-pad Right) If you like playing basketball in its traditional sense with movement away from the ball and precision passing, you’ll appreciate this adjustment. Although not as robust as playcalling features in rival titles, the change formation adjustment finds a nice medium for those not interested in studying multiple play diagrams. The adjustment rotates between three different plays creating constant motion off the ball. This is actually very effective against overzealous human opponents who like to constantly apply double teams. |
Defense | |
Intentional Foul (D-pad Down) Nothing complicated here – it does just what it says. The closest defender will immediately wrap up the ball-carrier, hopefully prior to him from putting up a shot. Obviously you will want to reserve this for bigs who have gotten too close to the rim and/or are poor free throw shooters. While it won’t always work, the intentional foul can also be used to grab players from behind when a fast break dunk is eminent. |  |
 | Tight Defense (D-pad Left) This adjustment will direct your teammates to close the distance on their man and prepare to challenge any jump shots. The supposed penalty of this is that it will be easier for your opponent to drive past his man toward the rim. In actuality however, close-proximity defender will usually get the “body-to-body” animation on most drives. As a result, this adjustment will rarely hurt you and could help generate additional blocks from your teammates. |
Double Team the Ball (D-pad Up) The double team adjustment can be very effective in forcing turnovers and getting the ball out of the hands of your opponent’s greatest scorers. The adjustment directs your nearest teammate to leave his man and provide help on the ball handler. Although this will leave a man undefended, frenzied defenses that can rotate quickly can limit this damage, especially if the ball handler is in the corner (since you can sag off weak-side threats). Typically you will want to reserve this adjustment for when you are behind and need a turnover or to force your opponent to pass. |  |
 | Double Team the Post (D-pad Right) This adjustment will direct one of your teammates into the paint to clog passing lanes inside and/or get in prime rebounding position. There will rarely be an instance in which you will want to bring this additional defender down to double a player without the ball since it will leave you defense vulnerable from outside. Use this adjustment with caution. |
