Miami Heat Check Gaming Center HotShot wins Player of the Week

Miami Heat Check Gaming’s Hotshot was named Player of the Week for week 5. Here’s how it went down, and why it’s such a big deal.

This past Tuesday, Miami Heat Check’s own HotShot was awarded the Intel Gaming Player of the Week for week five of the regular season. Averaging 15 points, 14.5 rebounds and nine assists, the 2018 seventh overall pick showed out in both games last week against Cavs Legion GC and Pacers Gaming.

Not only did the Miami Heat Check center score thirty points last week, but he also did it in an exceptionally efficiently manner, only missing three shots all week. Shooting 82-percent isn’t easy, especially on a pure glass cleaner archetype. Along with his player build selection, the level of difficulty is also compounded by how many teams have a pure lockdown defender build patrolling the passing lanes.

For some teams, it stops them in their tracks. For teams like Heat Check, it’s a nuisance, but that’s not going to prevent them from getting the ball to an MVP finalist from last season.

Yes, yes. NBA players like Andre Drummond and DeAndre Jordan have high field goal percentages. What else is new?

Typically when it comes to star big men, the field goal percentage section of the box score is often a misleading indication of the player’s shooting touch because they get to the charity stripe and can’t seem to get the job done. This is not the case for HotShot as he’s shooting nearly 82-percent from the line this season.

This past week, HotShot has been the poster child of Pat Riley’s “nothing Inside” mantra from his New York Knicks days. On his way to player of the week, he led the team in total blocked shots (4) and steals (9) while even surpassing Lotty, who is tied for second in the league in steals at three per game.

Two critical traits necessary for any big man in NBA 2K is knowing what type of shots the game will allow you to make even if you see NBA players do it. This holds true for layups and dunks (assisted or not) as well as shots that utilize the Putback King badge. I’ve played as a big for multiple consumer versions of the game and have seen it carry over to the league build.

Regardless of what level of Putback King you have, if you’re not a post scoring build, putting a shot up immediately after an offensive rebound is a death sentence. They’re usually contested by the opposing center, which on the consumer version results in a torturously long animation where you’re stuck watching the ball roll around the rim knowing it’s going to roll off.

In that instance, if you don’t get the rebound your possession ends, and you try your best to get back on defense. In the league, the penalty for such a shot even with the Hall of Fame version of Putback King will often result in you being swatted at the rim, which has a whole other set of consequences. Not only do you miss the shot but you also get penalized for being blocked, while the opponent gets rewarded and the fast break starts.

Once the break successfully starts, your teammates are even forced to foul or in the worst case for the player that got blocked, you may “allow score off turnover.” All of these things negatively affect your teammate grade/takeover meter (think on fire in NBA Jam). Too many negative actions in a short span will give you a cold ring next to your player, which reduces key stats and leaves you vulnerable to more mistakes.

HotShot is very good about not forcing shots, and it shows. When presented with the option of a tough and contested shot he will look to pass to the open man. This typically results in a made basket for Miami Heat Check since they make sure not to get stuck standing around ball watching.

HotShot was able to take advantage of this during his campaign last week to the tune of eighteen total assists over two games and in case you hadn’t guessed it, that was also a team high. This may be an unpopular opinion, but his game at the center position reminds me of a younger Andrew Bogut. A defensive specialist with great passing vision and a high basketball IQ, who also has a set of go-to moves and counter moves as to not be a liability with the ball in his hands.

Head Coach Derric YouFamousEnough Franklin may have stumbled upon One Man Army 2.0 with the trade for Hood. This allows HotShot to be surrounded by scorers, which he can dime up at will.

Keeping his assist numbers high will keep the team humming along smoothly and will prove to be the key to major moral and on-court success. Let’s see if he can do it again this week against Celtics Crossover Gaming and 76ers GC.