So i'm averaging C- during games, was lucky enough to get my contract extended another 10 days, sometimes i get it up to C+ but the penalties for letting a pass happen or a player gets past you are so severe they send you straight back down again, making shots and winning the game for the team don't count for much.

What can i do to increase my grade?
(i tried the Steam forums, but my post was quickly lost in all the angry people).

I'm not sure if it's the same as 2K14, which is the one I have, but I did terribly for the 1st half of my season.

I'd say play some exhibition games to get a lot of the controls down and what you should be doing on offense and defense. For me I didn't understand what I needed to be doing second to second. Eventually though I learned the basics of the game and got the controls down enough to slowly improve.

What position are you playing? An easy way to almost always make sure your offensive possession is positive is to set up picks every time. Off the ball defence is tough but don't forget you can use the d-up button when they don't have the ball.

Depending on your position there are things you can do. If you are a big man, always be looking to set a good screen. ON and OFF the ball. Also make sure you position for rebounds if you know a teammate is about to shoot. And use your post moves. Post moves give extra points for using them.

If you are a guard, look for the assist. Don't force shots. Pass the ball around. Also set screens on the wing for pick and pops. Don't spam the steal button. And for defense, don't use the turbo button or you will over shoot your mark and they will blow by you. Only use it if they get past you. Also come up on them a lot. And use the left trigger to make contact. Try and force the pick up. This can lead to points for forcing the pickup and cause them to make bad passes your teammates can pick off, which can lead to fast breaks. All giving you points.

Also remember to not be a ball hog. Play good team ball. You get bonuses for this. Making sure you are in good position all the time will constantly give you the good spacing points. Meaning don't run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Don't try and occupy the same area as a teammate unless setting a pick. Look for space on the floor that is open. Look to run your defender into a teammate so he creates a pick.

As for shooting, practice practice practice. It took me a bit to get used to the new shot meter.

This is my first NBA game and i've never watched basketball so i've got that against me, but i feel like i've got the controls and mechanics down pretty well, just knowing where the game wants me to be seems to be the issue.

I know i'm not hogging the ball, i'm barely getting the ball, the Kings ai seems to do a lot of standing still doing nothing, i find space for a pass but they don't take me up on it even if i call for one, having a human in the team seems to break them giving the opposing computer team an advantage :P.

I'll keep going till i eventually get fired, my last two games ended with D grades so it won't be long, i am on rookie difficulty.

Edit: My position is PF, i assume that means tall guy in the middle.

As a PF don't call for the ball so much. It will start to make you lose points if you call for it too much. Post up and set picks a lot. Also from what you said above it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the basics of the sport more. Which will help you play the game better.

I play a PG, so my experience is very different, but I've found that I can rebound just fine without investing in the rebounding attribute. So you could try investing in inside scoring, where you can post up, or jump shooting, where you can hit some long 18 footers. I had a post up player in a previous 2k game, and even if I missed a shot, as long as I had the close spacing and timed the post fadeaway right, the game would say good shot.

I'm also on the Sacramento Kings and have found them to be pretty crappy teammates. They'll need way more space than necessary to shoot the open jump shot while the AI you play against will hit jumpers with a man right on them.

Just play some D. Set screens, rebound...What's worked for me is doing the less glamorous stuff. At least until I get the stats up to go beast mode.

I have figured it out!
Your grade goes up significantly if you pass the ball and collect rebounds, the very worst thing that can happen is letting the guy you're covering receive the ball and then letting him attempt to shoot, i still don't know how to really stop someone from doing that, at any point they seem to be able to just stick their arm out and catch any pass ever, i intercepted a pass once by hitting X (360 controller) but i'm not sure that's even what did it because it hasn't worked since. Nightmare scenario is when the opposing team shoots and misses, then catches the rebound and misses, then catches the rebound and scores, loses almost 2 grades having that happen.

On the bright side, the grade isn't everything, i had a good game scoring lots of points, assisting in baskets and collecting rebounds, i ended up with a C+ but instead of "poor" got "good", the team was stoked and i am now a lead player for the Kings for the rest of the season... doesn't stop me shouting when bad things happen though :P.

I have to say, that's my biggest issue with the NBA 2K games. They do nothing to teach you what you should be doing in games other than dock and award points in career mode. They need to step up their training mode. The current implementation feels a bit like getting thrown in a class-based multiplayer game with a leveled up character with no prior knowledge and the only coaching you get is some asshole yelling "PLAY YOUR CLASS!!" from the sidelines.

Luckily it doesn't take THAT many games to get a handle on it, but it'd be nice if they had some stuff in there to ease players new to the games into it better.