| when i miss layups it seems I shot it with a player that was not a good finisher and there was some defensive presence hindering the shot.
This is huge in the game. Know your personnel. If a person's rating in a category is 78 or below, then I'm hesitant to use him in that regard (lay up, 3-pt, etc)...yeah, he may get hot...or even sometimes have a career night, but chances are..more often than not he's gonna blow it.
If there is a solid defender (def awareness 80+, post D/on-ball D-80+) on a scorer, he can wreak havoc on the ballhandler. Just his presence alone, jumping with a shooter will disrupt the shot, cause a missed lay-up...just screw up the offense.
I've learned not to get discouraged if l fall behind. You can usually come back if you constantly disrupt the offense, they will start trickin' the ball off and throwing it away...allowing for a comeback if you play smart basketball. | 
