First and foremost, I never have to worry about accidentally throwing a shot up when I am trying to make a dribble move. Pulling directly back to the analog stick and holding it there'll lead to a shooter, while any flicks or alternative faster motions will end in MT 2K21 a dribbling move. The new shot meter opens up the right-stick to be used completely for dribbling moves, which includes the capacity to size-up or use escape dribbles. Everything feels a lot cleaner, which is a great change to get a series where things were starting to feel too cluttered to control.
The shot-stick mechanic also feels like a direct answer to problems with latency online. Even though the demo doesn't feature the capability to play online games, it's easy to find a future where most online players will use the targeted shot meter instead of the old timed meter (that is still accessible via the X or square button). Rather than trying to figure how much latency there'll be with every jump shot, it ought to be a lot more efficient to pull back on the Buy NBA 2K21 MT analog stick and aim the shot rather.