The AI is vastly smarter. NBA Live 2000 feels more like basketball this year. The star players in the league will be doing the majority of the scoring, not just when you simulate, but when you are playing the actual game. Try to force a dunk, you will likely get blocked or miss the dunk. Try to throw a long bomb down court, the chances of your player ending up with the ball are not good.
Direct pass is still in the game.
For those of you not familiar with the feature, it allows you to pass to a specific player by holding one button and pressing another button. Something new is the direct shoot feature. The premise is basically the same idea as the direct pass feature. The direct shoot allows players to force a dunk, hook shot, or a lay-up, although your player needs to be a certain distance from the hoop to be able to dunk. In other words, no, you can't dunk from the 3-point line.