It's easy to get vc of you use the app to get that free vc and play on at least superstar. That app gets you a large amount though, I know it did last year30k barely gets you to 70, and each upgrade only gets more expensive as you progress. They dead force you to buy VC otherwise it'll take forever to get your guys stats up, especially if you spend on Myteam and MyGM
I've found that in some occasions I split defenders with ease (I crossed Up Kawhi with Kyrie just off a basic crossover) and other times I get locked down with a starter by some 70 bench player. The game attempts to be realistic by being unpredictable and inconsistent but you have to at least reward players for making the right moves, instead you brick open j's and stepbacks and lose on fastbreaks if there's even 1 defender in front of you.