I always enjoyed the strategic play of LIVE more than the arcady, more fast paced play of 2k.. however it seems that 2K is taking steps to mesh the two and are definatly taking steps in the right direction to making the most realistic hoops game.
I sincerely think you're getting 2k and Live confused. Live is clearly the arcade-like game, which is why I stopped playing it after 2004.
Also, for the people who said that 2k6 was better than 2k7... you guys must still have current-gen systems. On XBOX 360, which I have, NBA 2k7 was the best game I've ever played, and it blew 2k6 out of the water.