This weekend saw the start of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. This year’s playoffs is one that many see as a forgone conclusion where the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors will meet in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year, which has never happened in NBA history.
Every year, 2K puts out a playoff simulation using their NBA 2K franchise and this year, NBA 2K17 will predict the outcome of the 2017 NBA Championship. In recent years, 2K has been close, if not spot on, about their simulations. Given its track record, 2K will likely nail its prediction once again:
According to FiveThirtyEight, the Warriors have a 59 percent chance of winning the NBA Championship. Cleveland’s chances to repeat has shrunk down to just two percent after a dismal end to their regular season. The team that seems to be Golden State’s biggest competition is the San Antonio Spurs, which has a 13 percent chance of winning the title.
Here are the playoff brackets for the 2017 NBA Playoffs.
In the Eastern Conference, the matchups went to the higher seeds as number one seed Boston Celtics were pushed to seven games against eighth seed Chicago Bulls while the Toronto Raptors swept the Milwaukee Bucks (although in real-life, the Bucks upset Toronto in Game 1). The second round featured the Washington Wizards upsetting the Celtics while the Cavaliers defeated the Raptors once again in the playoffs in six games.
The Western Conference saw the Warriors sweep Portland, which was to be expected. The other series were more competitive as the Clippers outlasted the Jazz in seven games and Houston ran through Oklahoma City and probable NBA MVP Russell Westbrook in five games. The problem with the West is that no matter how much teams try, Golden State is the superior team, which is what the Clippers found out in the second round losing to the Warriors four games to one.
In the conference finals, Cleveland was pushed to the limit against Washington as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards in seven games. The series on paper should not have been as tough as it was, but some of the terrible regular season Cleveland play reared its head in the Eastern Conference finals. In the Western Conference, the Warriors dismantled the Rockets in five games as all the games in that series averaged between 120-130 points.
The NBA Finals are set as the Cavaliers and the Warriors will meet for the third consecutive year. Here is how 2K reported on how the series turned out.
“In the end, it would come down to Game 7 for a second straight year. SEVEN straight games of physicality. In the end however, there could only be one… and the Golden State Warriors inched past the Cavs in Game 7, fittingly, on their home court – which they failed to do a year ago.
The Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-3, earning redemption from a year ago.”
We have our results. What do you think? Let us know your NBA Playoff predictions in our comment section.
