Outside of a misstep in Game 3, our NBA 2K17 simulations of the Eastern Conference Finals have been spot on. And how was our NBA 2K17 computer supposed to know a bug was going around the Cavaliers that got to LeBron James? Computers can’t do everything, you know.
LeBron and the Cavs got back to business in Tuesday’s Game 4 win, so let’s hand the fate of the series back to NBA 2K17 and simulate Game 5 to see what happens. Does Kelly Olynyk and Boston have one last desperate performance at the Garden in them to extend this series to six? Or should Dick’s Sporting Goods go ahead and put all that championship merchandise back on sale?
You can see the full simulation over on our Facebook page if you want to see the whole thing. Now let’s see what the Celtics could muster in a must-win at home.
Al Horford had himself another game here, leading the way with 23 points. Avery Bradley added 17 and went 3 of 5 from three, much better than Boston’s simulated Game 4 effort. That might be enough to beat the Cavs if they put together another poor shooting effort. Let’s see how Cleveland did.
Check out the balance there—four players with 20-point efforts, and J.R. Smith with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. That’s a pretty impressive performance from your starters, which seems tough to beat if you ask me. LeBron had 22, 6 boards and seven assists, while Kevin Love put up a massive effort with 20 points and 19 freaking rebounds.
What a machine. If the Cavs win, he has to be in the consideration for this most outstanding player in the Eastern Conference Finals after it’s all said and done.
And they do win it! Cleveland are Eastern Conference Champions again, and they played like it in this one. It’s so tough to beat a Cavaliers team when all the pieces are working together. The final score doesn’t make it out to be the demolition Boston endured the last time they played at home, but the statistics in this one are pretty for Cleveland.
Cleveland had 21 second chance points, and many of those had to come inside. The rebound stats here really show it as much as the shooting breakdown.
Look at the efficiency inside for the Cavaliers. Domination once again. A sea of makes inside the paint for cleveland, despite the fact that they did not shoot particularly well from long range. So with that in mind, did Love win the MVP for the ECF?
Nope! It’s Tristan Thompson had a strong game inside, including 14 boards. The highlights show off a couple nice blocks for Mr. Khloe Kardashian as well, so congrats to him on the effort. Well deserved. Looks like our next simulation is indeed an NBA Finals showdown between Cleveland and Golden State. The grudge match is on.
