Tuesday night, the top two contenders for the NBA’s MVP award face each other in one of the best match-ups of the young season. Paul George’s Indiana Pacers will be playing host to Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, and the home team will have the unenviable task of trying to be the first team to beat the Dubs all season. But NBA 2K16 simulated the game, and they think the Pacers can pull it off.
Their sim predicts a 103-99 Pacers win, which would be the first time the Warriors would fail to crack 100 points all season. It’s not the craziest point to pick the end of the streak, considering it seems like it would require a superhuman effort to beat Golden State, and Paul George seems most superhuman of any non-Curry NBA player right now.
Still, though, it’s hard to pick the 12-7 Pacers to knock off the Warriors. We’re not saying they’ll go undefeated, but they’re playing so well, we’re deeply uncomfortable picking against them in any game. It helps that the Warriors are on the road, in an arena that will show out for the hometown team when things are going well (and they are). Frank Vogel is a heck of a coach, and the Pacers are shooting lights out right now. It’s enough to entertain the notion.
Personally, we’re hoping that the Warriors can keep the streak going until Christmas, when they’ll be facing LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a nationally televised NBA Finals rematch. The added weight of that win streak would make for an incredible atmosphere — and who knows, maybe the Cavs will be healthy for that game. Plus, the Warriors would be at 28-straight wins this season, and if you count the four games they won to finish the 2014-15 regular season, they’d be at 32 games-straight, one win away from matching the Lakers’ NBA record set in the 1971-72 season.
For now, the Pacers are all that matters, but it would be quite a Christmas gift for fans if they can remain undefeated until then.
