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With the season opening for the Los Angeles Lakers in a handful of hours, the 2K Sports team (developers of the wildly fun NBA 2K series. Will gladly play a game of 2K via Xbox) went ahead and did what everyone, everywhere, has been doing - they put up their predictions. However, they actually simulated a season of NBA 2K and compiled a very nice season preview post over on their Facebook page. To kick things out, over the full 82 game season, this is how the standings wound up.
Conference Standings
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers 62-20
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 61-21
3. San Antonio Spurs 57-25
4. Los Angeles Clippers 53-29
5. Denver Nuggets 50-32
6. Memphis Grizzlies 47-35
7. Golden State Warriors 44-38
8. Minnesota Timberwolves 43-39
Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat 62-20
2. Indiana Pacers 52-30
3. New York Knicks 48-34
4. Boston Celtics 46-36
5. Chicago Bulls 45-37
6. Brooklyn Nets 41-41
7. Milwaukee Bucks 39-43
8. Philadelphia 76ers 38-44
Yep, 62 wins for the Los Angeles Lakers, tied for league best with the Miami Heat, and just barely edging out the Oklahoma City Thunder. Other interesting notes, the Golden State Warriors managed to squeeze into the playoffs at the 7 seed, just above the Minnesota Timberwolves. Surprisingly absent from the Western Conference playoffs? The Dallas Mavericks. Out east, the Milwaukee Bucks make a playoff appearance, a game ahead of the Andrew Bynum led 76ers.
Once the smoke settled, the NBA Finals were finally aligned. And yes, you guessed it, it was a Lakers-Heat battle of the #1 seeds. Who won the title in the end?
This set up the NBA Finals match-up that many fans around the world wanted: Lakers vs. Heat, with Kobe and LeBron squaring off for the first time in an NBA Finals. Based on their two head-to-head wins in the regular season, Los Angeles had home court advantage in the series despite identical 62-20 records. But that advantage was short-lived, as the Heat stole game one at Staples Center, and led the series 3-2 after taking two of three in Miami. But much like the 2010 Finals, the Lakers were able to make good on their home court advantage and took the series in seven. Kobe Bryant's game-high 28 points were enough to win him a sixth title and bring the Lakers their 17th NBA championship.
Looks good to me. Interestingly enough, both Ben Rosales and Wondahbap predicted the Lakers to win 62 games, and beat the Heat in the NBA Finals, but in six games. Make sure to check out our full season predictions roundup over here.