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Showing posts with the label NBA Finals

NBA Matchup #3: 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers vs. 2012-13 Miami Heat

Kobe Bryant retired on top, scoring 60 points in his final game . Bryant will go down in history as one of the best scorers of all time, and one of the best players of all time in general. Some say he is the greatest basketball player since Michael Jordan, and the proof is obviously there: 5 NBA Championships, 18 All-Star selections, and 1 MVP award. The only other player who can even touch his legacy as the greatest player of the 21st century is, of course, LeBron James. James is also one of the greatest to play the game, accumulating a variety of accolades, most notably: 3 NBA Championships, 3 NBA Finals MVP Awards, and 4 MVP awards. LeBron has said he is aiming to be better than Jordan , and establish himself as the greatest player of all time. So which of these future Hall-of-Famers is truly going to go down as the best player to step foot on a basketball court since Michael Jordan? Let's settle it by having them play each other in a 7 game series, simulated using WhatIfSpo...

NBA Matchup #2: 2012-13 Miami Heat vs. 2016-17 Golden State Warriors

With the addition of Kevin Durant, the Warriors have become a "superteam." They've created one of the best lineups in NBA history, with arguably the two best shooters of all time in the backcourt, a superstar in Kevin Durant at small, and Draymond Green, the triple-double machine, at power forward. Thinking of past superteams, I think of LeBron James and the 2012-13 Miami Heat. Not only was their roster headed by one of the greatest NBA players of all time, they added a superstar Dwyane Wade, as well as the talented Chris Bosh. Not only that, they had Ray Allen coming off the bench, who is also one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. So which superteam wins? The one with potentially the best scoring lineup in NBA history, or the one headed by one of the greatest players of all time, backed up by a strong bench? Let's find out. We will be using  WhatIfSports's NBA SimMatchup Basketball Tool , which allows us to simulate games between NBA teams, also prov...

NBA Matchup #1: 2016-17 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors

On June 19th, 2016, history was made. The team with the best regular season record in NBA history lost in the NBA Finals at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, since that day, a lot has changed. Both teams have made moves in the offseason, with the most notable move being the Warriors acquiring superstar Kevin Durant, making them better than ever. If the Warriors and Cavaliers square off in the NBA Finals in 2017, can LeBron James still pull off a victory against Durant and the Warriors? Let's find out. We will be using WhatIfSport's NBA SimMatchup Basketball Tool , which allows us to simulate games between NBA teams. We will simulate a best of 7 series between the Warriors and Cavaliers. I have updated both teams' rosters to resemble their 2016-17 season rosters. Note: This simulation is the outcome projected by the NBA SimMatchup Tool, not my predicted outcome. Game 1 (Oracle Arena) The first game takes place in the Warriors' home ...