NBA 2K17 Edition: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers have a storied rivalry, and even though the teams are in rebuilds, they still make a great match up on NBA 2K17.

This is article number two of the 29-part article series covering Philadelphia 76ers and their match ups in NBA 2K17. In the previous article where I covered the Sixers match up against the Brooklyn Nets I established some ground rules and guidelines that I went by. There is one amendment to those guidelines now, difficulty level is being played at All-Star now in order to make the game play more realistic.

Final Score and Team Comparison

It ended up being a close match up with the Sixers winning 128-120. The largest lead the Sixers had was 22 points, but they were unable to keep the lead that high. The Philadelphia 76ers led in the follow categories — 56 percent field goal percentage, 37 percent 3-point percentage, 66 points in the paint, 52 bench points, 57 defensive and 68 overall rebounds, and 5 blocks.

The Lakers made more — 114 attempts and 49 made field goals, as well as 23 fast break points, 10 second chance points, 33 assists, 13 offensive rebounds, 19 steals, only 10 turnovers, 33 points off of Sixers turnovers, and 25 minutes of time of possession.

The Sixers had a turnover problem in this game, primarily having to do with Sergio Rodriguez. Rodriguez had 8 of those turnovers. The Sixers would have had a wider margin of victory if the turnovers were kept down. Some of those were on my game play as well. The Sixers could be in trouble in real life if they can not become more careful with their ball control.

Player of the Game

This reward was given to Jahlil Okafor because of his late game heroics scoring consistently in the fourth quarter. He ended the game with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, and a plus/minus of 18. Okafor shot perfectly from the field and made 10 of his 14 free throw attempts. He did all this in 22 minutes on the floor.

Okafor was plagued with foul trouble through the first three quarters, he had 5 fouls in the before he was benched in the third quarter. This is a positive that even if Okafor has limited minutes he could still be an offensive juggernaut. This will give head coach Brett Brown line up options.

Statistically, it could be argued that Ben Simmons was just as deserving of player of the game nomination. He had 18 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers, and had a +/- of 13. Simmons shot an amazing 7-11 from the field, but did not make either 3-point shot he attempted and shot below 50 percent from the foul line. Simmons had a hot start in the beginning of the game but cooled off as the game went on. He still almost had a triple-double and had the teams only double-double. Simmons will probably have 3-point ant turnover problems as a rookie but poor free throw shooting is a bigger concern. He will be going to the line a lot during the season and if NBA 2K17 is any indication of his play this does not bod well for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Notable Players

Joel Embiid went down with an ankle injury in the beginning of the 4th quarter. It was nothing to worry long term, but he was out for the rest of the game after only playing 16 minutes. Before he bowed out, Embiid had 12 points, 7 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover, and a +/- of 15. He shot effecently from the floor making 5 of his 7 shots, and made both of his free throws. Embiid’s performance was great no doubt about that, if a video game has a player getting injured. Embiid’s injury history has made his long-term play questionable and this defiantly doesn’t help cool those nerves.

Nerlens Noel logged twenty minutes in the contest. The foul trouble of Okafor and the injury of Embiid gave Noel room to be the only center on the floor for long spurts. He ended the game with, 9 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, and a plus/minus of -1.

He shot 3 of 4 from both the field and foul line. Noel is the only center to come out of this game with a negative plus/minus. Noel had an efficient night overall besides the 3 turnovers, so why the bad net rating? Part of it could have been due to which lineups where on the floor. Still, Noel might be the weakest of the three centers if the NBA 2K stats hold true.

Trends & Game Play

Versus the previous installments of the game, NBA 2K17 has made it easier for players to foul jump shooters. Dario Saric did have a better outing against the Lakers than he did when the Sixers played the Nets. Saric ended with contest with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, and a net score of -13. He shot a dismal 33 percent from the floor including the 3-point.  Saric is not valued in the NBA 2K17 world and fans can only hope the game is wrong.

• Statistical Highs
  • Points: Okafor, 26
  • Rebounds: Simmons, 13
  • Assist: Simmons, 9
  • Steals: Noel, 3
  • Blocks: Five player tie, 1
  • Turnovers: Rodriguez, 8
  • 3-Pointers Made: Robert Covington, 4
  • Plus/Minus: Okafor, 18

Surprise Player Of The Game

There was no player that jumped outside of their role to contribute more to the teams win. Robert Covington did have a very good game for the Sixers, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assist, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and a +/- of 14.  He actually left with an injury right after he high a clutch 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and still came back to play a few minutes later.

Must Read: Top 20 Sixers Performances

Lakers Analysis

Despite that it was a simulation the young Lakers rallied and made a strong push for a failed comeback. Lead by D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov with 19 points each. Mozgov looked like 2015 Finals version of himself, also adding 12 rebounds before fouling out. Russell also had 14 assist. The Lakers lost, because of a lack of defense not because of their offensive numbers.

NBA 2K17 did have Julius Randle play small ball center at times which is interesting to say the least. Lakers could use that lineup with Larry Nance Jr. at power forward, Brandon Ingram and small forward, Jordan Clarkson at shooting guards, and Russell at the point. Head coach Luke Walton could have this Hollywood small-ball lineup be scary. It would not be surprising if all the pieces are in place at the beginning of the season that the Lakers could be competing for the 8th seed in the West come playoff time.

Next: Brett Brown Will be Asking Jahlil Okafor to Take More Jump Shots

The next match up on NBA 2K17 will the Phoenix Suns vs. Philadelphia 76ers. Stay tuned for other future analysis and match-ups.