Philadelphia 76ers: The rest of the 2019-20 season according to NBA 2K20
By Matt Plesco
2K’s playoff predictions
In short, strange.
Nine different teams hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy but only 10 teams competed for it. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers won the title six times each, the most of any team. Tied for the second-most championships were the 76ers, who won three, the same as Milwaukee and Toronto.
Milwaukee was the favorite in the East making the finals on 10 occasions but winning just three of them. The Sixers, on the other hand, made the finals four times and won three. In fact when the Bucks did not represent the East (15 times), the East’s win percentage climbed to 66 percent (10 championships).
The seeding in the Eastern Conference was quite similar — in 21 out of 25 simulations the seeding went as followed:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Toronto Raptors
- Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Indiana Pacers
- Brooklyn Nets
- Orlando Magic
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The only variations came when Philadelphia and Miami switched spots and when Orlando would take the 7th seed from Brooklyn. The Philadelphia Miami swap was usually facilitated by injury to key Heat players.
This top-to-bottom consistency was not the same in the Western Conference. The Lakers were the top seed and the Clippers were the two seed every time, and that was it. The Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Dallas Mavericks were fighting for positioning and every simulation saw a different order of the middle seeds. The eight-seed was won by the Memphis Grizzlies 15 times, nine belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers, and just once the Pelicans snuck in.