The 2017 NBA Finals tip off tomorrow, featuring the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will meet in the Finals for the third year in a row, a first in NBA history.
The Cavaliers are looking to win back-to-back titles after winning their first-ever NBA championship last year. The Warriors are aiming for their second title in three years under coach Steve Kerr, who remains sidelined due to illness.
Many see the Warriors going home with the championship trophy, avenging their epic collapse in last year's Finals where they lost a 3-1 series lead to the Cavaliers. You can add NBA 2K17 as one of the many who predicts that outcome.
According to a simulation by 2K Sports in NBA 2K17, the Warriors will beat the Cavaliers in seven games, with superstar Kevin Durant, who joined the Warriors in the off-season as a free agent, scoring 41 points in the decisive game seven.
The seven-game series was a back-and-forth, with the Cavaliers drawing first blood in game one and winning games three and six. The turning point came in game five in Golden State, where the Warriors pulled off a dominant 110-84 win to take a 3-2 series lead. Had they fallen to a 2-3 deficit, the Cavaliers might have finished them off in game six.
After a tough 111-89 game six loss in Cleveland that tied the series at 3-3, the Warriors put on a ridiculous offensive show in game seven, shooting a blistering 59 percent from three-point territory and 60 percent from the field overall. It ended with a 132-106 blowout win for the Warriors.
You can check out the full recap of the simulated series on Facebook.
Of course, predictions by even the most credible basketball experts don't always come true. A prime example of this was last year's Finals. After the 2016 Warriors went an NBA record 73-9 in the regular season, many predicted them to win back-to-back titles.
An epic LeBron James block and a cold-hearted three-pointer by Kyrie Irving in game seven prevented that from happening.
With a quartet of prime All-Stars in Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thomson, and Draymond Green leading the way for Golden State, the road to back-to-back titles will be an extremely tough one for Cleveland.
Will Cleveland's own trio of All-Stars in James, Irving, and Kevin Love be enough to stop the juggernaut that is the Warriors? Let's find out during the next few weeks. Game one kicks off tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC.