Using NBA2K20 to predict the Miami Heat vs Dallas Mavericks

In order to predict how the Miami Heat game against the Dallas Mavericks goes, we’ll use NBA 2K20’s simulation powers to look into the future.

There are all sorts of ways to predict the future for the Miami Heat. Whether you use powerful projection services, some kind of advanced PIPM or RPM algorithm, sportsbooks or just plain old guess work, there’s no shortage. However, there remains one supreme source of clairvoyance: NBA 2K’s simulation feature.

That’s right, the all-powerful NBA 2K has never been wrong at predicting the future, especially for the Heat (click the link to see how it really dropped the ball on our season projections, but these exceptions must exist to prove the rule).

We’re going to use NBA 2K20 to predict how the Heat will perform against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night, coming off a tough loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

There are ground rules, as there must be when dealing with advanced artificial intelligence. For starters, I adjusted the starting lineup to match the lineup that began the game against the Lakers.

It looks like this:

Starting lineup

Point guard: Kendrick Nunn

Shooting guard: Duncan Robinson

Small forward: Jimmy Butler

Power forward: Bam Adebayo

Center: Meyers Leonard

I adjusted minutes as closely as possible to match those played in the Lakers game, and I took the excess minutes from players like Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow and James Johnson and distributed them among the main rotation.

Outcome

The Miami Heat pull off a tough road upset on the back end of a home-road back-to-back with a 119-110 record. They continue their strong first quarter and first half play, winning the first quarter 27-21 and first half 55-41 before holding off a Maverick rally.

The Heat win the fast break competition by a landslide, outscoring the Mavs 20-6 on the break. They shot 48 percent from the floor and 38 percent from 3-point range, and the Mavs shot 45 percent from the floor and 38 percent from long range as well.

Miami went 24-of-28 from the free throw line while the Mavs went 18-of-20 from the stripe.

Player stats

Dallas Mavericks

• Luka Doncic – 19 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists
• Tim Hardaway Jr. – 23 points, 2 assists
• J.J. Barea – 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
• Boban Marjanovic – 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
• Kristaps Porzingis – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

Miami Heat

• Jimmy Butler – 26 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks
• Kelly Olynyk – 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
• Tyler Herro – 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
• Kendrick Nunn – 15 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists
• Bam Adebayo – 13 points, 14 rebounds
• Duncan Robinson – 12 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists

As the season goes on, we’ll check back regularly with NBA 2K20 to see just how trustworthy this oracle is on game day for the Miami Heat.