Using NBA 2K20 to predict the Miami Heat vs the Memphis Grizzlies

Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies in action against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. (Photo by Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images)
Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies in action against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. (Photo by Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images) /
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In order to predict how the Miami Heat game against the Memphis Grizzlies will go, we’ll use NBA 2K20’s simulation powers to look into the future.

In our ongoing NBA 2K20 prediction series, we’re going to take a look into the future using the newest iteration of NBA 2K in order to divine how the Miami Heat will fare on Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Our inaugural edition got off to a great start, picking the Heat to beat the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night. NBA 2K predicted a 119-110 victory for the Heat, and they did indeed win a high-scoring 122-118 affair.

We’ll get to the results in a minute, but first the ground rules (which we must have when dealing with advanced artificial intelligence such as NBA 2K20) surrounding the Heat rotation.

I edited the rotation so it matched the minutes played up and down the roster in the Heat’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. While recency is generally best when trying to match simulation rotations with the real world, overtime against the Mavs made that a fool’s errand.

No player ratings or tendencies were edited, distribution of minutes was the only thing touched, so let’s get to the lineup and how the game itself played out.

Starting lineup

Point guard, Kendrick Nunn

Shooting guard, Duncan Robinson

Small forward, Jimmy Butler

Power forward, Bam Adebayo

Center, Meyers Leonard

Outcome

Coming off two hard-fought games against the Lakers and Mavs, the Heat don’t have enough gas left in the tank to get by a feisty Grizzlies squad and get blown out on the road 129-108.

Counter to their early hot starts at home, the Heat get blasted 26-14 in the first quarter and chip their way back until things finally unravel in a 34-20 fourth quarter for the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies shoot them off the floor, hitting 55 percent of their field goal attempts and go 14-of-29 from 3-point range, good for 48 percent. On the other hand, the Heat shoot cold all game, hitting 39 percent of their field goals and go just 9-of-36 from 3-point range, a 25 percent clip.

Player stats

Memphis Grizzlies

Miami Heat

  • Kendrick Nunn – 20 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists, 5 steals
  • Duncan Robinson – 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
  • Jimmy Butler – 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks
  • Kelly Olynyk – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist
  • Bam Adebayo – 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
  • Tyler Herro – 11 points, 4 rebounds

Jimmy Butler taking Heat from gritty to enjoyable. dark. Next

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.