We continue our Miami Heat NBA 2K20 simulation series with a preview of Monday night’s game versus the visiting Orlando Magic. What does NBA 2K have to say?
The Miami Heat weren’t able to pull out their 21st home win of the season against the battered Los Angeles Clippers, but they get another shot this Monday night against the Orlando Magic. A loss to the Heat would put Orlando within a half-game of the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets and ever so closer to a guaranteed first-round exit come playoff time. That eighth seed is not anywhere any team in the league wants to be with the powerhouse Milwaukee Bucks waiting for them.
Headed into Monday night’s action, the injury report is murky at best. Sun-Sentinel beat writer Ira Winderman reports that big guns Jimmy Butler, Kendrick Nunn, and Goran Dragic are listed as questionable. That same injury report also lists Bam Adebayo as probable.
Heat injury report for Monday against visiting Orlando: pic.twitter.com/ERyL24PPCM
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) January 26, 2020
Although Jimmy Butler’s status for the next game is in question, he’s been quoted saying he plans to play. He knows the trouble the Heat has had against the Orlando Magic and seems to take this in-state rival seriously. He may not confirm this, but I’m sure he watched last season from afar as Miami, his future team, missed the playoffs while going just 7-9 in the Southeast division and 1-3 against the Magic. That’s not going to happen on his watch if he can help it.
Jimmy Butler says he wants to play tomorrow - in part because of the state rivalry vs. Orlando.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 26, 2020
“I would think that they think they’re the best team in the state. We believe otherwise. We know otherwise,” Butler said.
I bumped up the Heat’s rotation to 11 players by adding Dion Waiters and continued to distribute the minutes to mirror the action each player saw in Friday night’s loss to the Clippers. Afterward, I headed over to the coaching tab and moved up Coach Spoelstra’s run zone tendency from 5-percent to 50-percent. While on this pane, I finally decided to change more of the coaching tendencies. I designated the team’s top three scoring options to be Kendrick Nunn, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo in that order. I also changed Bam Adebayo’s secondary position to power forward since Meyers Leonard‘s positions look that way. Lastly, I edited Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo’s vitals to allow them to initiate the offense.
NBA 2K20 had Head Coach Erik Spoelstra’s defensive rating an A while having his offensive rating at a D. I’ve put up with this for way too long, so I changed his defensive rating to a B-. I came about that rating by sorting all 30 NBA teams by points per game then divided 30 by the amount of letter grades that are available from F all the way up to A+ (13). This came out to about 2.3 teams being in each grade level with Miami hovering around a B to B-.
If you want to see the simulation for yourself, check out the latest video on my YouTube channel. There I’ll be showing you the adjustments I made.
Starting Lineup
Orlando Magic
Point guard, Markelle Fultz
Shooting guard, Evan Fournier
Small forward, Aaron Gordon
Power forward, Khem Birch
Center, Nikola Vucevic
Miami Heat
Point guard, Kendrick Nunn
Shooting guard, Duncan Robinson
Small forward, Jimmy Butler
Power forward, Bam Adebayo
Center, Meyers Leonard
Outcome
Orlando Magic 103, Miami Heat 131
Once again, the Heat started off slow, escaping the first quarter with a narrow 25-23 lead. The game got pretty out of hand in the second quarter when they started off with a 22-8 run en route to a 37 point second quarter. At the half, Miami held a commanding 62-44 lead but then had to attempt one of the hardest things in the NBA: Hold a lead.
Pausing the simulation at the halfway mark revealed something heat Nation might not be used to seeing. At this point, Miami had gone to the free-throw line 18 times with only one miss. Kendrick Nunn was 9-for-9 all by himself. Adebayo was doing Bam things pacing the team with 17 points and three successful trips to the charity stripe himself.
The third quarter provided another high octane performance, with both teams scoring 30 or more points. Essentially the Heat only gave up one point from their halftime lead, so there were no complaints to be had. Their job was done. When it came to winning time in American Airlines Arena, the Miami heat did not disappoint. With seven minutes reaming they delivered the killing blow on their way to a 17-4 run. The Magic were stunned and left in the dust. Game over.
Player stats
Orlando Magic
Aaron Gordon – 28 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Markelle Fultz – 22 points, 1 steal, 1 block
Evan Fournier – 14 points, 1 assist
Terrance Ross – 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist,
Mo Bamba – 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo – 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Kendrick Nunn – 24 points (13-14 FT), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal
Jimmy Butler – 17 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Tyler Herro – 13 points, 4 rebounds
Goran Dragic – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Honorable mention: Dion Waiters – 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Yes, we know what the injury report says, but perhaps Jimmy Butler’s drive to play plus the extra days rest that Goran Dragic and Kendrick Nunn have had are enough to overcome this division rival. If they’re not available to go, you’ll see the likes of Chris Silva, and Gabe Vincent as a part of his newly signed two-way contract.