The NBA Playoffs get underway today. The NHL's postseason has been in session since Wednesday. If you want to cut to the chase and find out who wins the whole damn thing, or maybe get a little action on either, console sports' leading simulations have you covered.
Note: If you actually place real money wagers on sports because of video game outcomes, seek professional help. Betting, particularly money-line betting on a future outcome, is an activity known to the state of California to cause regret and sadness.
NBA 2K17 checked in with its postseason simulation and man is it bo-ring: Golden State versus Cleveland for the third straight year. This time the Warriors Do Not Blow a 3-1 Lead and instead prevail in a seven-game series 4-3.
More interesting is how everyone gets there: NBA 2K17 says all seeds 5 and lower lose in the first round of both conference playoffs. Tird-seed Houston nips San Antonio 4 games to 3 in the Western Conference semifinals before getting summarily crushed 4-1 by the Warriors in the conference final. In the Eastern Conference bracket, Washington upsets Boston in the semifinals, only to be picked off by Cleveland in seven games (sorry, Ted Leonsis).
In the NHL, the Nashville Predators prevail in seven games over The Montréal Canadiens, says EA Sports. This result seems ... manipulated ... as it would mean the ultimate revenge match for P.K. Subban, the Canadiens' star traded in an absolute stunner of a deal last June. Subban, in his first game in Montréal since the trade, was welcomed back with an emotional tribute video and the wailing of an adoring crowd. This prediction is a little too storybook for my tastes, but whatever.
Again, the real fun is in seeing how the simulation says everyone gets there. Nashville, a wild-card entry, is an upset winner the whole way through its half of the bracket. In the Eastern Conference. The Washington Capitals make the conference finals, only to be picked off by Les Habitants (that's French for "Canadians"*) in seven games (sorry, Ted Leonsis).
If you're wondering about video games' track records calling such things, Madden NFL 17 got Super Bowl 51 right, but not the overtime part. NHL 16 whiffed badly when it called for Anaheim (that's French for "Mighty Ducks"**) to win the 2016 Stanley Cup, while NBA 2K16 got the Finals participants right (Warriors and Cavaliers) but the winner wrong.
* No it’s not.
** No it’s not.