[sendtonews_embed video_id=”OH1iLzHb9H-765630-7498″]
Anthony Davis scored a game-high 28 points, LeBron James had 15 points and 13 assists and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 118-116 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in a simulation of the playoffs.
Jrue Holiday led the eighth-seeded Pelicans with 21 points and 11 assists while No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson tallied 15 points and seven rebounds in Game 3 of a first-round simulation against the top-seeded Lakers.
With the season on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Strat-O-Matic, a gaming company, took the initiative to simulate the rest of the season and the first round of the playoffs. The Lakers have beat the Pelicans by an average of four points per game in the simulation.
A first-round matchup between the Lakers and Pelicans would have been highly entertaining with James squaring off against Williamson in his first playoff series.
In real life, though, the Pelicans are not a lock to make the postseason after trailing the eighth-placed Memphis Grizzlies by 3.5 games when the season stopped. Since the NBA will likely not play all 82 games if the season eventually returns, the Pelicans may not have an opportunity to make up the ground needed.
The simulation has given fans some form of entertainment with live sports on hold. The collective basketball community was curious to see how Williamson would have fared in the playoffs and the simulation may offer a hypothetical result to consider.
Strat-O-Matic will run simulations throughout the playoffs as originally scheduled.
[lawrence-related id=15249,15228,14847]
[vertical-gallery id=11659]