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Kevin Love is rated 87 Overall in “2K17” while Carmelo Anthony has dipped to 84 Overall. Love offers better 3-point shooting and better rebounding, while Anthony is a better finisher, more effective with contested shots, and slightly better defensively.
“NBA 2K17” projects a Cavs team with Carmelo Anthony to finish the regular season 55-27 (25-13 from this point on). The Cavs in their current form with Love are seen as a 54-28 team (24-14 from this point on). Statistically, Anthony saw his points-per-game average go down marginally, but his rebounds and assists rose over his New York days. Compared with Love, the Cavs gained about three points and two assists with Melo, but in doing so lost five rebounds. The one-game regular season difference was inconsequential in playoff seeding. Cleveland was the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in all but one simulation (where Toronto managed to finish above them). They ended up having home court throughout, however, when the Raptors were bounced in the second round of that particular sim. The Golden State Warriors always finished as the team with the best record overall. Instead, fates would change for the Cavs in the playoffs, where the team with Love proved itself measurably better than the one with Anthony. The Anthony team lost in the Eastern Conference Finals three times and lost in the NBA Finals twice. The Love team reached the NBA Finals four times and were crowned champions in three of those trips. It’s worth noting that those championships were won over teams not named the Warriors. The Cavs lost to the Warriors each time they faced off, regardless of scenario. It’s clear, at least according to “NBA 2K17,” that the Cavaliers are a more formidable opponent for the Western Conference representative with Kevin Love than with Carmelo Anthony. The game even seems to believe the team would struggle to get out of the East with Anthony. Based on that information, it looks like the Cavs made the right decision passing on the proposed trade with the Knicks.Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the “Press Row Podcast” and be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.
