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Video Games Predict the Suns 2017-2018 Season

By Matthew Daniels

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 04: Chief Marketing Officer of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Division Yusuf Mehdi speaks as he annouces NBA coming to Xbox during the Microsoft Xbox press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Galen Center on June 4, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands are expected to attend the annual three-day convention to see the latest games and announcements from the gaming industry. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 04: Chief Marketing Officer of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Division Yusuf Mehdi speaks as he annouces NBA coming to Xbox during the Microsoft Xbox press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Galen Center on June 4, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands are expected to attend the annual three-day convention to see the latest games and announcements from the gaming industry. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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NBA Live 18 and 2K18 were just released and I had to see how our Phoenix Suns would turn out. Naturally, I booted up Franchise Mode and let the games take their course. How did the Phoenix Suns turn out? Let’s find out.

NBA Live 18:

Season Outcome:

In the Live 18 simulation, the Suns finished with a 36-46 record, finishing 14th in the Western Conference and fourth in the Pacific division. The Golden State Warriors won the division, followed by the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and, the Los Angeles Lakers finishing last. The lottery once again hated Phoenix giving them the seventh pick in the 2018 draft.

Awards:

Devin Booker made it to the all-star team as the last selected player averaging 20.2 points, 9.7 assists and 2.1 rebounds. Josh Jackson finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting and was selected to the All-Rookie Second Team.

Team Leaders:

Scoring: Eric Bledsoe (20.5ppg)

Assists: Devin Booker (9.7apg)

Rebounds: Tyson Chandler (10.2rpg)

Steals: Eric Bledsoe (2.4spg)

Blocks: Tyson Chandler (1.6bpg)

Injuries:

Devin Booker was the only Sun to play all 82 games. Davon Reed played 25 games before going down with a back injury. Alan Williams played only three games before tearing is ACL.

NBA 2K18:

Season Outcome:

In the 2K18 simulation, the Suns finished the season with a 41-41 record, good enough for ninth in the Western Conference and third in the Pacific Division. The Golden State Warriors again won the division, however Phoenix managed to break even behind the Warriors and Clippers, and finish just ahead of the Lakers and Kings. In this simulation the Suns ended up with the 11th overall pick.

Awards:

Devin Booker again made it to the All-Star game, but had a more complete season averaging 23.2 points, 6.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds. Josh Jackson ended up third in Rookie of the Year voting and was selected to the All-Rookie First Team.

Team Leaders:

Scoring: Devin Booker (23.2ppg)

Assists: Eric Bledsoe (7.7apg)

Rebounds: Tyson Chandler (11.3rpg)

Steals: Eric Bledsoe (2.1spg)

Blocks: Tyson Chandler (1.9bpg)

Injuries:

Nearly the entire team was plagued with injuries and no player was able to suit up for all 82 games. Tyler Ulis injured his ankle multiple times and Tyson Chandler suffered from knee and back injuries.

Review:

Both simulations ended up with around the same result. Both predicted the Suns will show improvement but not make the playoffs. With Live 18, the players individually showed more improvement while 2K18 showed more team improvement. Both games predict injuries upon injuries with no good pick to show for it.

With the predictions out of the way, all we can do now is wait and see which game had the closest prediction.

Next: What Phoenix Suns teams could have won it all in the past 25 years?

Purchase NBA Live 18 here -> https://www.easports.com/nba-live

Purchase NBA 2K18 here -> https://www.2k.com/games/nba-2k18

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