Everyone has a prediction for the 2024 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks. Mine has already been published; You can read my analysis here on why I like the Celtics through six games. But what does artificial intelligence think?
I asked Elon Musk’s AI robot to see if it could make a prediction that would beat the experts.
Musk has praised GrokTwitter’s artificial intelligence robot, for having a “great advantage over others [AI] models” due to its “real-time access to information through the X platform.” This advantage should allow Grok to use the most up-to-date data to determine who likes it.
I asked Grok to answer several questions about what will happen in this series. This is what he predicted.
NBA Finals 2024 Predictions
Who will win the NBA Finals?
When I asked Grok about his choice of champion, he spit on the Celtics in six games. His reasoning seemed pretty solid.
“The Celtics have the advantage of a more balanced and experienced roster, with players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford providing a combination of scoring, defense and leadership.”
Grok is right that the Celtics have a clear depth advantage. This is particularly evident when looking at how each team’s top six stack up.
Grok’s next point was a little more shaky.
“In addition, the Celtics have a more favorable recent record in decisive games, going 6-3 compared to the Mavericks’ 4-0.”
There were a couple of problems with Grok’s reasoning here. First, he mixed up the two teams’ records: it’s the Celtics who are 4-0 and the Mavericks who are 6-3 at the crunch time. according to NBA statistics.
Those statistics paint the Celtics as a good clutch team. They have outscored their opponents by 18 points in those situations, defined as any time the score is within five points in the final five minutes, during these playoffs. The Mavericks have outscored their opponents by just six points in those same scenarios.
But for anyone who has watched these games, the Mavericks have been more impressive throughout the games.
The Celtics have found themselves in decisive games primarily playing at the level of their competition. They won several close matches, at least in part due to critical mistakes made by opponents rather than excellent decision making.
The Mavericks, on the other hand, have faced a string of killer opponents. They have been at their best late in games, where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving’s shooting has been phenomenal to watch.
Grok closed on a better note, indicating why the Mavericks could have a chance to pull off an upset.
“However, the Mavericks have the best player of the series, Luka Doncic, and the potential to cause problems with his scoring and playmaking abilities. Ultimately, the Celtics’ experience and balanced roster should help them secure the championship in six games”.
Who will win the Finals MVP?
Grok went with the Vegas favorite for MVP, correctly citing Tatum’s -120 odds courtesy of BetMGM.
“Tatum’s overall brilliance makes him a strong contender for the award. He leads the Celtics in points, rebounds and assists, demonstrating his versatility on the court. His playoff performance has been exceptional, averaging 26.0 points , 10.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.”
Tatum’s scoring stats have been truly impressive. (Grok correctly matched Tatum’s 26.0-point scoring average, but was slightly off in his 10.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists during the playoffs.) That hasn’t stopped Boston’s best player from receiving his fair share of criticism. He has been good, not great, playing solid defense and passing well, but making some questionable shots at critical moments in games.
That imperfect play led to teammate Jaylen Brown winning the Conference Finals MVP award. Brown was also the best player during the 2022 Boston Finals. Grok liked him as a hidden candidate for the award.
Who will make it to next year’s finals?
Grok liked the Lakers facing the Celtics in next year’s finals.
The Lakers were a surprising choice given that they were defeated in five games in the first round, but Grok chose them for several reasons.
“As long as LeBron James is on the court, the Lakers have a fighting chance.”
Grok also liked the Lakers’ chances of improving after releasing Darvin Ham.
“If the Lakers hire the right person, they could see a significant improvement in their performance.”
JJ Redick seems like the favorite for the job, which could be a great or terrible idea.
As for the Celtics, Grok liked their combination of young talent and seasoned veterans. It’s a reasonable prediction that they will return given that they will have all of their top six signed at least next season.
Grok wouldn’t pick a winner between the two teams no matter how many different ways he was asked, insisting that “the crystal ball is a little murky on that one! The tweets and snippets don’t provide any direct information about who will win.” “.
Grok trains with tweets from its user base. That explains why the Lakers, who have one of the most active fan bases in the NBA, would be his choice to return to the Finals.
Even Lakers fans have yet to begin debating a finals between Los Angeles and Boston.
