The Final Round
The Times has asked an online sports simulation site to run a tournament involving the 12 greatest Lakers title teams of all time, as selected by The Times.
The simulations were done by Imagine Sports, a Silicon Valley-based Internet company developing multiplayer online sports simulation games, including Total Hoops, an online basketball game where users are the general managers of their own pro basketball franchises and can draft or sign players from throughout the history of basketball, and Diamond Mind Online, an online baseball management game licensed and promoted by MLB Advanced Media.
And now, the finals. The finals were best-of-seven, with the better seeded team, the 1971-72 Lakers, receiving home court advantage:
Top-seeded 1971-72 Lakers vs. second-seeded 1986-87 Lakers
The matchup: Showtime vs. what some consider the greatest team of all time.
The results
Game 1: at 1971-72 Lakers 120, 1986-87 Lakers 98. High scorer: Gail Goodrich, 30
Game 2: at 1971-72 Lakers 145, 1986-87 Lakers 135. High scorer: Goodrich, 46
Game 3: 1971-72 Lakers 123, at 1986-87 Lakers 110. High scorer: Goodrich, 35
Game 4: at 1986-87 Lakers 130, 1971-72 Lakers 128. High scorer: Goodrich, 40
Game 5: 1971-72 Lakers 124, at 1986-87 Lakers 111. High scorer: Jerry West, 32
1971-72 Lakers win series, 4-1.
The recap: With all the talk of Magic, Kareem, West and Wilt, it seems everyone forgot about Gail Goodrich as the 1971-72 Lakers proved they were the better team. At least, this time they were.
Series MVP: Goodrich (34.8 points per game). Note: Magic Johnson averaged 16.2 assists per game in a losing effort.
For a free trial of Total Hoops, readers should register at
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