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Game Theory in NBA finals

The NBA finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics in 1976 is one of the greatest and exciting basketball game in history. It was double overtime in the finals with Phoenix Suns down by 1  with the possession with no time-outs. A player in the Phoenix Suns came up with the smartest decision and a strategic move that will help their team to tie the game in the NBA finals.

Even though Phoenix Suns didn’t have a time-out, they were able to develop a strategic plan due to an unusual occurring. Boston fans stormed into the court thinking that the game was over; however, the referees decided that there was a mistake and put 1 second back on the clock. It took some time for the fans to clear and get out of the court which gave Suns some time to develop some strategic plans.

In reality, the Suns had minimal hope. They had to hope for the miracle full-court buzzer beater which happens so few times, and they also had less than a second to get the shot off. The coach was planning to get the shot off at around 60 to 80 feet. Then a player Paul Westphal voiced his opinion and gave his own strategic plan. If the Suns played out the last possession, they had a really high chance of missing the shot and losing the game. So Westphal came up with the strategy that they should call a time-out so that they will get a technical foul since they didn’t have one, but they will be able to advance the ball to mid-court. So the team had to decide between the two strategies, either they try to win the game by shooting a full-court shot that has very low chance of scoring, or try to tie the game (there were no 3-pointers back then) by getting a technical foul and advance the ball to mid-court that will give them a higher chance of scoring. So they went with the Westphal’s idea and got technical foul, and now the Suns were down by 2. The Suns then in-bounded to Garfield Heard who sank an 18-foot basket to tie the game, forcing the game into a third overtime.

This game showed some strategic thinking and quick decision making that would help their team to not lose and tie the NBA finals game. The Suns were essentially playing game theory where they had to choose between the two strategies and decide what will be the dominant strategy that will help them to score and tie or win the game. The Suns ultimately lost the game, but this strategic thinking helped the Suns to tie the game and force a third overtime  which gave them another chance to try to win the NBA finals game.

 

source: http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog/2014/06/10/game-theory-tuesdays-the-smartest-decision-in-nba-finals-history/#.VfzRePnF9ps

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