BuzzerBeater.com Simulation Prediction New Orleans Hornets @ Portland Trailblazers November 28, 2008 NOH 90 – POR 104 By Forrest Collman and Charles Steinhardt

BuzzerBeater simulators examined the upcoming New Orleans - Portland game in the first of a series of BuzzerBeater predictions in conjunction with HOOPSWORLD.

Over 10,000 simulations, we find Portland's chances of winning top 90% playing at home on the day after Thanksgiving, with an average score of 104-90.. You can find a sample game here.

Expect big things from Brandon Roy. He topped 30 points in 41% of our simulations, greatly exceeding his 20.8 PPG so far this season. LaMarcus Aldridge (20) and Steve Blake (16, 6 assists) also top their season averages.

Bright spots for New Orleans include the play of Chris Paul, averaging 17 points and 10 assists, while Peja Stojakovic led a tightly bunched group of Hornets in scoring, leading the team in 45% of our simulations.

A big reason for the Portland win will be the inside defensive play of Oden and Aldridge, who will keep David West from breaking out in a big way, limiting him to an average of 17 points on just 6-17 shooting. Portland should also be dominant on the boards, where we expect the Blazers to have an average of 11 rebound advantage, including 6 on the offensive end, led by Aldridge with 14 and Oden with 13.

When it's not simulating NBA games, the BuzzerBeater simulator is the centerpiece of the world's largest online basketball manager game, where you can run your own team for free against over 39,000 other players. Our focus is on the quality of the basketball simulation and particularly an advanced, situationally aware computerized coach that makes in-game adjustments. So, we thought it was natural to also ask our simulator for some coaching adjustments that might help each team.

We also showed our computerized coaches how Byron Scott and Nate McMillan have handled their teams so far this season, and watched what adjustments were made during our simulated games. Our coaches believe that the Blazers should feature Travis Outlaw more heavily against New Orleans than he has been so far this season, while Byron Scott's best chance of winning his second game in as many nights relies on finding a hot hand from outside, perhaps Peja Stojakovic.

BuzzerBeater.com is a free online game that puts you in charge of your own basketball franchise, where you're given the opportunity to pick your players, build your arena, manage your roster, and trash-talk with tens of thousands of managers from around the world. We welcome all HOOPSWORLD readers who want to try us out, and hope that you have enjoyed the first in our series of NBA simulations.