The past few seasons, the NBA playoffs have followed a familiar script that concluded with Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors facing off against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.  This season, with Steph’s balky ankle threatening to sideline him for the first few rounds, and with Lebron maybe lacking the supporting cast of other years there may be new faces by the time the championship series rolls around.

This week Unanimous AI convened a swarm of NBA fans and asked them to predict the outcome of each playoff series. Swarm participants were asked to provide a series winner with either high or low confidence, as well as a prediction for how many games each series would last. Finally, the swarm assigned a hypothetical, virtual dollar wager to add one final layer of conviction for each forecast.

From the swarm’s standpoint it’s in the Eastern Conference where the most potential drama might be. Although Toronto emerged as the top team in the regular season, the swarm had mixed opinions on the Raptors’ chances in the postseason. That said, the group did predict that they’d make fast work of Washington in the first round.

The real excitement could happen if the swarm’s predicted second round matchup happens between Toronto and Cleveland. The swarm finally picked the Raptors to get through by the thinnest of margins, but this is clearly a series to watch.

Over in the Western Conference, the swarm is all about the Houston Rockets. With Steph Curry doubtful until perhaps the second round – and even then a question mark due to recurring ankle problems – the swarm went with Harden, Paul, and company in Houston. They picked Houston to waltz through their series with Minnesota in the first round, and even assigned the maximum hypothetical wagering confidence to underscore that conviction.

After dispatching the Wolves, the swarm sees the Rockets on a collision course with the defending champion Warriors, with the Rockets getting the better of that matchup. If that happens, it creates a finals battle that pits two relative strangers to the NBA’s biggest stage.

When it came time to predict the NBA Finals, the swarm was very confident in the Rockets besting Toronto. Some of that certitude may have been due to the swarm’s heavy split over a potential Raptors-Cavaliers matchup in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Whatever the reason, the swarm picked Houston to not only win the Championship, but as you can see in the replay above they have high confidence in that outcome.

Every week, Unanimous AI publishes predictions made by its Swarm AI platform. Want to have those picks delivered to your inbox? 

Want to learn more about our Swarm AI platform? Check out our TED talk…