NBA 2K13 Player Ratings: Lakers vs. Heat, Who Is the Best?

The NBA 2K13 player ratings have been released for several teams (via NBA Sky), including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.

After a blockbuster summer, the Lakers are already viewed by many as the favorites to take on the Heat in the 2013 finals. And the people at NBA 2K13 clearly agree, as they have made the Lakers the best team in the game.

Looking at the position by position breakdown, the Lakers match up pretty well against the defending champion Heat:

Lakers vs. Heat NBA 2K13 Comparison

Position	Lakers Rating	Heat Rating
Center	95	82
Power Forward	87	75
Small Forward	77	98
Shooting Guard	93	93
Point Guard	87	75
Average	87.8	84.6

One odd thing to note is that Antawn Jamison appears to be the starting small forward in the game, even though, in real life, that job will most likely go to Ron Artest (aka Metta World Peace).

The lone position where the Heat have an edge is at small forward, which is to be expected. The edge is perhaps bigger in the game than in real life, though, because in the real world, LeBron James will have to deal with Ron Artest's defense.

Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant are a push. Kobe was better last season, but he's also older. It appears that the people at NBA 2K13 chose not to take a stance.

The folks at NBA 2K13 did take a little swipe at point guard Mario Chalmers, though, rating him the same as power-forward-by-default Shane Battier.

One of the hardest people to rank this year is center Dwight Howard. Coming off of a back injury, it is unknown whether or not he will be fully healthy to start the season. When at top form, he dominates the center position more than any other NBA player dominates their position. He is already being compared to historically great Lakers centers.

A large fraction of NBA fans will be looking forward to Lakers vs. Heat. However, they will have to wait until January 17th, when the Heat first travel to Los Angeles.

Adam Waksman is a featured columnist for the Bleacher Report New York Jets community. Be sure to follow Adam on Twitter to receive updates right away.

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