By Ian Levy
It’s time for another look at some NBA Power Rankings. To review, my Power Rankings are different from many others in that I don’t use any subjective judgements, instead relying on a very specific statistical measurement. These Power Rankings are based on the Differential between each team’s Offensive and Defensive Ratings.
Offensive and Defensive Ratings show how many points a team scores or allows per 100 possessions rather than per game. This is a much more effective way of accounting for a team’s offensive or defensive performance in that it factors in the speed or pace a team plays at. Below is a table showing my rankings, current through today.
If you missed the first edition of these Power Rankings, the first two columns after the rankings are the Offensive and Defensive Ratings for each team. The third column is the Differential between the two, and this is the category I used for my rankings; the Lakers as the best team in the league, the Clippers as the worst. Next you have each team’s record as of last night.
The next two columns represent each team’s Pythagorean Win Loss record. The Pythagorean record is a projection of how many games each team would win if they maintained the same point differential across 82 games. It’s important to note that this is not a projection in the traditional sense. This projection is based solely on the team’s play up to this point and doesn’t take into account any future factors such as injury or strength of schedule. The idea is if each team played at the exactly same level as they had in the first few weeks across the entire of the season what would their record be. A team’s points scored and allowed per game is needed to calculate the Pythagorean record and those are the last two columns in the table.
Since the last time we looked the teams have settled into a few tiers. We have the contenders (Heat, Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Magic, Bulls), the almost contenders (Mavericks, Hawks, Nuggets, Jazz, Thunder, Knicks), the not quites (Rockets, Blazers, Grizzlies, 76ers, Pacers, Bucks, Clippers, Suns) and the disasters (Bobcats, Warriors, Raptors, Pistons, Kings, Wizards, Timberwolves, Nets, Cavs).
Miami’s win-loss record has finally started to catch up with their impressive point differential. The Spurs have continued their impressive play and firmly established that there are two teams with legitimate championship aspirations in the Western Conference. Meanwhile the Cavs have fallen off a cliff and firmly cemented their status as the worst team in the league.
Over the past month the New Orleans Hornets fell out of the Top 10, as did the Indiana Pacers. The Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets took their spots. Memphis and Houston have both moved up, while Toronto and New Jersey moved way down.
One of the biggest surprises has been the movement of the Los Angeles Clippers. When we checked in last at the end of November they were dead last in our power rankings with a point differential of -10.3 They’ve gone 11 -11 since that point and improved their differential to a -3.2 They still don’t look like a playoff team but have demonstrated remarkable growth in just a few short weeks. Blake Griffin is making the highlight reels every night but he’s also actually helping his team win games.
Stay tuned for the next edition in a few weeks and feel free to disagree loudly and vociferously in the comments!
Ian’s basketball writing can also be found at Hickory-High.com and IndyCornrows.com
How about the Grizzlies at even? That’s gotta be Coach K’s influence on Rudy Gay. 🙂
We can chalk a bunch of it up to that. Conley has been good, Randolph as well. Not playing O.J. Mayo as much has actually helped as well.
Haha – imagine that.
Do these numbers include last night’s Cavs-Lakers game? If not, oh boy. Holy inflation.
Here’s hoping the Heat make like Neil Young and burn out rather than fade away.
They do include last nights numbers. That’s one of the things that really pushed the Cavs to the bottom of the league.
God sees everything.
I think everyone looks into everything I say. Everybody looks too far into it. No hit toward that organization. I’ve moved on and hopefully that organization is continuing to move on.
I can’t help it. Griffin is the most meaningful in-the-air player since Shawn Kemp. Throw in his competitive streak and he did the impossible — he made Baron Davis care about basketball again. As my friend Tollin said last week, “It’s amazing; it’s like Baron has a purpose again.” He’s Blake’s dunk muse. Now the Clips have the foundation of something special: Griffin, Davis, Eric Gordon (a future All-Star) and enough left to make a legitimate offer for Denver: lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman, expiring contracts and the rights to Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 pick (nearly as valuable a trade chip as Favors) for Carmelo and Al Harrington’s horrendous contract that’s the Carmelo Trade Tax. Mrs. Anthony could live in Hollywood and make her next unwatchable reality show. And her husband could play with Griffin, Gordon, Davis, Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan … a situation that’s between five and 20 times more appealing than New Jersey. Even when you include Donald Sterling.
Bill you are right on there…A month ago Donald Sterling was heckleing Baron Davis from his courtside seat…Now Baron Davis is playing lights out…Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin will be perennial all stars…Griffin Rookie of the year lock right now ! I saw the Clips beat Miami and the Lakers last week courtside…The Lakers looked slow and old against Griffin,Bledsoe,Gordon, but responded well last night vs OKC in the second of a back-to-back albeit home and home…There may be a new sherrif in town in the next couple of years post Kobe…Why isn’t Andrew Bynum the most dominant big man in the game ? At times he looks brilliant then he looks like Baby Huey…It was 85 when I left LAX and -20 when I got home…
What are the odds for Griffin as Rookie of the Year right now? Has there ever been any more of a sure thing in sports? Wouldn’t these odds be equal to the odds in WWII? Did anyone really take the Germans? Is anyone really making a case for someone other than Griffin?
Agree with Bill and Crash on all of this. Have to give credit to the guy because he’s improved in every area of the game.