The Los Angeles Lakers' big 106-78 win over the Clippers, combined with Utah's loss to Dallas, puts the Lakers at #2 overall in the SportsRatings NBA Power Rating; just two days ago Utah held a slim lead at second. The Boston Celtics are #1 by a wide margin.
The overall (combined Points and Win/Loss) Power Rating for games through April 10th, 2008:
# Team record rating
1. Boston 62-16 13.85
2. LA Lakers 54-25 9.28
3. Utah 52-27 8.98
4. Detroit 55-23 8.85
5. New Orleans 55-23 8.20
6. San Antonio 53-25 7.44
7. Phoenix 53-26 7.30
8. Houston 53-25 7.02
9. Dallas 50-29 6.96
10. Orlando 49-29 6.07
11. Denver 48-31 5.81
12. Golden St 47-32 4.30
13. Toronto 39-39 3.51
14. Philadephia 40-38 1.76
15. Washington 41-37 0.77
16. Cleveland 43-35 0.63
17. Portland 39-39 0.26
18. Atlanta 36-42 -1.20
19. Sacramento 36-42 -1.21
20. Indiana 34-44 -1.21
21. Chicago 30-48 -2.56
22. Charlotte 30-49 -4.01
23. New Jersey 32-46 -4.74
24. Memphis 21-57 -5.15
25. Milwaukee 26-52 -6.03
26. New York 23-56 -6.06
27. LA Clippers 23-56 -6.33
28. Minnesota 19-59 -6.41
29. Miami 14-64 -8.20
30. Seattle 18-61 -8.27
The nine Western Conference teams vying for playoff spots are highlighted. At this point it appears the Lakers and Jazz are the favorites to represent the West, while either Denver or Golden State is the weakest of the bunch. Appropriately, these are the two teams with the worst records, so it looks like the deserving teams will be in the Western playoffs.
Note that only three Eastern teams are among the top dozen. As expected, the Western teams dominate the top ten, though Detroit ranks among the best. Orlando, though, barely makes the top ten. Some Eastern teams that have already clinched playoff berths (Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington, and Cleveland) barely rate above average.
In the Points-only component, where wins and losses are not considered, Boston leads the league as well:
# Team record rating
1. Boston 62-16 9.48
2. LA Lakers 54-25 6.86
3. Utah 52-27 6.84
4. Detroit 55-23 6.37
5. New Orleans 55-23 5.44
6. Phoenix 53-26 5.20
7. San Antonio 53-25 4.93
8. Dallas 50-29 4.86
9. Houston 53-25 4.60
10. Orlando 49-29 4.34
11. Denver 48-31 4.16
12. Golden St 47-32 2.65
13. Toronto 39-39 2.52
14. Philadephia 40-38 0.69
15. Washington 41-37 -0.35
16. Cleveland 43-35 -0.61
17. Portland 39-39 -0.75
18. Indiana 34-44 -1.87
19. Atlanta 36-42 -1.94
20. Sacramento 36-42 -2.02
21. Chicago 30-48 -3.10
22. Charlotte 30-49 -4.57
23. New Jersey 32-46 -5.30
24. Memphis 21-57 -5.47
25. New York 23-56 -6.39
26. Milwaukee 26-52 -6.43
27. LA Clippers 23-56 -6.64
28. Minnesota 19-59 -6.69
29. Miami 14-64 -8.37
30. Seattle 18-61 -8.48
The NBA's home court advantage works out to about 1/2 point less than the college game. The players are more mature and more used to playing in hostile environments, but home crowd (and home officiating) still has its effect.
Finally, in the Win/Loss component, where a team's success—but not point spreads—are used, Boston is of course the clear leader.
# Team record rating Points rnk
1. Boston 62-16 4.36 1
2. New Orleans 55-23 2.76 5
3. San Antonio 53-25 2.51 7
4. Detroit 55-23 2.47 4
5. LA Lakers 54-25 2.42 2
6. Houston 53-25 2.42 9
7. Utah 52-27 2.14 3
8. Dallas 50-29 2.10 8
9. Phoenix 53-26 2.09 6
10. Orlando 49-29 1.73 10
11. Golden St 47-32 1.65 12
12. Denver 48-31 1.64 11
13. Cleveland 43-35 1.24
14. Washington 41-37 1.12
15. Philadephia 40-38 1.07
16. Portland 39-39 1.02
17. Toronto 39-39 0.98
18. Sacramento 36-42 0.80
19. Atlanta 36-42 0.74
20. Indiana 34-44 0.65
21. Charlotte 30-49 0.56
22. New Jersey 32-46 0.55
23. Chicago 30-48 0.54
24. Milwaukee 26-52 0.40
25. New York 23-56 0.32
26. Memphis 21-57 0.31
27. LA Clippers 23-56 0.31
28. Minnesota 19-59 0.28
29. Seattle 18-61 0.21
30. Miami 14-64 0.17
There is a very close correlation between a team's record and their Win/Loss ranking, much more so than in college basketball, due to schedule parity as well as league parity compared to the NCAA. But according to these results, Golden State's schedule has been a bit harder than Denver's, and despite being a game behind, at this point they may deserve the final playoff spot more. However, they're only a fraction ahead, and as we saw in the Points and Overall ratings, Denver should be considered the slightly better team.
New Orleans and, surprisingly, San Antonio, both rank ahead of the East's #2, Detroit, though in this rating the Pistons are ahead of the Lakers and Jazz. So the league at this point can be summed up as:
- Boston a clear #1
- Eight teams—seven of them from the West—in the mix behind the Celtics
- Orlando the tenth best team, but 3rd best in the East, and
- Denver and Golden State rounding out the top 12 and vying for the final playoff spot
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