How The Spurs Stack Up So Far By The Numbers

[DJR210]

Here are the results from the first 17 (16) games of the season for what I feel are the top 3 teams in the league. Granted, with such a small sample size it is really meaningless, but interesting nonetheless IMO.

San Antonio Spurs
Record: 14-3



Opponent

Winning Percentage
Score

Result

Playoff Team?



Grizzlies
.500
101-94
W
N


Lakers
.529
91-85
W
Y


Blazers
.813
105-115
L
Y


Nuggets
.600
102-94
W
Y


Suns
.529
99-96
W
N


Warriors
.529
76-74
W
N


Knicks
.200
120-89
W
N


76ers
.353
109-85
W
N


Wizards
.471
92-79
W
Y


Jazz
.167
91-82
W
N


Celtics
.368
104-93
W
N


Grizzlies
.500
102-86
W
N


Cavaliers
.294
126-96
W
N


Pelicans
.467
112-93
W
N


Thunder
.786
88-94
L
Y


Magic
.375
109-91
W
N


Rockets
.722
106-112
L
Y



The Spurs are 2-3 against playoff teams this year. They are 1-3 against Western Conference playoff teams.

Spurs Wins

Points Per Game - 102.4
Points Allowed - 88.3

Spurs Losses

Points Per Game - 99.6
Points Allowed -107

Combined Win/Loss of Playoff Opponents = 63/34
Combined Winning Percentage of Playoff Opponents = .649

Indiana Pacers
Record: 15-1



Opponent

Winning Percentage
Score

Result

Playoff Team?



Magic
.375
97-87
W
N


Pelicans
.467
95-90
W
N


Cavaliers
.294
89-74
W
N


Pistons
.375
99-91
W
N


Bulls
.467
97-80
W
Y


Raptors
.400
91-84
W
Y


Nets
.294
96-91
W
N


Grizzlies
.500
95-79
W
N


Bucks
.188
104-77
W
N


Bulls
.467
94-110
L
Y


Knicks
.200
103-96
W
N


Celtics
.368
97-82
W
N


76ers
.353
106-98
W
N


T'Wolves
.500
98-84
W
N


Bobcats
.471
99-74
W
N


Wizards
.471
93-73
W
Y



The Pacers are 3-1 against playoff teams this year. They have yet to face a Western Conference playoff team.

Pacers Wins

Points Per Game - 97.2
Points Allowed - 84

Pacers Losses

Points Per Game - 94
Points Allowed - 110

Combined Win/Loss of Playoff Opponents = 28/34
Combined Winning Percentage of Playoff Opponents = .451

Miami Heat
Record: 13-3



Opponent

Winning Percentage
Score

Result

Playoff Team?



Bulls
.467
107-95
W
Y


76ers
.353
110-114
L
N


Nets
.294
100-101
L
N


Wizards
.471
103-93
W
Y


Raptors
.400
104-95
W
Y


Clippers
.706
102-97
W
Y


Celtics
.368
110-111
L
N


Bucks
1.88
118-95
W
N


Mavericks
.556
110-104
W
Y


Bobcats
.471
97-81
W
Y


Hawks
.500
104-88
W
Y


Magic
.375
120-92
W
N


Magic
.375
101-99
W
N


Suns
.529
107-92
W
N


Cavaliers
.294
95-84
W
N


Raptors
.400
90-83
W
Y



The Heat are 8-0 against playoff teams this year. They are 2-0 against Western Conference playoff teams.

Heat Wins

Points Per Game - 104.9
Points Allowed -92.1

Heat Losses

Points Per Game - 106.6
Points Allowed - 108.6

Combined Win/Loss of Playoff Opponents = 66/66
Combined Winning Percentage of Playoff Opponents = .500

[ElNono]

IMO, Warriors, Suns and Grizzlies are all playoff-quality teams, sporting a .500 or better record. The 6/7/8 seed this season in the West is shaping up to have some crazy competition...

Looking at SOS (Strength of Schedule (http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings/_/page/2/sort/sos)), the Spurs have had so far average competition (#18 out of 30).

On the other hand, Pacers had the easiest schedule of all teams so far (30 out of 30), and the Heat is not far behind (28 out of 30).

So it's far from only the Spurs feasting on easy opponents.

[DJR210]

IMO, Warriors, Suns and Grizzlies are all playoff-quality teams, sporting a .500 or better record. The 6/7/8 seed this season in the West is shaping up to have some crazy competition...

Looking at SOS (Strength of Schedule (http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings/_/page/2/sort/sos)), the Spurs have had so far average competition (#18 out of 30).

On the other hand, Pacers had the easiest schedule of all teams so far (30 out of 30), and the Heat is not far behind (28 out of 30).

So it's far from only the Spurs feasting on easy opponents.

Agree with you on the Warriors and Grizzlies..they'll figure it out by the end of the season I'm sure. Lol @ 28 and 30. A subtle gift from that fucking jew I'm sure.

[JohnnyMax]

Once Miami starts playing Beasley more, they will run away with best record

[hyhy]

IMO, Warriors, Suns and Grizzlies are all playoff-quality teams, sporting a .500 or better record. The 6/7/8 seed this season in the West is shaping up to have some crazy competition...

Looking at SOS (Strength of Schedule (http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings/_/page/2/sort/sos)), the Spurs have had so far average competition (#18 out of 30).

On the other hand, Pacers had the easiest schedule of all teams so far (30 out of 30), and the Heat is not far behind (28 out of 30).

So it's far from only the Spurs feasting on easy opponents.

It must be noted that the strength of schedule is based on last season's team rankings, and not this season though

[ginobili fan]

Anyway RS doesn't mean shit.

[ginobili fan]

We have the best system, a great coach, the rest is ugh...
I expect green to be traded

[ginobili fan]

add splitter on that list and we are champions

[will_spurs]

"playoff teams" isn't a really useful measure of opponents when half of the "playoff teams" in the East wouldn't even make the playoffs in the West...

[TheGoldStandard]

The Spurs will beat up Atlanta and look like they're back to their old self with ball movement etc then they'll crap the bed against Minnesota. The Indy game is a toss up but the numbers just indicate that we are getting outplayed and out coached against Playoff teams especially during crunch time.

[ElNono]

It must be noted that the strength of schedule is based on last season's team rankings, and not this season though

I'm not sure that's the case on the linked ranking. On the method page it reads:

Strength of schedule
Yes, this matters in the NBA, too. It is not as profound in the pro game as in the college game, because the 30 NBA teams are more evenly matched, but it still affects a team's results.

This comes into play mainly in the early part of the season, when there can be wide disparities in the quality of competition, but even at the end of the season, there will be differences among teams -- particularly when one conference is far better than the other.

The last paragraph would seem to indicate it's this season data used (winning percentages vary much more wildly at the start, and consolidate towards the end).

[DJR210]

"playoff teams" isn't a really useful measure of opponents when half of the "playoff teams" in the East wouldn't even make the playoffs in the West...

Agreed. Which is why I included the their win/loss against the West.

[RD2191]

The Spurs will beat up Atlanta and look like they're back to their old self with ball movement etc then they'll crap the bed against Minnesota. The Indy game is a toss up but the numbers just indicate that we are getting outplayed and out coached against Playoff teams especially during crunch time.

[hyhy]

I'm not sure that's the case on the linked ranking. On the method page it reads:

Strength of schedule
Yes, this matters in the NBA, too. It is not as profound in the pro game as in the college game, because the 30 NBA teams are more evenly matched, but it still affects a team's results.

This comes into play mainly in the early part of the season, when there can be wide disparities in the quality of competition, but even at the end of the season, there will be differences among teams -- particularly when one conference is far better than the other.

The last paragraph would seem to indicate it's this season data used (winning percentages vary much more wildly at the start, and consolidate towards the end).

pardon my english, but what I understand from those 2 paragraphs is that the first paragraph states that the strength of schedule matters.
The second paragraph was the explanation.
1) At start of the season, everyone plays different teams, so the strength of schedule affects the win-loss rates alot.
2) Nearer the end of the season, when everyone plays everyone equally, there should not be much difference, other than the fact that eastern conference teams play eastern teams more, and western conference teams play western teams more.

I dun think that means they use this season's data.

But looking at the way they calculate it, I think its possible they use this season's data. but wouldnt it be biased though? If I am winning everything, then the people that i played against will obviously have lost to me, thus their winning percentages will drop, den my strength of schedule will become easier.

[ElNono]

pardon my english, but what I understand from those 2 paragraphs is that the first paragraph states that the strength of schedule matters.
The second paragraph was the explanation.
1) At start of the season, everyone plays different teams, so the strength of schedule affects the win-loss rates alot.
2) Nearer the end of the season, when everyone plays everyone equally, there should not be much difference, other than the fact that eastern conference teams play eastern teams more, and western conference teams play western teams more.

I dun think that means they use this season's data.

Fair enough. I agree the wording is not clear enough.


But looking at the way they calculate it, I think its possible they use this season's data. but wouldnt it be biased though? If I am winning everything, then the people that i played against will obviously have lost to me, thus their winning percentages will drop, den my strength of schedule will become easier.

Well, not necessarily. Everybody plays everybody, and while the number would fluctuate a lot at the very start of the season, where every game influences the winning percentage much more, as the season progresses it would stabilize (along with the winning percentages). I just don't think it would be very useful to calculate the SOS based on last season's rankings, as teams can change drastically from season to season (ie: Rockets, Blazers).

On a separate note, their rankings weight much more heavily the last 10 games, IIRC. Which means you get a better picture of the state of the team at that time, and perhaps overall SOS doesn't have that much of an influence.

[daslicer]

I know this sounds crazy but I don't care about the losses to the playoff teams. The spurs just need to keep winning all the games they should win against the bottom feeders of this league. If they beat everybody that they should win against they will probably end up around 55-60 wins. I always believe the worst losses are the ones to teams that you should win against. There is nothing to be upset about losing to elite teams because those games tend to be 50-50 they can go either way. Its really about winning as many games possible to put yourself in the best position to go on a deep playoff run.

[cd021]

I know this sounds crazy but I don't care about the losses to the playoff teams. The spurs just need to keep winning all the games they should win against the bottom feeders of this league. If they beat everybody that they should win against they will probably end up around 55-60 wins. I always believe the worst losses are the ones to teams that you should win against. There is nothing to be upset about losing to elite teams because those games tend to be 50-50 they can go either way. Its really about winning as many games possible to put yourself in the best position to go on a deep playoff run.


Last season

vs + .500 teams-31-17 (.645) tied for 3rd in the league behind Miami and Denver and tied with OKC
vs -.500 teams-27-7 (.794)

The Spurs need to clean up against the bottom feeders. A strong record against the east and the bottom half of the West should easily bush us up to 60 games. In other words I agree. People on ST generally think we stink against great teams but its usually the exact opposite.

[justinandimcool]

The numbers are telling, but to me what matters is that those teams (Heat, Pacers, OKC, Portland I guess) have multiple guys you can throw the ball to and say "score". Until Tim/Manu can become consistent scoring options again, the Spurs only have 1 guy. Even the defensive minded Pistons and Dirk's Mavs had 2.

If Tony has an average night against a good team we're fucked tbh. Boris/Kawhi/Marco/Patty won't be able to carry the load as #2 scorer deep in the playoffs. Big 3 has to put the ball through the net.

[DJR210]

I know this sounds crazy but I don't care about the losses to the playoff teams. The spurs just need to keep winning all the games they should win against the bottom feeders of this league. If they beat everybody that they should win against they will probably end up around 55-60 wins. I always believe the worst losses are the ones to teams that you should win against. There is nothing to be upset about losing to elite teams because those games tend to be 50-50 they can go either way. Its really about winning as many games possible to put yourself in the best position to go on a deep playoff run.

I agree with your point, but at the same time confidence is very important in the Playoffs. You don't want teams tanking to strategically get the Spurs again, it didn't end well for us the last time it happened.


The numbers are telling They are. :lol Just how did Miami manage to lose to Philadelphia, Boston, and Brooklyn anyway?

[spurraider21]

last year the spurs looked like crap in the weeks directly leading into the playoffs, and we did fine. i'm not going to be worried if we aren't looking our sharpest leading into december :lol

in the meantime we are off to a great start record wise. i'll take it

[DJR210]

After the wins against SAC and BKN, it will pretty much be another month like November..