E/W split data and playoff advancement potential
E/W split data and playoff advancement potential
I looked at net team "NBA efficiency" rating differentials at hoopsstats.com for last regular season. http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fa ... /1/diffeff (use second from left drop down menu to get east / west splits) This isn't offensive and defensive efficiency ratings per 100 possessions which would be better, but for a quick comparison I knew the split data for the net efficiency differential was there. For the Spurs the east/west splits are pretty close (about 3 pts less vs. west). Warriors 5, Clippers 8. Cavs 10. Mavs 14. Rockets a huge 18 pt difference, worse against west. Most or all playoff projections to my knowledge use full season data. I think it may be useful to look at the splits too. GSW was far away the best to beat western teams or eastern teams. The Rockets advanced pretty far but their regular season performance against west raises some doubts about how likely that was or will be in future. The Spurs' relative performance against the west may bolster their chances compared to the western advancement chances of other challengers. Of course you play specific teams not conferences, but not knowing far in advance who you will play, the average performance data by conference seems interesting to me, at least til you know the specific matchups.