Dolphin Ratings - National Basketball Association

Explanation: Each team is listed with its record, overall score differential, and its ratings. Brief explanations of the ratings follow.

Schedule The number in this column is the effective opponent strength of a team. In other words, they would be expected to have the same record had they played all games against an opponent of this predictive rating at a neutral site. Because this calculation depends on the strength of the team in question, it is not possible to rank schedules using these values.
Expected Losses For college teams, this number is the number of losses an average ranked (top 15 hockey; otherwise top 25) team would be expected to have against the team's schedule. For pro teams, this is the number of losses an average team would be expected to have against the team's schedule. Unlike the schedule ranking, this value can be used to rank schedules.
Standard Ranks teams in an order such that a team is "probably better" than all teams ranked lower than it. This calculation uses margin of victory only for computing a team's opponents strengths; the team's rating itself is computed using only wins, losses, and ties relative to its schedule
Median Likelihood Determines the likely ratings for each team, based on its wins, losses, and ties relative to its schedule. This generally produces the same or similar ratings as the standard ranking.
Predictive Both schedule strength and rating vs. schedule strength are determined considering both the wins and losses and the score differentials. This rating contains none of the biases in the standard rating, but does weight recent games slightly more than past games since those are a better indication of the team's current strength. This rating is the best of the first three for seeing how good teams are, and thus is the best for predicting future results.
Improved RPI Rating The improved RPI formula is similar to the standard RPI, except that the schedule strength is carried out to infinite depth instead of ending with opponents' opponents, thus allows for a better comparison of isolated groups of teams than is given by the standard RPI calculation. It is similar to the simple rating, except that all games are given equal weight.
Scoring. This value indicates how many points a team would be expected to score if it played an identical team.
Offense. This combines the predictive and scoring ratings to measure how many points a team scores. The number is the predictive rating of an opponent against whom the team would be expected to score the league average number of points. This does not necessarily rate a team's offensive abilities, as a fast pace in basketball or big-play defense in football can make a team score more points.
Defense. This combines the predictive and scoring ratings to measure how many points a team allows. The number is the predictive rating of an opponent against whom the team would be expected to allow the league average number of points. The same caveat in the predictive-offense rating applies here.

In order to increase early-season stability, the three main rankings, the improved RPI, and the college pseudopoll include priors based on the previous season final predictive ratings and occasionally incorporating preseason predictions of various major publications. The other rankings for college sports do not include priors, and thus can be wildly unstable early in the year. A team whose rankings are affected by this prior is noted with a P following its rankings.

Full Ranking

                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
JAZZ          22 60  9642 10333 -0.060 41.240   26 -0.586   26 -0.610   26 -0.584   26 0.4429    1  4.081   15 -0.018   29 -1.149
HEAT          43 40 10037  9847  0.011 41.252   17  0.057   17  0.041   14  0.083   17 0.5032    2  4.061    4  0.540   20 -0.373
BULLS         31 51  9537  9964 -0.054 40.757   22 -0.301   22 -0.323   22 -0.423   22 0.4677    3  4.043   18 -0.061   27 -0.785
WIZARDS       17 65  9257 10240 -0.090 41.179   30 -0.793   30 -0.822   30 -0.823   30 0.4269    4  4.040   27 -0.478   30 -1.168
NUGGETS       56 32 10655 10260  0.021 43.477    7  0.355    7  0.337    7  0.290    6 0.5327    5  4.023    3  0.545   15  0.034
GRIZZLIES     25 57  9403  9896 -0.055 40.838   25 -0.501   25 -0.527   27 -0.585   25 0.4506    6  4.021   25 -0.344   28 -0.827
PELICANS      26 56  9473  9842 -0.039 40.917   23 -0.461   24 -0.486   21 -0.249   23 0.4546    7  4.017   16 -0.029   23 -0.468
HAWKS         48 40 10316 10223  0.034 44.763   11  0.159   11  0.139   13  0.107   12 0.5120    8  4.009    7  0.288   18 -0.075
PACERS        19 63  9219  9874 -0.058 41.306   29 -0.678   29 -0.706   24 -0.501   29 0.4338    9  4.001   26 -0.365   25 -0.637
CAVALIERS     60 38 11543 11210  0.058 50.034    8  0.337    8  0.321    8  0.270    8 0.5297   10  3.996    6  0.381   12  0.159
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
MAVERICKS     26 56  9358  9810 -0.054 40.818   24 -0.463   23 -0.484   23 -0.428   24 0.4536   11  3.995   24 -0.319   24 -0.537
KINGS         22 60  9102  9922 -0.068 41.310   27 -0.596   27 -0.613   28 -0.666   27 0.4426   12  3.990   28 -0.587   26 -0.745
TIMBERWOLVES  55 39 10975 10770  0.049 47.971   10  0.263   10  0.242   12  0.123   10 0.5234   13  3.979   10  0.148   14  0.099
SPURS         71 26 11568 10756  0.096 49.361    2  0.684    2  0.651    2  0.731    2 0.5604   14  3.976    1  0.739    5  0.723
TRAIL BLAZERS 44 44 10083 10165  0.016 44.767   18  0.035   18  0.023   18  0.000   18 0.5016   15  3.974   14 -0.003   16  0.003
76ERS         50 44 10745 10857  0.035 48.558   14  0.141   14  0.127   19 -0.081   14 0.5099   16  3.972   20 -0.092   17 -0.070
LAKERS        57 35 10562 10467  0.048 47.239    6  0.356    6  0.344   11  0.152    7 0.5317   17  3.971   11  0.134   11  0.170
WARRIORS      38 46  9620  9676 -0.002 42.086   20 -0.093   20 -0.113   20 -0.160   20 0.4888   18  3.967   22 -0.199   19 -0.121
MAGIC         49 42 10393 10355  0.046 46.889   13  0.155   12  0.134   17  0.048   13 0.5119   19  3.956   17 -0.048   13  0.145
BUCKS         32 50  9072  9581 -0.067 40.707   21 -0.282   21 -0.298   25 -0.550   21 0.4704   20  3.953   29 -0.660   22 -0.441
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
HORNETS       45 39  9730  9364 -0.003 40.766   16  0.087   16  0.066    6  0.388   16 0.5057   21  3.946    8  0.243    7  0.533
CLIPPERS      42 41  9450  9362 -0.027 40.392   19  0.004   19 -0.018   15  0.083   19 0.4982   22  3.942   19 -0.082   10  0.247
RAPTORS       49 40 10171  9951  0.024 44.639   12  0.158   13  0.133   10  0.210   11 0.5126   23  3.937   13  0.018    8  0.402
THUNDER       74 19 11090 10026  0.084 46.589    1  0.855    1  0.823    1  0.828    1 0.5752   24  3.936    2  0.633    1  1.024
KNICKS        64 31 11101 10350  0.033 46.627    4  0.464    4  0.433    3  0.668    4 0.5416   25  3.935    5  0.465    2  0.870
SUNS          46 42  9875  9813  0.045 45.181   15  0.113   15  0.096   16  0.052   15 0.5089   26  3.922   23 -0.213    9  0.316
PISTONS       67 29 11126 10434  0.023 46.860    3  0.513    3  0.485    4  0.489    3 0.5473   27  3.921    9  0.217    4  0.760
NETS          20 62  8686  9505 -0.080 41.137   28 -0.675   28 -0.695   29 -0.804   28 0.4359   28  3.901   30 -1.175   21 -0.434
CELTICS       59 30 10164  9513  0.011 43.009    5  0.406    5  0.381    5  0.473    5 0.5378   29  3.899   12  0.093    3  0.854
ROCKETS       54 34 10041  9628  0.002 42.799    9  0.287    9  0.265    9  0.243    9 0.5264   30  3.899   21 -0.140    6  0.626

PACIFIC DIVISION
                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
KINGS         22 60  9102  9922 -0.068 41.310   27 -0.596   27 -0.613   28 -0.666   27 0.4426   12  3.990   28 -0.587   26 -0.745
LAKERS        57 35 10562 10467  0.048 47.239    6  0.356    6  0.344   11  0.152    7 0.5317   17  3.971   11  0.134   11  0.170
WARRIORS      38 46  9620  9676 -0.002 42.086   20 -0.093   20 -0.113   20 -0.160   20 0.4888   18  3.967   22 -0.199   19 -0.121
CLIPPERS      42 41  9450  9362 -0.027 40.392   19  0.004   19 -0.018   15  0.083   19 0.4982   22  3.942   19 -0.082   10  0.247
SUNS          46 42  9875  9813  0.045 45.181   15  0.113   15  0.096   16  0.052   15 0.5089   26  3.922   23 -0.213    9  0.316

NORTHWEST DIVISION
                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
JAZZ          22 60  9642 10333 -0.060 41.240   26 -0.586   26 -0.610   26 -0.584   26 0.4429    1  4.081   15 -0.018   29 -1.149
NUGGETS       56 32 10655 10260  0.021 43.477    7  0.355    7  0.337    7  0.290    6 0.5327    5  4.023    3  0.545   15  0.034
TIMBERWOLVES  55 39 10975 10770  0.049 47.971   10  0.263   10  0.242   12  0.123   10 0.5234   13  3.979   10  0.148   14  0.099
TRAIL BLAZERS 44 44 10083 10165  0.016 44.767   18  0.035   18  0.023   18  0.000   18 0.5016   15  3.974   14 -0.003   16  0.003
THUNDER       74 19 11090 10026  0.084 46.589    1  0.855    1  0.823    1  0.828    1 0.5752   24  3.936    2  0.633    1  1.024

SOUTHWEST DIVISION
                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
GRIZZLIES     25 57  9403  9896 -0.055 40.838   25 -0.501   25 -0.527   27 -0.585   25 0.4506    6  4.021   25 -0.344   28 -0.827
PELICANS      26 56  9473  9842 -0.039 40.917   23 -0.461   24 -0.486   21 -0.249   23 0.4546    7  4.017   16 -0.029   23 -0.468
MAVERICKS     26 56  9358  9810 -0.054 40.818   24 -0.463   23 -0.484   23 -0.428   24 0.4536   11  3.995   24 -0.319   24 -0.537
SPURS         71 26 11568 10756  0.096 49.361    2  0.684    2  0.651    2  0.731    2 0.5604   14  3.976    1  0.739    5  0.723
ROCKETS       54 34 10041  9628  0.002 42.799    9  0.287    9  0.265    9  0.243    9 0.5264   30  3.899   21 -0.140    6  0.626

CENTRAL DIVISION
                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
BULLS         31 51  9537  9964 -0.054 40.757   22 -0.301   22 -0.323   22 -0.423   22 0.4677    3  4.043   18 -0.061   27 -0.785
PACERS        19 63  9219  9874 -0.058 41.306   29 -0.678   29 -0.706   24 -0.501   29 0.4338    9  4.001   26 -0.365   25 -0.637
CAVALIERS     60 38 11543 11210  0.058 50.034    8  0.337    8  0.321    8  0.270    8 0.5297   10  3.996    6  0.381   12  0.159
BUCKS         32 50  9072  9581 -0.067 40.707   21 -0.282   21 -0.298   25 -0.550   21 0.4704   20  3.953   29 -0.660   22 -0.441
PISTONS       67 29 11126 10434  0.023 46.860    3  0.513    3  0.485    4  0.489    3 0.5473   27  3.921    9  0.217    4  0.760

SOUTHEAST DIVISION
                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
HEAT          43 40 10037  9847  0.011 41.252   17  0.057   17  0.041   14  0.083   17 0.5032    2  4.061    4  0.540   20 -0.373
WIZARDS       17 65  9257 10240 -0.090 41.179   30 -0.793   30 -0.822   30 -0.823   30 0.4269    4  4.040   27 -0.478   30 -1.168
HAWKS         48 40 10316 10223  0.034 44.763   11  0.159   11  0.139   13  0.107   12 0.5120    8  4.009    7  0.288   18 -0.075
MAGIC         49 42 10393 10355  0.046 46.889   13  0.155   12  0.134   17  0.048   13 0.5119   19  3.956   17 -0.048   13  0.145
HORNETS       45 39  9730  9364 -0.003 40.766   16  0.087   16  0.066    6  0.388   16 0.5057   21  3.946    8  0.243    7  0.533

ATLANTIC DIVISION
                                                STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM           W  L    PF    PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
76ERS         50 44 10745 10857  0.035 48.558   14  0.141   14  0.127   19 -0.081   14 0.5099   16  3.972   20 -0.092   17 -0.070
RAPTORS       49 40 10171  9951  0.024 44.639   12  0.158   13  0.133   10  0.210   11 0.5126   23  3.937   13  0.018    8  0.402
KNICKS        64 31 11101 10350  0.033 46.627    4  0.464    4  0.433    3  0.668    4 0.5416   25  3.935    5  0.465    2  0.870
NETS          20 62  8686  9505 -0.080 41.137   28 -0.675   28 -0.695   29 -0.804   28 0.4359   28  3.901   30 -1.175   21 -0.434
CELTICS       59 30 10164  9513  0.011 43.009    5  0.406    5  0.381    5  0.473    5 0.5378   29  3.899   12  0.093    3  0.854

DIVISION             W   L   PCT  RNK RATING
NORTHWEST DIVISION 251 194 0.564    1  0.149
ATLANTIC DIVISION  242 207 0.539    2  0.104
SOUTHEAST DIVISION 202 226 0.472    3 -0.040
SOUTHWEST DIVISION 202 229 0.469    4 -0.061
PACIFIC DIVISION   205 224 0.478    5 -0.106
CENTRAL DIVISION   209 231 0.475    6 -0.150

Home field advantage amounts to:
     0.148 points in main ratings (0.186 for semineutral)
     0.015 points in improved RPI (0.019 for semineutral)
Average of 2.15 points per score

Predict score:








Team Strength vs. Time Plot:






posted: Sat May 23 05:30:17 2026
games through: Fri May 22 2026

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