NBA 2014-15 after Six Weeks: From the Brim to the Dregs

The first full season of the National Basketball Association’s Adam Silver Era completed its first “Quarter” of play Monday, Dec . 8.

This 2014-15 round of play marks the 36^th season during which the league has utilized the 3-point field goal. Initially viewed as an oddity or mere desperation tactic, this piece of hoops strategy has grown into an efficient, indeed even essential component to effective play. Consider this little factoid – there are currently six teams that rank in the Top Ten in both shooting and defending the “three.” Combined, these six squads are 90-32. The teams? The Hawks, Suns, Warriors, ‘Blazers, Clippers and defending-champion Spurs.

Portland, LA and San Antone are also among the elite in preventing opponent Offensive Rebounds.

Let’s see how the league “adds up” at the quarter-pole. (The Criteria is explained below.)

No. 1 Golden State Warriors (9)

[6-week ESPN rating: 1

3-week Abacus rating: 5
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 7
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 12]

18-2, .900; 1^st in Pacific Division / 1^st seed / 1^st overall

KK:  +10; (11 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 1 overall

CQ:  +42; (.504 [12^th] - .462 [1^st]) / No. 3 overall

SPOR-t:  +48; (560 [14^th] – 512 [3^rd]) / No. 4 overall

No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies (13)

[6-week ESPN rating: 3

3-week Abacus rating: 1
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 2
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 1]

16-4, .800; 1^st in Southwest Division / 2^nd seed / 2^nd overall (tied)*

KK:  +6; (7 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 3 overall

CQ:  +45; (.522 [3^rd] - .477 [5^th]) / No. 2 overall

SPOR-t:  +46; (591 [4^th] – 545 [9^th]) / No. 5 overall

No. 3 Dallas Mavericks (16)

[6-week ESPN rating: 7

3-week Abacus rating: 2
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 13
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 8]

16-6, .727; 4^th in Southwest Division / 7^th seed / 8^th overall

KK:  +5; (8 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +49; (.540 [1^st] - .491 [9^th]) / No. 1 overall

SPOR-t:  +64; (628 [1^st] – 564 [18^th]) / No. 2 overall

No. 4 San Antonio Spurs (16.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 2

3-week Abacus rating: 10
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 1
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 17]

15-5, .750; 3^rd in Southwest Division / 5^th seed / 6^th overall (tied)

KK:  +7; (8 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 2 overall

CQ:  +26; (.497 [17^th] - .471 [2^nd]) / No. 5 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +49; (544 [18^th] – 495 [1^st]) / No. 3 overall

No. 5 Portland Trail Blazers (27.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 5

3-week Abacus rating: 9
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 15
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 19]

16-4, .800; 1^st in Northwest Division / 2^nd seed / 2^nd overall (tied)*

KK:  +4; (6 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall (tied)

CQ:  +11; (.499 [15^th] - .488 [7^th]) / No. 11 overall

SPOR-t:  +38; (577 [8^th] – 539 [7^th]) / No. 6 overall

No. 5 Washington Wizards (27.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 11

3-week Abacus rating: 4
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 11
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 9]

14-6, .700; 1^st in Southeast Division / 2^nd seed / 9^th overall (tied)

KK:  +2; (4 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)***

CQ:  +33; (.508 [9^th] - .475 [4^th]) / No. 4 overall

SPOR-t:  +69; (573 [10^th] – 504 [2^nd]) / No. 1 overall

No. 7 Toronto Raptors (29.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 9

3-week Abacus rating: 7
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 12
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 9]

16-5, .762; 1^st in Atlantic Division / 1^st seed / 5^th overall

KK:  +3; (6 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)

CQ:  +25; (.530 [2^nd] - .505 [22^nd]) / No. 7 overall

SPOR-t:  +27; (601 [2^nd] – 574 [24^th]) / No. 8 overall

No. 8 Los Angeles Clippers (32)

[6-week ESPN rating: 6

3-week Abacus rating: 19
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 3
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 5]

15-5, .750; 2^nd in Pacific Division / 5^th seed / 6^th overall (tied)

KK:  +4; (7 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall (tied)

CQ:  +24; (.520 [4^th] - .496 [13^th]) / No. 8 overall

SPOR-t:  +21; (542 [19^th] – 521 [4^th]) / No.  10 overall

No. 9 Houston Rockets (34)

[6-week ESPN rating: 4

3-week Abacus rating: 3
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 8
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 2]

16-4, .800; 1^st in Southwest Division / 2^nd seed / 2^nd overall (tied)*

KK:  +5; (8 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +3; (.476 [26^th] - .473 [3^rd]) / No. 13 overall

SPOR-t:  +14; (540 [20^th] – 526 [5^th]) / No. 13 overall

No. 10 Cleveland Cavaliers (38)

[6-week ESPN rating: 8

3-week Abacus rating: 12
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 14
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 15]

12-7, .632; 1^st in Central Division / 4^th seed / 11^th overall

KK:  +2; (6 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)***

CQ:  +26; (.518 [6^th] - .492 [10^th]) / No. 5 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +22; (589 [5^th] – 567 [21^st]) / No. 9 overall

No. 11 Chicago Bulls (47)

[6-week ESPN rating: 10

3-week Abacus rating: 8
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 9
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 7]

12-8, .600; 2^nd in Central Division / 5^th seed / 12^th overall

KK:  +5; (10 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 4 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +9; (.507 [11^th] - .498 [16^th]) / No. 12 overall

SPOR-t:  -14; (555 [15^th] – 569 [23^rd]) / No. 18 overall

No.12 Sacramento Kings (47.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 18

3-week Abacus rating: 6
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 16
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 21]

11-10, .524; 4^th in Pacific Division / 9^th seed / 14^th overall

KK:  0; (5 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 17 overall (tied)

CQ:  +17; (.520 [5^th] - .503 [21^st]) / No. 9 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +30; (583 [6^th] – 553 [13^th]) / No. 7 overall

No. 13 Atlanta Hawks (48.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 12

3-week Abacus rating: 15
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 23
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 26]

14-6, .700; 1^st in Southeast Division / 2^nd seed / 9^th overall (tied)

KK:  +3; (5 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)

CQ:  +17; (.503 [13^th] - .486 [6^th]) / No. 9 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -20; (535 [23^rd] – 555 [15^th]) / No. 20 overall

No. 14 New Orleans Pelicans (54)

[6-week ESPN rating: 14

3-week Abacus rating: 11
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 19
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 22]

9-10, .474; 5^th in Southwest Division / 10^th seed / 16^th overall

KK:  +2; (4 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)***

CQ:  0; (.515 [7^th] - .515 [27^th]) / No. 14 overall

SPOR-t:  +19; (598 [3^rd] – 579 [26^th]) / No. 11 overall

No. 15 Phoenix Suns (60)

[6-week ESPN rating: 13

3-week Abacus rating: 18
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 10
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 14]

12-10, .545; 3^rd in Pacific Division / 8^th seed / 13^th overall

KK:  +2; (6 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -11; (.490 [20^th] - .501 [19^th]) / No. 17 overall

SPOR-t:  -13; (540 [20^th] – 553 [13^th]) / No. 17 overall

No. 16 Milwaukee Bucks (63)

[6-week ESPN rating: 16

3-week Abacus rating: 13
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 25
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 28]

11-11, .500; 3^rd in Central Division / 6^th seed / 15^th overall

KK:  +1; (5 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 16 overall

CQ:  -7; (.489 [21^st] - .496 [14^th]) / No. 16 overall

SPOR-t:  0; (561 [13^th] – 561 [17^th]) / No. 16 overall

No. 17 Denver Nuggets (67.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 22

3-week Abacus rating: 24
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 20
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 27]

9-12, .429; 2^nd in Northwest Division / 10^th seed / 18^th overall

KK:  0; (4 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 17 overall (tied)

CQ:  -13; (.498 [16^th] - .511 [24^th]) / No. 19 overall (tied)*

SPOR-t:  +16; (572 [11^th] – 556 [16^th]) / No. 12 overall

No. 18 Boston Celtics (77)

[6-week ESPN rating: 21

3-week Abacus rating: 17
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 28
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 24]

7-12, .368; 3^rd in Atlantic Division / 10^th seed / 21^st overall

KK:  -7; (2 Road Wins – 7 Home Losses) / No. 27 overall

CQ:  -4; (.493 [19^th] - .497 [15^th]) / No. 15 overall

SPOR-t:  +10; (562 [12^th] – 552 [12^th]) / No. 14 overall

No. 19 Brooklyn Nets (83.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 20

3-week Abacus rating: 15
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 18
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 16]

8-11, .421; 2^nd in Atlantic Division / 8^th seed / 19^th overall

KK:  -2; (4 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 20 overall (tied)

CQ:  -12; (.483 [22^nd] - .495 [12^th]) / No. 18 overall

SPOR-t:  -39; (528 [25^th] – 567 [21^st]) / No. 26 overall

No. 20 Orlando Magic (85)

[6-week ESPN rating: 19

3-week Abacus rating: 20
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 26
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 20]

9-14, .391; 4^th in Southeast Division / 9^th seed / 20^th overall

KK:  +2; (7 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -25; (.482 [23^rd] - .507 [23^rd]) / No. 25 overall

SPOR-t:  -47; (517 [28^th] – 564 [18^th]) / No. 27 overall

No. 21 Miami Heat (87)

[6-week ESPN rating: 17

3-week Abacus rating: 14
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 17
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 3]

9-11, .450; 3^rd in Southeast Division / 7^th seed / 17^th overall

KK:  -1; (5 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 19 overall

CQ:  -16; (.499 [14^th] - .515 [26^th]) / No. 21 overall

SPOR-t:  -69; (507 [29^th] – 576 [25^th]) / No. 30 overall

No. 22 Oklahoma City Thunder (88.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 15

3-week Abacus rating: 28
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 6
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 4]

7-13, .350; 3^rd in Northwest Division / 12^th seed / 22^nd overall

KK:  -2; (3 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -18; (.471 [27^th] - .489 [8^th]) / No. 23 overall

SPOR-t:  -18; (529 [24^th] – 547 [11^th]) / No. 19 overall

No. 23 Indiana Pacers (89)

[6-week ESPN rating: 23

3-week Abacus rating: 23
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 21
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 5]

7-14, .333; 4^th in Central Division / 11^th seed / 23^rd overall

KK:  -3; (3 Road Wins – 6 Home Loss) / No. 22 overall

CQ:  -33; (.470 [29^th] - .503 [20^th]) / No. 29 overall

SPOR-t:  +5; (536 [22^nd] – 531 [6^th]) / No. 15 overall

No. 24 Charlotte Hornets (91.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 25

3-week Abacus rating: 21
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 4
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 13]

5-15, .250; 5^th in Southeast Division / 12^th seed / 24^th overall

KK:  -6; (1 Road Win – 7 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -17; (.482 [24^th] - .499 [17^th]) / No. 22 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -21; (525 [27^th] – 546 [10^th]) / No. 21 overall (tied)

No. 25 Utah Jazz (93)

[6-week ESPN rating: 26

3-week Abacus rating: 22
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 27
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 25]

5-16, .238; 4^th in Northwest Division / 13^th seed / 25^th overall (tied)

KK:  -6; (2 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -15; (.507 [10^th] - .522 [28^th]) / No. 20 overall

SPOR-t:  -31; (574 [9^th] – 605 [29^th]) / No. 23 overall

No. 26 Los Angeles Lakers (96)

[6-week ESPN rating: 24

3-week Abacus rating: 29
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 29
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 29]

5-16, .238; 5^th in Pacific Division / 13^th seed / 25^th overall (tied)

KK:  -6; (3 Road Wins – 9 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -21; (.512 [8^th] - .533 [30^th]) / No. 24 overall

SPOR-t:  -27; (578 [7^th] – 605 [29^th]) / No. 22 overall

No. 27 Minnesota Timberwolves (106.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 28

3-week Abacus rating: 26
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 21
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 11]

4-16, .200; 5^th in Northwest Division / 15^th seed / 27^th overall

KK:  -6; (2 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -29; (.494 [18^th] - .523 [29^th]) / No. 27 overall

SPOR-t:  -48; (554 [17^th] – 602 [28^th]) / No. 28 overall

No. 28 New York Knicks (108)

[6-week ESPN rating: 27

3-week Abacus rating: 25
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 5
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 23]

4-18, .182; 4^th in Atlantic Division / 13^th seed / 28^th overall

KK:  -8; (1 Road Win – 9 Home Losses) / No. 28 overall (tied)

CQ:  -32; (.480 [25^th] - .512 [25^th]) / No. 28 overall

SPOR-t:  -35; (555 [15^th] – 590 [27^th]) / No. 24 overall (tied)

No. 29 Detroit Pistons (109.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 30

3-week Abacus rating: 27
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 24
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 18]

3-18, .143; 5^th in Central Division / 14^th seed / 29^th overall

KK:  -9; (1 Road Win – 10 Home Losses) / No. 29 overall (tied)

CQ:  -28; (.471 [28^th] - .499 [18^th]) / No. 26 overall

SPOR-t:  -38; (526 [26^th] – 564 [18^th]) / No. 25 overall

No. 30 Philadelphia 76ers (118.5)

[6-week ESPN rating: 29

3-week Abacus rating: 30
'13-'14 4th "Quarter" Abacus rating: 30
'13-'14 3rd "Quarter" Abacus rating: 30]

2-18, .100; 5^th in Atlantic Division / 15^th seed / 30^th overall

KK:  -9; (2 Road Wins – 11 Home Losses) / No. 29 overall (tied)

CQ:  -40; (.455 [30^th] - .495 [11^th]) / No. 30 overall

SPOR-t:  -65; (477 [30^th] – 542 [8^th]) / No. 29 overall

Power Ratings --The Measurement Instrument

Our team-ranking tool utilizes four elements. Two scales are based solely on team wins and losses; the others are measures of the efficiency of team performance in comparison with the competition. First, we’ll simply use win-loss record irrespective of conference.

The second criterion will be the difference between a team’s road wins and its home losses. Since this cute little metric is said to be a personal favorite of veteran NBA coach George Karl, let’s call this the Karl Kount (KK).

Criterion No. 3, Conversion Quotient (CQ), involves the rate at which a team converts its possessions into a successful field goals or free throw attempts. Like the KK, the computation is simple subtraction—a team’s rate of offensive efficiency minus that of the opponent.

Lastly, please allow Abacus to introduce the “SPOR-t” score. SPOR-t stands for “Shooting Plus Offensive Rebounds minus turnovers.” Add a team’s FG percentage and its offensive rebounding percentage (o. boards divided by the sum of those o. boards and the opposition's d. boards). Then subtract the percentage of a team’s possessions lost to turnovers. For example, a team shoots field goals at a .488 clip, offensive rebounds at a rate of .199, and commits a turnover on .143 of its possessions. So its SPOR-t is (488+199-143) or 544. Once again, our measurement will be the difference between the SPOR-t scores of a team and its opposition.

We’ll rank the teams from 1 to 30 in all criteria and simply add up the rankings. Low score wins, naturally.

NBA 2014: 3-week Power Ratings

If we look at the NBA’s regular season as if it were a 48-minute game, then we’ve reached the six-minute mark – the first media time-out, if you will.

It’s hardly news that the league’s power lies in the West, and the initial set of power ratings seems to affirm this notion – five of the Top Six and seven of the Top Ten.

These rankings reflect the first 21 days of the season (through Monday Nov. 17).

Power Ratings --The Measurement Instrument

Our team-ranking tool utilizes four elements. Two scales are based solely on team wins and losses; the others are measures of the efficiency of team performance in comparison with the competition. First, we’ll simply use win-loss record irrespective of conference.

The second criterion will be the difference between a team’s road wins and its home losses. Since this cute little metric is said to be a personal favorite of veteran NBA coach George Karl, let’s call this the Karl Kount (KK).

Criterion No. 3, Conversion Quotient (CQ), involves the rate at which a team converts its possessions into a successful field goals or free throw attempts. Like the KK, the computation is simple subtraction—a team’s rate of offensive efficiency minus that of the opponent.

Lastly, please allow Abacus to introduce the “SPOR-t” score. SPOR-t stands for “Shooting Plus Offensive Rebounds minus turnovers.” Add a team’s FG percentage and its offensive rebounding percentage (o. boards divided by missed FG’s). Then subtract the percentage of a team’s possessions lost to turnovers. For example, a team shoots field goals at a .488 clip, its offensive rebounds account for .199 of its missed field goals, and .143 of its possessions result in a turnover. So its SPOR-t is (488+199-143) or 544. Once again, our measurement will be the difference between the SPOR-t scores of a team and its opposition.

We’ll rank the teams from 1 to 30 in all criteria and simply add up the rankings. Low score wins, naturally.

No. 1 Memphis Grizzlies (11) 

[3-week ESPN rating: 2]

10-1, .909; 1^st in Southwest Division / 1^st seed / 1^st overall

KK:  +4; (4 Road Wins – 0 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall

CQ:  +47; (.513 [10^th] - .466 [2^nd]) / No. 2 overall

SPOR-t:  +43; (578 [8^th] – 535 [9^th]) / No. 6 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Grizzlies are 91-30 (regular season) on their home floor since the 2011 work stoppage.

No. 2 Dallas Mavericks (16)

[3-week ESPN rating: 10]

8-3, .727; 3^rd in Southwest Division / 5^th seed / 6^th overall (tied)*

KK:  +2; (3 Road Wins – 1 Home Losses) / No. 6 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +62; (.543 [1^st] - .481 [7^th]) / No. 1 overall

SPOR-t:  +85; (634 [1^st] – 549 [13^th]) / No. 1 overall

Abacus Revelation: The highest scoring team in the league, the Mavs are No. 1 in forcing turnovers and No. 7 in opponent’s rate of conversion.

No. 3 Houston Rockets (19.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 1]

9-2, .818; 2^nd in Southwest Division / 2^nd seed / 2^nd overall

KK:  +5; (6 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 1 overall

CQ:  +20; (.480 [23^rd] - .460 [1^st]) / No. 7 overall

SPOR-t:  +21; (535 [19^th] – 514 [5^th]) / No. 9 overall (tied)

Abacus Revelation: The explosive Rockets sport the best defensive efficiency (.460) in the league at this juncture.

No. 4 Washington Wizards (22)

[3-week ESPN rating: 9]

7-2, .778; 1^st in Southeast Division / 2^nd seed / 5^th overall

KK:  +3; (3 Road Wins – 0 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +41; (.513 [9^th] - .472 [6^th]) / No. 9 overall

SPOR-t:  +46; (554 [15^th] – 508 [2^nd]) / No. 4 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Wizards 25% accuracy from the three-point line is down from 38% last year.

No. 5 Golden State Warriors (22.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 3]

8-2, .800; 1^st in Pacific Division / 3^rd seed / 3^rd overall (tied)

KK:  +3; (4 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 3 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +31; (.497 [17^th] - .466 [3^rd]) / No. 4 overall

SPOR-t:  +17; (527 [21^st] – 510 [4^th]) / No. 11 overall  

Abacus Revelation: The Warriors (for two straight weeks) are No. 1 in FG offense (.499) and FG defense (.414).

No.6 Sacramento Kings (24.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 12]

6-4, .600; 2^nd in Pacific Division / 6^th seed / 9^th overall (tied)

KK:  +2; (3 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 6 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +26; (.514 [8^th] - .488 [9^th]) / No. 5 overall

SPOR-t:  +53; (569 [10^th] – 516 [6^th]) / No. 3 overall

Abacus Revelation: Sacramento ranks No. 3 in both securing and preventing Offensive Rebounds.

No. 7 Toronto Raptors (25.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 8]

8-2, .800; 1^st in Atlantic Division / 1^st seed / 3^rd overall (tied)

KK:  +1; (2 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 9 overall (tied)***

CQ:  +34; (.528 [2^nd] - .494 [14^th]) / No. 3 overall

SPOR-t:  +35; (580 [7^th] – 545 [12^th]) / No. 8 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Raptors’ offense is clicking at a 53% rate of conversion, second best in the league.

No. 8 Chicago Bulls (36)

[3-week ESPN rating: 7]

8-3, .727; 2^nd in Central Division / 3^rd seed / 6^th overall (tied)*

KK:  +3; (6 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +23; (.516 [5^th] - .493 [12^th]) / No. 6 overall

SPOR-t:  -19; (560 [13^th] – 579 [26^th]) / No. 19 overall

Abacus Revelation: Last season’s worst shooting team (.432) currently ranks fifth (.469).

No. 9 Portland Trail Blazers (37.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 5]

8-3, .727; 1^st in Northwest Division / 4^th seed / 6^th overall (tied)*

KK:  0; (1 Road Win – 1 Home Loss) / No. 14 overall (tied)**

CQ:  +15; (.504 [12^th] - .489 [10^th]) / No. 10 overall

SPOR-t:  +44; (593 [4^th] – 549 [13^th]) / No. 5 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Blazers recognize the importance of the three-point field goal—they’re No. four in both shooting and defending them.

No. 10 San Antonio Spurs (38)

[3-week ESPN rating: 4]

6-4, .600; 4^th in Southwest Division / 7^th seed / 9^th overall (tied)

KK:  +2; (3 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 6 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +2; (.471 [26^th] - .469 [5^th]) / No. 12 overall

SPOR-t:  +21; (501 [28^th] – 480 [1^st]) / No. 9 overall (tied)

Abacus Revelation: The Spurs are yielding fewer than eight offensive rebounds per game, tops in the Association.

No. 11 New Orleans Pelicans (38.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 13]

5-4, .556; 5^th in Southwest Division / 9^th seed / 12^th overall (tied)*

KK:  0; (1 Road Win – 1 Home Loss) / No. 14 overall (tied)**

CQ:  +18; (.525 [3^rd] - .507 [24^th]) / No. 8 overall

SPOR-t:  +57; (618 [2^nd] – 561 [20^th]) / No. 2 overall

Abacus Revelation: Solid ball-handling and aggressive board-work have made the Pelicans the third most efficient offensive team in the league.

No. 12 Cleveland Cavaliers (50)

[3-week ESPN rating: 6]

5-4, .556; 2^nd in Central Division / 4^th seed / 12^th overall (tied)*

KK:  +1; (3 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)***

CQ:  +6; (.515 [7^th] - .509 [25^th]) / No. 11 overall

SPOR-t:  +5; (588 [6^th] – 583 [27^th]) / No. 15 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Cavs have been lighting up the scoreboard (fourth in PPG, second in points per possession), Clevelan’ (as in, No D) is No. 28 in opponent FG% and No. 25 in opponent Conversion Rate.

No. 13 Milwaukee Bucks (59)

[3-week ESPN rating: 17]

5-5, .500; 3^rd in Central Division / 7^th seed / 17^th overall

KK:  +1; (2 Road Wins – 1 Home Loss) / No. 9 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -5; (.463 [28^th] - .468 [4^th]) / No. 17 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +11; (519 [23^rd] – 508 [2^nd]) / No. 13 overall (tied)

Abacus Revelation: Milwaukee’s defense is top-tier (fourth-best in opponent’s rate of conversion), but they rank 28^th in points per game, shot and possession.

No. 14 Miami Heat (66)

[3-week ESPN rating: 14]

6-5, .545; 3^rd in Southeast Division / 6^th seed / 15^th overall (tied)

KK:  0; (3 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 14 overall (tied)**

CQ:  0; (.502 [14^th] - .502 [19^th]) / No. 14 overall

SPOR-t:  -27; (522 [22^nd] – 549 [13^th]) / No. 21 overall

Abacus Revelation: Last season Miami’s opposition shot .457 from the field. Miami’s opposition currently shoots .457 from the field.

No. 15 Brooklyn Nets (71)

[3-week ESPN rating: 21]

4-6, .400; 2^nd in Atlantic Division / 9^th seed / 19^th overall

KK:  -1; (1 Road Win – 2 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -1; (.502 [15^th] - .503 [20^th]) / No. 15 overall

SPOR-t:  -10; (558 [14^th] – 568 [23^rd]) / No. 17 overall

Abacus Revelation: Last season’s second-best team at forcing turnovers has dipped to No. 16.

No. 15 Atlanta Hawks (71)

[3-week ESPN rating: 16]

5-4, .556; 2^nd in Southeast Division / 5^th seed / 12^th overall (tied)*

KK:  +1; (1 Road Win – 0 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -9; (.488 [19^th] - .497 [16^th]) / No. 19 overall

SPOR-t:  -54; (515 [25^th] – 569 [24^th]) / No. 28 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Hawks offensive efficiency has improved by four points (.488 - .484) since last season – and their ranking (19^th) is six positions higher. Weird, huh?

No. 17 Boston Celtics (73)

[3-week ESPN rating: 22]

3-6, .333; 3^rd in Atlantic Division / 11^th seed / 23^rd overall

KK:  -3; (1 Road Win – 4 Home Losses) / No. 27 overall

CQ:  -4; (.515 [6^th] - .519 [27^th]) / No. 16 overall

SPOR-t:  +40; (615 [3^rd] – 575 [25^th]) / No. 7 overall

Abacus Revelation: The C’s shooting is rather impressive, third best in FG%. Alas, the Stevens crew lets the other guys shoot just as well, third from the bottom.

No. 18 Phoenix Suns (73.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 14]

6-5, .545; 4^th in Pacific Division / 10^th seed / 15^th overall (tied)

KK:  -1; (2 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -17; (.487 [20^th] - .504 [22^nd]) / No. 22 overall

SPOR-t:  -4; (530 [20^th] – 534 [8^th]) / No. 16 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Suns are Top Ten in preventing second shots so far, up from No. 21 last year.

No. 19 Los Angeles Clippers (74.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 11]

5-4, .556; 3^rd in Pacific Division / 8^th seed / 11^th overall

KK:  -2; (1 Road Win – 3 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  +1; (.502 [13^th] - .501 [18^th]) / No. 13 overall 

SPOR-t:  -31; (508 [27^th] – 539 [10^th]) / No.  26 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Clippers are the poorest Offensive Rebounding team in the Association.

No. 20 Orlando Magic (75)

[3-week ESPN rating: 25]

5-7, .417; 4^th in Southeast Division / 8^th seed / 18^th overall

KK:  +1; (3 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -15; (.485 [21^st] - .500 [17^th]) / No. 21 overall

SPOR-t:  -30; (519 [23^rd] – 549 [13^th]) / No. 25 overall

Abacus Revelation: After allowing opponents a 55% conversion rate in a win-less Week One, they’ve been under 50 in the subsequent nine games.

No. 21 Charlotte Hornets (81)

[3-week ESPN rating: 19]

4-7, .364; 5^th in Southeast Division / 10^th seed / 20^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -1; (1 Road Win – 2 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)***

CQ:  +6; (.486 [24^th] - .480 [11^th]) / No. 17 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -28; (514 [26^th] – 542 [11^th]) / No. 22 overall (tied)

Abacus Revelation: Charlotte’s Top Five FG Defense from last season has slipped to Bottom Ten.

No. 22 Utah Jazz (83.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 20]

4-7, .364; 2^nd in Northwest Division / 11^th seed / 20^th overall (tied)*

KK:  0; (2 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 14 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -14; (.507 [11^th] - .521 [28^th]) / No. 20 overall

SPOR-t:  -41; (572 [9^th] – 613 [29^th]) / No. 27 overall

Abacus Revelation: The young Jazz are among the Top Ten in FG%, points per possession, and Offensive Rebounding Percentage.

No. 23 Indiana Pacers (84.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 18]

4-7, .364; 4^th in Central Division / 11^th seed / 20^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -2; (2 Road Wins – 4 Home Loss) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -27; (.466 [27^th] - .493 [13^th]) / No. 26 overall (tied)*

SPOR-t:  +16; (547 [16^th] – 531 [7^th]) / No. 12 overall

Abacus Revelation: A ranking of 27^th (PPG, Conversion Rate, FG%) seems to sum up the Pacers’ offensive proficiency. Unfortunately, they also rank 27^th in forcing turnovers.

No. 24 Denver Nuggets (89)

[3-week ESPN rating: 27]

3-7, .300; 3rd in Northwest Division / 12^th seed / 24^th overall

KK:  -1; (2 Road Wins – 3 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -27; (.489 [18^th] - .516 [26^th]) / No. 26 overall (tied)*

SPOR-t:  -16; (546 [17^th] – 562 [21^st]) / No. 18 overall

Abacus Revelation: The Nuggets offensive output (points, FG%, efficiency) have been improving week-by-week. 

No. 25 New York Knicks (91)

[3-week ESPN rating: 24]

3-8, .273; 4^th in Atlantic Division / 13^th seed / 25^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -4; (1 Road Win – 5 Home Losses) / No. 28 overall (tied)

CQ:  -23; (.484 [22^nd] - .507 [23^rd]) / No. 23 overall

SPOR-t:  +11; (567 [11^th] – 556 [18^th]) / No. 13 overall (tied)

Abacus Revelation: During Week Three, the Knicks took a page from their division-winning 2013 squad, hitting treys at nearly 40% while turning the ball over at a paltry 12% rate.

No. 26 Minnesota Timberwolves (97)

[3-week ESPN rating: 28]

2-7, .222; 5^th in Northwest Division / 14^th seed / 28^th overall

KK:  -1; (1 Road Win – 2 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)***

CQ:  -29; (.499 [16^th] - .528 [29^th]) / No. 29 overall

SPOR-t:  -25; (566 [12^th] – 591 [28^th]) / No. 20 overall

Abacus Revelation: Rebounding is the one area in which the T’wolves’ have been excelling – fifth-best in securing offensive boards, sixth-best at preventing them.

No. 27 Detroit Pistons (97.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 26]

3-8, .273; 5^th in Central Division / 13^th seed / 25^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -2; (1 Road Win – 3 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -25; (.478 [25^th] - .503 [21^st]) / No. 24 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -28; (538 [18^th] – 566 [22^nd]) / No. 22 overall (tied)

Abacus Revelation: Last season the Pistons ranked second in forcing turnovers (18%); currently they are dead last (12%).

No. 28 Oklahoma City Thunder (104)

[3-week ESPN rating: 23]

3-8, .273; 4^th in Northwest Division / 13^th seed / 25^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -2; (1 Road Win – 3 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall (tied)**

CQ:  -25; (.459 [29^th] - .484 [8^th]) / No. 24 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -59; (500 [29^th] – 559 [19^th]) / No. 29 overall

Abacus Revelation: Though the Thunder are one of but two teams posting fewer than 90 points per game, Coach Scott Brooks can take heart in a consistently high (currently No. 6) in defensive efficiency.

No. 29 Los Angeles Lakers (110)

[3-week ESPN rating: 29]

1-9, .100; 5^th in Pacific Division / 15^th seed / 29^th overall

KK:  -5; (0 Road Wins – 5 Home Losses) / No. 30 overall

CQ:  -27; (.517 [4^th] - .544 [30^th]) / No. 26 overall (tied)*

SPOR-t:  -29; (589 [5^th] – 618 [30^th]) / No. 24 overall

Abacus Revelation: While the offense has shown some signs of spark, these Lakers have proven to be the least “pesky” defensive unit in the circuit.

No. 30 Philadelphia 76ers (118.5)

[3-week ESPN rating: 30]

0-10, .000; 5^th in Atlantic Division / 15^th seed / 30^th overall

KK:  -4; (0 Road Wins – 4 Home Losses) / No. 28 overall (tied)

CQ:  -59; (.437 [30^th] - .496 – [15^th]) / No. 30 overall

SPOR-t:  -108; (444 [30^th] – 552 [17^th]) / No. 30 overall

Abacus Revelation: On average, a game involving the Sixers features nearly 40 turnovers and over 50 free throws.

MLB's African-American Pitchers -- A Dying Breed?

A Philadelphia middle-school little leaguer has a higher public profile -- what do they call it, Q factor or something? -- than any MLB starting pitcher over the past several seasons or so who happened to be, like Mo'ne Davis, African-American. I'd even speculate that she's more widely recognized than any black big-leaguer since Barry Bonds.

Friday's Straight Line looked back at the season that broke Baseball's "color line" and initiated the "ajarring" of a good many other societal doors.

Today's "take" actually better fits the theme of my blog, as it involves an ironical consequence that seems to have played out over the decades of aftermath to this historic breakthrough. While the initial period of integration -- with more than its share of bush-league resistance, mind you -- enabled the emergence of Mudcat Grant's Black Aces, the flow of African-American athletes (particularly pitchers) to the National Pastime has slowed to a trickle.

Football and basketball teem with Black American athletes, the NHL seems to feature more players of color than ever before -- but the diversity in baseball in these global times stems from south (the Caribbean) and east (Asia).

Consider these numbers -- Since Opening Day of 2011, nearly 500 different pitchers have started a regular-season game, 291 in the 2014 Season of Debilitating Arm Injury alone. A whopping nine of these pitchers are African American, one of them a military kid who was actually born in Germany. That's over 9,700 regular season games, of which 616 were started by these nine men.

Five of the nine have drawn a starting assignment in each of these four seasons. How many do you think you can name? All but one played for multiple teams during that stretch. The easy answers are David Price, now with Detroit, and the Yankees' CC Sabathia (though the slimmed down CC's 2014 was derailed after just eight starts). German-born journeyman Edwin Jackson gave his employer, currently the Cubs, 30 starts for the eight consecutive year. San Diego's Tyson Ross along with Jerome "Rent-Don't-Own" Williams (who threw for three teams in 2014) round out this quintet.

James McDonald (who hasn't worked since April of 2013 and dwells on the Cubbies' DL for now), Chris Archer (a full-time starter for the Rays this year), the Mariners' young Taijuan Walker and old war-horse Dontrelle Willis (thirteen 2011 starts for Cincinnati) complete the list.

African-Americans on the World Series Mound: A Little Quiz

Since Jackie Robinson entered the Major Leagues in 1947, there have been 34 African-American pitchers who have worked in the 68 subsequent Fall Classics. Exactly half of these players have been awarded at least one starting assignment.

Some of the questions alone are likely to "make you go Hmm" -- and the answers may make you look like this. (A mystery-resolving link is provided.)

Here we go ...

Who was the last African-American pitcher to earn a winning decision in a World Series game?

Who was the first African-American ever to pitch in a World Series game?

Which African-American pitcher has appeared in the most World Series (5)?

Name the Hall of Fame manager who started African-American pitchers in Games 6 & 7 of the same World Series.

Brooklyn’s Don Newcombe threw a five-hit complete game in his 1949 World Series debut. What five-time Yankee All-Star out-dueled him in that memorable Game1?

Who was the last African-American starting pitcher to earn a winning World Series decision for a National League team?

True or False? Vida Blue earned a 7-out save in his initial World Series appearance.

Who is the only African-American to pitch in the World Series for a National League team in the 1990’s?

Which African-American pitcher has appeared in three World Series for three different teams?

Which was the first MLB team to utilize two African-American pitchers in the same World Series?

Since Dwight Gooden started Game 5 of the 1986 World Series for the Mets, who is the only African-American pitcher to start a World Series game for a National League team?

Answers available here.