NBA 2015 Final Power Ratings

No. 1 Golden State Warriors (4)

[24-week ESPN rating: 1

21-week Abacus rating: 1

18-week Abacus rating: 1

15-week Abacus rating: 1

12-week Abacus rating: 1

9-week Abacus rating: 1

6-week Abacus rating: 1

3-week Abacus rating: 5]

67-15, .817; 1^st in Pacific Division / 1^st seed / 1^st overall

KK:  +26; (28 Road Wins – 2 Home Losses) / No. 1 overall

CQ:  +36; (.510 [3^rd] - .474 [2^nd]) / No. 1 overall

SPOR-t:  +51; (576 [5^th] – 525 [3^rd]) / No. 1 overall 

No. 2 Los Angeles Clippers (14.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 4

21-week Abacus rating: 3

18-week Abacus rating: 3

15-week Abacus rating: 5

12-week Abacus rating: 8

9-week Abacus rating: 9

6-week Abacus rating: 8

3-week Abacus rating: 19]

56-26, .683; 2^nd in Pacific Division / 3^rd seed / 3^rd overall (tied)

KK:  +15; (26 Road Wins – 11 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall (tied)

CQ:  +29; (.524 [1^st] - .495 [17^th]) / No. 2 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +36; (575 [6^th] – 539 [8^th]) / No.  5 overall

No. 3 Memphis Grizzlies (17.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 8

21-week Abacus rating: 2

18-week Abacus rating: 2

15-week Abacus rating: 2

12-week Abacus rating: 2

9-week Abacus rating: 3

6-week Abacus rating: 2

3-week Abacus rating: 1]

55-27, .670; 2^st in Southwest Division / 5^nd seed / 5^th overall (tied)

KK:  +14; (24 Road Wins – 10 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)

CQ:  +29; (.505 [8^th] - .476 [3^rd]) / No. 2 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +37; (566 [11^th] – 529 [7^th]) / No. 4 overall

No. 4 San Antonio Spurs (21.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 2

21-week Abacus rating: 4

18-week Abacus rating: 6

15-week Abacus rating: 7

12-week Abacus rating: 7

9-week Abacus rating: 11

6-week Abacus rating: 4

3-week Abacus rating: 10]

55-27, .671; 2^nd in Southwest Division / 4^th seed / 5^th overall (tied)

KK:  +14; (22 Road Wins – 8 Home Losses) / No. 5 overall (tied)

CQ:  +21; (.503 [9^th] - .482 [7^th]) / No. 4 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +34; (559 [12^th] – 525 [3^rd]) / No. 6 overall

No. 5 Atlanta Hawks (28)

[24-week ESPN rating: 5

21-week Abacus rating: 6

18-week Abacus rating: 4

15-week Abacus rating: 4

12-week Abacus rating: 5

9-week Abacus rating: 8

6-week Abacus rating: 13

3-week Abacus rating: 15]

60-22, .732; 1^st in Southeast Division / 1^st seed / 2^nd overall

KK:  +19; (25 Road Wins – 6 Home Losses) / No. 2 overall

CQ:  +21; (.495 [14^th] - .474 [1^st]) / No. 4 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -6; (534 [25^th] – 540 [9^th]) / No. 19 overall (tied)

No. 6 Washington Wizards (33.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 14

21-week Abacus rating: 8

18-week Abacus rating: 8

15-week Abacus rating: 6

12-week Abacus rating: 4

9-week Abacus rating: 4

6-week Abacus rating: 5

3-week Abacus rating: 4]

46-36, .561; 2^nd in Southeast Division / 5^th seed / 12^th overall

KK:  +5; (17 Road Wins – 12 Home Losses) / No. 12 overall

CQ:  +17; (.497 [13^th] - .480 [6^th]) / No. 6 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +39; (557 [14^th] – 518 [2^nd]) / No. 3 overall

No. 7 Cleveland Cavaliers (35.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 3

21-week Abacus rating: 4

18-week Abacus rating: 9

15-week Abacus rating: 13

12-week Abacus rating: 17

9-week Abacus rating: 12

6-week Abacus rating: 10

3-week Abacus rating: 12]

53-29, .646; 1^st in Central Division / 2^nd seed / 7^th overall

KK:  +12; (22 Road Wins – 10 Home Losses) / No. 7 overall

CQ:  +9; (.506 [7^th] - .497 [19^th]) / No. 9 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +8; (578 [3^rd] – 570 [23^rd]) / No. 12 overall  

No. 8 Dallas Mavericks (38.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 10

21-week Abacus rating: 9

18-week Abacus rating: 5

15-week Abacus rating: 3

12-week Abacus rating: 2

9-week Abacus rating: 4

6-week Abacus rating: 3

3-week Abacus rating: 2]

50-32, .610; 4^th in Southwest Division / 7^th seed / 9^th overall (tied)

KK:  +9; (23 Road Wins – 14 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)

CQ:  +17; (.509 [4^th] - .492 [14^th]) / No. 6 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +4; (568 [7^th] – 564 [20^th]) / No. 13 overall

No. 9 Houston Rockets (40)

[24-week ESPN rating: 7

21-week Abacus rating: 10

18-week Abacus rating: 10

15-week Abacus rating: 9

12-week Abacus rating: 8

9-week Abacus rating: 10

6-week Abacus rating: 9

3-week Abacus rating: 3]

56-26, .683; 1^st in Southwest Division / 2^nd seed / 3^rd overall (tied)

KK:  +15; (26 Road Wins – 11 Home Losses) / No. 3 overall (tied)

CQ:  +5; (.490 [20^th] - .485 [8^th]) / No. 13 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -6; (546 [21^st] – 552 [14^th]) / No. 19 overall (tied)

No. 9 Oklahoma City Thunder (40)

[24-week ESPN rating: 15

21-week Abacus rating: 7

18-week Abacus rating: 7

15-week Abacus rating: 10

12-week Abacus rating: 11

9-week Abacus rating: 14

6-week Abacus rating: 22

3-week Abacus rating: 28]

45-37, .549; 2^nd in Northwest Division / 8^th seed / 13^th overall (tied)

KK:  +4; (16 Road Wins – 12 Home Losses) / No. 13 overall (tied)

CQ:  +8; (.503 [10^th] - .495 [16^th]) / No. 11 overall

SPOR-t:  +43; (590 [1^st] – 547 [11^th]) / No. 2 overall

No. 11 Chicago Bulls (43)

[24-week ESPN rating: 6

21-week Abacus rating: 11

18-week Abacus rating: 13

15-week Abacus rating: 11

12-week Abacus rating: 12

9-week Abacus rating: 7

6-week Abacus rating: 11

3-week Abacus rating: 8]

50-32, .610; 2^nd in Central Division / 3^rd seed / 9^th overall (tied)

KK:  +9; (23 Road Wins – 14 Home Losses) / No. 9 overall (tied)

CQ:  +0; (.500 [11^th] - .491 [13^th]) / No. 9 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +3; (568 [9^th] – 565 [21^st]) / No. 14 overall (tied)

No. 12 Milwaukee Bucks (46)

[24-week ESPN rating: 18

21-week Abacus rating: 14

18-week Abacus rating: 16

15-week Abacus rating: 14

12-week Abacus rating: 15

9-week Abacus rating: 16

6-week Abacus rating: 16

3-week Abacus rating: 13]

41-41, .500; 3^rd in Central Division / 6^th seed / 15^th overall

KK:  0; (18 Road Wins – 18 Home Losses) / No. 15 overall

CQ:  +10; (.486 [24^th] - .476 [4^th]) / No. 8 overall

SPOR-t:  +14; (542 [23^rd] – 528 [6^th]) / No. 8 overall  

No. 13 Portland Trail Blazers (50)

[24-week ESPN rating: 9

21-week Abacus rating: 13

18-week Abacus rating: 11

15-week Abacus rating: 12

12-week Abacus rating: 10

9-week Abacus rating: 6

6-week Abacus rating: 5

3-week Abacus rating: 9]

51-31, .622; 1^st in Northwest Division / 6^th seed / 8^th overall

KK:  +10; (19 Road Wins – 9 Home Losses) / No. 8 overall

CQ:  -2; (.489 [23^rd] - .491 [12^th]) / No. 16 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  0; (553 [17^th] – 553 [15^th]) / No. 17 overall (tied)

No. 14 New Orleans Pelicans (51)

[24-week ESPN rating: 15

21-week Abacus rating: 15

18-week Abacus rating: 14

15-week Abacus rating: 14

12-week Abacus rating: 13

9-week Abacus rating: 13

6-week Abacus rating: 14

3-week Abacus rating: 11]

45-37, .549; 5^th in Southwest Division / 8^th seed / 13^th overall (tied)

KK:  +4; (17 Road Wins – 13 Home Losses) / No. 13 overall (tied)

CQ:  +2; (.508 [5^th] - .506 [25^th]) / No. 15 overall

SPOR-t:  +12; (588 [2^nd] – 576 [26^th]) / No. 9 overall  

No. 15 Toronto Raptors (53)

[24-week ESPN rating: 11

21-week Abacus rating: 11

18-week Abacus rating: 12

15-week Abacus rating: 8

12-week Abacus rating: 6

9-week Abacus rating: 2

6-week Abacus rating: 7

3-week Abacus rating: 7]

49-33, .598; 1^st in Atlantic Division / 4^th seed / 11^th overall

KK:  +8; (22 Road Wins – 14 Home Losses) / No. 11 overall

CQ:  +5; (.511 [2^nd] - .506 [24^th]) / No. 13 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  0; (578 [3^rd] – 578 [28^th]) / No. 17 overall (tied)

ABACUS INFOMERCIAL:

Fans and pundits alike are singing the praises of rookie Golden State coach Steve Kerr. His high-scoring Warriors lead the Association in overall field goal shooting as well as 3-point shooting. Defensively, they also rank first and fifth respectively in those categories. (Only the Hawks and Bucks have matched this achievement.) Perhaps we should, though, detain Kerr in the Mt. Rushmore Green Room a bit longer. The bastions of the Bay Area, under the helm of the deposed Mark Jackson, turned that very trick last season as well. The only other coach who can make that claim goes by “Pop” – and he still has a job.

No. 16 Utah Jazz (57)

[24-week ESPN rating: 13

21-week Abacus rating: 16

18-week Abacus rating: 17

15-week Abacus rating: 20

12-week Abacus rating: 23

9-week Abacus rating: 22

6-week Abacus rating: 25

3-week Abacus rating: 22]

38-44, .463; 3^rd in Northwest Division / 11^th seed / 18^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -3; (17 Road Wins – 20 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)*

CQ:  +6; (.497 [12^th] - .491 [11^th]) / No. 12 overall

SPOR-t:  +31; (574 [7^th] – 543 [10^th]) / No. 7 overall

No. 17 Indiana Pacers (67)

[24-week ESPN rating: 16

21-week Abacus rating: 19

18-week Abacus rating: 18

15-week Abacus rating: 19

12-week Abacus rating: 22

9-week Abacus rating: 21

6-week Abacus rating: 23

3-week Abacus rating: 23]

38-44, .463; 4^th in Central Division / 8^th seed / 18^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -3 (15 Road Wins – 18 Home Loss) / No. 18 overall (tied)*

CQ:  -3; (.484 [26^th] - .487 [19^th]) / No. 18 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +10; (535 [24^th] – 525 [3^rd]) / No. 10 overall (tied)

No. 18 Boston Celtics (69)

[24-week ESPN rating: 17

21-week Abacus rating: 21

18-week Abacus rating: 23

15-week Abacus rating: 22

12-week Abacus rating: 25

9-week Abacus rating: 19

6-week Abacus rating: 18

3-week Abacus rating: 17]

40-42, .488; 2^nd in Atlantic Division / 7^th seed / 16^th overall

KK:  -1; (19 Road Wins – 20 Home Losses) / No. 16 overall

CQ:  -7; (.485 [25^th] - .492 [15^th]) / No. 22 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +3; (552 [18^th] – 549 [14^th]) / No. 14 overall (tied)

No. 19 Detroit Pistons (76.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 24

21-week Abacus rating: 21

18-week Abacus rating: 21

15-week Abacus rating: 18

12-week Abacus rating: 20

9-week Abacus rating: 26

6-week Abacus rating: 29

3-week Abacus rating: 27]

32-50, .390; 5^th in Central Division / 12^th seed / 23^rd overall

KK:  -9; (14 Road Wins – 23 Home Losses) / No. 23 overall

CQ:  -4; (.492 [19^th] - .496 [18^th]) / No. 20 overall

SPOR-t:  +10; (571 [8^th] – 561 [17^th]) / No. 10 overall (tied)

No. 20 Charlotte Hornets (78.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 22

21-week Abacus rating: 17

18-week Abacus rating: 15

15-week Abacus rating: 16

12-week Abacus rating: 16

9-week Abacus rating: 24

6-week Abacus rating: 24

3-week Abacus rating: 21]

33-49, .402; 4^th in Southeast Division / 11^th seed / 22^nd overall

KK:  -8; (14 Road Wins – 22 Home Losses) / No. 22 overall

CQ:  -3; (.476 [28^th] - .479 [5^th]) / No. 18 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  +2; (519 [28^th] – 517 [1^st]) / No. 16 overall  

No. 21 Phoenix Suns (81)

[24-week ESPN rating: 21

21-week Abacus rating: 17

18-week Abacus rating: 19

15-week Abacus rating: 17

12-week Abacus rating: 14

9-week Abacus rating: 15

6-week Abacus rating: 15

3-week Abacus rating: 18]

39-43, .476; 3^rd in Pacific Division / 10^th seed / 17^th overall

KK:  -2; (17 Road Wins – 19 Home Losses) / No. 17 overall

CQ:  -9; (.489 [22^nd] - .498 [20^th]) / No. 24 overall

SPOR-t:  -17; (546 [21^st] – 563 [18^th]) / No. 22 overall (tied)*

No. 22 Brooklyn Nets (86.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 19

21-week Abacus rating: 23

18-week Abacus rating: 22

15-week Abacus rating: 23

12-week Abacus rating: 24

9-week Abacus rating: 18

6-week Abacus rating: 19

3-week Abacus rating: 15]

38-44, .463; 3^rd in Atlantic Division / 8^th seed / 18^th overall (tied)*

KK:  -3; (19 Road Wins – 22 Home Losses) / No. 18 overall (tied)*

CQ:  -7; (.494 [15^th] - .501 [22^nd]) / No. 22 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -28; (548 [20^th] – 576 [26^th]) / No. 26 overall

No.23 Sacramento Kings (89.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 26

21-week Abacus rating: 24

18-week Abacus rating: 24

15-week Abacus rating: 25

12-week Abacus rating: 19

9-week Abacus rating: 17

6-week Abacus rating: 12

3-week Abacus rating: 6]

29-53, .354; 4^th in Pacific Division / 13^th seed / 25^th overall

KK:  -12; (11 Road Wins – 23 Home Losses) / No. 25 overall

CQ:  -2; (.506 [6^th] - .508 [26^th]) / No. 16 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -11; (557 [14^th] – 574 [25^th]) / No. 22 overall (tied)*

No. 24 Miami Heat (90)

[24-week ESPN rating: 20

21-week Abacus rating: 20

18-week Abacus rating: 20

15-week Abacus rating: 21

12-week Abacus rating: 21

9-week Abacus rating: 23

6-week Abacus rating: 21

3-week Abacus rating: 14]

37-45, .451; 3^rd in Southeast Division / 10^th seed / 21^th overall

KK:  -4; (17 Road Wins – 21 Home Losses) / No. 21 overall

CQ:  -6; (.493 [16^th] - .499 [21^st]) / No. 21 overall

SPOR-t:  -32; (531 [26^th] – 563 [18^th]) / No. 27 overall  

No. 25 Denver Nuggets (94.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 23

21-week Abacus rating: 25

18-week Abacus rating: 25

15-week Abacus rating: 24

12-week Abacus rating: 18

9-week Abacus rating: 19

6-week Abacus rating: 17

3-week Abacus rating: 24]

30-52, .366; 4^th in Northwest Division / 12^th seed / 24^th overall

KK:  -11; (11 Road Wins – 22 Home Losses) / No. 24 overall

CQ:  -21; (.490 [21^st] - .511 [27^th]) / No. 25 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -10; (558 [13^th] – 568 [22^nd]) / No. 21 overall

No. 26 Orlando Magic (102.5)

[24-week ESPN rating: 25

21-week Abacus rating: 27

18-week Abacus rating: 27

15-week Abacus rating: 27

12-week Abacus rating: 26

9-week Abacus rating: 24

6-week Abacus rating: 20

3-week Abacus rating: 20]

25-57, .305; 5^th in Southeast Division / 13^th seed / 26^th overall

KK:  -16; (12 Road Wins – 28 Home Losses) / No. 26 overall

CQ:  -21; (.481 [27^th] - .502 [23^rd]) / No. 25 overall (tied)

SPOR-t:  -24; (530 [27^th] – 554 [16^th]) / No. 25

No. 27 Los Angeles Lakers (104)

[24-week ESPN rating: 28

21-week Abacus rating: 26

18-week Abacus rating: 26

15-week Abacus rating: 26

12-week Abacus rating: 27

9-week Abacus rating: 27

6-week Abacus rating: 26

3-week Abacus rating: 29]

21-61, .256; 5^th in Pacific Division / 14^th seed / 27^th overall

KK:  -20; (9 Road Wins – 29 Home Losses) / No. 27 overall

CQ:  -27; (.492 [17^th] - .519 [29^th]) / No. 27 overall

SPOR-t:  -17; (554 [16^th] – 571 [24^th]) / No. 22 overall (tied)*

No. 28 Philadelphia 76ers (115)

[24-week ESPN rating: 27

21-week Abacus rating: 29

18-week Abacus rating: 29

15-week Abacus rating: 29

12-week Abacus rating: 29

9-week Abacus rating: 20

6-week Abacus rating: 30

3-week Abacus rating: 30]

18-64, .220; 4^th in Atlantic Division / 14^th seed / 28^th overall

KK:  -23; (6 Road Wins – 29 Home Losses) / No. 28 overall

CQ:  -39; (.451 [30^th] - .490 [10^th]) / No. 29 overall

SPOR-t:  -66; (485 [30^th] – 551 [13^th]) / No. 30 overall

No. 29 New York Knicks (116)

[24-week ESPN rating: 29

21-week Abacus rating: 30

18-week Abacus rating: 30

15-week Abacus rating: 30

12-week Abacus rating: 30

9-week Abacus rating: 29

6-week Abacus rating: 28

3-week Abacus rating: 25]

17-65, .207; 5^th in Atlantic Division / 15^th seed / 29^th overall

KK:  -24; (7 Road Wins – 31 Home Losses) / No. 29 overall

CQ:  -47; (.465 [29^th] - .512 [28^th]) / No. 30 overall

SPOR-t:  -61; (519 [28^th] – 581 [29^th]) / No. 28 overall

No. 30 Minnesota Timberwolves (117)

[24-week ESPN rating: 30

21-week Abacus rating: 28

18-week Abacus rating: 28

15-week Abacus rating: 28

12-week Abacus rating: 28

9-week Abacus rating: 28

6-week Abacus rating: 27

3-week Abacus rating: 26]

16-66, .195; 5^th in Northwest Division / 15^th seed / 30^th overall

KK:  -25; (7 Road Wins – 32 Home Losses) / No. 30 overall

CQ:  -29; (.492 [18^th] - .521 [30^th]) / No. 28 overall

SPOR-t:  -64; (552 [18^th] – 616 [30^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.