Houston climbs to No. 1, and the Lakers own the West's best record
Four West teams sit at 8-3, Boston leads the East, and the Precedent Ratings' new No. 1 is fifth in its own conference.
The Precedent: NBA
Every league's Ratings on one page, and how The Precedent Rating works: theprecedentmedia.com/ratings
The week in the NBA
Houston lost two of its three games this week and still finished it first in The Precedent Ratings. The Rockets lost 117-107 at home to Minnesota on Wednesday after the Timberwolves won the fourth quarter by 12, then fell 102-99 at Phoenix on Saturday after rallying from an early 12-point hole to tie it by halftime. Both were upsets by The Precedent's ranks. Houston beat Denver 110-100 on Monday, and Oklahoma City's loss in Portland on Tuesday did the rest: the Rockets moved from second to first.
That loss was the Thunder's first of the week after wins over Cleveland, Memphis and Washington, the last a 114-75 rout. In Portland, the game was even at halftime before the Trail Blazers took over in the third quarter and won 123-103. Damian Lillard scored 25 points and Deni Avdija added 24. The same two teams meet again in Portland tonight.
The LA Lakers went 4-0 and own the league's best record at 10-2. Their best win came in Detroit on Sunday, where they scored 38 points in the first quarter, watched the Pistons cut most of a 24-point lead and held on 121-116 when Detroit's last shot missed. Austin Reaves scored 43. The Lakers also came from behind to beat Portland 124-118, winning the third quarter by 19, and won at Sacramento and Atlanta.
San Antonio went 4-0 and is 9-2. The Spurs beat Dallas 112-111 after the Mavericks nearly erased a 17-point halftime deficit, then won at Sacramento, Portland and Phoenix, the last two by 22 and 26. Golden State beat New Orleans 138-87 and needed overtime to get past Orlando 126-119 after the Magic wiped out a 16-point halftime deficit.
In the East, Boston won all four of its games, three of them by 20 or more, including 123-101 at Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Celtics are 9-2 and lead the conference by half a game over the 76ers. Cleveland had the rougher week. The Cavaliers beat Philadelphia 119-95 but lost to Oklahoma City, New York and, on Monday, at Charlotte, where the Hornets led by 27 entering the fourth quarter and won 124-112.
Two more games went to overtime. Miami came back from a big halftime hole at the LA Clippers, forced overtime and won 117-116. New Orleans rallied in the fourth quarter against Utah and won 120-113.
The Ratings
Houston (8-3) leads The Precedent Ratings at .436, ahead of Oklahoma City (8-3) at .398 and the LA Lakers (10-2) at .393. Detroit (7-3) is fourth and Golden State (8-3) fifth, with Portland (7-3), San Antonio (9-2), Philadelphia (9-3), Minnesota (8-3) and Boston (9-2) rounding out the top 10.
Boston made the biggest climb since last week, from 15th to 10th, on four wins, and the Lakers moved from fifth to third. Charlotte rose from 22nd to 20th and Orlando from 24th to 22nd. Cleveland had the biggest drop, from 11th to 17th, after three losses dropped it to 5-6. Denver slid from eighth to 12th despite going 2-1, and Golden State dipped from third to fifth despite three wins.
Boston is also the team whose record and Rating are furthest apart. The Celtics' 9-2 record is tied for the second-best winning percentage in the league, but The Precedent ranks them 10th because of the records of the teams they have played, including two games this week against 1-10 Milwaukee. San Antonio has the same gap: second by record, seventh in the Ratings. Detroit and Houston go the other way. The Pistons are tied for ninth by record and fourth in The Precedent Ratings; the Rockets are tied for fifth by record and first in the Ratings.
The standings
| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Rating | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 9 | 2 | 0.818 | - | 0.308 | 10 |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 9 | 3 | 0.750 | 0.5 | 0.333 | 8 |
| 3 | Detroit | 7 | 3 | 0.700 | 1.5 | 0.391 | 4 |
| 4 | New York | 6 | 4 | 0.600 | 2.5 | 0.269 | 13 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 7 | 5 | 0.583 | 2.5 | 0.267 | 14 |
| 6 | Toronto | 5 | 5 | 0.500 | 3.5 | 0.213 | 19 |
| 7 | Cleveland | 5 | 6 | 0.455 | 4 | 0.246 | 17 |
| 7 | Miami | 5 | 6 | 0.455 | 4 | 0.218 | 18 |
| 9 | Washington | 4 | 7 | 0.364 | 5 | 0.161 | 21 |
| 10 | Charlotte | 4 | 7 | 0.364 | 5 | 0.187 | 20 |
| 11 | Orlando | 3 | 7 | 0.300 | 5.5 | 0.160 | 22 |
| 12 | Indiana | 3 | 8 | 0.273 | 6 | 0.130 | 24 |
| 13 | Brooklyn | 2 | 8 | 0.200 | 6.5 | 0.101 | 26 |
| 14 | Chicago | 1 | 8 | 0.111 | 7 | 0.066 | 27 |
| 15 | Milwaukee | 1 | 10 | 0.091 | 8 | 0.052 | 30 |
Order: The Precedent's standings order (winning percentage, then head-to-head). Gold lines: under 6th (straight to the playoffs) and 10th (the play-in). Rating and Rank are The Precedent's.
Boston and Philadelphia lead the East, with Detroit third at 7-3. Toronto holds the last of the six playoff places at 5-5, half a game ahead of Cleveland and Miami, both 5-6. Charlotte's home win over Cleveland helped lift it to 10th, the last play-in place, just behind Washington; both are 4-7.
| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Rating | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LA Lakers | 10 | 2 | 0.833 | - | 0.393 | 3 |
| 2 | San Antonio | 9 | 2 | 0.818 | 0.5 | 0.364 | 7 |
| 3 | Golden State | 8 | 3 | 0.727 | 1.5 | 0.388 | 5 |
| 4 | Minnesota | 8 | 3 | 0.727 | 1.5 | 0.314 | 9 |
| 5 | Houston | 8 | 3 | 0.727 | 1.5 | 0.436 | 1 |
| 6 | Oklahoma City | 8 | 3 | 0.727 | 1.5 | 0.398 | 2 |
| 7 | Memphis | 7 | 3 | 0.700 | 2 | 0.253 | 15 |
| 8 | Portland | 7 | 3 | 0.700 | 2 | 0.386 | 6 |
| 9 | Dallas | 7 | 4 | 0.636 | 2.5 | 0.302 | 11 |
| 10 | Denver | 5 | 4 | 0.556 | 3.5 | 0.295 | 12 |
| 11 | Phoenix | 4 | 6 | 0.400 | 5 | 0.250 | 16 |
| 12 | New Orleans | 4 | 7 | 0.364 | 5.5 | 0.151 | 23 |
| 13 | LA Clippers | 2 | 8 | 0.200 | 7 | 0.115 | 25 |
| 14 | Sacramento | 1 | 10 | 0.091 | 8.5 | 0.054 | 29 |
| 15 | Utah | 1 | 10 | 0.091 | 8.5 | 0.059 | 28 |
Order: The Precedent's standings order (winning percentage, then head-to-head). Gold lines: under 6th (straight to the playoffs) and 10th (the play-in). Rating and Rank are The Precedent's.
The West is packed at the top. The Lakers lead at 10-2, half a game ahead of San Antonio, and four teams are 8-3: Golden State, Minnesota, Houston and Oklahoma City. The top two in The Precedent Ratings sit fifth and sixth in their own conference. Memphis and Portland, both 7-3, are seventh and eighth, and Denver holds 10th at 5-4.
Looking ahead
The week ahead opens with the best game by The Precedent's ranks: Golden State, fifth, visits first-place Houston tonight at 8:30 PM on ESPN, with both teams at 8-3. At 9 PM, Oklahoma City, second, plays at Portland, sixth, for the second straight night.
On Friday, Golden State goes to San Antonio at 8:30 PM on Prime Video, a meeting of the West's third-place and second-place teams. Portland then plays at Minnesota on Monday and again on Tuesday, two games between teams ranked sixth and ninth in The Precedent Ratings.
Boston gets a test on Sunday at 5 PM when 11th-ranked Dallas visits, and Houston plays at Miami on Monday at 6:30 PM. The week closes on Tuesday with Detroit, fourth, at San Antonio, seventh, at 7 PM on NBC, followed by Charlotte at the LA Lakers at 10 PM on NBC.
The full Precedent Ratings for every team and the standings, updated every morning: NBA Ratings · NBA Standings
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