11-01-2021, 11:47 AM
(11-01-2021, 01:10 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote: Really hard to tell where the Mavs stand. Record looks solid but they rank 23th in point differential (for example behind the frequently mentioned Pacers). Only possible conclusion right now. We need a bigger sample size.
The point differential is bad because both of our losses to date were terrible blowouts. Having two blowouts against playoff teams is certainly concerning, and if it continues to happen we won't need point differential to know there's a major problem. But also sometimes blowouts just happen, especially early in the season, and over 82 games they get smoothed out of the point differential (remember our first game against the Clippers last year?).
As you approach the play-offs, I agree with the poster who first brought this up that point differential is more telling (and predictive) than straight win-loss record. But this early in the season, I actually think its the opposite. Point differential is *way* too noisy to tell us much. (I mean, Miami has the best point differential in the league right now, and it's not even close. By point differential, they are twice as good as any team other than Utah. I believe Miami is a playoff team and maybe even a contender, but I don't buy they are the '95 Bulls--which is what point differential is basically saying right now).
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)