If I wanted to make this post as short as possible, I would simply direct you to my last article covering the Spurs’ win over Chicago, as superficially these two games have some striking similarities. This includes very similar final point totals (129-114 vs. the Bulls, 127-113 vs. Golden State) and almost mirrored box score stats from Wemby. Furthermore, both games felt kind of similar as I was watching them, in that the Spurs seemed to be comfortably in control most of the time, but not winning by as much as they should be. In the case of Chicago, San Antonio’s slow start was a letdown; last night against the Warriors, the smudge on the crystal was a disappointing third quarter.
I must remind myself to be more appreciative. After all, the Spurs have been collecting double-digit losing streaks for much of the past several seasons, so complaining that their current easy victories aren’t always perfectly crafted for all 48 minutes while they are on their second double-digit winning streak of this season betrays a lack of perspective that I’ll have to work on. This is especially true given that each minute with Victor on the floor is becoming increasingly jaw-dropping, and the box scores produced continue to contain many interesting highlights:
What are Team Graded Box Scores?
Very briefly, these box scores grade winner-loser differentials for basic box score statistics, with the grade being based on the winning team’s differential relative to other NBA winners during a defined reference period. Think of it like a report card for understanding how a given winner performed relative to other winners. The reference period used runs from the start of the 2012-2013 season to the latest date of play, including only games in the same season category (i.e., regular season and playoff games are not compared to each other).
Data Source: The underlying data used to create these box scores was collected from Basketball Reference. In all cases, the data are collected the morning after the game is played. Although rare, postgame statistical revisions after data collection do occur and may affect the results after the fact.