one interesting thing about those offensive and defensive ratings: It doesn't matter as much where either rating is. What matters is net rating, the differential between the two ratings. If you 'study' the net ratings ranking year after year in comparison to records, there is a real strong correlation. The better the net, the better the record
right now, Portland is at -1.1 and they have 35-39 record. Historically, their record is actually over-achieving their rating by 2 or 3 wins, but that points to the season Dame has had. Last season, Portland had 53 wins and a net rating of +4.2. The year before, 49 wins and a net of +2.7. And the year before that, 41 wins and a net of -0.5
there are variances and outliers in the correlation, like there are in all statistical correlations, but it's one of the more predictive relationships. Unfortunately, for Portland, there is also a mildly strong correlation between playoff success and regular season net rating. When/if Portland faces the Lakers, there will be a net rating differential of 6.8. That's a pretty wide gap
going back to last season's playoffs:
*Portland had a net of +4.2; OKC a net of +3.3. A differential of 0.9 indicating a closer series but Dame went off
* Portland had a net of +4.2; Denver +4.1. A differential of 0.1 and the series couldn't have been closer
* But Golden State had a net of +6.4 giving them a 2.2 differential advantage. And, they limited Dame like they always do in the playoffs. Sweep
and sure, there could be a chicken/egg, cart/horse thing going on in this correlation
