Does 0gb mean the teams are equal in percentage (win percentage)?
only teams with the same number of wins and games played will be equal in percentage and 0 games back.
however, it is possible to be 0 games behind and have a different winning percentage (wp).
Reading: What does gb mean in basketball
Let’s take the following scenario:
week 4
bulls: 6-2 (0.750 pct, -gb)
pacing: 4-4 (0.500 pct, 2.0gb)
week 5
bulls: 6-2 (0.750 pct, -gb)
pacing: 8-4 (0.667 pct, -gb)
In the example above, the pacers reduced their games against the bulls to 0 by winning four games in a row.
However, the bulls remain at the top of the rankings with a higher winning percentage (pct). although the bulls have fewer wins, they have also played fewer games (4 in hand).
the only advantage for the pacers in the leaderboard is that they have 2 more wins accumulated compared to the bulls.
the gb-pct dilemma will only be solved once the season is over and all teams have played the same number of games.
Can a team be on the same level as first place in percentage, but still fall behind in games?
This is another interesting situation and can definitely happen while teams have played an uneven number of games.
let’s take a look at a hypothetical situation in the nba rankings:
bullish: 4-0 (1,000 pct, -gb)
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pacing: 2-0 (1,000 pct, 1.0gb)
While both teams have gone undefeated since the start of the season, the Bulls have a 1.0 GB lead in the standings.
That’s because the Bulls have secured the extra wins and played two more games than the Pacemakers.
Until pacemakers play those games in hand, we’re not sure what their record will be.
Now that we’ve covered these two gb-pct scenarios, let’s demonstrate how the nba and other basketball leagues calculate games.
how to calculate return games?
The easiest way to calculate the games between two teams is to separate their wins and losses.
This can be done by using the team in the first place as a control group, or any other team for that matter.
You might want to check how many games your team needs to catch up due to playoff implications.
In any case, we will use the following example as context:
Celts: 30-25 (p/p)
knicks: 26-28 (w/w)
earnings spread:
wins for higher qualifiers – wins for lower qualifiers
30-26 = 4
games behind by wins: win differential/2
4/2 = 2
loss spread:
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losses to lower qualifiers – losses to higher qualifiers
28-25 = 3
loss-delayed games: loss differential/2
3/2 = 1.5
games back = games back for wins + games back for losses
games back = 2 + 1.5 = 3.5
what does a mean value (0.5) mean in previous games?
As I noted earlier, game values ​​go back in increments of 0.5 per game played, per team.
when you see the gb value with half a number, this is an indication that the teams have played an uneven number of games. more specifically, the total number of games played between both teams amounts to an odd number (ie: 1, 3, 5, etc.).
In an example above, we demonstrated the mean value:
Celts: 30-25 (p/p)
knicks: 26-28 (w/w)
You can quickly add up that the Celtics played 55 games and the Knicks played 54 games. the total between the two is 109 and so you can expect the number of games to go back with a mean value: 3.5gb.
As a note, at the end of the season, each team that trails their opponent in first place will end up with a whole number of gb (ie 3.0, 4.0, etc.).
final thoughts
The back column of games is very useful as the end of the season approaches to see if teams can mathematically catch up with a rival in the standings.
this is usually seen because of playoff implications or home field advantage.
It is possible for two teams to finish tied in the standings with exactly the same winning percentage and 0 games behind.
when this occurs, the nba uses a tie-breaking system outlined in their playoff tie-breaking procedures found at the bottom of the rankings page. (source)
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