Performance ranking: NBA offenses and defenses

Below is my third ranking of each NBA team's offensive and defensive performance against average according to the PVOA or "point value over average" formula (what is PVOA?).

This week I have also listed in parenthesis next to each team's overall PVOA average the number of above average performances they had since my last ranking, as well as their PVOA average since my last ranking, so you can understand which way each team is trending. (BTW, the Bucks are trending down).

NBA Offensive Performance Ranking

1. San Antonio Spurs...+7.09 (3/4) (+8.67)
2. Detroit Pistons...+5.30 (3/3) (+19.79)
3. Dallas Mavericks...+4.36 (2/5) (+1.26)
4. Los Angeles Lakers...+4.31 (2/4) (+1.77)
5. Utah Jazz...+3.68 (4/4) (+13.10)
6. Golden State Warriors...+3.39 (3/5) (+3.25)
7. Toronto Raptors...+3.30 (2/4) (+2.66)
8. Boston Celtics...+3.15 (1/4) (-3.33)
9. Phoenix Suns...+3.13 (2/4) (+2.04)
10. Memphis Grizzlies...+2.94 (3/4) (+3.84)
11. Orlando Magic...+2.46 (0/5) (-5.18)
12. Washington Bullets...+2.05 (3/4) (+1.48)
13. New Orleans Hornets...+0.33 (1/3) (-3.30)
14. Milwaukee Bucks...-0.22 (1/4) (-4.34)
15. Sacramento Kings...-0.95 (2/3) (+4.12)
16. Charlotte Bobcats...-1.19 (1/3) (-5.08)
17. Indiana Pacers...-1.39 (0/4) (-8.76)
18. Houston Rockets...-2.05 (1/4) (-6.00)
19. Atlanta Hawks...-2.15 (1/4) (-4.87)
20. Cleveland Cavaliers...-2.48 (1/4) (-7.47)
21. Denver Nuggets...-2.77 (2/4) (-1.92)
22. Portland Trailblazers...-2.82 (1/5) (-9.14)
23. Miami Heat...-4.62 (2/4) (+0.74)
24. Los Angeles Clippers...-5.53 (1/3) (-10.25)
25. Minnesota Timberwolves...-5.97 (2/4) (-5.88)
26. New Jersey Nets...-5.98 (1/3) (-2.53)
27. Philadelphia Sixers...-6.28 (1/4) (-5.55)
28. New York Knicks...-7.68 (1/2) (-11.16)
29. Seattle Supersonics...-7.98 (0/3) (-12.36)
30. Chicago Bulls...-8.59 (1/3) (+1.85)

NBA Defensive Performance Ranking

1. Boston Celtics...-9.42 (3/4) (-17.83)
2. Orlando Magic...-5.94 (5/5) (-14.09)
3. Houston Rockets...-5.28 (2/4) (-6.37)
4. New Orleans Hornets...-3.80 (3/3) (-5.90)
5. Chicago Bulls...-3.71 (2/3) (-4.26)
6. Denver Nuggets...-3.08 (2/4) (-0.88)
7. Philadelphia Sixers...-2.54 (2/4) (-5.06)
8. Los Angeles Lakers...-2.23 (3/4) (-2.69)
9. Miami Heat...-2.18 (2/4) (-0.87)
10. Cleveland Cavaliers...-1.64 (3/4) (-2.82)
11. Utah Jazz...-1.52 (1/4) (+5.81)
12. Detroit Pistons...-1.46 (2/3) (-4.97)
13. Toronto Raptors...-1.43 (3/4) (-5.63)
14. San Antonio Spurs...-1.42 (2/4) (+2.87)
15. Indiana Pacers...-1.28 (4/4) (-8.39)
16. Phoenix Suns...-0.97 (2/4) (+2.76)
17. Atlanta Hawks...-0.29 (3/4) (-6.84)
18. Los Angeles Clippers...-0.24 (2/3) (-0.04)
19. New Jersey Nets...+0.36 (1/3) (+9.39)
20. Sacramento Kings...+0.57 (2/3) (-5.93)
21. Portland Trailblazers...+0.58 (3/5) (-2.15)
22. Golden State Warriors...+0.70 (4/5) (-5.80)
23. Washington Bullets...+1.23 (3/4) (-1.93)
24. Seattle Supersonics...+1.36 (2/3) (-7.79)
25. Dallas Mavericks...+2.08 (2/5) (+3.04)
26. Minnesota Timberwolves...+3.15 (1/4) (+2.13)
27. Charlotte Bobcats...+3.55 (0/3) (+20.50)
28. Memphis Grizzlies...+3.83 (1/4) (+2.47)
29. New York Knicks...+4.28 (0/2) (+10.88)
30. Milwaukee Bucks...+4.87 (0/4) (+12.76)

Comments

The untold story of this season is that the Boston Celtics are winning with defense... The Celtics offense sort of comes and goes, but their defense has been consistently well above average... Look at where the Dallas Mavericks rank on defense: 25th! That's why their losing games against teams they ought to beat... The Bucks played no semblance of defense last week and sunk to the bottom of the defensive performance rankings... It gets worse, Bucks fans... In four games last week the Bucks were below average on offense 3 times and on defense 4 times... Everyone keeps saying how the Sonics would be getting blown out by greater margins if they didn't have Kevin Durant, but there is absolutely no evidence to support that claim... The Sonics offense is horrible; their defense is keeping them semi-competitive... The Orlando Magic had a great week, but it was entirely based upon defense... The Magic did not have one above average offensive performance (and that includes last night's 123 point performance against the Warriors), but they had 5 above average defensive performances (and that includes last night when they surrendered 117 points to the Warriors).