by Micah Hart
As everyone knows by now, the compressed NBA schedule will force every team to play three games in three nights at least one this season (42 times in total). With only 66 games to stake a claim to a playoff spot or seed, how teams perform during these killer slates could have a large impact on how their seasons turn out.
With that in mind, we’re going to keep track of each of the 42 three-plays to see which teams take advantage and which teams fall apart.
I’ve come up with a completely arbitrary system with which to judge team performance, that looks a little something like this:
Game 1 win = 1 point
Game 2 win = 3 points
Game 3 win = 5 points
Game 1 loss = -2 points
Game 2 loss = -1 point
Game 3 loss = 0 points
Bonus points:
+1 for road win
+1 for +10 margin of victory
Will this system work? I guess we’ll see how the season goes. In the meantime, let’s take a look at how the first contestants, the Lakers, handled running the gauntlet.
Game 1: Bulls 88, Lakers 87 – L.A. nearly got a win in the first game, at Staples Center, before Derrick Rose reminded everyone why he’s the reigning league MVP. -2 points
Game 2: Kings 100, Lakers 91 – A road loss for the Lakers on night #2, but perhaps not a big surprise given it was opening night in Sacramento and the place was rocking. -1 point
Game 3: Lakers 96, Jazz 71 – It’s early, but it’s hard not to think this was a huge win for the Lakers. 0-3 would be a tough way to start, and with Lamar Odom off to Dallas and Kobe Bryant fighting a wrist injury, this should give L.A. a bit of a lift going forward. 6 points
Add it all up, and the Lakers finish the swing with a total of 3 points. Respectable, as any win in Game 3 deserves plaudits, but we’ll see how that stacks up against the competition as the season wears on.
Up next: The Rockets finish up the year with three straight Dec. 29-31.
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Catch up on every single game-winning buzzer beater during the season and see how it rates on the Horry Scale.
don’t you mean 7 points? +1 for road win, +1 for +10 win margin and +5 for game 3 win.
the game was played @Staples
looked like a home game to me……..6 pts.
it wasn’t a road win – LA was at home
@ Mike
It was a home game against Utah, so it should be 6 points. But then if you acount for the -2 points for game one and -1 point for game 2 you have a total of 3 points. So the math was right
Points is nice but it doesn’t incorporate the opponents standings(final or current) and whether they are also on a back-to-back-to-back/back-to-back.
Road? The Lakers defeated the Jazz at home.
This is a stupid ranking system because it places too much value on a game 3 win. A win is a win, regardless of when it occurs.
of course it prioritizes the game 3 performance. HELLO! it is a back-to-back-to-back and obviously winning the 3rd straight night is harder! duh!
it makes sense on some levels….
it is more challenging for a team to be able to win their 3rd game in 3 nights against a team that rested for a day or 2…the team is more tired mentally and physically compared to a rested team….so the points should reflected accordingly…
I agree. 5 points for game three? It was agianst the Jazz at home. Really it should be two points, but this grading scale was though of to make it look like LAL accomplished something.
Shouldn’t it be 4? +1 for 10+ margin of victory, right?
LAKERS still need speed and quickness at the PG position BAD !!! FISHER need to retire along with WALTON…Bring in the young guns or D-WILL to the LAKERS. Lakers 4 life
Game 1 should of been a win. “Micah Hart”, derrick rose just hit 1 shot in the final 1:30. Luol Deng had a steal and made most of the comeback. Change that, stop making derrick rose sound like he’s all good. He had less points than an injured Kobe Bryant. EVERYONE DID. So he didnt remind me who was reigning MVP. He reminded me that Kobe should be MVP.
The only problem I have with your comment is that you say that the Lakers should have won.
Derrick Rose scored when it mattered and Kobe didn’t. That’s all there is to it.
This formula doesn’t make much sense, but whatever. I just don’t think those three games will make that much of an impact on a team’s success this season.
Go Kobe!
No matter how you spin it, going 1 – 2 is not good.