This article provides a brief recap on how our NBA playoff predictions have performed so far in 2017. To see a more detailed background on the models used for these predictions, see this article. Continue reading NBA Playoff Betting Models Through Rounds 1-2
Category Archives: NBA Playoffs
NBA Playoffs Conference Finals
Thankfully the Celtics and Wizards delivered us one 7-game series in what was an otherwise surprisingly non-competitive second round. John Wall and Isiah Thomas both had breath-taking moments, but in the end, it was the notoriously cold-blooded Kelly Olynyk who closed out the Wizards just as the model predicted (OK, maybe not that last part). In the Western Conference, the Warriors are clearly bored, and the Spurs took down the Rockets in one of the strangest, most anti-climactic elimination games I have ever seen. Let’s hope that James Harden gets his talents back from the aliens in time for next season. Continue reading NBA Playoffs Conference Finals
NBA Playoff Betting Models
Throughout the 2017 NBA Playoffs, we have been tweeting spread and total predictions for some games (e.g., Warriors -11, Game Total 220). This article provides some context to the numbers – how accurate are they? How are they being created? How are they interpreted? Do we use a Gregg Popovich variable? You can find all the answers below. Continue reading NBA Playoff Betting Models
NBA Playoffs Round 2
The Bulls gave the Celtics a scare, the Jazz closed out what could be the last stand of the Clippers big three, and the Warriors still look absolutely unbeatable (even with Mike Brown stumbling around on the sideline). Most importantly, our NBA model swept the first round – going 8 for 8 on series predictions.
Continue reading NBA Playoffs Round 2
2017 NBA Playoffs Simulation
According to our NBA playoff model, the probability of the Clippers winning their first round match up is 0.41. However, what happens if they do win their first round matchup – and what is the probability of the Clippers making it to the conference finals? Or winning the NBA championship? While we can assume that these values would be less than 0.41, the initial predictions alone do not supply us with the answer.
Continue reading 2017 NBA Playoffs Simulation
2017 NBA Playoff Bracket
Our NBA Playoff model calculates win probabilities for each series matchup based on each team’s regular season statistics. We used multiple regression techniques to develop a variety of models. We arrive at our consensus winners by taking the average prediction from a handful of our most successful models. For a more detailed breakdown of these NBA models, and to see our 2015 & 2016 brackets, check out our NBA Playoff Bracket Methodology. Our model has picked 78% of series winners correctly, along with 15 of the past 27 champions. In other words, on an average year, it gets 11.7 of the 15 series winners correct and has a 56% chance of getting the champion correct. Our predictions for the 2017 playoffs are shown below:
Continue reading 2017 NBA Playoff Bracket
NBA Modeling Methodology
Our data is built off of all regular season games since the 1989-1990 regular season, giving us 28 seasons in all. It was fun to test our models performance over the Jordan-dominated 90’s, the Shaq and Kobe 00’s, and to the modern pace-and-space era. There is no doubt that the style of play in the league has changed drastically over this time. This poses a challenge for modeling the most recent seasons, as most of our training data will not reflect the boom in outside shooting that we are seeing in the game today.
Continue reading NBA Modeling Methodology