Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
Points percentage is the better metric until the end of the season when all teams have played the same amount of games.
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While this is fair enough, if you're going to say that X team is ahead of Y team because it has a higher points percentage - i.e., the reason that Y team has more points is because it has played more games - you also have to take into account the strength of that remaining schedule. The idea behind points percentage is that based on the games played to date, if you extrapolate those results to the full season, the team that has won a higher proportion of its games is in a better position because it's likely to have more points by the end of the year. But that's not true if the team with the higher points percentage has played considerably more home games, or has played more easy teams, or has played very few back to backs, and has its schedule backloaded in terms of those tougher games. If that's the case, the logic breaks down. And it seems to me that the Oilers' schedule has been easier to date than it will be for the balance of the season.