Worth the replay?
Friday, October 10's games ranked by how good they turned out to be: late drama, comebacks, lead swaps and overtime. No scores, no winners, so you can decide what to watch without spoilers.
Best games of the season →- #1SunsatNetsNBA· NBA TVOvertimeDown to the wireBig comebackA75/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings23/25Comeback19/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth8/10Overtime+8Drama 100 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 75
- #2JazzatSpursNBAOvertimeDown to the wireBig comebackB+73/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings21/25Comeback15/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth8/10Overtime+8Drama 97 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 73
- #3CelticsatRaptorsNBADown to the wireBig comebackB+66/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings20/25Comeback20/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth3/10Drama 88 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 66
- #4KingsatTrail BlazersNBADown to the wireBack and forthB63/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings20/25Comeback9/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth10/10Drama 84 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 63
- #5South FloridaatNorth TexasCFB· ESPN2D30/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30Swings18/25Comeback11/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth8/10Drama 36 × pre-game weight 0.82 (pre-game Watchability 65, estimated) = 30
- #6Magicat76ersNBA· NBA TVD24/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension2/30Swings16/25Comeback7/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth8/10Drama 31 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 24
- #7RutgersatWashingtonCFB· FS1D19/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension1/30Swings16/25Comeback5/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth5/10Drama 27 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 19
- #8Fresno StatColorado StCFB· CBSSNOne-sidedD12/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30Swings9/25Comeback8/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth0/10Drama 17 × pre-game weight 0.70 (pre-game Watchability 40, estimated) = 12
Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.