Worth the replay?
Sunday, January 25'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 →- #1PelicansatSpursNBADown to the wireBig comebackBack and forthB+71/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings25/25Comeback15/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth10/10Drama 95 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 71
- #2RaptorsatThunderNBADown to the wireBig comebackBack and forthB+68/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30Swings20/25Comeback15/20Decided late15/15Back-and-forth10/10Drama 90 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 68
- #3HeatatSunsNBAD22/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension2/30Swings16/25Comeback6/20Decided late3/15Back-and-forth3/10Drama 30 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 22
- #4WarriorsatTimberwolvesNBA· NBA TVD19/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30Swings17/25Comeback9/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth0/10Drama 26 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 19
- #5KingsatPistonsNBAOne-sidedD8/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30Swings8/25Comeback0/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth3/10Drama 11 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 8
- #6NetsatClippersNBAOne-sidedD2/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension0/30Swings3/25Comeback0/20Decided late0/15Back-and-forth0/10Drama 3 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 2
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.