I generate the numbers I use for Strength of Schedule off of my own spreadsheet. They are just slightly different than Hollinger's. I calculate the SoS for a given team my looking at the winning percentage of the opponents when they DON'T play that given team. I don't know if Hollinger does that, but it might explain the slight discrepancy. Anyway, by my numbers, Portland has had the toughest SoS in the Western Conference (fifth overall, as the Eastern Conference is stronger overall this year--fewer outright dogs). More importantly for us hoping for the Blazers continued success, we have the easiest remaining SoS for the 2009 year.

I had a little fun with Excel today, and calculated the Strength of Schedule for the three Northwest contenders, based on current records and subtracting out the games played by that team. The numbers echo what Dave and others have been saying. One thing to note is, that in terms of difficulty of opponents, the Nuggets season closely mirrors our own. One big caveat is that I did not factor in the effect of home vs. away, and the effect of back-to-back games.

SoS for the season--

Portland: .491

Utah: .484

Denver: .491

SoS so far--

Portland: .532

Utah: .412

Denver: .516

Yeah, I know these numbers are different from what Hollinger gives. I don't know his methodology. But my numbers do match up with the numbers at playoffstatus.com.

SoS for the remainder--

Portland: .479

Utah: .504

Denver: .484

SoS for December--

Portland: .547

Utah: .535

Denver: .524

SoS after December--

Portland: .460

Utah: .495

Denver: .472