PLAYOFF PULSE
Advanced NBA Playoff Intelligence
A compact seeded command center for matchup stress, player waves, shot quality, lineups, and pressure signals.
Daily cache + source mode
Daily cached · Jun 5, 10:15 AM EDT. Data is refreshed once each morning around 5:00 AM ET when an adapter is configured. Current mode is daily_cached via ESPN public sports APIs. This is not real-time, not in-game, and not official NBA/team data.
Methodology
Stat definitions
- Net Rating: points scored minus allowed per 100 possessions.
- Offensive / Defensive Rating: estimated points scored or allowed per 100 possessions.
- eFG%: field-goal efficiency adjusted for three-point value.
- TS%: scoring efficiency including field goals, threes, and free throws.
- Free Throw Rate: free throw attempts relative to field goal attempts.
Read before reacting
Sample-size gates
- Player labels require 20+ MPG.
- Shooting labels require 25+ FGA in the selected window.
- Lineups: 20+ possessions = small sample, 50+ = useful, 100+ = strong signal.
- Small samples are shown because playoff context matters, but they are flagged clearly.
Site-created signal
Pressure Index
Pressure Index combines elimination risk, recent net rating trend, star dependency, minutes load, clutch performance, home/away context, and injury/watch uncertainty. It is a transparent internal signal, not an official NBA metric.
Player Wave Board
Playoff Impact Score
Playoff Impact Score is a site-created signal, not an official NBA metric. It blends on/off net rating, individual net rating, true shooting efficiency, usage-adjusted creation, assist/turnover balance, defensive activity, rebounding contribution, and minutes load.
Wave rows separate current value from trend delta. A player can remain high-impact while cooling if the current score is strong but the selected-window delta is negative.
Current vs trend
Wave labels
- Current Impact Leaders: best current values for the selected metric.
- Current Drag Risks: low impact, poor drag profile, or turnover-risk pressure with meaningful minutes.
- Rising Impact: sample-cleared players with positive selected-window movement.
- Falling Trend: sample-cleared players with negative selected-window movement. Strong players in this group are labeled high impact, cooling rather than bad.
Seeded intelligence rankings
Ranking system
- Rankings are model-derived from seeded playoff intelligence data and are not official NBA rankings.
- Star Burden: ranked by creation burden score first, usage load second.
- Pressure Rank: ranks highest team pressure, not best team quality.
- Team Form: ranked by recent net rating, not a winner prediction.
- Drag Risk: combines low current signal, negative trend, turnover/foul pressure, and on/off drag.
Daily cached ESPN inputs + model-derived formulas
Site-created stats
Creation Load Score
Who is carrying offensive responsibility? It is a site-created 0-100 signal using ESPN-derived minutes, points per 75, assists, shooting volume, and turnovers. High means a larger current role built from minutes, scoring volume, playmaking, and usage responsibility.
Modeled piece: usage proxy and turnover pressure adjustment.
It is not official NBA usage rate and not a prediction. Not an official NBA/team metric; daily cached ESPN inputs plus model-derived formula.
Clean Impact Score
Who is producing without wasting possessions? It is a site-created 0-100 signal using ESPN-derived scoring, true shooting, assists, rebounds proxy, minutes, and turnovers. High means efficient production with enough role size and limited turnover drag.
Modeled piece: rebound/context proxy where the daily cache lacks possession detail.
It does not prove a player is the best overall defender or best player. Not an official NBA/team metric; daily cached ESPN inputs plus model-derived formula.
Mistake Pressure Index
Who is adding drag through turnovers or inefficient possessions? It is a site-created 0-100 signal using ESPN-derived turnovers, shooting efficiency, and minutes. High means more turnover pressure, efficiency pressure, and role exposure.
Modeled piece: usage proxy plus Drag Index when ESPN lacks an equivalent possession metric.
It is not a blame metric and should be read with role size. Not an official NBA/team metric; daily cached ESPN inputs plus model-derived formula.
Workload Risk
Who may be overextended? It is a site-created 0-100 signal using ESPN-derived minutes, scoring/playmaking load, and turnovers. High means heavy minutes and creation responsibility with mistake or efficiency stress.
Modeled piece: Creation Load, Mistake Pressure, usage proxy, and Star Burden blend.
It does not imply injury news or availability concerns. Not an official NBA/team metric; daily cached ESPN inputs plus model-derived formula.
Lower-confidence experimental signals are kept out of the visible dashboard until the cache has stronger possession context.
Player Wave Board
Drag Index
Drag Index identifies players currently hurting lineup outcomes by combining negative on/off, poor true shooting, high turnover rate, high foul rate, declining minutes, and bad recent net rating.
Main Player Wave rankings require 18+ MPG, at least 3 games in the trend array, and 25+ FGA for shooting-based labels. Players below those gates are marked small sample and excluded from main worst rankings.
Daily cached snapshot
Daily cached data
Daily cached · Jun 5, 10:15 AM EDT. Morning cached basketball snapshot. No page-render fetching or real-time updates.
The morning job refreshes a local cache around 5:00 AM ET, then the app reads that cache. The app does not fetch basketball data during page render and does not provide real-time or in-game stats.
Cached/manual fields can include teams, players, recent player stat snapshots, team stat snapshots, next games, and last-updated metadata when an adapter provides them. Current status: provider ESPN public sports APIs; teams 2; players 10; games 6.
Model-derived fields remain: Playoff Impact Score, Drag Index, Pressure Index, Star Burden score, player wave trend deltas, on/off net rating, pace/ratings where ESPN does not publish equivalent fields. Playoff Impact Score, Drag Index, Pressure Index, Star Burden, and rankings are site-created signals, not official NBA metrics.
Not affiliated with the NBA or any NBA team. Not live, not real-time, and not an official feed.
Daily cache + seeded fallback
Data source plan
V1 uses a local daily cache file at data/live/dailyPlayoffSnapshot.json. If the cache is missing, stale, invalid, or no real adapter is configured, the app falls back to seeded playoff intelligence data and labels that state clearly.