← Forecasts for Mar 27

2023-24 · Regular Season · Final

Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City Thunder

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 · tip-off time not recorded

HOU 1–1@OKC 2–3 records going into the game NBA.com recap ↗

Win probability as a share of the court: HOU 30 percent, OKC 70 percent. HOU Rockets 30% proj. 108 · final 132 OKC Thunder · home 70% proj. 116 · final 126
Each team's share of the floor is its pregame win probability. The line starts at midcourt and moves to the split.

Forecast and result

TeamProjectedFinalDifference
HOU Houston Rockets 108 132 +24
OKC Oklahoma City Thunder (home) 116 126 +10

Forecast: Oklahoma City Thunder to win, 70% win probability, projected margin 8.

Inside the Forecast

How the inputs are built
What the model received
InputHOUOKC
Elo ratingMargin-of-victory Elo; 1500 is average. 15321622
Elo gap, home minus road, incl. home court +160
Season scoring marginPoints per game, blended with last season early in the year. +1.8+7.4
Games played this season 7171
Offensive rating, last 10Points scored per 100 possessions. 123.0116.0
Defensive rating, last 10Points allowed per 100 possessions; lower is better. 110.8110.8
Combined pace, last 10Possessions per game, both teams. 99.8
Rotation points missingPoints per game of rotation players listed Out or Doubtful. 32.026.8
Rest days 21
Second night of a back-to-back NoYes

This forecast can't be broken down exactly: the model version that made this forecast is not available. Explanations are shown only when the model that made a forecast can be rebuilt and reproduces it. How explanations are checked

Built from the box scores

How the breakdowns work

Where each input came from. Open a row to see the games and box-score stats behind it. A breakdown is shown only when rebuilding it from the stored stats gives exactly the number the model received.

Elo ratingHOU1532OKC1622

Updated after every game from the final score only: wins, losses and margin. Each season starts by keeping 75% of last season's distance from the 1500 average.

HOU1532

1500
  1. Ended last season at 1333 → started this one at 1374
  2. First 61 games: +84.5
  3. Last 10 games: +73.4
  • LLAC116–122−5.8
  • W@POR123–107+12.0
  • W@SAC112–104+14.6
  • W@SAS103–101+4.0
  • WWAS135–119+4.1
  • WCLE117–103+14.8
  • W@WAS137–114+9.1
  • WCHI127–117+6.8
  • WUTA147–119+9.6
  • WPOR110–92+4.2

OKC1622

1500
  1. Ended last season at 1513 → started this one at 1510
  2. First 61 games: +104.8
  3. Last 10 games: +7.6
  • W@POR128–120+3.8
  • WMIA107–100+5.1
  • WMEM124–93+4.4
  • LIND111–121−17.1
  • WDAL126–119+5.1
  • W@MEM118–112+3.1
  • WUTA119–107+3.3
  • W@TOR123–103+6.6
  • L@MIL93–118−18.1
  • W@NOP119–112+11.4
Season scoring marginHOU+1.8OKC+7.4

Points scored minus points allowed per game this season, mixed with last season's margin until 20 games are played.

HOU+1.8

Scores 114.2, allows 112.4 over 71 games: +1.8 a game.

OKC+7.4

Scores 120.3, allows 112.9 over 71 games: +7.4 a game.

Offensive rating, last 10HOU123.0OKC116.0

Points scored per 100 possessions. Split into the four factors: right of center helps the team, left hurts, in points per 100 possessions compared with the league average (2023-24 to date: 114.8).

HOU123.0scored, +8.2 vs league

FactorHOULeaguehurtshelpsPts
Shooting (eFG%)57.3%54.8%+3.9
Turnovers (TOV%)9.3%11.5%+3.2
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)28.1%24.2%+1.8
Free throws (FTM per FGA)0.2010.196+0.2
Everything else−0.8

OKC116.0scored, +1.2 vs league

FactorOKCLeaguehurtshelpsPts
Shooting (eFG%)56.9%54.8%+3.2
Turnovers (TOV%)11.1%11.5%+0.6
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)24.6%24.2%+0.2
Free throws (FTM per FGA)0.1900.196−0.2
Everything else−2.7
Defensive rating, last 10HOU110.8OKC110.8

Points allowed per 100 possessions, built from what opponents did in those games. Bars point right when the defense held opponents below average. Split into the four factors: right of center helps the team, left hurts, in points per 100 possessions compared with the league average (2023-24 to date: 114.8).

HOU110.8allowed, −4.0 vs league

FactorOpponentsLeaguehurtshelpsPts
Shooting (eFG%)52.3%54.8%+3.7
Turnovers (TOV%)11.5%11.5%−0.1
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)23.2%24.2%+0.5
Free throws (FTM per FGA)0.2060.196−0.3
Everything else+0.2

OKC110.8allowed, −4.0 vs league

FactorOpponentsLeaguehurtshelpsPts
Shooting (eFG%)55.7%54.8%−1.4
Turnovers (TOV%)13.9%11.5%+3.4
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)18.4%24.2%+2.6
Free throws (FTM per FGA)0.2040.196−0.2
Everything else−0.3
Pace, last 10average 99.8

Possessions per 48 minutes. The model uses the average of the two teams. Faster games mean more points for both sides, so pace mostly moves the projected total, not the margin.

HOU 99.5 and OKC 100.2 → average 99.8 (league 2023-24 to date: 99.3)

Rotation points missingHOU32.0OKC26.8

Points per game of rotation players (two or more of the last 10 games this season, 15+ minutes) listed Out or Doubtful on the official injury report.

HOU32.0pts/g missing

PlayerPtsMinGames
Alperen Sengun18.734.43
Cam Whitmore13.322.43

Source: official injury report, 2024-03-27 17:30 ET. 9 rotation players.

OKC26.8pts/g missing

PlayerPtsMinGames
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander26.834.310

Source: official injury report, 2024-03-27 17:30 ET. 8 rotation players.

RestHOU2 daysOKC1 days

Days since the team's previous game, capped at 5. One day means the second night of a back-to-back.

HOU2days

Last played Mar 25 against POR.

OKC1day, back-to-back

Last played Mar 26 against NOP.

The last 10 games behind these numbers, box-score totals

HOU

DateOppScoreFG3PFTTOVOREBOffDefPace
Mar 25POR110–9237-9312-3924-25812112.292.998.5
Mar 23UTA147–11954-9727-4912-14910147.0119.0100.0
Mar 21CHI127–11747-9317-4516-201412124.5114.7102.0
Mar 19@WAS137–11447-9113-3930-36712137.0116.399.0
Mar 16CLE117–10347-9815-428-12911115.8103.0100.5
Mar 14WAS135–11951-8712-2821-24178123.9110.2108.5
Mar 12@SAS103–10137-8010-3219-21128110.8108.693.0
Mar 10@SAC112–10439-8412-2922-27126109.8103.0101.5
Mar 8@POR123–10745-9414-3719-26713125.5110.397.5
Mar 6LAC116–12245-9416-3710-17813123.4129.894.0

OKC

DateOppScoreFG3PFTTOVOREBOffDefPace
Mar 26@NOP119–11246-8615-3412-14127119.0113.199.5
Mar 24@MIL93–11833-8910-4317-2212993.0121.698.5
Mar 22@TOR123–10348-9512-3215-191512117.199.0104.5
Mar 20UTA119–10743-8810-3423-291010119.0105.9100.5
Mar 16@MEM118–11245-8712-3516-21118119.2113.199.0
Mar 14DAL126–11945-8616-3920-23138124.8119.0100.5
Mar 12IND111–12143-9914-3711-151212106.7116.3104.0
Mar 10MEM124–9349-9321-475-5108126.596.997.0
Mar 8MIA107–10042-8912-3811-1399111.5106.495.0
Mar 6@POR128–12043-749-2233-39187123.1116.5103.5

Off and Def are points scored and allowed per 100 possessions in each game; their averages are the 10-game ratings above. OREB is missing (–) where the source data didn't record it.

The result against the forecast

2023-24 surprise games
30%
pregame chance the forecast gave HOU, the winner
the forecast favored OKC
14 pts
margin miss
forecast +8, actual −6 for OKC
30th
most surprising result of 2023-24
of 1,312 graded games
393rd
largest margin miss of 2023-24
outcome surprise 1.20 nats

Surprise is measured against this model's forecast, not against what other observers expected. Outcome surprise is −ln(winner's pregame probability): 0.69 for a coin flip, 2.3 for a 10% winner.

Team box score

What happened in the game. These numbers are not used by the forecast, and they are not offered as the reason it missed.

Team statHOUOKC
Final score132126
Field goals50–104 · 48.1%47–96 · 49.0%
Three-pointers15–43 · 34.9%14–38 · 36.8%
Free throws17–23 · 73.9%18–24 · 75.0%
Rebounds5049
Assists2526
Turnovers1619
Steals107
Blocks37

Where the forecast differed from the result

MeasureForecastActualActual − forecast
Home margin (OKC)+8−6−14
Total points224258+34
HOU points108132+24
OKC points116126+10

Score by quarter

TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTFinal
HOU2821313220132
OKC1733352714126

Recent form before this game

Houston Rockets

DateOpponentResult
Mar 25 vs POR W 110–92
Mar 23 vs UTA W 147–119
Mar 21 vs CHI W 127–117
Mar 19 at WAS W 137–114
Mar 16 vs CLE W 117–103

Oklahoma City Thunder

DateOpponentResult
Mar 26 at NOP W 119–112
Mar 24 at MIL L 93–118
Mar 22 at TOR W 123–103
Mar 20 vs UTA W 119–107
Mar 16 at MEM W 118–112

Previous meetings

DateMatchupScore
Feb 27 2023-24 HOU at OKC HOU 95 – 112 OKC
Feb 25 2023-24 OKC at HOU OKC 123 – 110 HOU
Dec 6 2023-24 OKC at HOU OKC 101 – 110 HOU
Feb 15 2022-23 HOU at OKC HOU 96 – 133 OKC
Feb 4 2022-23 HOU at OKC HOU 121 – 153 OKC