Scoring desk
How we score games
What the 0–100 number on every game means
The short version
Every scorable game gets a score from 0 to 100 that estimates how compelling the matchup is — not who's favored, just how worth your time it is. Every game starts from the same fixed baseline, then a stack of factors about the matchup and the schedule move it up or down. The result is rounded to a whole number and paired with one of four tier words.
What feeds the score
The model looks at the same kind of things a fan would weigh before flipping on a game:
- Competitive. How close the two teams' records are.
- Team quality. The combined strength of both records.
- Both near top. A bonus when both clubs sit near the top of the standings.
- Stakes. Standings tension between the two teams — a seeding duel or a play-in/playoff-bubble race, shaped by the league's own playoff format.
- Star power. League scoring leaders who are set to play. Two of them on the floor at once is worth more than either alone.
- Recent form. The hotter side's last-10 record, with an extra kicker for a live win streak and a bonus when both teams are rolling.
- Playoff rematch. A rematch of a playoff series from last season, weighted by how deep that series went.
- National TV. A nationally televised window.
- Rest gap. The difference in days of rest between the two teams.
- Travel gap. How far either team traveled to get to this game.
- Body clock. Time-zone displacement from a team's home zone.
- Injuries. Subtracts points when a team is missing a player whose scoring sits well above a replacement-level baseline — the only factor that can only pull the score down.
Most factors only add; injuries are the one exception — a marquee player sitting out is the only thing that pulls a score down. Not every factor fires on every game: stakes, rivalry, and star power all depend on details of that specific matchup and the point in the season.
The tier ladder
The tag on every score stamp comes straight from the number — four tiers, in order:
| Tier | Score |
|---|---|
| Chef's Pick | 80–99 |
| House Special | 68–79 |
| Worth a Look | 56–67 |
| Late Menu | 0–55 |
When a score is underlined
An underlined score means the Hoops Menu desk — an editor, not the model — looked at the matchup and adjusted the number by hand. The board never prints two numbers; the game page for that matchup shows both the model's original score and the desk's note explaining the change.