As I write this, Cleveland just won the series 4-3. What was behind each team’s wins and losses in this series?

First, Golden State: A correlation plot of their per game predictor variables versus the binary win/loss outcome is as follows:



The key information is in the last column of this matrix:



Evidently, the most important factors in GSW’s winning games were Assists, number of Field Goals made, Field Goal percentage, and steals. The most important factors in GSW losing games this series were number of three point attempts per game (Imagine that!), and number of personal fouls per game.

Now, Cleveland: A correlation plot of their per game predictor variables versus the binary win/loss outcome is as follows:



The key information is in the last column of this matrix:



Evidently, the most important factor in CLE’s wins was their number of defensive rebounds. Following behind this were number of three point shots made, and field goal percentage. There were some weak correlations between Cleveland’s losses and their number of offensive rebounds and turnovers.

Note that these results are essentially a summary analysis of previous blog postings which tracked individual games. For example, here , here and a first attempt here.