We’re almost* at the quarter mark of the 2025-26 season, when teams have played an average of 20 games and we can place greater trust in records and stats. Ultimately, wins and losses are all that matter when it comes to who makes the playoffs and with which seed.

* The precise quarter mark of the season (308 of 1,230 games played) will be when Monday’s nine-game slate is complete.

But there’s still a lot of basketball to be played and context that can be added to the current standings . That context — strength of schedule, point differential and shooting luck — can tell us just how real each team’s record is and whether we can expect them to improve or drop off in the coming weeks.

Here are some teams that, according to the data, have records that may be a little deceptive …

Bette

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