Power Rating

A numerical rating assigned to each team representing its true strength, used to predict point spreads and game outcomes.

Like a chess Elo rating -- a number that represents skill and changes after every game.

Why it matters

Power ratings are the backbone of line-setting. Understanding them helps you see when markets diverge from true team quality.

How DMP uses this

DMP builds player-level projections that aggregate into implied team-level ratings, bottom-up rather than top-down.

Common mistake

Treating power ratings as static -- they should update daily based on injuries, rest, and recent performance.