It seems like the NBA season started just yesterday, but we're already about 20% of the way through it. Most teams in the NBA have around 20 games under their belt and there are some interesting trends shaping up. One of the stats I look at to determine the talent of a team is the number of teams .500 or above that they beat.

Any NBA team can rattle off wins against poor teams, but to be a champion a team must beat the cream of the crop. Here's a great example of a potentially misleading team. Take the Cleveland Cavaliers. They get a lot of attention thanks to LeBron James and this season they are 12-7. They are currently one game behind the Detroit Pistons for the Central Division lead.

However, that number is a tad misleading. The Cavs has played 12 of those 19 games against weak teams. Of the 7 games against .500 or better teams, the Cavaliers have won 4. Seeing that they are 4-3 against decent or better teams puts them in a different light that looking at their 12-7 record.

Let's take a look at a couple more teams. The San Antonio Spurs are leading the Southwest Division with a record of 15-5. Ten of those 20 games have come against decent or better teams and they are 6-4 in those games.

Now, here's where this stat really shines. The Dallas Mavericks are 14-5 and one game behind the San Antonio Spurs. Nine of their 20 games have been against .500 or better teams and they are a whopping 7-2 against those teams.

By looking at how teams play against good teams, we can get a great feel for who's really good and who's just padding their record. We can deduce that the Dallas Mavericks are playing better basketball right now than the other teams mentioned despite close to similar overall records.

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