Matchups (DvP)
Defense-vs-position: how each NBA defense inflates or suppresses each stat for each position, relative to league average. It's a real signal — and a small one. We'll show you how to read it and exactly how much weight to give it.
~3 min read· updated July 14, 2026Open the DvP heatmap →
Read the heatmap
- Pick a stat
The chips above the table (PTS, REB, AST, and so on) switch the whole heatmap. Points is the default.
- Sort by your player's position
Click a column header ('vs PG', 'vs C'…) and the softest matchups for that position rise to the top. The underlined header is the active sort.
- Read the cells
+12% means that defense gives up 12% more of the stat to that position than league average; -8% means it suppresses it. Blue = a soft matchup to attack, amber = a wall. Color saturates at ±15%. TOV is inverted — blue means your player commits fewer.
- Use it as a tiebreaker
Two streamers, same week, can't split them? DvP is your tiebreak. It is never a reason to bench a stud — the effect is real but small, and we'd rather tell you that than sell you a heatmap.
Why we size it honestly
We tested DvP as a projection input — alongside back-to-backs, pace, and finer position splits — and none of them earned a place in the model: too small, too confounded. So it lives here as context, sample-regressed and pace-adjusted, instead of quietly nudging your rankings. Numbers first, always.
- A – cell means not enough sample at that position, and early in a season positions may show as coarse G/F/C until eligibility syncs.