Each pairing's mean_total is the combined-points average over its meetings and mean_margin is the row-minus-column point differential (pooled home and away, not a venue split); pairings need at least 2 meetings to appear.
Every game is reduced to two team-point totals and pooled by pairing to describe how much scoring each recurring matchup has actually produced. The spread is large: an ATL-IND game has averaged nearly 60 more combined points than a CHA-POR game, a real stylistic signature of who plays fast and loose versus slow and grinding. This describes games already played -- it is not a forecast of any future meeting.
Caveats and confounds
Descriptive only: NOT a prediction of any future matchup, NOT a home/away split (the per-player table carries no venue flag), and pooled across the 2023-24 to 2025-26 seasons.
