As the second half of the MLS season begins Saturday, the time has come to unveil the first Soccer Power Index projections of the season, for the three major races: playoffs, top two seeds and the Supporters' Shield.
As a reminder, ESPN's Soccer Power Index (SPI) is a regression-based algorithm based on the past four seasons, with recent results weighted more heavily. SPI generates offensive and defense ratings for each team, then uses those ratings to project the remainder of the season, producing the numbers you see below.
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