If this trend continues then Boston fans have nothing to worry about. With home court advantage throughout the playoffs the Celtics have the inside track to the NBA title. I have never seen anything like this before. Home court advantage is obviously important, it is why teams play the whole regular season and it’s why Major League Baseball puts it up for grabs every July in the All-Star game. But I didn’t know that playing in front of your home crowd mattered this much.
In the second round of the playoffs the home team is now 16-1. 16-1!! The only team to win the veteran Detroit Pistons, who won at Orlando without Chauncey Billups. The Celtics have gone from the best road team in the regular season (31-10) to possibly the worst in the playoffs (0-5). Forget the two losses to the Cavaliers in the second round, how about the three losses to the Hawks in round one? The Spurs looked old, washed-up and tired in the first two games of their series with the New Orleans Hornets but when they got home they easily tied the series at 2-2 with a couple of blow-outs. We all knew the Jazz were very good at home but I can’t lie, I am shocked they held off the Lakers twice in the fourth quarter of close games. Three of the four series are tied at 2-2 with game five on the horizon. The home team should feel confident for the next game though, that’s for sure.
So who can get a road game? It is the team that can win a game on the road who may end up winning it all. We have seen the Pistons can win on the road but that was at Orlando, but can they get one in Cleveland or in Boston against more veteran teams? The Celtics were the best road team all season so why can’t they seem to get over the hump in the playoffs? What about the Cavs going into Boston for game 5 and coming out with a 3-2 series lead? Out West it seems that the Lakers have been closest to winning on the road but they didn’t come through either game so who knows. The Spurs have won on the road in previous playoffs so why no this year? What is it about this season that has the road team so flustered?
The crowds seem to be a little louder this year. The home team seems to be more confident in their buildings this season. Most of all though, the road team just seems slightly scared when they hit the road. Teams don’t shoot as well, don’t attack the basket as much and they all seem to fall behind early to the point where they can’t crawl out of the hole.
Will this trend change? Who knows? If it does then these playoffs may finally live up to the hype. If games continue to be blowouts because of the home-court advantage then these playoffs will continue to drag along. All it takes is one team to turn it around. If one team can get comfortable on the road and win a game or two in a series it may be the difference in winning the NBA championship or not. If no one turns it around then we can send the trophy to Boston now because they earned it throughout the regular season by capturing home-court advantage during the regular.
