Road teams step up in postseason
Home-court advantage can be quickly wiped out
Home-court advantage? More like home-court disadvantage early in the NBA’s conference playoff semifinals.
Three road teams — the Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers — took Game 1 on the road in this round.
The Wizards have taken the road warrior mentality a step further, winning their first three road playoff games this season — taking the first two in Toronto and Game 1 in Atlanta.
As boggling as it is impressive, the Wizards entered Tuesday’s Game 2 vs. the Atlanta Hawks with an 8-1 road record over the last two postseasons.
“You try to get two on the road, but most importantly try to get the first game,” Wizards guard John Wall said.
Wall also said it required fighting through adversity — the crowd noise and scoring runs made by the home team — and sticking to the game plan.
Bulls guard Jimmy Butler, who had 20 points, six assists and five rebounds in the Game 1 victory at
the Cleveland Cavaliers, was straightforward: “It’s important to win as many games as possible on the road.”
Cleveland’s LeBron James is no stranger to 1-0 series deficits. His Miami Heat team dropped the series opener at home to the Bulls in 2013 but won the series in five games.
“Home court doesn’t guarantee you an extra game on your floor. The only time it would guarantee you is if you get to a Game 7,” James said. “You have to go out and play, and if you’re fortunate enough to have a Game 7, then so be it. You play every game, try to win every game and give your game plan, go out and try to execute and see what happens.”
Or as ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said, “All I know is if you get to Game 7, everyone would rather play at home.”
There is the postseason axiom that a playoff series doesn’t begin until the road team wins a game. And while that’s not the whole truth, the marrow of the statement is valid. Along the way to a championship, a team needs to win games on the road.
Over the previous five postseasons, the road team has averaged four series wins. This year, the road team has two series wins and could get more in the conference semifinals. Historically, the home team has won 66% of playoff games, but last season it was 56.2%. For this year, it was 57.7% entering Tuesday.
Home court still matters, but the road team is pushing the home team harder than ever.
Regardless of what transpires the rest of this postseason, the road team is winning more often in the regular season. In 2014-15, the road team won 42.5% of games, up from 39.7% in 2012-13. In 1988-89, the road team won 32.1% of the time.
“In my experience, over the years it has decreased,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said. “That does not mean that it’s not an advantage. I just think over the years it’s become somewhat less significant. But for us to be able to play in front of our home crowd and for us — particularly since January — our home performance has been outstanding.
“We definitely gain advantage by playing in Cleveland, playing in front of our fans, and we hope to take better advantage of it.”
Blatt says he has a theory on why home-court advantage is disappearing slowly. But protecting information like a CIA agent during the Cold War, he declined to divulge state secrets.
“I have a very specific theory, but I’m not going to talk about it right now,” Blatt said. “Another time and another place.”
Earlier this season, ESPN studied the trend of increasing road success and concluded the home team has suffered statistical declines in several areas.
Asked during All-Star Weekend about the growing success of road teams, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver didn’t have a firm answer.
“It just may be that the teams — as they’ve gotten more sophisticated in terms of analytics — they have a better understanding of defenses and offenses,” he said. “There’s more of a focus on every game now maybe than there was historically.”
The progress in advanced statistics, scouting and video have made teams more prepared, whether at home or on the road. But it certainly helps a road team traveling from one city to the next to have a database of information for players and coaches to peruse on easily accessible devices.
Experience helps win on the road. And so does superior talent. And regardless of home-court advantage, the better team at that time advances in a seven-game series.
Yes, it’s often home sweet home. But the road team, more and more, is finding a home away from home.