Luka’s Corner

Especially in the Eastern Conference, there has been so much talk about securing the #1 or #2 seed to secure home court advantage throughout the Playoffs. This home court advantage has made the Cleveland Cavaliers, with a league-best 62-15 record, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with a best-in-the-West record of 60-16, the favorites in this postseason in the eyes of some. In the eyes of most analysts, Cleveland seems to have basically punched their ticket to the Finals due to their league-best 37-1 record in the Quicken Loans Arena. The point that I’m trying to make is that home court will not play as big a role in the Playoffs as most people think.

Because the Boston Celtics struggled on the road in The Playoffs last time around (forgetting that they won two big games in Detroit and LA), playing at home has taken on a much greater significance this year. It is important to note, however, that the Celtics improved tremendously on the road after losing their first home game at the hands of Detroit in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Receiving a much-needed wake-up call, Boston went on to beat Detroit handily in Game 3 (94-80) and came back in Game 4 of the Finals to beat the Lakers, 97-91. It is evident through these two victories that once Boston had to get wins on the road, they did. And, can you honestly say that the Boston Celtics, with a combined road record of 57-23 over the past two seasons, will repeat their poor road play this year as well? They will obviously learn from their mistakes and play with a renewed sense of urgency in other arenas this year, as will the other Playoff teams.

So, it is my opinion that home court advantage will not be as important in these Playoffs as it was in 07-08. Sure, teams will play better at home and there will still be more home wins than road wins overall in the Playoffs, but do not underestimate the pressure it puts on home teams to defend their home court. As soon as the home team steps out on to the floor, the players’ fire and energy will die down and the road team will be able to play loosely. This is what I see happening in a Boston-Cleveland series played predominantly in Cleveland or with Los Angeles against either the San Antonio Spurs or New Orleans Hornets. It is simply not smart to declare favorites based on them having the overall best record or playing their games mostly at home.