In general, home court advantage is key in the NBA playoffs. It can even be argued that playing at home in basketball is more valuable than in any other sport simply because of the proximity of fans to the court with athletes regularly coming in contact with spectators.
In this year’s NBA Finals, however, home court advantage hasn’t been all that helpful thus far.
The Heat were first on the board in terms of winning on the road, stealing Game 2 in San Antonio. The Spurs returned the favor in Game 3 on Tuesday night, winning handily on the road at Miami. So far, two of the three games in the series have gone to the road team.
Actually, road teams are close to having a clean sweep during this series . San Antonio won Game 1 at home, but Miami trailed by only four with under two minutes to play. Despite the final score, the game could have gone either way and the home teams could very well be winless in the Finals if the Heat didn’t fade down the stretch in that initial contest. Ironically, the biggest home court advantage thus far hasn’t been provided by fans — it’s been by a faulty air conditioning system that, along with cramps, helped force LeBron James out of action.
What’s even more surprising is that, heading into the Finals, both the Spurs and Heat had been dominant at home. Miami was a perfect 8-0 against their competition in the Eastern Conference and the Spurs were nearly flawless at 9-1 playing in San Antonio. Following a Game 2 defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in their opening series, the Spurs rattled off seven consecutive wins and had been every bit as impressive as the Heat on their own court.
The two home losses by the Spurs and Heat are more than they’ve had in their other six playoff series this year – combined. Keep in mind that the series is only three games old.
Perhaps the reason the home court hasn’t been useful is because of the veteran teams involved. Both the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs have significant experience playing in the postseason and are laced with veteran players. So far, neither team has been all that rattled by playing away from home.
Part of it is also based in the competition. While each franchise has faced some good teams leading up to the Finals, neither has played anyone nearly as their counterpart in the championship round. After all, defending their home courts against the likes of the Charlotte Bobcats or Portland Trailblazers isn’t nearly as difficult as playing a Conference champion.
Still, for home court advantage to mean so little to this point in the series is a bit puzzling.
This is hardly unprecedented, though. Last year after four games in the Finals between the Heat and Spurs, the road teams were 2-2. However, things eventually settled down with the home team winning the final three contests. Perhaps the same scenario will play out this year and home court advantage will provide the edge expected.
After the Spurs’ win in Game 3, it might look like they have the inside track with home court advantage. Based on the way the series has gone so far, however, a San Antonio championship is anything but a guarantee.
