"Home Court Advantage": A Closer Look

As the visiting team, we huddled a little closer than usual in the frigid locker room. There was a single 60 watt light bulb dangling from a short extension cord, draped over the icy pipes. It seemed to supply the only heat.

The pungent odor of a distant stogie wafted through the ventilation system. Squinting through the dark and dank mist, several players wondered silently if it was legal to start the game playing in their warm-ups.

The relief of finally getting out of that dungeon and onto the court was quickly spoiled by the sight of a packed gymnasium. From the rafters a multitude of championship banners screamed even louder than the fans.

At the far end of the court, the opposing coach chuckled as he acknowledged our entrance - and...and...that floor! A dizzying crazy-quilt of mis-matched maple - the famous parquet playing surface of Boston Garden.

This was Red Auerbach's house and though we had just been greeted with a wink and a smile, we felt anything but welcomed.

We were on the wrong side of "Home Court Advantage".

We all know it exists. We know in theory, it's effects are intended to be neutralized through a balanced schedule. It's the prize every contending team fights to secure for the post-season. And yes, Mr. Auerbach's extreme hospitality aside, the home court advantage remains one of NBA basketball's most important elements.

Many studies have been done on the various aspects of home court advantage. The resulting statistics only confirm what we already know: playing at home, in front of a friendly crowd is a huge advantage. But for the sake of clarity, let us identify some of the obvious benefits of home court advantage.

The rest factor—In the NBA, this is the number one contributing factor. Visiting teams must interrupt their normal sleep patterns to travel—especially when traveling across time zones. When rest is offered, it is either in a strange bed or on an airline seat. Meanwhile, the home team casually goes about its normal schedule and each player has the luxury of retiring to a comfy, familiar place of rest.

A further advantage of home court is that the burden of back-to-back games is most frequently placed on the traveling team. Rarely in the NBA does the home team have to play back-to-back.

The fan factor—This is a no-brainer. Having the positive support of thousands of noisy fans contributes to inspired play by the home team. Inspired play is then instantly rewarded by positive feedback and the cycle feeds on itself.

Hence, having those same fans hurling insults and general bad energy toward the visiting team often results in un-inspired play and the ensuing negative cycle.

This leads to the third obvious advantage of home court:

Biased officiating—No matter how strenuously the Commissioner or the Official's Union may refute it, NBA officials are not neutral. The numbers don't lie and the numbers say the home team benefits more often from the officiating. The human element is what it is. Down deep, even the refs want to be loved.

Moving away from the most obvious factors, let us look a little deeper:

Physical advantages-Some venues have unique physical characteristics which provide an advantage. Consider the altitude at Denver or Salt Lake City. Any NBA player will tell you the rare air in those cities will sap one's stamina and contribute to fatigue—unless of course, one is accustomed to those conditions.

And again, there's that parquet floor in Boston. Many a visiting superstar has struggled to find his sweet spot on that hypnotic surface. College football fans will immediately relate to the Smurf Turf of the Boise State Broncos.

Strangely, some of the smaller-market teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz may use that distinction to their advantage. NBA basketball in those cities is essentially the only game in town. Those fans have only one outlet for their pent-up sports energy. Both venues are noted for their vocal and rabid fans.

Some NBA cities, by their very cultural association may have an advantage. Take New Orleans or New York for example. The temptations and distractions of the night in those locales have more than once dulled the sharp competitive edge of visiting teams.

With all these factors working in favor of the home team, a loss at home carries an extra sting. By the same token, a win on the road tastes a little sweeter. This is why the better teams in the league go into the season expecting to win all their home games and at least half their road games.

As mentioned above, the league has attempted to balance the home court advantage by scheduling an equal amount of home and away games for each team during the regular season. While this is an admirable and just endeavor, the post-season is a different animal.

Here, the focus is not equity. The point of the post-season is to quickly determine winners to advance to the next level. This is where the home court advantage really pays dividends. Statistics show that in the playoffs, the home-win percentage is much higher than the regular season home-win percentage.

Since home court advantage in the playoffs is determined primarily by the regular season record, we can see the importance of always taking advantage of the home court.

So, the next time your team is playing at home, remember:

You can cheer a little louder.

You can wave a bigger banner.

Or, in true Red Auerbach style, you might consider slipping a little Laxi-Lube into the visitor's water supply...