Latest news with #homecourtadvantage
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"The air conditioner they turn on in the winter and the heat on in the summer" - Joe Dumars on why playing Larry Bird's Celtics in the Garden was a nightmare
"The air conditioner they turn on in the winter and the heat on in the summer" - Joe Dumars on why playing Larry Bird's Celtics in the Garden was a nightmare originally appeared on Basketball Network. There are certain places in basketball history that go beyond home-court advantage. They carry an aura, a psychological edge and in some cases, even climate manipulation. Advertisement For Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons of the late '80s, the old Boston Garden was one such place — a sweatbox in the summer, a freezer in the winter and always a battleground. The Bad Boys, for all their grit and physical dominance, never quite got comfortable there. Not quite because of fear, but because everything about that arena, its hostile crowd, wooden floor and unrelenting atmosphere was engineered to throw off visiting teams. The old Garden The rivalry between the Pistons and the Boston Celtics was a headline in the late '80s. But before Detroit could rise, it had to go through Boston, more precisely, through Larry Bird's Celtics in their prime. And that meant braving the treacherous terrain of the Garden, where even the thermostat seemed to be part of Red Auerbach's long-standing psychological warfare. Advertisement "Because the air conditioner they turn on in the winter and the heat on in the summer," Dumars said of the old Garden. It was a reality many teams had to deal with when walking into that building. The 1987 Eastern Conference finals between the Celtics and Pistons are still remembered for how physically and mentally exhausting it became. Game 5 of that series, the Isiah Thomas turnover game, took place in a sweltering Garden, with indoor temperatures reportedly in the '90s. By the fourth quarter, players were drenched, exhausted and leaning heavily on whatever oxygen they could get. It was no accident. The Pistons, more used to the controlled climate of the Pontiac Silverdome, felt every inch of discomfort. The Celtics' dominance in Boston during the '80s was almost mythological. Between 1985 and 1987, they posted a 102–10 home record in the regular season and a staggering 27–1 playoff record. During the 1985-86 season alone, Boston went 40–1 at home. Advertisement That level of consistency didn't happen by luck or because of just talent. The Garden worked as an amplifier for Bird's brilliance, McHale's footwork, Parish's consistency and the strategic minds of K.C. Jones and Auerbach. The floor itself was infamous, sections of the parquet were reportedly dead spots, which the Celtics knew intimately. Passing lanes became traps. Cuts were anticipated. Boston defenders seemed to know exactly where to channel opposing players and more often than not, it led to either a steal, a forced shot, or an awkward turnover. Related: "Only two guys on that team could fight" - Charles Barkley says "Bad Boy" label for Detroit was highly exaggerated A dominant team The Pistons were built to break spirits — Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and of course, Dumars and Thomas. They rattled almost everybody, but playing in Boston meant adapting to a game being played on the Celtics' terms. Advertisement "Let's not forget how incredible Bird and the Celtics were in their prime. It was almost impossible to go there and beat them," Dumars said. Bird was at his absolute peak in the mid-'80s. Between 1984 and 1986, he averaged 26.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, shooting over 50 percent from the field and nearly 90 percent from the line. He won three consecutive MVP awards during that stretch, something only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell had done before him. The 1987 Eastern Conference finals, especially, marked the moment when the Pistons truly began knocking on the door of greatness. They took Boston to seven games. Thomas had his 25-point fourth quarter in Game 5. But it was Bird's legendary steal from Thomas' inbound pass to Laimbeer, capped by a quick dish to Dennis Johnson for the game-winning layup, that sealed Detroit's fate in Game 5. Still, Dumars and company didn't flinch for long. They came back stronger. By 1988, they eliminated Boston en route to the Finals. And in 1989, they finally won it all. But that sense of discomfort in Boston never really left. Advertisement The old Garden was eventually demolished in 1998 to make way for the modernized TD Garden. Related: "Every single time that we eliminated them, Mike found me, shook my hand" - Joe Dumars says it's a myth Michael Jordan never showed sportsmanship This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
WATCH: Is home-court advantage still a factor in the NBA playoffs? Recent history says no
All season long, NBA teams compete to give themselves the best position in the playoffs. They grind over 82 games in the regular season to get the best record they can, which, if they are good enough, will then give them home-court advantage for a series, or two, or the whole postseason. It is an enticing incentive for teams that should make the struggle worth it, if for no other reason than getting the all-important, series-deciding Game 7 at home in front of the home fans. Advertisement But what if home-court advantage is losing its luster? It was a shock when the Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 1 at home to the Indiana Pacers. It was a surprise when the Boston Celtics lost to the New York Knicks a day later. Then the Oklahoma City Thunder blew their series opener to the Nuggets. When the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped Game 1 to the Golden State Warriors, it capped a remarkable three days. All four of the top-seeded teams in the playoffs lost Game 1 of their second-round series at home. It was an extreme outlier, but also part of a trend across the NBA in recent years. Playing at home just doesn't mean what it once did. This spring, NBA teams are just 31-30 at home in the playoffs. That's the lowest playoff winning percentage among home teams since 1981 (the 2020 playoffs were in the bubble). While home teams were a game under .500 in the 1981 NBA playoffs, it was a blip. The very next year, home teams won about 60 percent of their playoff games and kept climbing back up each year, right around historical precedent. In fact, home teams won at least 60 percent of their games in 56 of the first 78 postseasons. But not recently. Home teams haven't crossed the 60 percent threshold since the 2018 playoffs — though they were close in 2022. Home-court advantage has also eroded this decade in the most critical circumstance: Game 7. Getting to play the do-or-die game at home used to be a ballast for higher seeds. They won 79.1 percent of Game 7s over the league's first 73 seasons. Home teams are just 5-10 in a Game 7 since 2021. When the Warriors won in Houston to cap off their first-round series victory, it could hardly have been a surprise. Certainly, not to Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. His evolution on the value of home-court advantage mirrors the reality of the league. Advertisement In 2018, as the Warriors were on their way to a third title in four years, Kerr said that obtaining home-court advantage for the playoffs was his top goal. Last month, he sloughed off its value. 'I don't know that it's quite as important,' Kerr said. 'I think the 3-point shooting is such a variable. It feels like in the old days, it was much more of a grind-out, two-point game. It just didn't feel like the opponent had as much of a chance to suddenly get hot and take over the momentum of the game.' As Kerr said, 3-point shooting has invariably had an impact on the changing structure of the league. Home-court advantage started to wane during the 2016-17 season, right as the NBA hit its 3-point revolution and has not recovered since, as 3-point volume has gone up. Taking more 3s as a road team has correlated with higher winning percentage in recent years. This postseason, road teams that have taken at least one more 3-pointer than the home team are 16-12, winning at the same rate as they did last spring. Making more 3s has also become more important for teams to win on the road. That may sound obvious but it hasn't always been true. Yet, as 3-point volume shot up across the league, becoming a large part of every team's shot profile and having a large effect on games, winning the 3-point battle became critical to eradicating home-court advantage. From 2011-14, in the four playoffs before the Warriors and Steph Curry took over the league, road teams won 46.2 percent of their games when they made at least one more 3 than the home team. From 2016-19, the last four years before two COVID-19 impacted playoffs, road teams won 55 percent of their games when they made at least one more 3 than the home team. Since 2022, road teams won 61.5 percent of their games when they made at least one more 3 than the home team. Advertisement In these playoffs at least, this trend could be a balm to title contenders who surprisingly find themselves down early in their series. If home-court advantage is no longer such a strength for them, that means they can come back and steal it from their opponents, too. (Top photo of Aaron Gordon hitting the game-winning jumper in Game 1 of the Nuggets' 121-119 win in Oklahoma City: AAron Ontiveroz / The Denver Post)
