The first six games in this season’s playoffs all had something in common. The home teams all prevailed, winning by an average of 18.5 points per game.<\/p>\n
And since then, chaos. Road teams figured out how to avoid being pushovers.<\/p>\n
Of the six first-round series that have completed two games, only two higher-seeded teams \u2014 Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers \u2014 have managed to hold serve at home and take 2-0 series leads. Oklahoma City could join the Cavaliers and Lakers in that club if it beats Phoenix in Game 2 of that series on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, that home-court advantage teams spent 82 games of regular-season basketball trying to obtain? It’s already gone, meaning a whole bunch of Game 3s are coming up later this week with lower-seeded teams feeling pretty good about their chances at springing an upset.<\/p>\n
\u2014 East No. 8 Orlando beat No. 1 Detroit in Game 1 of their series on Sunday. The Pistons will try to salvage a split when the series resumes Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u2014 East No. 6 Atlanta beat No. 3 New York on Monday, while West No. 6 Minnesota beat No. 3 Denver later that night.<\/p>\n
\u2014 And on Tuesday, East No. 7 Philadelphia beat No. 2 Boston, and West No. 7 Portland beat No. 2 San Antonio in a game in which the Spurs saw Victor Wembanyama depart with a concussion in the first half.<\/p>\n
Cleveland is up 2-0 on Toronto, while the Lakers are up 2-0 on Houston.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s the playoffs,\u201d Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said after his team \u2014 which beat the 76ers by 32 points in Game 1 \u2014 lost by 14 points in Game 2. \u201cThey’ve got ballplayers over there and they came to play. On any given night, you can lose a game if you don’t come out with the right mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
Road teams getting wins isn’t uncommon. It’s been a trend in recent years.<\/p>\n
Over the last six postseasons, not counting the 2020 playoffs held inside the bubble at Walt Disney World because of the pandemic, home teams have won only 58% of playoff games \u2014 a steep dip from what used to be the norm. In the 15 seasons before that, home teams won playoff games at a 69% rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever story you told yourself during the regular season, that story is done,\u201d Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. \u201cAnd now it\u2019s the playoffs, so it’s an entirely new season.\u201d<\/p>\n
It’s not like the Pistons, Celtics, Spurs \u2014 with or without Wembanyama \u2014 or Nuggets will be intimidated by the notion of now having to win at least one road game if they’re going to eventually prevail in these opening-round series. They all made road wins look routine this season.<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City had the best road record in the NBA. The next four winningest road teams, in order, were San Antonio, Detroit, Denver and Boston.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to just keep your temperament where it’s at, understand these games ebb and flow,” Denver coach David Adelman said after the Game 2 loss to Minnesota. \u201cAnd we can play better. We know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Houston’s 30 home wins tied for the fourth-most in the league, so the Lakers \u2014 even after they were one of the clubs defend home floor and take a 2-0 lead \u2014 know their matchup with the Rockets is far from over.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s the postseason. So, it’s the first to four,” Lakers forward LeBron James said. \u201cIt’s never the first to one. It’s never the first to two. Our whole mindset now is focused on Game 3. We know we’re going into a hostile environment. Guys tend to play better at home than they do on the road, so we have to be ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the current playoff format, higher-seeded teams win conference quarterfinals series 77.4% of the time, and that goes up to 92.5% of the time when those higher-seeded clubs start with 2-0 series leads. The road warriors so far \u2014 Orlando, Atlanta, Minnesota, Portland and Philadelphia \u2014 have at least put a good-sized dent in those odds.<\/p>\n
That said, they all know there’s a ton of basketball left to be played.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s 1-1. Who cares?\u201d 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said. \u201cNow we’ve got to go home and try to protect home court.\u201d<\/p>\n
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