The opening stretch of this year’s NBA playoffs began with complete home dominance. Through the initial six contests, host teams swept every game, cruising to victory by an impressive 18.5-point average.
But the script has flipped dramatically since then. Visiting squads have discovered how to compete and win on hostile courts.
Among the six opening-round matchups that have played two games each, just two top-seeded franchises — Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers — have successfully defended their home venues to grab commanding 2-0 advantages. Oklahoma City has an opportunity to join that exclusive group when they face Phoenix in their second game Wednesday evening.
Beyond that, the home-court edge that franchises battled through 82 regular-season contests to secure has vanished. This development means numerous Game 3 matchups approaching later this week will feature lower-seeded clubs feeling confident about potential upsets.
— Eastern Conference eighth-seeded Orlando stunned top-ranked Detroit in their opening clash Sunday. The Pistons will attempt to even the series when play continues Wednesday.
— Eastern sixth-seed Atlanta defeated third-seeded New York on Monday, while Western sixth-seed Minnesota topped third-seeded Denver that same evening.
— Tuesday brought more surprises as Eastern seventh-seed Philadelphia defeated second-seeded Boston, and Western seventh-seed Portland knocked off second-seeded San Antonio. The Spurs lost star Victor Wembanyama to a first-half concussion during their defeat.
Cleveland maintains a 2-0 edge over Toronto, while the Lakers hold the same advantage against Houston.
“It’s the playoffs,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown commented following his squad’s performance — they had dominated Philadelphia by 32 points in the opener before falling by 14 in Game 2. “They’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.”
Visiting teams capturing victories represents nothing new. This pattern has emerged consistently in recent seasons.
During the past six postseasons, excluding the 2020 bubble playoffs at Walt Disney World due to pandemic conditions, home clubs have claimed just 58% of playoff contests — a significant decline from historical standards. In the 15 seasons prior to that stretch, home teams secured playoff victories at a 69% clip.
“Whatever story you told yourself during the regular season, that story is done,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley explained. “And now it’s the playoffs, so it’s an entirely new season.”
The Pistons, Celtics, Spurs — regardless of Wembanyama’s status — and Nuggets won’t be fazed by needing to capture at least one road victory to advance past these first-round series. All these clubs made away wins appear routine throughout the regular campaign.
Oklahoma City posted the league’s best road record. The following four most successful road teams were San Antonio, Detroit, Denver and Boston.
“You have to just keep your temperament where it’s at, understand these games ebb and flow,” Denver coach David Adelman remarked after losing Game 2 to Minnesota. “And we can play better. We know that.”
Houston’s 30 home victories tied for fourth-best league-wide, so the Lakers — despite successfully protecting their court for a 2-0 lead — understand their Rockets series remains far from decided.
“It’s the postseason. So, it’s the first to four,” Lakers forward LeBron James stated. “It’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.”
Under the present playoff structure, higher-seeded teams advance from conference quarterfinals 77.4% of the time, jumping to 92.5% when those favored clubs begin with 2-0 series advantages. The road warriors thus far — Orlando, Atlanta, Minnesota, Portland and Philadelphia — have at minimum created significant doubt about those statistics.
Still, all these teams recognize plenty of basketball remains ahead.
“It’s 1-1. Who cares?” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “Now we’ve got to go home and try to protect home court.”
