Home Court advantage is the road to a crown for LA or Cleveland.

Fryingpan Sports

Home Court advantage is the road to a crown for LA or Cleveland.

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By Bill Smith

One of the great things about being a grandfather is that you get to play a lot of home games on holidays. The home court advantage in the 08-09 season is the key to winning the championship. Until Kevin Garnett was hurt for the Celtics, the race was a three team affair. Without KG, the Celtics have struggled and the contest for the best overall record is down to just two teams—The LA Lakers and the Cleveland Cavs.

This year the race for home court advantage is critical. Cleveland is 32-1 at home this season. That loss was to LA 101-91 on Feb. 8. The Cavs should have home court in the Eastern Conference and that will definitely help in a series against Boston. The Cavs hold a 5 game advantage over Boston in the loss column with 12 games left. In 18 games over the last 2 season, the home team has won every time. Had game 7 of that series been at Cleveland rather than in Boston in the series last year, the Cavs likely would have won and gone on to play LA for the title.

The Cavs have a favorable schedule in the remaining games with their toughest games at home. They play Detroit, San Antonio and Boston in the home stretch all at home. The one tough road game will be at Orlando on Apr. 3. In all 8 of their 12 remaining games are in Cleveland.

The pressure is clearly on the Cavs. The best way to keep LeBron James in the wine and gold colors of the Cavs is to win a championship or two before he hits free agency. Like all super competitive super athletes, he wants to win titles.

Given their success at home, the best way to accomplish that goal is to win the home court advantage. Chances are that the race with LA will go down to the last day of the season. Every win is critical to that goal. The Cavs own a 1 game advantage vs. LA but face some tough games down the stretch. An advantage they have is that

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on and edits .

My email is [email protected].

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1 thought on “Home Court advantage is the road to a crown for LA or Cleveland.”

  1. I think home court advantage is espescially important in the NBA. Not only is the crowd a factor, but it often seems the refs seem to favor the home team more times then not.

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