Every year the best teams in the NBA face off in the NBA Playoffs. For those of you who are less familiar with the fundamental setup of the NBA Playoffs schedule, here is a quick rundown on how it works and why winning on the road is imperative. The playoffs are played in four rounds. Each round consists of a best of seven series. The higher seed in each matchup ends up drawing homecourt advantage, meaning they play four of the games at home and only three on the road. If a series is played out where only the home team wins, then the series will last seven games. It is crucial for the best teams to win in fewer than seven games, so that they can rest and rejuvenate before their next set of games. To do this, they must overcome the adversity of playing on the roads and take control of these crucial games.
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#1. A Stifling Defense
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The first key to winning on the road is a good defense. The number one advantage of playing at home is having a crowd that will hype up the big moments in a game. With the crowd out of the game, it is a fair contest and there is no more advantage to being on a home court. The goal is to make everything difficult for the opponent. Good defenses force their opponent take uncomfortable shots. They also get their opponent out of rhythm and force the crowd out of the game. It is also a lot easier to gain momentum when all the fans are cheering for one given team. The slower the play and less consistent the home team shoots, the less and less the crowd is entertained.
#2. Great Playmaking Abilities
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The second key to winning on the road is being able to make big plays. This is basically the counterpart to a good defense, as it is crucial to be great at both ends of the floor. Nothing makes an arena quieter than hitting long threes and making great passes for easy buckets. The Golden State Warriors are great at this. Draymond Green and Stephen Curry are a dynamic duo that can quiet almost any arena in the league. The ideal combination for taking the crowd out of any road game is somebody who can find the open man and the other player being able to convert and turn momentum towards his team.
#3. Good Leadership
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The third and final key to playing on the road is to have good leaders who will keep emotions in check. Every good team has a player on the court who is able to recenter the team's focus. Most of the teams also have excellent coaches who are able to point their team back to the goal of the game, winning. The crowd will chant and boo at the visiting players, and a good leader must always affirm their teammates even after turnovers and missed free throws. In doing this, the visiting team will stay mentally checked in and have a better chance of winning on the road.
An excellent defense and great playmaking abilities are both physical keys to winning; meanwhile, great leadership keeps teammates checked into the games. Teams that excel during the postseason have all mastered three musts for winning on the road. It is an almost fool proof way to win on the road. When executing on these ideas, the effect of the hometown crowd is minimized and homecourt advantage is neutralized. Make sure to watch out for how the Celtics and Warriors utilize these techniques in the upcoming NBA Championship games.
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