Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards seek home court advantage without fans

The NBA season is very much about rhythm and repetition.

Players, coaches, officials, media, field staff and everyone in the basketball pro orbit know what a game day will bring. They know that once they get in the NBA arena two or three hours before the tip, it will be empty, quiet, solemn, enthusiastic and quiet until fans show up. But when the fans start filing in and you see the security lines start coming out, that’s when the feel of the game begins.

The music and sound of the field doesn’t get that weird. You can see the seats and the discounted seats starting to fill up as the pregame buzz builds. You feel and nourish that energy. You can literally feel their warmth heating buildings through the dark, cold winter months in cold weather resorts. When players start firing around and warming up, during pregame intros and when the games start, your team’s fans are present giving you that much-needed home court advantage in sports. any.

Before the league closed due to COVID-19 on March 11, there were 535-436 home teams in 2019-2020, per league. That 55.1% regular quarter home win percentage was an increase from the 53.3% mark in 2018-2019 but on the 55.2% mark from 2017-2018. It’s important to be at home in front of your own fans, at least to some extent. That benefit is true for a number of reasons.

So what happens when you play a full season without fans, which happens in many NBA pitches this season due to COVID-19 restrictions? How does that affect the players and coaches on the court who are so used to their strong support?

“We definitely miss the fans and the energy they bring,” Nets forward Joe Harris said. “Barclays [Center] doing a good job just trying to make it feel like a sense of atmosphere, but of course it’s not the same in any way. ”

While some critical staff were generously invited to the opening win of the season over Golden State on Dec. 22, Kevin Durant was expected to return to the NBA floor after 18 months. to be an event. Under normal circumstances, it would have been one of the hottest tickets of the year in Brooklyn or any city, something Nets fans have been looking forward to since the MVP Finals two -time into the team just a year and a half ago. Brooklyn still won away, but running a large sold-out crowd would have made it sweeter for a long-awaited franchise to be seen as a real contender.

It’s been a few years since the Washington Wizards were seen as even a playoff rival, changed by Russell Westbrook’s trade from Houston last year. But despite the lack of crowds in venues like Capital One Arena in DC, using a standard game in your own building and knowing its layout is an advantage that teams like the Wizards can use on game days.

“It’s definitely easier to get around and move around,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks told reporters about Zoom last week. “Knowing what we do on a day-to-day basis can help you play and perform better at home. ”

Even getting used to your city’s own coronavirus test and other protocols is competitively advantageous. Because players are normal and ordinary creatures, COVID rules and regulations in other cities and states could throw off a road team, even if only gradually. Any small margin could be crucial during this thick 72-game campaign.

Just days before he suffered an ACL that was partially torn in his right knee when he lost Sunday in Charlotte, Nets defender Spencer Dinwiddie insisted it was the best way to reduce home court without fans. just by sleeping in your own bed and getting a maintenance regimen that is more normal than any other city.

“It’s just falling into the right habit, being able to bring that attention to detail,” Dinwiddie said, the things that helped pre-injury. “And hope the ridges stay home friendly.”

Even the experience of a public speaking speaker or the music and sounds piped into a large range with 18-20,000 empty seats can make you look familiar and home.

“There’s not a lot of stuff even where we miss a scene and they have a positive effect of saying‘ aww ’and vice versa,” Harris said. “It’s a small thing, but that’s in itself a little bit different from the bubble, where it was consistent in everything. ”

Having been one of eight teams that did not compete in the Orlando bubble in the summer and early fall, the Cleveland Cavaliers were among a select few fans early in the season. the season, with 300 able to celebrate the home squad at Rocket Mortgage House. It’s something, but still not much.

To start off guard Collin Sexton, who is set to make a very strong start this season, it is up to him and his teammates to bring their own energy to what they are. losing without a large population.

“That’s what we can do, off the bench, from ourselves on the court,” he said after Tuesday’s shooting. “Just playing and having fun. That’s it. It’s kinda hard to play without fans, but I feel like we’re adapting to it quite a bit. ”

After a 24-point home win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, the Ohio state made a difference to the Cavs Tuesday, allowing 10% of field capacity, 1,944 fans, inside. Hours later, there were still not many fans in Cleveland’s loss to the New York Knicks. But that could change when the Cavs play their next home game on Jan. 11, following a six-game road trip.

It is hoped that venues around the league will start slowly and safely allowing more fans in the coming months as the vaccine is widely and appropriately distributed across the country. . But for now, all teams basically survive the same issues and have to do that until they are allowed to do so quickly.

“You still have to change without apologies and our organization has done that so far,” Brooks said of his Druids. “We cannot lower our guard. We must continue to do what we need to do to stay safe. But it’s still easier to be home. ”