I have always subscribed to the belief that home court in the NBA is worth more than home ice in the NHL.
Most years the stats support that theory, however in 2014, there appears to be a diversion from this notion. NHL teams were a staggering 32-16 at home in the first round, but just 13-14 in the second round and 7-6 in round three. In addition, visiting teams are 6-1 in crucial 7th and deciding games in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Let’s analyze this: home teams overall are 53-36 (including LA’s 3-2 OT victory over the New York
Rangers), but with the stakes increasing in rounds two and three, it’s a saw off (20-20). The jaw dropper is that the visitors have been dominant in game seven, yet there is a common belief, that teams play all season to acquire home ice advantage for the critical 7th game. Well, there ends another theory, at least based on this year’s results.
In the NBA, home teams were just 24-26 in the first round, 12-10 in the second round and a whopping 10-2 in the third round. That’s 46-38 overall (not including the San Antonio-Miami opener). This can be interpreted as the reverse trend of the NHL as home court seemed to mean more when the better teams faced each other after the opening round. Moreover, the home team is 4-1 in the crucial 7th and deciding games which were all played in round one.
In summary, home teams have a better playoff percentage this year in the NHL, but the visitors have struggled more in the NBA’s later rounds and when series are on the line in a game seven.
Each year seems to bring its own unique set of stats so it is difficult to get a proper reading of the future. This is why many of us love sports, especially when two of the four major ones in North America are less than two weeks away from crowning their champions.
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In a previous column, I compared the NHL and NBA playoffs in terms of competitiveness. Here’s an update with each league having completed 14 best of seven series.
NHL fans have watched seven series that have gone the entire seven games. There’s also five series that needed six games, one series determined in five (Boston over Detroit) and only one series that was a sweep (Montreal over Tampa). To recap, 12 of the 14 series were considered long by going at least six games and the two short series were in the opening round.
The NBA has five series that went the full seven games, five series were over in six games for a total of 10 long series. There’s also three series completed in five games and only one four game sweep (Miami over Charlotte).
With 22 of the 28 series between the two leagues, going a minimum six games, fans have been the big winners especially since nearly every day at least one of the leagues, and often both, have provided dramatic entertainment.
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It is clear that the NBA championship series is featuring the two best teams. Miami and San Antonio were the top two last year and this year’s final is a dream match-up with many featured story lines and legacies.
However, this is not the case in the NHL, where the superb Western Final between LA and Chicago should have been the Stanley Cup final since they have arguably the two most talented teams. The New York Rangers are overachievers largely due to Henrik Lundqvist, who is ranked in the top two among playoff goalies in the key areas of save percentage, goals against average and wins.
I imagine one person finding it difficult to watch the Rangers play for a championship is John Tortorella. Let’s see, Torts leaves New York and the Rangers experience their best season in 20 years. Tortorella then becomes a one and done coach with the Canucks, having guided them to their first non-playoff season in six years, before the axe fell. Furthermore, Alain Vigneault, the person he replaced in Vancouver, is reaping praise for reaching the Cup Final for the second time in four seasons.
Tortorella once told Ken Hitchcock, who was coaching the Philadelphia Flyers at the time to “Park your ego.” Considering the developments of the past year, Torts should be following his own sage advice.
From the Quote Rack:
Seattle City Council unanimously approved a $15 hourly minimum wage, the highest in the United States. As a result, several Houston Astros have requested a trade to the Mariners.
For the first time since 1962, the National Spelling Bee ended in a tie. The word that stumped them–‘McNabb’.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
The National Spelling Bee finished in a tie. Was Bud Selig somehow involved?
Cleveland offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan says that Johnny Manziel reminds him of Robert Griffin III. That may be what some Browns fans are afraid of.
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Chicago is the latest city to consider raising the minimum wage to $15 hour. This means the guy selling you a beer in the stands at Wrigley Field would be able to afford to take his family to a White Sox game.
The Cleveland Indians swept a three game series from the defending champion Red Sox. Former Boston manager Terry Francona, who is now with the Indians, brought beer and fried chicken to the Cleveland post game celebration.
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver (http://alwaysfunny.com/)
And in case you missed it:
TSN plans to air CFL preseason games. So we’ll get to see even more blown calls, bad timing and confusion over Canadian rules. But enough about Rod Black.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio station 94X. His column appears Fridays on hqprincegeorge.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller