Why is there such a big discrepancy between a teams home and away statistics?

[doitallpaul]

Always wondered why teams home records and percentages were always that much lower than that of the away records.

The courts, fields, rinks are all the same and most of the time the fans aren't even into the game minus the playoffs.

There is no reason an NBA team should be undefeated at home and then 500 on the road.

Anyone care to explain in depth?

 

[mugzbo]

Home team is able to feed off their crowd's energy. With thousands rooting for you to push through, I personally think it drives the player to want to perform at a higher level so they won't disappoint.

You talking specifically about the NBA though?

 

[doitallpaul]

Home team is able to feed off their crowd's energy. With thousands rooting for you to push through, I personally think it drives the player to want to perform at a higher level so they won't disappoint.

You talking specifically about the NBA though?

All sports...I can understand why college sports are different but when professional teams have a hard time selling out home games yet play better teams who are visiting and still win it doesn't make sense. Purely because of where the game is played.

 

[al3xis]

I have always been a believer that travel, rest and routine is the main difference and not the crowd.

 

[antidope]

Yeah its really a totally mental thing. Youre not at home so youre less comfortable playign and doing things that you would have no problem doing at home, just like when you go to someone elses house for the first time and you want some water, but you cant go get it yourself, and you dont want to ask so you wait until they offer it to you, and they never do, so then you ask where the bathroom is, and you go in there and swish some of the tap water around in your mouth so that you can keep your mouth hydrated for the time being, then you go back and sit down and wait some more until someone else says that theyre thirsty, then the owner of the place starts listing off what they have in the fridge, cranberry juice, apple juice, orange juice, beer, and then you ask if they have any water, and they say they do but isnt cold, but you dont care you take it anyway and you drink it all within 5 minutes, and then they go "You were thirsty huh" in their snarky tone, and you smile and laugh it off and say yeah I was, but really you're thinking to yourself "Yes I was thirsty you selfish, inconsiderate, piece of...."

Thats exactly what its like.

 

[100027]

Travel time is also a factor.  Seahawks are an example- a reputation for being weaker on the road but have the longest average travel time of any league.  For the playoffs this year they flew to washington, to seattle, to georgia for a 10:30 am game over a week.  That takes a toll in terms of jet lag, getting proper rest, etc.

 

[ham city]

I have always been a believer that travel, rest and routine is the main difference and not the crowd.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

What about a playoffs series though? Both teams travel equally.

 

[5am6oody72]

For one, refs generally tend to have an unconscious (and sometimes conscious) bias towards the home team due to the crowd. That is a small part of it.

I think the other major difference is the travel time, even if its brief, and breaking the normal routine. Personally when I played in HS I always preferred to go on the road and be the bad guy, plus there was less pressure cus I didnt have to worry about screwing up and looking like a chump in front of my friends and family. We weren't a good home team or a good road team, but our losses om the road were usually closer For example, we were within 10 most of the game and ended up losing like 70-48 to this one team on the road. We played them at home and got waxed 91-21

 

[RyGuy45]

The book Scorecasting laid out that numerous factors played a part but the largest one was referee performance/bias. In nearly all major sports the home teams gets almost all things their way even if it is just slightly.

 

[airjordan jb23]

Traveling & the lack of energy & support from the crowd play a big factor.

 

[penalize]

Traveling & the lack of energy & support from the crowd play a big factor.

also familarity of the venue.
there have also been studys that show that ref's are influenced by the crowd..

 

[651akathepaul]

It's like this unexplained phenomena where there isn't one or two direct correlations, but a mix of possible reasons that can vary depending on circumstances.

I'm specifically talking about teams going on the road and though that answer is broad, no one can give a definitive answer here, because it's all circumstantial. A team might have a mental block when playing against a certain opponent on the road and they can't get over the hump so the doubt in their minds snowball. It could be a noise factor (Seattle), a weather factor (Green Bay), a body clock/travel factor (West Coast to East), and preparedness factor, etc.