As the 2022-2023 NBA season enters the home stretch, it is a good time to see which playoff-contending teams have trouble winning games on the road. While this doesn’t necessarily define a team, it is definitely useful to see where the top teams rank in terms of being able to get it done on the road.
In this article, I will talk about some teams that don’t have a great track record playing away games this year while they have tremendous success at home. Weirdly enough, three of the four teams I have listed come from the Western Conference.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors record at home and on the road, respectfully, are pretty insane. At home, they hold a 29-7 record, which is the second-best home record in all of the NBA. Playing in the Chase Center has certainly been friendly for the Dubs this season and in recent years past.
With this outstanding record at home, you would think the Warriors would be close to the best team record-wise in the West, right? That simply is not so, as they have posted a mind-boggling 7-26 record on the road this season. The Warriors are definitely a team that longs for home.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are another team that has one of the league-best home records at 28-5. They sit in the 2nd overall spot in the West, and everything seemed to be rolling for them.
That was until the announcement of star PG Ja Morant would be out indefinitely. With an away record of just 13-21, they have more going on outside of the trouble when playing away from home. While they are close to clinching a playoff spot, the away troubles and now being without Ja Morant may hurt them down the stretch.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Another team that has a lot of success at home but can’t seem to be the same team on the road is the Cavs. Currently holding the 4th playoff spot in the East, they hold a very solid 28-7 record inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Away from the RMFH, they have a 15-20 record, which is holding them back from pushing for a higher seed in the East. Under the semi-veteran leadership of guard Donovan Mitchell, I see this team turning around their road struggles rather quickly.
Denver Nuggets
The fourth and final team I will mention is the Nuggets. At home, they are an astonishing league-best 30-6. The home crowd at Ball Arena loves their hometown team, led by superstar center Nikola Jokic averaging a triple-double.
While they only have a 16-16 record away from home, I thought it would be very important to mention Denver on this list. Holding the top seed in the West, the Nuggets have a lot to play for down the stretch into the NBA playoffs. If this team wants to hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at the end of the season, they must be able to win on the road.
In the Long-Run
With respect to these four playoff-contending teams, winning on the road will obviously have to happen for them to be successful in the postseason. After all, in a playoff series, you can’t just play at home all the time.
These four teams will have to turn to their leading players to find them ways to get it done consistently outside of their home arena. The team that figures this problem out the quickest, to me, will have the most success come playoff basketball time.
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