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Golden State Warriors: Home-court advantage is on the line

ByTony Pesta|
OAKLAND, CA - MARCH 24: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors exits the arena after a game against the Detroit Pistons on March 24, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - MARCH 24: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors exits the arena after a game against the Detroit Pistons on March 24, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA season is nearly over and the Golden State Warriors will need to play strong down the stretch to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.

The Golden State Warriors have nine games remaining in the regular season. It has been a very up-and-down season for the Warriors but these final games will be the deciding factor on whether or not the Dubs have home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Currently, Golden State is less than one game in front of the Denver Nuggets who are the second seed in the Western Conference. Denver isn’t being taken very seriously by many, but they could prove to be a tough opponent. Especially if Golden State can’t secure home-court advantage.

Home teams have a big advantage in the NBA playoffs. The home team has won the series 64.5 percent of the time in NBA history. This means that the Warriors should be making it a priority to finish with the best record in the West.

However, the Warriors will not be able to guarantee that they will have home court in the NBA Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks have five more wins than the Dubs while the Toronto Raptors also have one more win than the Warriors.

So, does it really matter if the Warriors can capture the one seed in the West? In the end, they still might not have the home court advantage when they need it most. After all, it is very unlikely the Nuggets will topple the Warriors even if they are playing in front of their home crowd.

Meanwhile, the Warriors haven’t suffered from playing on the road at all. In fact, the Dubs have a 24-12 record on the road this year, making them one of the best away teams in the entire league.

Since they began their run in the 2014-15 season, the Warriors have only played one series in which they did not have homecourt advantage. This came in last year’s playoffs when the Dubs defeated the Houston Rockets in a seven-game showdown in the Western Conference Finals.

Capturing the one seed is something that would be a luxury for the Dubs but it isn’t a necessity. Six of the Dubs final nine games this season will be played against non-playoff teams. This means that the road to the best record in the West isn’t very tough and should be an easy accomplishment for the Warriors.

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