Lessons From Home Court Advantage

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Tonight’s Game 7 battle between the Hornets and the visiting Spurs is setting up to be a memorable one. The Hornets have Chris Paul, who has arguably been the best player in this series (and maybe even the entire post-season). The Spurs have the experience and a trio of all star players in Duncan-Ginobili-Parker.

So why are most experts picking the Hornets tonight? The answer, of course, is home court advantage. If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the NBA playoffs this month - and frankly, even if you haven’t - you know that THE storyline thus far is the dominance of the home teams. Home teams have won 21 of 23 games in the current round of the playoffs, a success rate that has fueled a majority of the sports talk on radio this past week. “Why are these teams playing so much better at home? Is it the referees? Is it the confidence levels? Is it the home cooking?” But if you’ve watched more than just the highlights of these games, it’s pretty clear what’s making all the difference. It’s the crowd. The way I see it, there are 3 reasons:

i. A basketball crowd is closer to the game than in any other sport. Those rich folk in the first row often step on the court on their way out to get nachos. That doesn’t happen in any other sport. Fans are RIGHT THERE.

ii. Basketball players don’t wear helmets, pads, or hats. They’re almost naked out there. We can see every grimace, smirk, and look of frustration on their faces.

iii. Basketball games feature something to cheer about on almost every play. Every basket, turnover, and rebound by the home team can get the fans excited. For your average NBA contest that’s over 125 moments per game.

“So the fans are closer, the athletes are more accessible, and the game is fan-friendly. What’s the point,” you say? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here’s the point: we can learn a lot from an NBA Home crowd. Stay with me here…

1. The Power of Encouragement. The next time you’re watching an NBA playoff game, watch what happens when the home team has the lead and they go on a little run. Their lead expands from 5 points to 12 in a minute and a half, and the crowd is going wild. As the lead is building, you can see the team feeding off of the crowd’s approval. Each made basket brings with it raucous applause. You think the player’s don’t love this? I’m telling you: they love it. Imagine if we were like this with our friends, our spouse, and/or our kids?. Imagine if we were looking for opportunities to applaud them whenever we could? The same encouragement that can propel an NBA team to victory can propel the people we love to be their best as well.

2. The Power of Support. Just because home teams have won a majority of the games, doesn’t mean they have led the whole way. In fact, in many these games the lead has changed hands multiple times. The thing about home court advantage is that even when the home team is losing, there are moments when the crowd can sense a comeback is brewing and they rise to the occasion. When a few defensive stops and quick baskets cut a 10-point lead in half, you can feel the home team’s confidence growing with the decibel level inside the arena. Knowing that there’s 20,000 people standing behind them, suddenly the task in front of them doesn’t seem so big. Imagine if we were that supportive of those in need around us? What if our friends rallied back against seemingly unbeatable circumstances because of the support they knew was behind them? What if we provided that support regardless of how we thought the situation would turn out?

3. The Power of Unity. Whether it’s everyone in the crowd wearing the same color shirt or thousands of people screaming their lungs out at once, there’s something inspiring about a group of people unified together. In some of these NBA games, it almost seems like the crowd is willing their team to victory. There is power in unity, whether the cause is athletic or spiritual. What if we spent more time thinking about, and fostering, communities that were unified? What if we elevated the idea of unity above the idea of self-satisfaction in our churches, our workplaces, and our homes? Are we dreaming up goals that can only be achieved if we are united with those around us?

Just some things to think about the next time you hear an announcer talking about home court advantage. We all love being told that we are respected. We love to hear we are doing a good job. We love to know someone has our back when things aren’t going well. We love to know we’re not doing this alone. And we all know the power there is in unity. With that in mind, let’s strive to be that person in someone else’s life today…and every day. Life can be hard enough on its own, never mind if every day feels like a road game in a hostile arena.

Let’s make the people we love feel as though they’re living every day with home court advantage.

(But let’s not all wear the same color shirts. That might be a little too much.)

ps…Go Hornets!