Will home court make a difference for once in this series?
As mentioned earlier, the road team has won every single game of this series so far and heading into a Game 7, this does not favor the Clippers one bit. For some reason, after posting the 5th most wins in the league during the regular season on their home court, the Clippers just have not been able to get the job done against this feisty Mavs team.
In addition, neither the Mavs nor the Clippers were fairly good on the road this season, both posting 21-15 road records during the regular season, which is why it is surprising that neither team has been able to win a game on their home court, something we expect every playoff team to be able to do!
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Game 7 is a much different situation than any other game in this series and will definitely look much different play-style wise from the opening tip tonight, but can the Staples Center home court actually prove to be an advantage for the Clippers in this one?
Home court has not matured yet, but the Clippers’ role players have played better in this series at home. Nic Batum averaged 10.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and shot 50% from the floor, 45.5% from three-point range in the first three home games of this series compared to 8.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and shooting 42% from the floor and just 16.7% from three-point range on the road this series.
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Rajon Rondo has also played better at home in this series, averaging 5.3 points, 5.7 assists and shooting 33.3% from the floor at home compared to 4.3 points, 4.3 assists and shooting 33.3% from the floor on the road.
These may not seem like big differences in numbers for both guys, but given how close the last few games of this series have been, a few extra points or an extra made shot from one of these guys could ultimately wind up being the x-factor. Home court has to hold an advantage at some point and with this being the final game in this series, the Clippers need to hope it matters now.
