How important should home court advantage be this season?

 
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slavavov
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:10 pm    Post subject: How important should home court advantage be this season?

Let's say we stay relatively healthy and we're pretty fresh come March and April, and that we're either in first place or close to it. How important do you think it is we go for HCA in as many playoff rounds as possible?

I know people always say that great teams can win a playoff game anywhere, but do you really want to settle for a Game 7 (and a pivotal Game 5) in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and/or San Francisco?

It always amazes me how some Lakers fans say stuff like "we just need the 8th seed, then we'll turn it on when the playoffs start." That kind of mentality of mailing it in during the regular season doesn't work (see 2003 and 2011). Of course, on the other side of the argument, we need to keep LeBron's and AD's (and Westbrook's) minutes down and not rush people back from injury if/when they get injured.

But given relatively good health, should we go for the best record in the NBA? I think we should, without sacrificing good health.
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activeverb
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 2:49 pm    Post subject: Re: How important should home court advantage be this season?

slavavov wrote:
Let's say we stay relatively healthy and we're pretty fresh come March and April, and that we're either in first place or close to it. How important do you think it is we go for HCA in as many playoff rounds as possible?

I know people always say that great teams can win a playoff game anywhere, but do you really want to settle for a Game 7 (and a pivotal Game 5) in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and/or San Francisco?

It always amazes me how some Lakers fans say stuff like "we just need the 8th seed, then we'll turn it on when the playoffs start." That kind of mentality of mailing it in during the regular season doesn't work (see 2003 and 2011). Of course, on the other side of the argument, we need to keep LeBron's and AD's (and Westbrook's) minutes down and not rush people back from injury if/when they get injured.

But given relatively good health, should we go for the best record in the NBA? I think we should, without sacrificing good health.




The team will play the Big Three a reasonable amount of minutes, and let players recover from injuries as needed.

The players will try to win every time they step on the court.

I doubt having the best record in the league is going to be a specific goal for the team.

So we won't "mail it in," but we also won't make the regular-season the end-all, be all. So: pretty much the same as every contending team every season.
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defense
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:48 pm    Post subject:

I heard from Legramps we will try to win 74
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 8:39 pm    Post subject: Re: How important should home court advantage be this season?

activeverb wrote:
slavavov wrote:
Let's say we stay relatively healthy and we're pretty fresh come March and April, and that we're either in first place or close to it. How important do you think it is we go for HCA in as many playoff rounds as possible?

I know people always say that great teams can win a playoff game anywhere, but do you really want to settle for a Game 7 (and a pivotal Game 5) in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and/or San Francisco?

It always amazes me how some Lakers fans say stuff like "we just need the 8th seed, then we'll turn it on when the playoffs start." That kind of mentality of mailing it in during the regular season doesn't work (see 2003 and 2011). Of course, on the other side of the argument, we need to keep LeBron's and AD's (and Westbrook's) minutes down and not rush people back from injury if/when they get injured.

But given relatively good health, should we go for the best record in the NBA? I think we should, without sacrificing good health.




The team will play the Big Three a reasonable amount of minutes, and let players recover from injuries as needed.

The players will try to win every time they step on the court.

I doubt having the best record in the league is going to be a specific goal for the team.

So we won't "mail it in," but we also won't make the regular-season the end-all, be all. So: pretty much the same as every contending team every season.


Pretty much, health is far and away the most important thing for the regular season especially this specific roster.. I'm sure like all Contender's they'd love to get the best record and build the best possible chemistry but it wont come from them driving themselves into the ground during a long regular season even if it means losing some games.

They'll def. play to win all games though because even while missing a big player or two we can still win on any given night during the regular season for sure with the depth.
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gng930
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2021 10:53 pm    Post subject:

It's less about getting HCA and more about seeding to draw more favorable matchups. I see us, Utah, Phx, and GS as being contender worthy and the most likely top 4 seeds. We will likely have to play two of them so in that regard where we place among the top 4 is less crucial. The question is how tough the teams below will be. Will Denver or the Clips overcome the absence of their respective stars? Will Dallas or Portland finally break through? NO and Memphis have the ingredients but lack experience. So #5 and #6 may end up being tough outs which means it might make some sense to gun for a top-2 seed.
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 24, 2021 4:27 am    Post subject:

I think HCA is important, but more important is the winning culture/habits. When you attain a top 2 seed, it usually means you have a habit of winning. Typically this can translate into the playoffs. To suddenly "turn it on" is tough. Some teams have been able to do it, but it has been rare.

The team has 3 stars. They can rest 1 or 2 stars at times, and still compete for the #1 spot. Absolutely I think we should be looking for that first or second seed all season.
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lakersfever714
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 10:19 pm    Post subject:

Not at all. If we were healthy, we would have easily dispatched the Suns even as the 7th seed. Health is the only thing that matter. I'd trade being the number 1 seed with some injuries for being number 8 seed fully healthy.
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 3:53 am    Post subject:

With all these veterans, home court should not be important. Load management >>>> home court.
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cathy78
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 4:46 am    Post subject:

I think team chemistry and team identity is more important than home court. But if it comes down to a game 7, playing at home definitely is an advantage.
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RashardA
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 5:09 am    Post subject:

Home court advantage is always important.

It's only unimportant to fans when you dont have it.

This is an entirely new roster and they need to develop championship habits.

This team hasnt been together long enough to believe they can be successful with a light switch mentality.
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 9:37 am    Post subject:

They need to attempt to win as many games as possible and get as many series with HCA as possible.

It is an advantage to play at home, to have your home routines and home crowds. We can argue about how little or big that advantage can be but I am not sure any can deny it doesn’t have a factor.

It is tough to win a championship for any team on any year. The Lakers have a quickly closing window if everything goes perfectly. They need to focus on chemistry and winning every game because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Remember having this same discussion last year, people talking about how it didn’t matter if they lost a few games. Until the wheels fell off when the injuries added up and they plummeted in the standings and lost in the early rounds.

Respect the game, and take nothing for granted. Earn HCA!
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