Feb
9
2010
Rocky Mountain Home Court Advantage
During a recent Suns-Jazz game back in January, Suns color announcer Eddie Johnson mentioned that Utah is one of the toughest places to play on the road. While this is merely one isolated example, it represents a common perception throughout the League and there are loads of anecdotes that mirror EJ’s comment. The notion of Utah as an elite home team is a perception that is worth investigating to determine whether it is actually true both historically and currently and also to examine the reasons for home court advantage in general. It is also relevant because Utah happens to be one of the two hottest teams in the League right now and is poised to make some noise in the playoffs.
