The Miami Heat are head and shoulders above their competition when they play at home
By Duncan Smith
The Miami Heat have needed slim edges to get to where they are so far this season, but their home-court advantage has been anything but slim.
Not that long ago NBA executives agreed that the Miami Heat were playing above their head to get to their lofty record. Sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference half a game ahead of the Boston Celtics, the Heat’s 28-12 record is better than anybody could have hoped so far.
A big part of their success has come from surprising performances from unexpected sources, like their undrafted starting backcourt of Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson coming out of nowhere to become a dynamic duo. Bam Adebayo has gone from promising young player to at worst a fringe All-Star.
Jimmy Butler has struggled to shoot the ball this season, but he’s done pretty much everything else at an All-NBA level and he’s willed his team to wins.
Among these surprising edges developed this season by the Miami Heat, the most astonishing may be their overwhelming home-court advantage.
After 18 home games, the Heat own the best record in the NBA at 17-1. They’re the only team in the league with just one home loss, and the only other teams in their stratosphere are the 19-2 Milwaukee Bucks and the 18-2 Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat have the second-best home net rating, outscoring their opponents by 10.8 points per 100 possessions. The Bucks are +13.9, while the Los Angeles Lakers are +10.4 and the Sixers are +9.6. They have the third-best offensive rating at 114.8 and the sixth-best defensive rating at 106.
They have the best true shooting percentage in the NBA at home at 60.4 percent. It’s a mark so overwhelming that the gap between them and the second-place Oklahoma City Thunder and the Bucks (tied at 58.7 percent) is the same as the gap between second-place and the 14th-place Memphis Grizzlies.
Their rebounding prowess has been tremendous at home with a league-leading rebounding percentage of 55.5 percent. The Sixers are second at 53.5, and the gap between first and second is the same as the gap between second and 10th.
The home performance is truly incredible and it’s entirely necessary as well. They’re mere mortals on the road with a poor net rating of -3 and a record of 10-11.
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The Miami Heat will need to maintain this massive edge at home to stay afloat while they figure out how to make those performances translate to their games on the road.