There are currently five teams in the NBA with winning road records. Three more have .500 records away from home.
The Celtics sit on top of that list at 10-3, and two of those losses came in the same city. While we try to figure out what voodoo hex the 10-14 Chicago Bulls have put on the Celtics, the Celtics have been pretty good almost everywhere else.
They are 10-3 on the road, currently the only team with double-digit away wins. They have the league’s second-best offensive rating on the road (115.2) and second-best defensive rating (108.5). That has been boosted by this current road trip, where they have put together defensive ratings of 95.8 against Brooklyn and 92.5 against Phoenix. This has combined to give them the best net rating, meaning the Celtics are out-scoring opponents by 6.8 points per 100 possessions away from Boston.
“I like playing on the road more than I like playing at home,” Jayson Tatum recently said. “Different arenas, different experiences. Some fans will like you, some will get under your skin. I don't get that at home, so I think that plays into it. I kind of like playing on the road a little bit, just because it's different night in and night out.”
That's good, because the 21-5 Celtics will come out of this road trip having played more road games than home games so far. The win over Phoenix was their 13th road game to go with 13 home games, and they still have the Warriors tomorrow night and two games in Los Angeles against the Clippers and Lakers.
As of right now, the Celtics haven't lost to a Western Conference team. That will be tested tomorrow night in San Francisco where the Celtics and Warriors will rekindle their rivalry. These games have tended to be classics, and often battles between Tatum and Steph Curry. But it’s the last battle between these two teams that has helped Boston maintain the kind of focus necessary to play this well away from home.
“I think that our experiences kind of cultivated that,” Jaylen Brown said when asked about playing with a different kind of force in recent games. “Losing at the highest point in the NBA Finals, there’s nothing more humbling than that. There’s nothing that can bring forth humility than losing at the time in the biggest moment of your career.
“So transferring to this season, I think we were all humbled. I think that’s part of our makeup as well. So coming in and understanding that kind of cultivates that force that you’re talking about, kind of brings forth that force that you’re talking about. Because we are playing from our experiences. From the heartbreak. From coming up short, and you’re seeing some of that be put forward into the season.”
The NBA has a standard rule that role players play better at home than on the road, generally because they feel more comfortable. But the Celtics are bending that a bit.
Take, for example, Derrick White, who is averaging 11 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists at home, and 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on the road. At this point of the season, that's basically the same performance, but he’s shooting 9% less from 3 on the road. On the surface, that stat seems stunning, but he’s just shooting an outrageous 47.2% at home. Away from home, he’s shooting a very good 38.6%, so while he fits the profile of playing better at home -- or at least shooting better -- he’s still shooting very well on the road. Meanwhile, Sam Hauser is shooting 46.3% on the road and 44.8% at home. Grant Williams is shooting 48.1% on the road and 44.7% at home.
Overall, the Celtics do, in fact, play better at home overall, but the numbers they're putting up at home are so good they almost don’t make sense. There isn’t much drop-off on the road, and where there is, it generally is bringing them from “historically great” down to “ridiculously good.”
Playing and winning on the road takes a different kind of attitude, which is a little difficult to explain. The road can be a tough place full of screaming fans who love to get personal with their insults. The environment can be a bit much for some.
But for others, it presents a calming challenge. There are certain kinds of people who can stand at center court in a hostile environment, look at 18,000 people who want nothing but the worst for them, and smile at what’s about to happen.
There's confidence in that attitude. It’s the feeling that, as much as the adrenaline boost from a roaring home crowd is great, there's more satisfaction in basking in the silence of a road arena in the midst of dismissing the home team.
“That's the best part, coming into somebody else's building and getting the win, especially after having a big night or if you come back and win,” Tatum said. “You look at those same fans that was talking shit as you walk off the court. That plays a part into why I like playing on the road a little bit more. There's something about going into somebody else’s house and getting the win. It just feels a little bit better.”