Kings early season power ranking

[pillwenney]

I think we're a little bit better on the road than our record indicates. Houston, New Orleans and Dallas were all very winnable games. Then again, Memphis and OKC were both pretty big duds. But I think the bigger key is really closing out games on the road.

[Nicky Nix Nook]

We will be tested on the road. 14-12 is my projected record after the next 10 games.

[Wolfay]

I think we're a little bit better on the road than our record indicates. Houston, New Orleans and Dallas were all very winnable games. Then again, Memphis and OKC were both pretty big duds. But I think the bigger key is really closing out games on the road.

I think by the Memphis game on that trip, the team was frustrated to death from the two previous losses that were very winnable and they just lost focus for the entire game, which resulted in the poor effort, but aside from that, I agree with your post, especially the last point.

[Smills91]

Why do you guys think it's easier to win at home and harder to win on the road? I personally think it's a built in excuse. Sure there's some distractions or out of the routine stuff, but I mean you play half your games on the road, why is it so much tougher to win on the road as opposed to home? Especially for young, inexperienced teams?

[pillwenney]

I don't know if anybody can say for sure, but I think it's largely about energy. I think players tend to focus more and play with more energy when they're getting a reaction. At home it's a positive reaction. A run with a lot of momentum gets an extra boost of momentum when you have people cheering you on. It's a little less extreme for veteran players, since they tend to play less on emotion, I think.

I think that a crowd can give you a boost like that on the road though--albeit in a very different way. Making a huge shot and silencing a hostile crowd can really help one's confidence. I think that gives a player a shot in the arm, feeling like they are in control of this crowd. The same goes for booing. I think that it gives players an extra boost of energy. The problem with a lot of road games is that the crowd isn't so much hostile as much as they are indifferent to a road team. They don't provide a ton of energy either way (with of course, some exceptions).

That's all just kind of my guess though.

[ICMTM]

Why do you guys think it's easier to win at home and harder to win on the road? I personally think it's a built in excuse. Sure there's some distractions or out of the routine stuff, but I mean you play half your games on the road, why is it so much tougher to win on the road as opposed to home? Especially for young, inexperienced teams?

Travel and interrupted life patters (ie not sleeping in a familiar place or even out clubbin) play a role in it as well as 15,000 people rooting against you. I'd like to see Donte Greene do all the gesturing after a dunk or big play on the road like he does at home. JT as well. They feed off the energy of the crowd. I don't think it matters to some players (like Tyreke) but other do feed off the crowd.