The NBA Playoffs continues giving great series in both sides of the draw. Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets are set to start the Conference finals in the West, and Boston Celtics hosting Miami Heat will follow beginning the day after.
In those two clashes it’s easy to know who will have the home court advantage. The Nuggets are the first seeded team in the Western Conference, so they will be playing four home games if the series extend to the seventh matchup. That means LeBron James and Anthony Davis will have to steal at least one game on the road vs Nikola Jokic.
Boston appear as the favorite in the Eastern Conference for that reason. The Celtics weren’t the franchise that finished at the top, although they are the highest seeded remaining after Milwaukee lost to Miami in the first round. They will have four games at home because the Heat have a lower seed being just the eighth.
How is home court advantage determined in the NBA Finals?
Comparing teams within the conference is very easy. Whoever has a higher seeding is the franchise with the home court advantage of that particular series. That’s why the N°1 Nuggets receive the N°7 Lakers in game 1, and the N°2 Celtics do so with the N°8 Heat. However, that changes when it comes to the last series because the seeding each one has will no longer be important.
The home court advantage in the NBA Finals is determined by the regular season record. The team with the best win percentage during those first 82 games is the one that receives has this huge boost. The distribution of each match doesn’t change: that team will open with two home games, then will play two straight on the road, and they will alternate in the last three games.
Who gets home court advantage in the 2023 NBA Finals?
The Boston Celtics will have home court advantage in the 2023 NBA Finals if they eliminate the Miami Heat. Their 57-25 record is the best of the four remaining teams, even topping the 53-29 of the Denver Nuggets. Denver would only get the nod if Miami defeat Boston, while the Heat would have that privilege if the Lakers beat the Nuggets.
Home court advantage ranking for the 2023 NBA Finals
1- Boston Celtics 57-25
2- Denver Nuggets 53-29
3- Miami Heat 44-38
4- Los Angeles Lakers 43-39
Can the Los Angeles Lakers have home court advantage in the 2023 NBA Finals?
The answer to that question is a clear no. Los Angeles won’t have home court advantage regardless of what happens in the other half of the bracket. They have a higher seeding than Miami in the Conference, but that doesn’t matter here. Their record is worse than those of both Eastern Conference teams, so they will have to win games away.
