The Five Worst NBA Visiting Teams
By JON KUIPERIJ
It can be easy for NBA teams to look good at home. Get these squads into more hostile surroundings, however, and their true colors are often exposed.
Below are the five worst road teams in the NBA, determined by the difference between their winning percentage at home and on the highway.
Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte may live up to its Bobcats moniker at home, but Larry Brown's squad is a bunch of pussycats on the road.
The Bobbies have the strongest home/road dichotomy in the NBA this season. Charlotte is winning at a .714 clip on its home court, but its .267 winning percentage away from Bobcats Arena has the ‘Cats clawing for their playoff lives.
Bad starts and turnovers have been a major culprit in Charlotte's road woes. The team has been outscored by nearly four points per game in first quarters on the road and the Bobcats average more than 15 turnovers a game on the highway.
"We're not aggressive, and we don't take care of the ball (on the road)," Brown said after a recent loss in Atlanta, when Charlotte's 17 turnovers resulted in 29 Hawks points.
Oddsmakers have done a good job compensating for the Bobcats' ineptitude away from home. Charlotte's record against the spread is nearly identical on the road (16-14) as it is at home (15-13).
Los Angeles Clippers
When the Clippers leave the friendly confines of the Staples Center, they leave their defense at home as well.
L.A. gets beat up by opposing offenses on the road. The Clippers allow 103.9 points per game on the road, 7.5 points per game more than they allow on their home court.
L.A. has paid for its defensive deficiencies. The Clippers own a .233 winning percentage on the road, a far cry from their .666 success rate at home, and have lost nine of their last 10 road contests.
The Clippers are 12-18 ATS this season on the road, where the over has cashed 18-of-30 times.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets fly high in the mile-high altitude of Denver, but things get rocky when they descend from the mountains.
Denver is the lone division leader with a losing record on the road, where it owns a .467 winning percentage. The Nuggets are an .833 club at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets’ scoring drops off considerably in opposing arenas. Averaging 111.7 points per game at home, Denver manages only 102.4 points per contest on the road. The Nuggets failed to even reach 90 points in their last two road games – losses at the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
Denver has gone under the total in 18-of-30 games on the road.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto's defense, not exactly stellar in the first place, gets even worse when the team leaves the Great White North.
The Raptors allow a whopping 109.2 points a game on the road, nearly eight more points than their average allowance at the Air Canada Centre.
The leaky D has the Raptors, one of the better home teams in the league with a .700 winning percentage, playing .344 ball on the road.
Toronto has held teams under 100 points only three times in its last 17 road games – the Nets, Pistons and Bulls – squads hardly known for their offensive firepower. Not surprisingly, the over has cashed at an 18-10-1 clip when the Raptors are away from home.
Sacramento Kings
Not that the Kings are a force at Arco Arena, but they're purely dismal on the road.
Sacramento, owner of a respectable .517 winning percentage at home, has won only five games at other venues (a .161 winning percentage).
Since Kobe Bryant drained a buzzer-beater to beat the Kings 109-108 on Jan. 1 in L.A., Sacramento has lost 14-of-16 on the road. The Kings average 98.1 points a game away from Arco, six points less than they score at home.
Sacramento's home/road dichotomy isn't reflected in its ATS record or over/under results. The Kings are 14-14-1 ATS and 14-13-2 O/U at home, and 15-14-2 ATS and 15-16 O/U on the road.