The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets are two recent NBA champions who are still victorious in titles this season.
The Celtics were 2-1 to the New York Knicks, losing both home games and starting the series, but with a win in the blowout game 3, many are sure to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Nuggets are 2-1 against the number one seed Oklahoma City Thunder, and Nikola Jokic is a testament to why he is widely regarded as the best player in the NBA.
Expert Colin Cowhard has now compared the two top candidates, explaining one particular reason why the Celtics are “very weird.”
The defending champions, the Celtics, have a much more talented roster than the Knicks, but they are still behind themselves 2-1.
Joe Mazzulla’s team lives and dies on a three-point shot.
“I’ve said this before on FS1 and my radio show. They’re a very strange championship team,” Cowherd explained. “Denver isn’t, I know what Denver is.
“When they removed the KCP and Bruce Brown, they weren’t that good on the edge, but I know what you’ll get with these close clutch games along with the Denver Nuggets.
“Boston is a better road team than the home team. That was a few years ago. This year it was 35-9.
Cowherd believes that the Celtics experience plays an important role in why it works so well from TD Garden.
However, he cannot solve why they are experiencing significant deterioration in the home, particularly considering the excellent home support they receive.
“Boston is currently a veteran team,” added Cowhard. “There’s no other way to classify it. Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Al Horford, Derrick White… They’re a veteran team. So the houses and roads aren’t really that way.
“We’re trying to wrap our heads around why they’re not the more dominant home team. We know that Boston is one of the more frightening crowds. We know that all the games are sold out.
“Does this team play with the kind of anxiety at home? Do they take their feet off the gas at home? I don’t know what that is. But I think the team is a really close unit.”