In the middle of the third wave, with all the countries affected and several leagues with stoppages, it seems almost a miracle how the FEB Leagues hold the pull with “some security” with the protocols and based on postponing matches. But the competitions do not stop and continue their march with certain inequality, something that can be observed in Gold (Group B is more affected than A) or in EBA, where the trail of matches to recover in Groups D and E is quite more numerous with respect to others.
This situation has caused on numerous occasions empty stands or a limited capacity, with the repercussions that this entails. On the one hand, fans suffer not seeing basketball live or are “symbolic partners”, while on the other, teams see a significant drop in income in tickets, draws, drinks, real exposure of their sponsors … It is true that the teams have made an effort to broadcast, in Gold LaLigaSportsTV has ensured quality, and it would be necessary to know more about loyalty. In EBA, many teams have given a boost, while in Silver, where many teams had high quality in their broadcasts, the issue has stabilized. But here it would be necessary to delve into the subject of the hearings and if so much effort is worth it for the diffusion that it has (although it is a debate for another occasion due to its complexity and magnitude).
The impression we have is that right now we are in a bubble and honestly, given the general situation, we glimpse many doubts about the future to maintain the current number of teams, because in the end the small teams (and the not so small) without this “ day by day of the game every two weeks ”they suffer a very important loss that does not seem to be compensated anywhere.
After this reflection comes the origin of the article. The public has many times been an asset, that sixth man who defends as one more with his dawn of war, who intimidates rival dolls and who puts on his players the superhero cape to achieve incredible baskets and heroic deeds. Now in the pavilions you only hear the resounding of the ball, some lost voice or the instructions of the coaches in an empty world that has changed the perspective. Without this heat, one can feel more comfortable playing on the court where he trains: the distances, the hoops, that pothole in the parquet, that leak, those painted lines, that cold that becomes common … A thousand factors that make you feel at home and be an extra point of strength to take the games.
With the new COVID perspective and a few days already played, it’s time to look at how the previous seasons passed and compare them with the current one, although it would be fair to do so at the end so that there were no biases, but that does not prevent us from making a first review.
Data extracted from RealGM. Data from previous seasons is only from the Regular League. Those of the current one are dated February 2.
Season 17/18. With a single group, the balance of the locals was 154 victories by 85 defeats (64.4%).
19/19 season. With two groups in the first phase, in the East the balance was 76-56 (57.6%), while in the West that percentage of local victories increased (89-43, 67.4%). In the second phase, the balance was 84-59 defeats (58.7%). If we add all the matches of the course, the numbers were 249 victories and 158 defeats (61.2%).
19/20 season. In the East, there were 61% of local triumphs (80-52, 60.6%), while in the West the local upward trend was repeated (86-46, 65.1%). In the second phase, which was barely played, a balance of 21-15 (58.3%) was recorded. The total data for the games played before the pandemic was 187 wins and 113 losses (62.3%).
Season 20/21
The data in the Eastern Conference are scary, with almost a technical tie that impresses (50-49, 50.5%) and that makes it clear that the local factor does not influence. In the Western Conference, the local factor improves (68-31, 68.7%). The sum of both would leave the percentage of local wins at 59.6 (118-80).
And which teams had more victories on the road than at home in the early stages of the last two seasons and in 17/18 (single group)? Well, the strongest teams at home than at home are Barça B (19/20), Almansa and Hospitalet (18/19) and Xuven (17/18). It is striking that no team from the East won more away victories than at home in the last two seasons.
In the current season we see that several teams have a better balance as visitors than as locals (some notably). For example, in the East, Barça B adds five wins and two losses at home, being unbeaten away (8/8). For his part, Pardinyes has 5 wins away (out of 9 games) for just one win at home (out of 6 games at Barris Nord). Ditto for Villarrobledo and Cornellà (3 wins away for one at home). Teams like Tarragona or Menorca have more victories as visitors, and even Albacete has a better percentage of victories away from El Parque. In the West, where there is local dominance, only Marbella has more victories away than at home.
Conclusions
- The Eastern Conference in this 20/21 creates an influence and a special current on the total data, which always remained around 61-64%, this course falling below 60% for the first time, indicating that the factor local has been diluted to win the games, but the next point refutes this general idea.
- The Western Conference has always been and is more difficult to win on the road. Since the disposition of two groups these last three seasons, the West always has a higher percentage of home victories than the East all seasons, the differences being much accentuated in the current one. In such a way, that the 20/21 in the West Group has the highest percentage of local victories of the different groups or subgroups of the last four seasons.
It seems difficult to explain in words these divergences that lead to separating the West and the East by almost 20 percentage points (69% vs. 50%). The kilometer distances should not be a reason either, because there are only six Catalan teams out of fourteen and there are two trips to the islands. The reality is what it is and the second phase will have to be observed to know where the balance is headed in order to continue making conjectures. What we do know is that in the last two seasons the percentage of local wins has decreased compared to the absolute numbers.