Monday, August 3, 2009

Storm's fans invaluable over the last 10 years

Nice piece by Kevin Pelton that includes some interesting statistics:

Going back to 2000, the Storm's inaugural season, the team has won 65.0 percent of its home games, good for fifth in the WNBA (see table below). But that includes the first two seasons, when the Storm won a combined 16 games while gaining its footing as an expansion franchise. In Bird's rookie campaign, 2002, the Storm was nearly as successful on the road as at home. It was at the end of that season that the Storm really established the Key as a very difficult place for opponents to win. Starting in 2003, the Storm has won home games at a 75.9 percent clip, far and away the best in the league (see table below).....

Perhaps the best way to define home-court advantage from a statistical perspective is to compare teams' home and road records. Pro-rating 2009's results to a full season, the Storm has 50 more wins at home than on the road in the decade. That's tied with the Sacramento Monarchs, whose fans are also highly passionate, for the best mark in the WNBA.

On average, WNBA teams tend to win about three and a half more games at home per season. Therefore, the Storm has derived about a win and a half from its home-court advantage at KeyArena.


I've always said that Key Arena was the best place to see a WNBA game (unless you're the opponent). This just proves it.

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