In the NBA playoffs, the team who finished with a higher seed In their division gets Home Court Advantage. What this means is that out of the seven-game series, the first two, the fifth and the seventh games get played on home court. The team gets not only the first games on home court but if the series comes to a game seven, they get that game on home court too and end up with one extra game at their arena. Many people ask, Does it really matter if a team plays at their home arena? The simple answer is yes. Especially for the Toronto Raptors.

Home record

The Raptors have proven throughout the season that they play better at home.

They have an extremely high home record of 33-7 compared to their away record of 24-15. It's clear that Toronto is doing better at home than away.

Points per gain

At home, the Raptors average 112.2 points per game, while on the road they average 111.3 points per game. Although both of those numbers are extremely impressive, the Raptors have higher points per game at home. It is only one point, but many Raptors fans know that so many games this season, especially against the better teams, have come down to the wire, where every single point counted.

Rebounds per game

At the Air Canada Centre, Toronto averages 44.8 Rebounds per game, 34.6 being defensive and 10.2 being offensive. While playing in other stadiums, the Raptors average 42.9 rebounds per game, 33.5 being defensive and 9.4 being offensive.

As you can clearly see, at home, they average more rebounds, offensively and defensively.

Blocks and turnovers

While on the road, Toronto averages 5.64 blocks every game, while at home they average 6.5 blocks per game. That's almost an extra block every game at home. Any basketball fan would know that every block is a potential basket and every basket counts.

The Raptors also average about 1 less turnover every game at the Air Canada Centre, with 12.3 per game at home and 13.2 on the road.

Raptors Fans

Raptors fans have proven time and time again that they are the best fans in the league. At the end of the 2015-2016 season, the Raptors lost to the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals by 26 points.

After the game was over, instead of getting out of their seats leaving in disappointment, Raptors fans in the stadium, and in Jurrasic Park, chanted ”Let’s go Raptors” and ”We the North.” During Lebron James’ interview after the game, when asked about the Raptors fans he mentioned, "Unbelievable respect, and much respect to these fans - to this country. I've never been a part of something like this in my 13-year career. This is special.” when the Raptors head coach Dwayne Casey was asked about the fans cheering after the game, he said that "It gives you goosebumps, to hear the crowd. We were getting beat by a gazillion points and they're standing up cheering for their team, and there is no place like that in the NBA.” The Raptors have fans all over the country because they have proven time in and time out that they are not Toronto’s team, they are Canada’s team.
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