Top 5 Toughest Places to Play in the NBA

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BoBoBREWSKI

BoBoBREWSKI

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http://dimemag.com/2010/10/nbas-5-toughest-places-to-play/

2. Rose Garden Arena (Portland Trail Blazers)
After the Blazers drafted Brandon Roy in ‘06 and returned to winning status, the Rose Garden has been sold out on a nightly basis. Ranking fourth in the NBA with a 34-7 mark at home last season, the atmosphere at the Rose is unlike any other in the NBA. The fans go hard and are committed, probably because there is no other professional team in the area. But when the game is on, it’s almost as if you’re watching a game in a college town — a nonstop screaming fest. The fans are extremely loud, and very much in tune to what’s going on. When the referees are off their game, you better believe they’ll hear about it. Believe me; if you ever step into the Rose Garden, you’re in for one wild night.
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Great review! I love it when our fans get some props like that! It's true though, the majority of arenas have NO atmosphere, it's just some loud ass guy screamin' in a mic trying to get the crowd to yell D-Fense!
 
I think with Seattle and Vancouver now in Oklahoma City and Memphis, it's a special purpose trip to get up to the Pacific Northwest, so it's a long trip for visiting teams. That extra bit of travel can make a difference.
 
dimemag is blocked by McAfee on my laptop. Can you copy/paste a little more of the article? I'd like to at least know who is #1...
 
I do not agree with Denver though.
 
Toughest places to play?

1. LA Clippers.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves.
3. New Jersey Nets.
4. Toronto Raptors

Oh you meant to visit for a road team, not to play on their team? :)
 
#1 - Utah
#2 - Portland
#3 - Denver
#4 - Golden State
#5 - Sacramento

All Western Conference teams/arenas.
 
Shit, KEY Arena used to be loud as shit!
 
The rankings should be:

1) Portland
2) OKC
3) Denver
4) Utah
 
Arco used to be annoying as hell with those damn cowbells.
 
The thing about Arco is, all the steps in the arena are wood! When they stomp on it, it is real loud.
 
HCP said:
I do not agree with Denver though.
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I agree with Denver.

I'd say Utah then Denver/Portland are a close 2/3.

Denver reminds me a lot of Boise State and the blue turf. Outside of the fans or noise, playing in Denver has the most physical edge of all locations due to the altitude.

In a busy NBA schedule, you simply can't break from routine to specially prepare your body for a completely different 48 minutes of basketball as you'll get in Denver. You simply make yourself aware of it and attempt to mentally adjust, but the body still fails you to a point. So it gets the nod in my opinion on that alone - as where Utah and Portland get it based on environment, fans & noise.
 
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Utah should get extra credit for the altitude, as should Denver. That has got to have an impact. Remember SLC is still at 4300 feet. Good enough for some thin air.

And Arco is typically filled with a blue collar crowd. I used to go there and it was insane.
 
HCP said:
The thing about Arco is, all the steps in the arena are wood! When they stomp on it, it is real loud.
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The thing about Arco is that it's a rundown piece of crap and the fans are obnoxious. Oh - and they do not take kindly when you respond to their stupid cowbells by ringing one of your own when their guys step to the line. The things they were yelling at me were not pretty.
 
espn_hall_of_famer said:
I agree with Denver.

I'd say Utah then Denver/Portland are a close 1/2.

Denver reminds me a lot of Boise State and the blue turf. Outside of the fans or noise, playing in Denver has the most physical edge of all locations due to the altitude.

In a busy NBA schedule, you simply can break from routine to specially prepare your body for a completely different 48 minutes of basketball as you'll get in Denver. You simply make yourself aware of it and attempt to mentally adjust, but the body still fails you to a point. So it gets the nod in my opinion on that alone - as where Utah and Portland get it based on environment, fans & noise.
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Funny story, had an off day in Denver last season and there is a full hoop court in our hotel there. Played a little 3 on 3 half court and I literally almost died! After one game, I almost passed out..... lungs were burnin'!!!
 
HCP said:
Funny story, had an off day in Denver last season and there is a full hoop court in our hotel there. Played a little 3 on 3 half court and I literally almost died! After one game, I almost passed out..... lungs were burnin'!!!
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My brother lives there and when I played there my lungs were burning. After a little bit I kind of got used to it so what they say about the players being fine after catching their second wind is true.
 
espn_hall_of_famer said:
I agree with Denver.

I'd say Utah then Denver/Portland are a close 1/2.

Denver reminds me a lot of Boise State and the blue turf. Outside of the fans or noise, playing in Denver has the most physical edge of all locations due to the altitude.

In a busy NBA schedule, you simply can break from routine to specially prepare your body for a completely different 48 minutes of basketball as you'll get in Denver. You simply make yourself aware of it and attempt to mentally adjust, but the body still fails you to a point. So it gets the nod in my opinion on that alone - as where Utah and Portland get it based on environment, fans & noise.
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Where is your favorite place to write a story?
 
Kind of sucks that two of the top 5 are in our Division, and OKC is arguably in the picture as well.
 
I always felt the Portland crowd lost something by moving from the Memorial Col. to the Rose Gard. Maybe it's just me, but I felt the energy and crowd noise was greater in the MC.
 
Targus said:
I always felt the Portland crowd lost something by moving from the Memorial Col. to the Rose Gard. Maybe it's just me, but I felt the energy and crowd noise was greater in the MC.
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The MC also had stretches of games where it was quiet. Last year the RG wasn't nearly as good as it was the year before. But last year was just an off year all around. Hopefully this year the team can return to the RG being a true home court advantage.

During the post game last night, they mentioned how the team won 24 games on the road last year. If they can keep that up (or close to it) and win 30+ games at home, that'll be huge.
 
arco has to sell buck beers to get people to go these days, i think the author's info is a bit dated.
 
Targus said:
I always felt the Portland crowd lost something by moving from the Memorial Col. to the Rose Gard. Maybe it's just me, but I felt the energy and crowd noise was greater in the MC.
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Maybe it's because the MC has a metal roof!
 
VanillaGorilla said:
My brother lives there and when I played there my lungs were burning. After a little bit I kind of got used to it so what they say about the players being fine after catching their second wind is true.
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I've seen my 2nd wind, I've never been able to catch it though!
 
The Coliseum is a weird place. A lot of weird hidden doors and shit. That and the Shanghai Tunnels are right underneath.
 
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