Who is the NBA’s greatest Road Warrior?

Miami Heat forward LeBron James gestures to a fan in the crowd during the second half of their NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis April 1, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Miller (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

In general, NBA players play better at home. That’s a fact. The Top 250 players (in terms of total minutes played this season) are 6.3% better in Efficiency Per Minute (EPM) when playing at home.

But as with anything in life, there are exceptions to this rule. There are certain players who, for whatever reason, play better on the road.

The table below shows the Top 50 players (in terms of Efficiency Per Game), along with both their home and away EPM, and the “percent better” they are when playing at home. If the number is negative, the player actually performs better on the road.

#NameEPM-HEPM-A% BETTER
1Kevin Garnett0.6270.700-11.5%
2Joakim Noah0.5730.635-10.7%
3Al Jefferson0.5940.652-9.7%
4Lebron James0.7070.769-8.6%
5Kevin Martin0.5370.579-7.8%
6Andrew Bogut0.5410.569-5.1%
7Paul Millsap0.5900.611-3.6%
8John Wall0.4760.485-1.7%
9Steve Nash0.6300.632-0.3%
10Raymond Felton0.4910.492-0.2%
11Dwyane Wade0.6670.668-0.1%
12Gerald Wallace0.4860.486-0.1%
13Carlos Boozer0.6240.6200.7%
14Luis Scola0.6050.6000.9%
15Dirk Nowitzki0.6890.6791.5%
16Dwight Howard0.7590.7471.6%
17Paul Pierce0.5760.5642.0%
18Josh Smith0.6030.5882.5%
19Brook Lopez0.5310.5172.6%
20Kobe Bryant0.6390.6212.8%
21Derrick Rose0.6300.6063.9%
22Stephen Curry0.5860.5614.3%
23Tim Duncan0.7050.6744.4%
24Manu Ginobili0.6010.5754.4%
25Lamar Odom0.6260.5945.1%
26Kevin Love0.8120.7705.2%
27Rudy Gay0.5120.4796.5%
28Russell Westbrook0.6710.6158.4%
29Kevin Durant0.6690.6098.9%
30Zach Randolph0.7070.6409.5%
31Chris Bosh0.5910.5349.6%
32Danny Granger0.5330.47910.1%
33Carmelo Anthony0.6680.59710.6%
34Amare Stoudemire0.7080.62811.3%
35Nene Hilario0.6800.60011.7%
36Elton Brand0.5950.52411.8%
37Rajon Rondo0.5440.47911.9%
38Pau Gasol0.7290.64211.9%
39Chris Paul0.6830.59712.7%
40David West0.6240.54213.2%
41Al Horford0.6860.59213.6%
42David Lee0.6270.53814.3%
43Deron Williams0.6540.55015.9%
44Andrew Bynum0.7280.60616.8%
45Tony Parker0.6160.51216.8%
46Lamarcus Aldridge0.6390.52318.1%
47Andre Iguodala0.5520.44818.9%
48Eric Gordon0.5160.41020.4%
49Blake Griffin0.7530.59720.7%
50Monta Ellis0.5840.41728.6%

So Kevin Garnett wins this year’s first annual Road Warrior Award since he plays 11.5% better on the road than he does at home. This is not shocking given his mental toughness and ability to thrive off the negativity of the crowd. Joakim Noah, Al Jefferson, LeBron James, Kevin Martin and Andrew Bogut played significantly better on the road than they did at home this season.

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett stands on the court during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in Chicago on April 7, 2011. The Bulls won 97-81. UPI/Brian Kersey

Bulls fans should be happy to see Derrick Rose (#21), Carlos Boozer (#13) and Joakim Noah (#2) all in the upper half. That would imply that Chicago’s stars have the mental makeup to win on the road, and that will come in handy in the postseason.

On the flip side, Monta Ellis really struggled on the road this season. He averaged 6.4 fewer points and shot 6.2% worse from the field away from home. Moreover, he was almost 10% worse from long range on the road. He wins our Home Cookin’ Award in a landslide.

Two Clippers show up next, with Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin rounding out spots #48 and #49, respectively. Gordon averaged 1.8 fewer points on the road, which isn’t a whole lot, but his shooting accuracy dropped 4.3% away from home. Griffin averaged 4.2 fewer points and while his FG% dropped 5.5% on the road. These two players are going to have to play better away from home if the Clippers are going to become a perennial playoff team.

Follow the Scores Report editors on Twitter @clevelandteams and @bullzeyedotcom.

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