“Role players play better at home” (sports adage)

“Role players play better at home” is a sports adage of unknown origin. Role players are picked up by the cheering fans of the home crowd, and the players are familiar with the home environment. For players who don’t play regularly or who don’t play many minutes, that often makes the difference.
 
“Role players play better at home” was said by NBA basketball analyst Charles Barkley in May 2008. “Everyone says role players play better at home” was published in a Boston sports blog in June 2008, when discussing the NBA finals.
 
   
The Starting Five
NBA On TNT Western Conference Finals Notes: “It ain’t my fault his back is hurt. If you’ve got a bad back, go sit on the sidelines.”
This entry was posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Barkley on whether or not Spurs guard Manu Ginobili’s performance is crucial to the series: “It’s not about Manu (Ginobili), it’s about (the Spurs) bench. Even if (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili) have great games, it’s still not enough points to beat the Lakers. (The Spurs) have to hope that their role players: Robert Horry, Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen and (Ime) Udoka play well at home. We’ve seen that throughout the playoffs…role players play better at home.”
 
Beantown Sports Guys
June 09, 2008
Celtics go up 2-0, series FAR from over
(...)
Everyone says role players play better at home, so we’ll see what the Lakers have as far as role players and whether or not they want to fight for a championship.
 
,a href=“http://www.bucksketball.com/2010/04/game-the-fifth-can-the-bucks-steal-one-on-the-road/”>Bucksketball
Game the Fifth: Can the Bucks steal one on the road?
APR 28, 2010 Jeremy Schmidt
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“Most teams, the role players play better at home.”
–  Jerry Stackhouse after game four
 
Twitter
Ethan J. Skolnick
‏@EthanJSkolnick
That’s not surprising: role players play better at home. Peja, these days, is a role player.
7:19 PM - 5 Jun 2011
 
Twitter
Lorenzo Ice-Tea
‏@LorenzoThomas
@stephenasmith Role players play better at home then they do on the road! All they have 2 do is get one on the road. Don’t change prediction
10:59 PM - 12 Apr 2012
 
Twitter
Vincent Bonsignore
‏@DailyNewsVinny
Rule of thumb: Role players play better at home. Marco Belinelli with three 3’s - two in a row #CLIPPERSvSPURS
San Antonio, TX
9:26 PM - 30 Apr 2015
 
Golden State of Mind (Golden State Warriors)
NBA Finals Preview: Golden State Warriors v. Cleveland Cavaliers
By Andy Liu  @AndyKHLiu on Jun 2, 2015, 11:00a
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The old adage goes that role players play better at home and less so on the road.