Talent vs. Momentum: Which Helps Your Team Succeed In The Playoffs?

From the NHL and NBA to colleges and high schools to clubs and little leagues, it is playoff time around the country!

There’s nothing better than a tournament featuring the best teams a league has to offer. And as the playoff picture begins to take shape, you may notice that there are two distinctly different types of teams that make it to postseason play: highly-skilled dominant teams and teams on hot streaks riding late-season momentum.

The hot team with the momentum versus the season-long force is an interesting debate, as we have seen plenty of champions from both sides. Teams riding big waves of momentum into the postseason tend to fair pretty well in professional sports like hockey and baseball, while champions in basketball typically have the best players and the best regular season record.

Each style has it’s pros and cons, so let’s break down the make up and substance of these two team-types and find out which is more beneficial come playoff time: Momentum or Skill!

The Season-Long Contender:

When it comes to athletics of any kind, superior skill is going to win out nine times out of ten. Being the more talented team or athlete doesn’t change; you either have the talent or you don’t. And that means your team is able to focus on executing and dictating the game, rather than worrying about adapting to your opponent.

The problem is complacency or even laziness. Highly skilled and dominant teams know they are better than most others, and that means they are able to cruise through the dog days of the regular season without really tapping into their full potential. And sometimes it’s not as simple as flipping a switch once you get to the really meaningful games.

How many times have we seen teams in the NFL effortlessly reach a one-seed and a bye week, only to lose their opening playoff game because they rested their starters the last few weeks of the season? Or an NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament favorite getting ousted in the first weekend?

Still, talent is usually able to carry a team through tough times and overcome things like unlucky bounces and bad calls.

The Team On A Hot Streak:

Like a hot hand in Vegas, a team on a hot streak heading into the postseason is a dangerous thing. When a team has a late season surge to reach the second season, it typically means they have hit a groove and are firing on all cylinders.

These are typically the teams that sneak into the last wild card spot, or claim their division title on the last day of the year. They were down and likely considered out at one point, and had to overcome adversity to gel as a team and reach new heights.

That means that team has no fear of failure. Teams with big momentum going into the playoffs aren’t usually supposed to be there and that allows them to truly play with nothing to lose.

Unfortunately though, momentum turns on the drop of a dime. While momentum is powerful, it’s also unreliable; just one bad bounce or one tough call is enough to completely swing that power to the other team. And that’s when hot streaks end.

While skill and talent are tough to overcome, smart game-planning, inspired play and confidence — also known as momentum — are the things miracles are made of.

Talent or momentum: which would you rather have as you head into the playoffs? Let us know in the comments.

Talent Isn’t Everything

Author Bio

Travis Armideo, marketing manager at Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, is a lifelong ice hockey player. He began playing for various clubs at a young age and continued onto junior teams, while also playing lacrosse at the collegiate level. Travis is still heavily involved in athletics, coaching high school and youth ice hockey athletes, as well as playing men’s league ice hockey on a regular basis.