For those who have been wondering where this whole deal came from, here's the actual quote: http://slamonline.com/online/2008/02/t-mac-hates-his-own-gym/ McGrady does have a point though -- I can't remember the last person to score 40 points at TC. Maybe it's because the Rockets have been such a good defensive team, but still ... T-Mac claims that it's not just him, and that players from around the league generally don't like playing at TC. I'm curious to know who the highest scorers have been over the past couple of years (durvasa?). Best I can remember is a 35 point performance by Yao against the Knicks last year. Perhaps it's time for Rockets management to consider some changes, like perhaps altered lighting like they did at Staples.
I seriously think its the rims. In other arenas there is such things as lucky bounces (Sacramento, Orlando, Detroit) there is rarely lucky bounces at the TC
i think his point, as weak as it may sound, is valid. he clearly plays better in other arenas, and not many people have great offensive games at toyota center. i can see where he's coming from from my own experience. for example, if anyone goes to lifetime fitness, it's an excellent gym and has nice basketball courts, but for some reason i find it more difficult to shoot there than other indoor gyms that ive been to
Sounds like a good idea to me. Something needs to change. I'd be curious to see what the Rockets' record is when they score over 100 at TC. It's like 51-4 or something. That has to be a telling sign that there is a problem when the home team can't break 100 but 55 or so times in 6 years worth of home games (or however long TC has been used). I like the idea of altering the lighting. Won't hurt ticket sales if the Rockets could put up way better numbers at home. I've only seen 1 great home game out of 10 or so that I've been to in the McGrady era and that was last year's second to last game against Pheonix.
what an advantage this could be if our guys could just get used to it. we should be dominating in houston. on the other hand...is there really something wrong when we had guys shooting great %'s last season. depth perception didnt bother lther when he was shooting 44% from 3. it didn't bother shane or rafer making all of those 3's last year either.
The first reference to "Depth perception" was made by McGrady in a TV report and was posted here on ClutchFans. It was discussed <a href="/showthread.php?t=141046">here</a>. The second quote, the one above, was printed in the Houston Chronicle. That was discussed later in <a href="/showthread.php?t=141144">this thread</a>. I'll <a href="http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?p=3408949#post3408949">re-post this</a> since it's the same topic: <HR> Carlos Boozer scored 41 against the Rockets here in last year's playoffs. I think Feigen should have pointed out the numbers in this thread -- that is, T-Mac's numbers specifically. Instead it was painted to be a problem for everyone, and the quotes he got were from two of the only two Rockets who struggle at the TC this season. If you take T-Mac out of the equation, the rest of the Rockets shoot 43.9% at home and 44.7% on the road. It's a difference when you consider that teams probably are supposed to shoot better in their own building, but it's not a huge difference. And look at the other numbers -- For example, Rockets opponents shoot 43.7% in the Toyota Center and 44.1% in road games. Free throw shooting for opponents is 74.4% in the Toyota Center and 75.0% in road games. Three-point shooting is better in the Toyota Center for both the Rockets and opponents than it is on the road. Also, the opponents the Rockets have faced at home have better records this season on average (.537 winning percentage) compared to the opponents the Rockets have faced on the road (.501 winning percentage). T-Mac, Luther and Scola show very poor shooting numbers at home and great on the road. Bonzi, Brooks and Battier are the opposite - much better at home. Yao and Rafer have little change either way. As far as historically, in 198 games in the Toyota Center since it opened in 2003, the Rockets have shot 44.1% from the field. In road games during that same near-5-year span, the Rockets have shot 44.1%. Identical shooting percentage. Rockets opponents shot 42.3% in the Toyota Center during the same span, and 42.9% on the road (their home courts). As far as individual performances, in T-Mac's Houston Rocket career, he has scored 40 or more 14 times -- 12 of those times were on the road. Yao Ming scored 40 or more twice, and both times were in the TC. Opponents, admittedly, are trickier. Only twice has an opponent scored 40 or more in the TC -- the Boozer game last year and <a href="http://www.clutchfans.net/game_boxscore.cfm?gameID=2826">Iverson put up 40 in 2005-06</a>. It's happened 8 times on the road and 3 of those times were 53-point games (by Kobe twice and once by Dirk). I guess what I'm trying to say is there may be an issue, but it's minor. For T-Mac, for whatever reason, it's major.
Free throws too. I don't have any statistical evidence to back it up but it seems like he shoots FT's worse at home than on the road. I could be wrong, but just an observation.
USA TODAY also has the same article. Only difference is that it's national http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2008-02-01-notes-houston-rims_N.htm
Great post Clutch. So Tmac has the problem. He probably feels a lot more pressure at home for any number of reasons and it shows up when he's in front of the home crowd.
I was listening to a Mav's game on the radio here in Dallas when they played Boston recently. Those rims sounded like all the bolts holding the rims to the board were loose when hit with the ball, but the nuts were probably tight enough to not be spun by hand, but lose enough to rattle like crazy. The Mavs started poorly IIRC.
I wonder if whatever the problem is, it affects volume shooters like McGrady much more than other role players. For Yao, depth perception should be less of an issue since he plays closer to the basket. I know we've had a great defensive team over the past few years, but it is amazing that only two other players have ever hit the 40 point plateau at Toyota Center in six years of existence, and McGrady, for all his scoring prowess, has done it only twice. My position on the thing is, it might be a McGrady problem, but that makes it a Rockets problem. Furthermore, there is enough empirical evidence over the years that proves it is a real issue, and someone in the Rockets organization ought to be looking seriously into finding a solution.
There isn't any problem with the arena. Our players used it everyday for years, and you should never complain your home court because it only benefit our team if there is any. If you do complain, then you really have a problem.
For some reason i believe lighting is an issue here, i just feel like there is so much more light on the road arenas....
Top scoring games by opponents in Toyota Center (regular season): http://www.basketball-reference.com...&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=pts
The evidence suggests that it is not a shooter friendly arena. Multiple players have said the same. That doesn't totally excuse the Rockets for sucking so much at home, but then when your team relies so much on outside shooting (we're typically near the bottom of the league in point in the paint, I believe) it can be a disadvantage.
Remember when the All-Star game was in the Toyota Center, and how much better the lighting was? I think the court lighting at the ToyBox is noticeably bad. I think it needs to be increased. I'd follow that up by reducing the lighting over the seats, but that's not a necessity.
