I seem to remember that Houston has always been a bad FT shooting place, both for the Rockets and for the opponents. We used to joke that it's the ugly uniform that distracted the FT shooters.
I think that this is pretty bad excuse, even though I have supported McGrady. But the houston fans are pretty lazy. 75% of the seats are empty at the start of the game, and they eventually fill, but never packed like other arenas. We have a decent crowd though.
Wow, that's a trip, Clutch. I was looking at the splits on NBA.com, and the "energy" numbers for Tracy are higher at home... more rebounds, more steals, more blocks... and his assists are higher, which could be explained by his teammates shooting better at home (assuming they are), but the shooting percentage across the board, as you pointed out, is significantly worse (in my opinion, it's significant) at the TC. Seems a bit strange, to me. One would assume the coaches must have noticed. I wonder what they think about it? Might be a good topic for you to bring up during the radio show. (congrats on that, BTW! )
Clutch, thanks for using actual facts and statistics to support your observations, unlike the posters in the other thread who automatically dismissed anything Tracy said, just because it's the season to hate on him apparently. The question is, will the Rockets address this problem during next off-season?
restructuring, rebuilding. then possibly re-raising ticket prices & concessions... so not only would people see depth perception as a poor excuse, they'd blame McGrady for making them pay more money to be a fan... It'd be almost impossible to find out, but I wonder how much of an extra disadvantage the building is to opposing teams? Most teams are assumed to play worse on the road already. And with the Rockets having good defensive teams, itd be tough to figure if its the team making them play worse or the building adding anything. Ironic in that Les Alexander supposedly wanted more offensive "Phoenix" type style, yet his team's building is built for bricklaying ugly ball.
I agree with Calvin Murphy about what he said about the "Diva" on his show - if he has depth perception problems at the TC, then he needs to stop shooting from the 3 so much and shoot closer to the basket. Makes sense to me.
McGrady might have some neurosis about playing in the TC, but I don't see that as a justification for tearing up the building.
What would also be interesting is to see how other teams shoot when they come to the tc too? This would be somewhat flawed as there are so many other variables involved, but it would still be interesting to see.
TMac is like one of the top chefs in our kitchen. He is just trying to cook. He just doesn't like the environment he cooks in. Like there may be roaches and rats (corporate fans and boo'ers). So when he goes to another kitchen, say Kitchen Stadium where it seems more glorified, of course he has all the right to say, his home kitchen ain't cuttin' it.
I think it has to do more with the crowd than the whole "depth perception" thing. Fans are louder and more vocal on the road, even if it is against the team. I'm sure it pumps up everyone, not just T-Mac, to silence the crowds on the roads. I have a suggestion for all this. Why not all the fans that hate T-Mac goto games and boo the hell out of him? Just maybe, he'll feel like hes in Orlando or Toronto and go off for 50 to shut you guys up. Problem solved.
Tracie is just one over sensitive guy. Guys like that like to magnify small things. Small things in their eyes enlarge themselves and become a disturbing factor. Such guys are easily bothered mentally and like to blame the disturbing factors they made up for themselves. A lot of things need to go right for Tracie to play well, first of all, the fans can't let out their disappointment after a miss because that pressure will cause Tracie to miss free throws, second, seats must be properly installed in order to not affect his depth perception and bricking practice, third, all stars must be aligned properly... "half a man, half a season" is not the right nick name for Tracie, the right name I wouldn't say in fear of being called a sexist.
That's what I always feel really bad/angery/Heart about it. He has all ability to do it, why so low????? His wife yell at him before he has a game?
