bigger arenas = shooting woes?

[cajundevil74]

One thing I've always noticed about Duke is that it seems to take several games in larger arenas before we shoot the ball at a decent percentage. The depth perception difference from shooting in Cameron versus MSG is like shooting in a large HS gym versus outer space. As someone who never saw a shot he didn't like in HS, I always had trouble adjusting to larger venues where the lighting made the basket look like it was floating in an abyss.

Am I just trying to rationalize our shooting woes away from Cameron or is this real?

[Slant]

Cajun:

You have a point there, but despite that, we always seem to play well in the garden in December.

[jjasper0729]

i've heard it said by many analysts and players as well that bigger stadiums/domes play with the focus on the basket. how many times befor ethe final four have players been interviewed and said that the spatial arrangement of the domes make it harder to shoot?

[MChambers]

JJ at MSG, against Texas, December 2005. Seemed like he went for 80.

Having said that, I agree that it may be a little harder to shoot in a big dome (think that cursed dome in Tampa).

But if you're going pick particular games to make your case, it's not a fair test. Somebody certainly could examine our MSG games over the last decade, but even then you'd run into some bias issues, since we tend to play pretty good teams there.

[thomas]

Was it just me or did anyone else think there was a problem with the rim on one of the court at MSG? I have watched the replay now, and I swear the Pitt's rim in the 1st half and ours for the 2nd half and OT, seemed just slightly too high. For example, watch Lance's put-back basket at the 17:00 mark in the 2nd half, and Henderson's unsuccessful reverse dunk.

Did the thought cross anyone else's mind? Or was it just tired legs?

Before some of you go off on me, I'm not offering an excuse or suggesting a conspiracy... Just an observation that would have affected both teams almost equally.

[ThatDukeFan1]

when henderson missed that reverse dunk, i also thought the same thing. but i paused my TV and i rewinded and got a million different versions of how the rim was. and from my opinion i think it was just tired legs, the rim seemed to be the right height.

[dukelifer]

Was it just me or did anyone else think there was a problem with the rim on one of the court at MSG? I have watched the replay now, and I swear the Pitt's rim in the 1st half and ours for the 2nd half and OT, seemed just slightly too high. For example, watch Lance's put-back basket at the 17:00 mark in the 2nd half, and Henderson's unsuccessful reverse dunk.

Did the thought cross anyone else's mind? Or was it just tired legs?

Before some of you go off on me, I'm not offering an excuse or suggesting a conspiracy... Just an observation that would have affected both teams almost equally.
It did, but there were other explanations as well. But given how the Knicks are playing- maybe there is something to that. In a recent game, the Knicks missed 20 straight shots (mostly close shots) on that rim.

http://areyouwatchingthis.com/nba/news/46313

[j.j. jones]

Was it just me or did anyone else think there was a problem with the rim on one of the court at MSG? Did the thought cross anyone else's mind? Or was it just tired legs?

Before some of you go off on me, I'm not offering an excuse or suggesting a conspiracy... Just an observation that would have affected both teams almost equally.

I definitely noticed it as well. In fact, there was a third Duke player who missed what apparently should have been an easy dunk on the same rim (forgot who right off-hand.) Inexplicable. Hard to believe that the rim would be higher w/o anyone mentioning it to the refs. Then again, hard to believe that several players seemed to mysteriously lose their hops at around the same time.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

"If you don't like the rims, don't hit the rims." And he didn't mean shoot air-balls.

[watzone]

I definitely noticed it as well. In fact, there was a third Duke player who missed what apparently should have been an easy dunk on the same rim (forgot who right off-hand.) Inexplicable. Hard to believe that the rim would be higher w/o anyone mentioning it to the refs. Then again, hard to believe that several players seemed to
i
mysteriously lose their hops at around the same time.


I don't think it was higher, but do think it was tight. It is clear on the replay that it did not give much. Maybe that's how Scheyer got all those long rebounds. While we did play on those rims five minutes longer, we can't grip in that both teams had them.

[Devilsfan]

Maybe its not all the NYN head coaches' fault. Maybe only 98%.
Also I really think Cajun has a valid point. The confines of cozy Cameron and the cold openness of MSG may have affected this very young team. But they seemed to act like our football team and get soft in the second half.

[juise]

JJ at MSG, against Texas, December 2005. Seemed like he went for 80.

That one was actually the Meadowlands in Jersey, but I thought of the same example.

[thomas]

I recall standing at a urinal in Tampa before the UConn game in '99 and the guy next to me commented on the depth perception problem in that arena. Turns out it was Trajan's dad. Very prescient ....