By the way, after hearing several people say, “Stop booing Vince Carter, it only makes him better/try harder!” I decided to do some research. Is that sentiment true? Does the negative attention make him better?

Carter’s performance last week was an absolute classic - that was one for the ages. But was that indicative of his play in Toronto, or an aberration?

Here’s his stats from Friday:
November 21, 2008: New Jersey 129, Toronto 127 (OT)
Carter: 17-28 FG, 3-7 3PT, 2-2 FT, 9R, 6A, 39PTS

Here’s his stats when playing in Toronto since the trade, including playoffs:

April 15, 2005: New Jersey 101, Toronto 90
Carter: 15-26 FG, 3-8 3FG, 6-7 FT, 9R, 4A, 39PTS

Nov 11, 2005: New Jersey 102, Toronto 92
Carter: 9-17 FG, 2-7 3PT, 0-0 FT, 7R, 6A, 20 PTS

January 8, 2006: New Jersey 105, Toronto 104
Carter: 18-35 FG, 3-5 3FG, 3-5 FT, 10R, 3A, 42 PTS (including the three-pointer at the buzzer to win)

December 15, 2006: Toronto 90, NJ 78
Carter: 4-17 FG, 0-6 3PT, 4-8 FT, 6R, 2A, 12PTS

February 14, 2007: Toronto 120, NJ 109
Carter: 5-15 FG, 3-5 3PT, 4-7 FT, 6R, 10A, 17PTS

April 21, 2007: NJ 96, Toronto 91
Carter: 5-19 FG, 1-3 3PT, 5-8 FT, 7R, 3A, 16PTS

April 24, 2007: Toronto 89, NJ 83
Carter: 8-24 FG, 1-7 3PT, 2-4 FT, 11R, 5A, 19PTS

May 1, 2007: Toronto 98, NJ 96
Carter: 10-22 FG, 4-7 3PT, 6-10 FT, 5R, 2A, 30PTS

Feb 13, 2008: Toronto 109, NJ 91
Carter: 5-15 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-4 FT, 3R, 7A, 15PTS

April 11, 2008: Toronto 113, NJ 85
Carter: 9-15 FG, 1-5 3PT, 4-4 FT, 6R, 2A, 21PTS

As you can see, some real ups and downs. But, average it all out, and after 11 games in Toronto, we have:
FG: 105-233 (45%)
3FG: 22-59 (37%)
FT: 40-59 (68%) (5.4 FTA per game)
RPG: 7.8
APG: 5.7
PPG: 24.5

Now, take a look at his overall stats since he joined the Nets:
FG: 2642-5858 (45%)
3FG: 509-1387 (37%)
FT: 1670-2074 (81%) (6.8 FTA per game)
RPG: 5.9
APG: 4.7
PPG: 24.4

In other words… ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME. So there is absolutely zero evidence that booing makes him any better or worse. Basically, this is a non-argument.

What I find most interesting is that before Friday, since the last time he beat us at the buzzer, he’s actually been in a real funk at the ACC; here’s his stats from the past seven Nets games in Toronto before Friday, including the playoffs:

FG: 46-127 (36%)
3FG: 11-35 (31%)
FT: 29-45 (64%)
RPG: 6.3
APG: 4.4
PPG: 18.6

Those are significantly down, as you can see. But do I think the boos contributed to a bad stretch of games? Not at all. You can attribute that to the Raptors getting better as a team, and to New Jersey declining (note that the Raptors won 6 of those 7 games), and to Vince’s general indifference to playing hard every night.

Basically, what I’m saying is, I doubt the boos affect the guy at all, positively or negatively. We all saw Carter for long enough to know that sometimes, he just doesn’t bring it, and sometimes, he gets it going like no one else. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it - and it’s one of the main reasons we dislike the guy so much.

So don’t stop booing for Vince’s sake - I don’t imagine he cares at all. If you’re going to the game, and - like me - you enjoy having a villain to boo, then keep on booing. If you don’t enjoy it, then no one’s gonna force you! They’re your tickets, it’s your night out, enjoy it how you like.

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