Agreed knight, both the lighting and the background visible behind the hoop play a large part in why players shoot a lower percentage in the road. Both are a larger factor than crowd noise in my experience.
I agree with this completely. Along with traveling that includes flying and sleeping in a hotel. Many factors contribute to home field advantages. Just ask Kyrie Irving about bed bugs. Nothing like your own bed.
The crowd still affects some players. Some players may thrive on a hostile crowd such as Reggie Miller. Coaches talk about having experienced senior leaders helping while playing on the road. This to me is in regards to sticking to the game plan and not letting the crowd affect your play. I don't believe the seniors help the younger players with lighting and the new environment. It is regarding crowds and hostile environments. The more a person has been through it the less it affects them.
Reggie Miller vs a freshmen playing its first game in Madison square garden will be affected differently in most cases. Every person has a different make up. I can believe that some players aren't affected at all and some are. Reggie vs Spike is one of the coolest games I've ever seen.
Regardless of this argument. I just want an environment for the last two games that reflect where our team is more for personal enjoyment than to "help" the team win. We have a veteran team that the crowd probably won't affect as much as younger players whether at home or away.