Rockets’ new free throw distraction is defintiely distracting

The Houston Rockets mascot has a very distracting new free throw routine.

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The Rockets are sitting in the middle of the NBA when it comes to opponent’s free throw percentage, with teams hitting 75.4% of their attempts against Houston.

The team is hoping to lower that number by introducing a new wrinkle at home games, with a garbage can filled with surprises, and by surprises, we mean a large man painted green wearing a popcorn bucket on his head.

Somehow Rodney Hood was able to block out the distraction and convert his free throw. Not many of us could do our jobs well if a man intermittently jumped out of a wastebasket and screamed.

The idea is similar to Arizona State’s famed Curtain of Distraction, which earlier this year got some help from Olympic superstar Michael Phelps.

– Brendan Maloy