record is misleading. I believe SPURS game is the turning point for ROXs role players. They boost their confidence and believe they can win. 8-2 with TMAC, I think this team is over-achieving badly.This is not right basketball, not at all. A jumper team with super-D? Man, they should get tired soon on their legs soon. NO team can keep this type of defense for 60 games, except this team on DRUG or, TMAC super night. WITH YAO only, we had 2-4, but except one LAKERS game, we were all tight, 2OT to LAKERS, last second loss to GS, and slacker game to Portland. AND, we played beautiful/correct basketball, except last 3 mins--Ball should be in our guards, not center to be the playmaker doesn't make sense to me.
I don't think this is only about Yao or T-Mac. Just before Yao went down, it looked like the team was starting to turn the corner. With Yao out, the rest of the team has stepped up big time, especially T-Mac, Dikembe, Juwan and Battier and the defense has been outstanding. Lets give credit where its due.
OK, since I keep seeing it mentioned, let me ask a question: who on this board has EVER said that we're better off without Yao? Give me a name and/or quote the post to which you're referring. Don't quote me the national media or other talking heads that rarely, if ever, catch a Rockets game and are more interested in sensationalism and creating controversy than serious commentary. No one, I repeat, no one with any credibility and knowledge of this team can possibly make such a statement...may be in jest, but not with a straight face. Some of you guys are way too sensitive about Yao...it almost seems like some of you are reaching and trying to look for any perceived 'slights' against him when it just isn't there.
Yeah, this is what I thought. Yao's performance at that time really boost the spirit of the team. All players grew rapidly in those games. right now, its just the result.
This kind of comments are an insult to the tremendous stepping up effort by Deke, Juwan, etc. Their play may not last long, but it is another evidence that basketball is a five men game, not just one or two superstars.
The truth be know is that the Rockets team is playing witha big heart as they know that Yao Ming will be back!
It was 2-4, with 5 games on the road versus tough western conference opponents. With two of those games, against the Warriors and Lakers, we really should have had. And like it was mentioned above, I also think that the San Antonio game was a turning point for our role players. A lot of guys stepped up during that game, and continued to play well during this stretch. If we had Yao in this current run instead of Mcgrady, I think we still would have had success, especially against some of the bottom-feeders that came up on the schedule.
congratulations man.. I would like to nominate you for the YOF Of The Week award.. hey man, the team is doing well, the team is winning, please dont start some crap about "we are just getting lucky" and we "cant hold up without Yao". dont spoil the wins for us. it's obvious that the team is better with Yao, but there's no need to point that out in the midst of what I consider the best basketball we've been playing in a long time. Yao is good, Yao is great, but he takes a lot from everybody else. you never see Battier go off like that with Yao playing. u never see JHO posting up and hitting shots with Yao in. and most importantly, u never see Mac go off for 44 when Yao is playing. it's not Yao's fault, it's the team's fault. when Yao is playing, nobody seems to put their Max effort (except for maybe Batt & Hayes). it seems like the team is "riding" Yao. they dont see a reason for cutting to the basket and making plays; they just throw the ball to Yao and let him do his thing. well, Yao of course is playing at an MVP level, and that's what bailed us out. u just see Skip standing behind the 3 point line waiting for a pass from Yao so he can throw up a brick instead of cutting to the basket and making a play. u see Mac "taking a back seat" like many of y'all wanted and pass the ball to Yao and stand in a corner like a role player. well, Tmac is no role player. he is a superstar. and he needs his touches. it seems like Mac doesn't want to do a lot when Yao is playing. just throw it down to the big fella and let him do his thing. we might win a lot of game, but it's not a "team effort", it's a "Yao effort". it's like putting Yao in Hakeem's position and asking him to win a championship. I have no doubt that he can, but we have the luxury of a superstar like Tmac, why make Yao do everything? my point is, look at how the team is playing right now; with the exception of yesterday's game, we are making plays. u can see team work, u can see fast breaks, u can see nice passes, smart plays, drives to the basket, drawing fouls, and all sorts of things. on the other hand, when Yao was playing, Yao was the only player doing anything. Tmac was content with him scoring in single digits as long as "I make plays and make my team win". we might win some games that way, but he can go all the way on Yao's shoulders. we need the team to play at the same level when Yao comes back and I want to see the Tmac that scores 30 and 40 points a game. I want the Tmac that takes the last shot of the quarter, not the Tmac that drains the clock then pass it to an underpressure Rafer with 1 second to go. that's why the team appears to be "better" without Yao, it's because everybody is giving it his best. but when Yao was playing, they didn't. it's not Yao's fault, it's the players' fault. now, if they can keep playing at the same level they are now when the big Man comes back, I believe we can go all the way to the finals and sweep everybody in the playoffs.
The way our roster is constructed, we can afford an injury to Yao more than McGrady. I think McGrady is just as important to our offense than Yao, probably more so, just because he handles the ball so much and does a good job facilitating the offense. With Yao, you have to work hard just ot get him the ball (hence the turnovers). Obviously, Yao has much more value on the boards and defensively than McGrady. But without Yao, we still have Dikembe, Chuck, and (surprise) Juwan to pick up the slack in those areas. When McGrady went out, we lost our best ball handler. We also lost a lot of size in the backcourt, because Luther is so small and Bonzi wasn't ready to really contribute regularly. So, not only did that burn us on the offensive end, we got hurt defensively as well. That's how I look at it. None of this is evidence that McGrady is better than Yao. You could, however, argue that he's more valuable in the sense that we can more easily afford to play without Yao than without T-Mac.
i think yao going down and we stll have a good record is a testiment to how much better tmac is than the other superstars in the league...i mean look how bad the heat are w/o shaq but evryone still acts as if d-wade is god(i like d-wade but just using him as an example)
I don't think that's a fair example. The Miami Heat roster is just terrible, I don't care that they won a championship last year. They're old and unmotivated. Wade has been brilliant this year. If we exchanged McGrady with Wade, we'd be doing just fine right now.
To me, there is no surprise the team win more games without Yao BUT WITH TMAC! 1. It is so obvious that todays BBall game is more of a parameter game or guard/swingman's game. When your superstar guard (Tmac) was out, you were doomed to suffer more, especially if no one on the team can consistently cover his role. 2. On the other hand, you suffer less in today's game if your big man (Yao) can not play, especially if your team has reserves that can tempararily cover his role (Jowan/Deke combo is a hell of a force). 3. From the aforementioned points, it seemed that the team does not need Yao but rather a decent backup for Tmac. But how long will Jowan/Deke play like they are playing? Till the end of this season? For the next couple of years? 4. Probably everyone may agree that the team need both Yao and Tmac to play at a high level to win big. And apparently Tmac was not at his full strength when both of them were playing in the earlier games. It's up to JVG and both of the two super stars to figure out how to play together to full strength. 5. The ESPN, TNT and media guys will always raise such debate because that's their job. If they were the GM or the coach, they will insert Yao to the lineup immediately once Yao's recoved. It is that simple. 6. All being said, I think the coaching staff may have learned something to make the offensive adjustment when Yao's back.
Um except I am not. I am saying w/out Yao we arent better, but without Tmac we are worse. Just saying we need Yao and TMac, Media is saying that Tmac + Deke is better than Tmac + Yao.
Tigermission already explained to you that nobody is saying that Anobody who says it should check themselves
dude I was just kidding. it was just a joke dont take it seriously. I know that you are not a YOF. actually, there is no YOF Of The Week award, so dont get your hopes up..
Good comments. I would add that when Yao is playing without Mac, we just don't have a good playmaker. This makes Mac seems more important than Yao in this team. We can also conclude that we need a better gaurd then Rafer
if anything, yao is a confidence booster, knowing you have him on your team.. there's no way we CAN'T be better with him.
I am tired of this kind comparison between Yao and T-MAC. What's the point? Different position, different time, different schedule, how can you make a comparison like this. As a Rocket's fan, are we supposed to hope to have a better team? Your comment only makes YOF happy, they want to trade Yao more than you.
First of all, Rafer does'nt turn the ball over. The reason there is less turnovers is because our leading turnover player (Yao) is out. 4 a game for Yao.
