T-mac's impact on the 22 win streak: fact of fiction?

GREAT ASSESSMENT ON THE 22-WIN STREAK BUT YOU FORGOT THE MOST CRUCIAL PART ---- THE SCHEDULE!!!

 

Actually, Apollo88....

....I didn't forget the schedule. I just didn't make a big deal out of it.

Sometimes, weird scheduling happens in the NBA. You know, some teams get a lot of early home games against weaker opponents....some teams get a bunch of back-to-back road games on opposite coasts....the Spurs are on the road for a full two weeks every season around the all-star break.....

....and the Rockets did have a nice smattering of less-than-stellar competition during that streak. More than a few of our own sportswriters predicted that the Rockets would make some sort of push during the season, when they were floundering around .500.

Nobody saw a 22-consecutive game winning streak, though. Espcecially not after Yao went down.

This is the NBA. Some teams are better than others. But, as the saying goes, anybody can beat anybody else on any given night. Whoever you're playing, you've still got to go out and beat them.

It's part of what made the streak so special, and makes its also a little like fools gold come playoff time. In the playoffs, scheduling and weaker teams don't factor in. A team plays another team for two weeks, and can probably tell what type of aftershave each of them's wearing.

The streak deosn't lose significance, to me, because more than a few of those wins came against the bottom-half of the league, Apollo88. When the Chicago Bulls had their record-setting 72-win season, that happened at the time the NBA was expanding again, adding two more teams to the league, and thinning out every other team's depth to fill those rosters, nobody was asking those guys to give back wins, or to put an asterisk in the record books.

I understand what you're saying, Apollo88. And you're right on the money. A lot had to break the Rockets' way for the streak to have lasted as long as it did (including geting a softer, home-game friendly schedule after the All-Star break). That's part of the magic, my friend.

Don't be such a gloomy-guss, Apollo88. What the heck else have we had to cheer about around here lately, anyway?

Annd you KNOW nobody around here gets to say anything nice about
Tracy McGrady very often.....

 

It's actually a very big deal. During the streak, we played either weak teams or strong teams who were missing stars.

That's the main reason we were so successful.

 

I think so. Our roster now is much better than it was during the 22 Game win streak. Both Brooks and Scola have grown into their own and are much more confident with their game now than before. T-Mac was pretty much the facilitator when Yao went out. Hopefully this time, he isn't asked to do as much and in return, should be more efficient. Hopefully.

 

T-Mac was essential for the 22 game winning streak. His versatility opened the floor for others to get points and he scored pretty well until the very end of the run. It wasn't all him, Alston, Battier, Scola and Mutumbo all contributed as it was a team effort, but no denying McGrady was a pivotal piece to the puzzle. Once, he and Alston got hurt that is when the team unraveled that season and in the post season against the Jazz as well.

 

while mcgrady did obviously have an effect on the teams winning streak


I am going to say that Rafer Alston's improved play had more of an impact on the streak than Mcgrady's play (though the streak would not happen without either player) but Tracy didnt really "step it up" during the streak he maintain his good numbers across the board. Rafer did improve his if I recall properly

 

Mcgrady only played in 21 of the 22 games in the win streak he missed the GS game with the flu

Yao played in the first 12 games of the win streak and was the leader in those games and had better stats than Mcgrady

Tracy had several stinkers in the win streak including

vs Clev 8 pts on 3-11 FG

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280207010

vs Atl 15 pts on 5-14 FG

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280209010

vs Port 12 pts on 6-15 FG

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280211010

vs Sac 10 pts on 3-12 FG

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280213010

vs clv 17 pts on 6-21 FG

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280219005

vs Was 11 pts on 4-15 FG

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280226010

vs LAL 11 pts on 4-16 where Kobe punked Mcgrady

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=280316010


Misnomer 1 Mcgrady did not win 22 games streak. He played in 21 games

Misnomer 2 Mcgrady did not carry the Rockets to 22 wins without Yao. The Big Fella played in 12 of those games and was statistically the leader in those 12 games

Mcgrady carried the team in some wins. He had stinkers in others and if it was solely up to Mcgrady the streak would have been broken long before it reached double digits

 

Again, wekko368...

...for me, it's a very important detail about the softness of the schedule....
....but that didn't decrease the chances of the Rockets slipping up somewhere along the way....

How many times in the past have we watched the Rockets lose to teams that they weren't supposed to lose to? How many times have the Rockets won games they had absolutely no business winning at all?

It really doesn't matter, at the end of the day, how tailor-made-ready-for-success something is....

...you've got to be able to hold your chalk.

However much a watered-down schedule matters (or doesn't matter), the Rockets had to still go out and play. And win.

I don't see a problem with giving credit where credit is due, wekko368.

A ton of ridiculously talented teams have been in this league, and only a handfull accomplished anything like what the Rockets did in 2008 with that streak. If the Rockets of 2008 did it with decidely less talent than they had before Yao got hurt (forget about all the hall of fame teams who couldn't do it), I don't see how that doesn't make the accomplishment all the more remarkable.

I know, I know....it was a regular season thing and it didn't mean squat when playoff time came, but it was still something very special. And special usually tastes sweet, no matter what.

Here, wekko368....it's better when you share....

 

Prior to McGrady returning mid-January that season, the Rockets just lost 2 games at home where their offense turned to crap in the fourth quarter. Upon McGrady's return, the Rockets proceed to win 26 of the next 27 games. It seems pretty obvious to me that he was a major factor. But a feat like that can't be chalked up to a single player.

 

I'd definitely cite Rafer Alston as a main reason behind the streak as well. His numbers before and after the streak were marginal. His February numbers during the streak were great. Rafer came up huge the last game of the streak against the Lakers. It showed the way this team is built, that if the Rockets get good guard play they're tough to beat. Ironically that might have played right into Rafer getting dealt. He himself showed we needed someone capable of getting those numbers consistently

After Rafer it was Luis Scola setting in a trust factor as bona fide power forward next to Yao finally. From THERE, McGrady was able to have confidence in the product and just simply play basketball, without having to delve into his mind his usual concerns of if the next injury will result in his death.

Also, BEFORE the streak when McGrady was out the team gelled together under the system and Yao emerged as a leader. Which was the 1st time the team showed they didn't need McGrady.

Rockets have never played an extended amount of time with NO All Star security blanket, so this will be interesting if McGrady is held out for a while or dealt away. But if we pile losing and bad luck on a player, in the reversal its kinda fair to credit him with success the same way isnt it not?

 

No, of course it isn't, Shroopy2.

We're talking about Tracy McGrady here, right?

Fair treatment of him around here would be offering him a cigarette before the firing squad took aim....

And this thing about the Rockets "needing" Tracy McGrady is kind of misrepresented, in my opinion.

If a team collectively is too dependent on one player's performance too often (in a game like basketball, where several on-court positions have similar responsibilities on both offense and defense), that's not an indictment of that player.

That's small minds thinking that less is more. In a bad way.

If the Rockets have ever needed Tracy McGrady too much in anybody's mind, that's people's fault who didn't draft or develop any players. Or any other players developing themselves.

You really ought to give this "McGrady apologist" stuff a try, Shroopy2.

It's kind of like clubbing baby seals....

 

There's no problem with giving credit where credit it due, but if you're giving credit to the Rockets for beating teams they should've beaten, then you're being too generous.

I don't think you realize exactly how easy our schedule was during that streak. We were playing either scrub teams or good teams who were missing star players.

I give the Rockets more credit for pushing the Lakers to 7 games than I do for winning 22 straight.

 

Such as? Dallas w/o Dirk? Lakers w/o Gasol? Hornets w/o West?

 

Please turn off your caps lock.

 

Fair enough, wekko368.

Although I must admit....

...I've never really understood this whole "looking-good-while-losing-is-better-than-winning-any-way-you-can" mindset around here.

No. That's not true. I do understand that, now that I think about it.

Tracy McGrady is on the court while that streak is going on, so obviously there's something wrong with it.

Other teams had players with boo-boos who couldn't play, so the Rockets were supposed to beat them.

Scrub NBA teams never beat teams that are better than them, so the Rockets didn't prove anything by beating any of those scrubs.

If it really was that easy to accomplish a feat like that, wekko368, somebody else should have done it by now.

I get that you have high expectations of the Rockets, my friend. It just doesn't jibe that one high expectation isn't as high on your list as another one is. Especially when it boils down to when and how you lose a ball game.

It was impressive, the Rockets being overmatched and short-handed against the eventual world-champion Los Angeles Lakers, and giving the Lake Show all it could handle. The Rockets got a ton of accolades for going out swinging.

But the Lakers got more heat for not putting the Rockets away a lot sooner than they eventually did, than the Rockets got praise for making it tougher on the Lakers than it should have been for them. I don't know how to read that, except that the Lakers played dangerously down to the Rockets' level, moreso than the Rockets played over their heads against Los Angeles, wekko368.

If you're talking about regular season wins not being as significant an accomplish as postseason losses, than somebody needs to pass that logic on to LeBron James. When he's gotten knocked out of the playoffs the last two seasons, he couldn't even be bothered to shake hands with the opposing teams. He didn't even stick around for the press conference after the Cavaliers lost this season.

James has the air of entitlement about him, sometimes, but that tells you what these games mean at playoff time. No moral victories. No feel-good stories. No over-achieving or grading on a curve.

You win or you're done. Period.

What we saw the Rockets do against the Lakers this past postseason shouldn't have surprised anybody in these parts, wekko368, precisely because we saw them rise to the occasion during that meaningless streak, when they were written off and given up for dead before they played any of those scrub teams they were supposed to beat.

They proved last season that they could win. And that, to me, means more than losing and looking tough. It's why Ron Artest had almost nothing to do with how well the Rockets were able to play against the Lakers, and why the Rockets didn't ask him to stick around after the season was over.

If you or any of the Rockets find more satisfaction in losing in the playoffs than winning, then don't expect any more winning for a LONG time.

THAT'S the mindset of a loser, to me, wekko368. Trying to take the sting out of losing because nobody expected you to win. Or pooh-poohing away winning because it happened in February rather than May.

You don't win in May before you win in February. You don't push the big boys until you push around the small fry, wekko368.

And the Rockets don't push the Lakers if they don't go on that streak, wekko368.

Putting things in perspective is a good thing to do, wekko368. I think we need to put certain things in their PROPER perspective, is all. I'm not lauding the streak as the greatest moment in Rockets history (although there's a pretty strong case anyway for it being close to the top). But I do know what winning does in pro sports.

It breeds more winning. And a reluctance to settle for anything less than that.

We should feel as proud of that streak as we do that loss to the Lakers. Because both things tell you the same thing.

The Rockets can win. And that should be what's important.

NOT how you lose. HOW YOU WIN.

 

Yao was out, Sengun is out. Green is pulling a Tmac.