hehe. I'm not actually a hardcore Yao Fan. He's very good and I'm a fan of his, but I've criticized Yao Ming harshly before also. So if you can't handle opinions on a messageboard, that's your problem. Me calling T-Mac lazy is not in anyway related to Yao Ming. The people in Orlando who have called T-Mac lazy are not Yao Fans either. T-Mac himself admitted he played lazily in Orlando. So where is the source of your contention to the statement that T-Mac is lazy. Listen, the original source of the article, he himself stated that T-Mac is super gifted but lazy. That is T-Mac's "tag" around the league. If you can't accept that, then you are the worst T-Mac only fan.
well, let's face it, Yao and Tmac combo is not enough to win the big one. I'm pretty confident that the fighting spirit and intensity tht these two players lack will be provided by the Scolar plus Brooks. He'll also change the texture of the rockets presence on the court.
We had TWO go-to guys last year, which was not enough, obviously. Now we have more than that. Francis, Wells, James, even Scola could all be go-to guys. That might not even be enough because we need more guys such as Battier to do the dirty work too. That's why basketball is a TEAM sport. Ironic that your moniker has the word "Team" yet you don't understand this concept.
We were originally discussing about the attitude of tmac being a loser for not doing the extra mile and being childish for saying things than ruined the momentum of the team to finish a series. Then you replied by saying that basketball is team blah blah blah... it's not his fault for this is a team sport. do you see where you disconnect?
No, you disconnected by using TEAM results to "prove" that T-Mac has a loser attitude. That's where I jumped in.
When you make it to 3-1, or 2-0 lead (twice wth rockets) in the playoffs, and screw and blew it for teh reasons I mentioned earlier, then it makes sense to use TEAM RESULT to measure one's ability to finish. No doubt he is a great athlete but what makes a person a loser or winner is his mental approach to the game. And I'm not a hater, I just want to acknowledge tmac's limitation as a personal opinion. To borrow yao_fan_2007's words, if you can't handle an opinion, that's your problem.
TeamUSA: You're right, they were up 2-0 twice but they still lost. But you cannot blame only Tracy, remember that's basketball, team sport! Thinkin' this way you can also say Yao's a looser, Vangundy, alston, battier, hayes, etc...
One thing about T-Mac that is often misconstrued as a lack of effort is just a lack of relentlessness. He just doesn't stay in "attack mode" where it is obvious he is looking to make something happen every time down the floor game in and game out like the D Wades, Kobes, etc. INMHO thats what is currently seperating him from the all-time greats. On a sidenote, another supremely talented player who is starting to develop the same bad habit is lebron, he tends to coast quite often it seems just because the game comes so easy to him.
See Barkley's post right below yours. I can handle an opinion. I have no problem with people saying that T-Mac does not always put up max effort. I do have problem with people using team results to label "winners" and "losers." With this kind of logic, Hakeem was a loser until the year 1994. And people like Barkley, Iverson, LeBron, Kidd, Nash, Garnett etc. are all losers because they haven't won any championships yet.
I am a huge Tmac fan but Lebron has made it out of the first round. Lazy or not, until TMac has playoff success he will always be a second tier player. I personally don't think he is lazy but he is definitely NOT hyper competitive like Jordan, Kobe, Dream. At some point in any series there will come a time where somebody has to say "I" am NOT going to let this team beat us. We haven't found a player to do that yet. Mike James and maybe Scola will bring some of that attitude. Maybe Tracy brings it this season. I hope so. Maybe Yao does but they both can't defer to each other forever.
See, this is where some of you guys are not understanding. Win and Loss is not the problem. In sports, you will sometimes lose, and sometimes win. Even winners lost. We are not saying T-Mac is a loser because he's lost or even failed. We understand the Basketball is a team game, and many things are beyond a player's control. However, T-Mac is a loser for HOW he loses, and HOW he plays. If he played with heart, and played smart ( ie not allowing one's ego to become self-destructive leading to inefficient play ie chucking low percentage shots to bolser personal stats ), then nobody here would call T-Mac a loser. T-Mac is a loser because last season, before the playoffs, he declared stupidly, It's on Me. It's on Me. That was unnecessary and just dumb. And sure enough, the Rockets failed to get past the first round, and T-Mac CRIED!! CRIED!! This is why he's a loser. Not because he lost. But because he let his big ego and selfishness get in the way of playing smartly, and WINNINGly.
And now, I have to groan little because T-Mac, a few weeks before the Training Camps, goes on a weird trip for some humanitarian cause. Um..hello? He comes back and sounds like he's completely lost it. If he wants to do humanitarian causes, fine, but don't lose your grip or perspective. Be real, and stop charading yourself as some Nobel Prize winner wannabee. You're a basketball player, T-Mac. You don't go into Africa and say naively stupid things that makes you sound like you've never read a newspaper or stepped outside the USA into the real world, and expect the world and your fans to applaud. It's a little strange that he's doing this NOW. Maybe he's jealous of Yao and Steve Nash's cooperative charity tournament for Chinese Orphans. I don't know. It sure seems like it. Now, some idiots will yell at me because it sounds like I am criticizing T-Mac's efforts. No, not at all. I am glad that he's opening his eyes, and using his fame for good causes. But what I am saying is, T-Mac makes himself look real dumb when he acts so naive and ignorant. There are humanitarian crisises all over the world T-Mac. Duh. Yeah, use your fame and wealth to help, but don't lose your head. You're a basketball player, and I hope you don't lose your focus.
Just let me know if I"m wrong guys? Im not taking sides but didn't T-mac say on an interview "if we lose it's all on me" ??? Now even though that is coming straight from the horses mouth I mean common.. I believe in this past playoff lost, it was majority his fault...
Did you see him play when he was with the Raptors? It's very debatable that he has become a better defender. As for better play maker I would agree there only he was always good at it. But now he has the feel for it down.
