**Official McGrady/Pistons 2010 Regular Season Thread**

One of the most exciting games tonight. Heartbreaker for the Pistons though. Poor Tmac.

 

If I want a good laugh I'll watch a Piston's game and watch Tracy impose his will on the game.

 

When you look at the boxscore it kinda sucks. 6 points in 26 minutes is not good but after watching that game I saw few things.

First of all he was not moving as good as he was against the Kings when he looked just great. His movement wasn't as fluid and sharp but in previous back to backs he managed to play only a total of 22 mins (about 15 in the first game and 7 in the second).

In that back to back he played a total of 48 minutes. So it is kinda understendable that he was tired and didn't really have that lift and evevation he had against the Kings.

As I watch him play I see what his role is. Man, the Pistons suck in general and actually Tracy is one of the brightest spots on the team. You don't see that in boxscore.

Let's see who he plays with.

Gordon - a scorer off the bench who only worried about taking shots. He takes a lot of bad shots like he did against the Warriors the other night (I was pretty shocked with few bad attempts he had). But let's face it - we shouldn't blame him. He is THE BEST player on the Roster and yet he is not getting the minutes he needs as coach likes struggling Hamilton more.

Villanueva - although he has shot the ball well he is a power forward who is supposed to play inside. Yet the ONLY thing he does on the court is shooting 3s. He lives on the outside. He catches all those kick outs and just fires up 3s. That is all he cares. He is pretty soft.

Bynum - A scrub. Yeah, he is a scrub. Now I know why he sucks as much on NBA 2k (I had him for one time and was suprised how bad he was). Last night he had a moment when he had 4 STRAIGHT turnovers. The guy can't shoot, he is not really quick and once he tried to become a playmaker it is becoming a disaster because he can't pass.

With those guys on the floor with Tracy there is really no shots for him, so he kinds figured out he HAS TO be a playmaker. With those 3 guys firing up bad shots left and right someone has to creat for them. Pistons have only two playmakers - it is McGrady and Stuckey. So Tracy doesn't even look to score.

I am suprised by what Tracy has done this season. He is paying attention to details. He plays DEFENSE. He hustles. And if you watch a game, when he is on the floor the Pistons always seem to click on both ends. He kinda calms the team down and takes control of the game. They were down by 30 with their starters and yet the came back in the game with was (in my opinion) bench's merit.

Tracy has never done that so this is kinda suprising. He played the whole 4th last night which means coach sees the same.

The only thing I blame him for is his effort sometimes. At first (in yesterdays game) it looked like he just didn't want to play. He has the tendency to dissapear and he loves standing in the corner. For me, he has to be consistent with that and he has to bring ENERGY off the bench.

He is clearly improving EVERY single game which is a good sign I thing. I just wanted to tell those guys who didn't have a chance to watch, that he has much better impact on the Pistons than when we see in the boxscore. And he really has.

But still, Morey was BINGO on his move.

 

Spot on analysis!

 

Tracy Mcgrady

the new Mr. Intangibles :grin: ?

 

I still think what Tracy is lacking for the most part is mental toughness and belief that he is healthy.

He just looks like he is afraid to push himself to me.

DD

 

Of course. That is one thing and the other is his effort. He has never been a high energy guy.

As for mental toughness. People were saying him he didn't need a surgery, yeh he found a man who said he needed it and he followed him

Now people, coaches, doctors are saying he is healthly and yet he doesn't belive them.

 

What Tracy really needs is a father to tell him to rub some dirt on it and to quit whining.....

Coddled for too long.

DD

 

Isn't it too late? The guy is 31 years old.

 

Yep, now he has all those hanger ons telling him he is great, and to do what he wants, and he knows best.

It is far too late to toughen up........happens a lot with kids raised by one parent.

DD

 

You grew up with T-mac?

 

No need, enough information out there, to gleen this opinion......and I have friends that were in similar situations where they were very successful early and crashed down because they believed their own press.

IMO, this is Tmac....he just got told he was great his whole life, and this is the first real adversity he has faced, and he doesn't know how to deal with it, nor understand it.

Which is why he has zero clue about speaking, and how bad he looks....because he has people next to him going..."yeah. that's right"..."Exactly, Tmac".....

He has lived in a bubble and now that it has popped he is lost.

DD

 

I am sure his confidence is totally shot. He went from being one of the premier players in the league with aspirations of championship rings to be rejected by a few teams and now being a bench guy.

Only time will tell, but I think this is all really good for him. He's going to develop a new style and type of game that's going to be wanted by a contender. He is still one of the very few triple threat players in the game. Something that we badly miss as witnessed by many of our 4th quarter struggles.

There's plenty of teams that will consider him as he reinvents himself.

 

you can see it already; he doesn't force shots anymore (like all the pistons players do) and takes "good" shots now

when people see him standing at the corner, it's not really him but the play isn't run for him. but he's getting more aggressive game by game. and he ran very well back on D v. the fast paced warriors last night

i think this comeback stint will be legit and pay off.

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you can see A LOT of encouraging signs here. step back J? only a confident tmac would pull that off. the more games he plays, the more confident he will get.

he still lacks that explosiveness, but hopefully at least 50% of it will come back.

 

He has made a couple of quick moves getting around people.....while he will never be as explosive as he was....right now, he just looks afraid to go all out to me, and is coasting somewhat.

Just trying to fit in......he needs to push himself, but looks afraid to try it.

DD

 

i think he is trying to fit in b/c his superstar status is gone. he can't go down the court every play and demand the ball like he used to.

i think that "all-out" mentality is rarely seen in tmac (he usually saved that for the playoffs) b/c of his body.

but at least this comeback is showing real signs that he can be an impact player again, and not retiring by christmas like some think. it speaks a lot to his willingness to prove people wrong.

i think by january, you can expect him to score 12-15 ppg on a consistent basis even if he still gets 20-25 minutes

 

I think he can be even better. It seems like he is afraid to drive in now. If he makes one jumpshot, his confidence goes up and he wants to get the ball again and score.

If he misses, he shys away from the ball or the hoop and settles for a easy pass.

Its all mental, again, once and IF he finds out that he still has a solid first step and can attack the backet, he can be a really solid player.

 

If McGrady would watch how Scola moves when he is off the ball into space, he would be much more effective.

Soccer movement on the basketball court if that makes sense.

DD

 

lol I don't know if you would call that vintage mcgrady though. probably more like post-witch doctor mcgrady. vintage mcgrady would be driving and dunking on fools. and scoring his 13 points in only 33 secs.