You really need to stop being the #1 T-Mac hater. Our team can't contain superstars very well this year. That team had two in Yao and T-Mac. This game wouldn't even be close it would be a 15+ point blowout. Once again, next time you type something think about it first.
you are assuming the current Rockets teams are a bunch of chokers. The current Rockets team played toe to toe with the world champion Lakers. I'm #1 T-Mac hater? Don't diss our GM Daryl Morrey like that dude.
He needs to hold his position when he has his man sealed right before the lob is thrown to him. He has an incredibly hard time of doing this. Bottom line is this. All these years and Yao has still not solved the fronting problem when fronted with smaller guys. He would'nt and he would'nt be able to even if he wanted to. So he woruld really be reduced to a turnaround jumpshooter. And I wouldnt hold my breathe for Yao to learn on the go. His playoff series performance has not been ery stellar. It usually has gone the other way, as in the opponents learning and figuring him out. Against 04-05 Mavs - Yao was ok in Game 1. He was terrific in game 2. The Mavs started to double McGrady at the top of the circle after this and Yao started to have problems. By game 6, McGrady had to talk to Yao who was sitting on the bench and looked deflated. On defense Yao was exposed on pick and role defense and never really recovered Against the Jazz - Okur played Yao straight up. Yao should have been dominating but he could not figure out how to. Had Yao dominated this matchup in a one-on-one situation, Rockets would have advanced to the second round. Against the Blazers - Yao was sensational in first game when Blazers played him straight up. Once the fronting was applied starting in game 2, Yao was just one of the guys. No solution was presented to the fronting defense. If you think height is an issue in fronting, I could ask Anderson to get in there and front him. But it will still be Hayes which would give him more problem because he is much more mobile and would use his leverage to get Yao off-balance. Who do you think the other guy will be? It's either a guard/SF/Weatherspoon which wuld be at a great disadvantage, or Mutombo, which would mean disadvantage on defense with 2 big guys who have trouble covering pick and role. Deke a threat to score?
I love this team, that is not the point. The point is we are only 9 losses away from the 04-05 team and the season isn't even half way over. Chuck could not contain Yao and T-Mac in his prime could take anyone including Battier who is slowing down as a defender. Check this man out from 04-05, you might know him. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kYnskAufGwM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kYnskAufGwM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
why don't you tell me where the toyota center is in the city of houston? the point is the 04-05 failed under jvg and his squad. yeah t-mac was a good defender back that season playing dirk, but who the hell was guarding Jason Terry? that team was limited offensively, what happens if Yao or Tmac get in foul trouble? How could a team so good and with high expectations lose a playoff series? don't act like this was the best team on earth, they had weaknesses and they could be exploited (see JVG vs Utah)
No one is talking about the Mavs. We are talking about today's team against the 04-05 team. Once you tell me who is gonna stop Tracy and Yao I will believe you. The answer is no one which would result in a rout.
Was last year's Lakers series a rout? Somebody had to guard Kobe, by which everyone on the planet knows is better than Tmac ever was. Really? Tmac's tension to settle for jumpers and Yao's slowness and foul trouble didn't exist in 04-05?
Abso;ute;y not true. Pictures are worth a thousand words……. http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/tmac_kings.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/TracyMcGrady.jpg http://www.ballers.sk/obrazky/1723.jpg Think Shane Fouls or tries to take the charge on this one? Think it goes in either way? And Yes i meant a younger Juwon Howard would have problems with Scola if he was 23, 33, or 43 years old. Advantage Scola.
if u look at that 04-05 roster they clearly overachieved and not under.... they didnt make it out of first round (couldve went either way cus of bad officiating) but did u really expect them to win against dallas? 04-05 is the perfect example of overachieve and it showed in game 7
The team this year isn't the same as last year's. Ron and Von were superior to Chase and Trevor. Ron brings way better defense and Von brings way better offense. Plus the Lakers don't even have two superstars like the 04-05 team did. I think the phrase "T-Mac to the rack" was invented for a reason.
You make an excellent point. If Battier does as well against McGrady as he did against Kobe last playoffs then yeah, 04-05 team is in big trouble. 75% of Rockets offense was dependant on McGrady being spectacular. Another excellent point regarding foul problems. Yao had a hard time staying on the court in 04-05. He also lacked balance whcih is why Rockets started to develop traning sessions for him where he would train with tennis balls and such.
The current Rockets team has no quit in the them. The 04-05 team had a 2-0 lead going back to Toyota Center and loss 3 straight. Rick Adelman is a better coach than JVG. The 04-05 team got blown out by 40 points in game 7, which means they were mentally weak. This isn't as easy as people think it is.
Neither did 04-05. If you consider 04-05 Yao a superstar then by that standard he was pathetic in that series. He was young and did ok for his first playoff series. Many were expecting him to dominate. As I have already mentioned, dont forget the scene in Game 6 where a frustrated McGrady had to talk to Yao. Superstars dont need pep-talk. If we are going to play the phrase game, so was "Second Round Virgin", which would make this entire debate meaningless.
I can't change your opinion because you have been like this forever. So, I respect your opinion even though I highly disagree with it. But I would love to hear you say T-Mac was a good player at least once.
Yes, Zboy, I feel you are the only one here who saw that 04-05 team play. the key weakness is that the entire offensive was based on Yao/Tmac, if Yao or Tmac goes down, they don't really have to worry about the other players because they weren't scorers or playing in a free flowing offense. Jon Barry isn't turning into Vernon Maxwell vs the Suns dropping 35 points when they clamped down on Dream. again, didn't the quick scoring PG destroy us? Jason Terry? Didn't Aaron Brooks go crazy on scoring many times already?
I've said it many times that he was a good player and a great player, but he was never the superstar who could take a team to a championship. Neither was Steve Francis.
Why are you talking about the Mavs series? It would be Yao vs. Chuck Hayes. Yao wouldn't need to be dominant, he could just shoot over Chuck all day. Yes, Yao wasn't fully developed back then but he was still pretty darn good.
