Is the tide is turning ~ Rockets becoming Yao's team...

I'm still waiting for Tmac to "wake up"- probably next year is most likely.

When that happens, I would bet things are as they were when the season began: Tmac the undisputed number 1 player and Yao the good sidekick.

 

What does it matter whose team it is? It's both of theirs. They are both the leaders. T-Mac moreso than Yao. T-Mac's just not been playing well of late. That 76ers' game hopefully brought him out of it seeing as he played extremely well.

Yao has been playing extremely well for a while lately.

BTW it's not like T-Mac is crippled, so stop ****ING WANTING TO TRADE HIM BECAUSE OF HIS HEALTH. He's just having a tough stretch, he'll get over it, and from the look of the Sixers' game, he already has.

If anyone, you should want to trade Wesley, Alston, Head, and everyone else not named Hayes since they've had like 2 bad games

 

I honestly say he has the talent to be a Kobe type player but I don't know if it's just this year he doesn't have the fire of a Kobe. Kobe as much as i hate him, has a desire to attack the rim and everyone around it and gets to the line. T-Mac has honestly gone away from that and seems to settle for an outside shot now as compared to attacking the rim at will. We know he can do it. He does have some injuries that might limit it and he doesn't want to agrivate it but we have all seen that when he does attack the rim he gets the calls and we get a lot more easy baskets. I can't compare him to Kobe until the bulldog mentality of taking over comes back and gets to the Kobe level.

 

As great as yao has been, you can still see the players look to tracy to lead the way. thats with yao included. they see him as there ticket to greatness. a healthy McGrady is the most dominante force in the game.

 

Rockets is a team of they both. Since TMAC has no experience to play with a dominating power like Yao, no doubt he should learn to adapt to Yao's playing. JVG should let both players know how to cooperate in offense and defence, although I doubt that JVG is capable of that.

 

Wanna know the funny thing? I think the T-Wolves would jump all over this since they know KG will be leaving them sooner or later since they can't give him what he needs, I am not sure the Rockets -- already having Yao -- would jump all over this, however. But from the T-Wolves' perspective, they know that if KG left town, they won't get anything close to 'fair-market' value that will put butts in the seats. Other possibilities for them are Iverson and Pierce.

KG's biggest weakness is that he's not a finisher, that's why the T-Wolves lose a lot of close games. He's just not a closer. Without T-Mac, the Rockets would have the same exact problem, even with KG on board, unless you add a guy like Sam Cassell after a trade like this to give you a closer.

It's not a coincidence that the Clippers all of a sudden start winning with Sam on board, because they never had a closer and now he's there. KG only got past the first round with Sam I Am playing there along with Spree, who gave them a little toughness and he also is a good clutch player.

IMO, the most underrated concept in sports is a closer...just look at how many teams in the NBA, NFL, or elsewhere who lose tons of very close games because they can't finish and deliver in the waning moments of a game.

 

They did not look for him yesterday

Rocket River

 

Oh, I forgot to add, it's McMing Dynasty's team

The only ones who seem to want to put down one player to bring up the other are either YOF (most of the time this is the case) or are TOF.

Neither one would win without the other, and neither one would win without the right role players around them.

Besides, both guys really like one another and each one of them gushes about the other whenever they play well (read T-MAc's post game comments about Yao and vice versa, or just look at Yao's big smile last night when McGrady started making shots and getting hot, it was like a kid at an ice cream shop).

I just don't understand why some fans insist on make this a Shaq-Kobe thing...it ain't, and it will never be no matter how much outsiders insist on it.

 

Hence the loss.

 

Not to rain on the parade, but Yao needs to consistently close out games before becoming the Man.

 

And T-Mac can not let personal things get to him like this. I honestly doubt he is the only one that has problems outside of work, especially in the NBA. Kobe had his thing going and he came out with more fire to show it wouldn't effect his game. I think T-Mac should be doing the same. Basketball should be one of his escapes yet he is making it worse by not playing like he is used to be playing. That can only make things worse with all the commentary that comes out of his bad play.

Im not trying to be insensitive at all becuase i know how things can effect you cause all of us have gone through it. But i have never before T-Mac seen a player bring it out like he has and said that's what is effecting his play.

Instead of bringing himself down he should rise up above it and fight through it. Show some passion instead a lack there of.

 

I don't care about all that, the season is over. Next season, my only concern is his health, if he can get sufficient rest and heal/improve whatever physical ailments he has, we will be alright.

Forget this season, I don't want him or Yao or anyone else to strain themselves just to try and get a playoff spot only to get crushed by the Spurs/Mavs in the first round.

 

I agree with you in those regards, i was more answering the comment towards Yao.

 

Rockets need both yao and t-mac to succeed!

But i m afraid t-mac and yao just dont equal to CHAMPIONSHIPS, both of them seems dont have 'it' that can win games after games and eventually the championships. Both of them looks like lay back kind of player. Both of them waiting for each other to lead the way.....

Both of them dont have egos to make them the real Superstar i will say. Looking at past championship teams, they all have ego guys like Kobe, Shaq, MJ, Hakeem, Bird etc., well except the spurs team which are well-coached and balanced team. Can the rockets do the same? i sure hope so.

 

Well, the difference is T-Mac has proved more than once that he's the man on this team. While Yao is in emergence and T-Mac's in a slump, Yao needs to accumulate some history as the Man to surpass T-Mac. I don't think T-Mac or Yao would have power struggles regardless of their positions, just two nice guys getting along with each other.

 

Yah, I understand.

The way I see it is this: both Yao and McGrady compliment each other's game very well.

The problem isn't our guys, once they are in the playoffs, you guys saw how both played against the Mavs last year in the playoffs. These two guys will be monsters every post-season, there are few players in the league who can match how good they can play in the playoffs.

Hakeem never won it until the right complimentary players came along...heck, he was struggling around .500 most of those years. As great as a player might be, a TEAM wins a championship, I don't care who you have.

This team will go as far as the pieces management put around both our stars. It's ALL on the management (including the coach, of course).

We took a step back with our moves this season for the most part, now we will need management to step it up and get those players we need to be a true contender.

It's not easy, but it's on management, I don't care how you break it down. The foundation is there, now it's time for them to show us something and put the finishing touches on this product.

 

With Yao on the path to dominance, at least our coach can realise the beautiful Van Gundy Dream ---inside-out basketball. The Chronicle quoted him as saying 'we didn't play the inside-out game at the end (of the philly game)'. Here it goes again!

 

I agree with almost everything you said in this thread except this statement.

No, it's not.

 

I think he will be the happiest man in the world if Yao continues to improve to that point. This guy came to Houston to win the championship. He knew he was joining another young star player who might one day overtake him to be the best player in the team. If he just wants to be the man of his team, he would have stayed in Orlando where he was the indisputable best player by far.

 

Tmac will always be the top scorer, clutch player, THE key player on the floor but I think he is lack of determination and certain leadership quality. When Yao gain enough confidence both on court and in English, he will be the leader of the team. I can see a high level of intellectual leadership in Yao. The best part is, both of them do not mind to step aside when the other one takes over.