Kenny Smith and Barkley say Rockets are not better without TMac

Cosigned.

 

unfortunantly...when we get to the playoffs...we will miss tmac.

not to say that what we are doing isn"t great. but at that level we will need him.

 

We can make all kinds of argument about better or worse with TMac, people made the same argument about Yao last year during the 22-win run, ultimately, it's how we'll do in the playoff.

 

Yao was actually playing like a beast before he went down though, and we were still on a streak with Yao and Tmac.

This is different...this streak was started completely without Tmac.

 

If we agree that the best comparison is the most contemporary comparison around his departure (with TMac, it is an even better comparison because he was in and out of the lineup).

Last Year, from Jan 1, 2008

Rockets with Yao 24 games, 21 wins = 87.5%
Rockets without Yao, 26 games, 19 wins = 73.1%

Anyone who says the Rockets were better without Yao last year is simply wrong.

I'm not going to run through the comparison this year and TMac because it has be rehashed over and over again. I'll only say that the difference is HUGE and that TMac made the Rockets worse. It is evident to any who watched the Rockets play objectively; it is obvious statistically.

I agree that team success is determined in the playoffs. Let's see how this team does ... I feel much better about this team than any team in the last number of year.

 

TNT should pay me for my opinions:

1. i promise you i'm funnier than kenny smith

2. i avoid jail

3. they can pay me less to be just as wrong as these guys.

 

BTW, I just watched the TNT pregame and postgame shows.

Kenny and Chuck said in the pregame:

#1 Artest and Battier cannot stop LeBron (superstars can't be stopped, blah blah blah).
#2 The Rockets are better with TMac
#3 The Rockets are better with Alston than Brooks

At least they proven wrong about point #1 immediately. Point #2 is obviously wrong for anyone who has followed the Rockets. Point #3 is probably the most debatable, but the record with AB as the starter is a pretty amazing 9-1.

 

I am afraid the team would falling apart soon if T-mac comes back at the moment, even though hes 75% healthy. His attitude and inappropriate words hurt and kill the chemistry of the team. There is no lack of precedents in this kind of solution: the superstar out because of injury but the rest team still walk together and cooperate well, then an internal conflict break out while the man come back. Look at the story between Chris Webber & Sacramento Kings, Carlos Boozer & Utah Jazz, you will find it.

 

What we are missing is that $22 million to spend on a player who would contribute. The Rockets essentially have a $22 million lower salary cap that other teams in the league.

 

healthy tmac? obviously. slackermac? riiiiight. i still think we can do some damage in the playoffs. we've already shown we can hang with the top teams and as we gain more chemistry, i have no doubt there will be some fear of the underdogs.

 

McGrady is superfluous unless he's super'McGrady playing on a team that doesn't have anyone else. He's too inefficient on offense shooting, doesn't shoot very well at the line (recently doesn't even get to the line), needs the ball in his hands to run His Offense, and is lackluster on Defense; all of which doesn't make his team ultimately better. He's a one-man show, and that can only take you so far in this league. A scoring title and scoring how many points in few seconds vs. the Spurs in a regular sesaon game can ruin a player and go to his head to where he thinks he's supernatural and "it's on" him. On paper the Rockets are better with Tmac. But in reality, the opposite is true. Give us some players whose salaries add up to $20 million in his place.

 

In this game of BBal, good chemistry trumps conventional wisdom. Let's see how the rest of the season goes.

 

I was thinking last year that Yao is more valuable to the team in the playoffs than Tmac. More double teams for Yao in a better position for others to score. With Tmac, you live or die by his efficiency and decision-making. I had no illusions that the team could make it past the first round without him.

 

Isnt that Hardaway? I thought that was from the closing seconds of regulation from the first game of the 1995 finals?

 

Yeah it is... part of tinny's schtick is pointing out the flash-in-the-pan nature of both their careers.

 

have the TNT guys EVER been right about anything?

 

Kenny and Chuck always overate veteran players.

Sometimes the new guys are just better......

Defending Rafer....Robert Reid...PUHLLEEAASSEE !

DD

 

Honestly I don't think Artest and Battier truly "contained" Lebron James. The rest of the Rockets held their own against the other players but the man still had 21 points. Yes the Rockets are not better than a fired up and healthy TMac. Sad to say but a Healthy TMac would still be the best player on our roster. I think Adleman is just not a good coach for a guy like the Mac. He needs a guy like Phil J or Pat Riley or JVG to push him and shove into him the mentality he needs for every game and practice. We tend to mock and laugh at the criticism from Kenny Smith and Barkley because we love and believe in our team but at the end of it all we have yet to prove to them other wise. If we make it past the first round then we can start talking....

 

I have said this many times, those two are not smart when it comes to the analysis of the basketball, but some ppl still want to have them on the TV, then it is OK, just do not believe what they said, then every thing is not a big deal.

 

I do not believe this team is better with Tmac and i am going to tell you why:

First of all, Tmac is not the same player
Second, he's very inconsistent and ....
Third, he took shots away from Yao who is very efficient
Fourth, he destroyed team chemistry with his bulk of shooting and his prone

If you look at his shooting percentage ....it's terrible. So why would you want him to continue shooting the ball at a terrible rate?? Oh because he's a SUPERSTAR...yea ok...no he's KILLING the team with the bulk of shooting. That is why when he's ON, the team is doing ok, but when he's not ON?? Yea the team had to back to Yao to try to pick up his slack. But why would you let him shoot continuously when he's been inconsistent?? Oh yea because he's a STAR....well not anymore.

Not to mention he's terrible on defense. And his determination is lacking. He destroyed team chemistry with the bulk of shots...because nobody is getting a lot of touches. I mean just look at the recent games, you wonder why the ball has been moving around so smoothly without Tmac?? Everybody is passing the ball around and the offense is constantly in motion. But when you put Tmac in there...everything freeze and reduce to watching him ...there is no chemistry. Without Tmac, you see everyone running moving screening and even backdoor passes, when the hell did you ever see that with Tmac in there??

And without Tmac, team defense get a major boost with the combination of Shane and Artest.

So imo, this team is better off trading Tmac or wait until his contract is up and use his money to look for another superstar that work within the offense. Perhaps a couple of decent players (not necessarily have to be star players) to come off the bench to provide offensive spark when Yao sit.