There is absolutely no doubt that we are not going far without Tmac on the court. I think it will be prudent to save the best for the playoff and limit his minutes to 25 Per game and perhaps even consider less if we do exceedingly well in game. Yao is doing great but we still need Tmac on the court. This back stuff is not going to go away for the remaining part of the career- no wonder Tmac talks of retiring at the end of the contract.
I agree we need to limit his minutes a bit, but only when it's necessary. In those tight games, we need him on the floor (even as a decoy) so that teams don't double or triple Yao and force the Rockets to shoot jumpshots all night. I think the best thing for the Rockets to do is play TMac around 27-30 a game to preserve his back while still giving him enough time to help the team out.
Yeah I hate to say it but I wonder if Tmac will ever be healthy enough for a 100-game season. Maybe we should trade him?
he wont be! if you cant jump up to contest a jump shot, you cant endure playoff basketball.....thats if he makes it through the 60+ games before that
honestly, I already think TMac has been limiting his minutes all season. That is, limiting his minutes when he does athletic things like stretching out to get a hand in Arenas's face...sigh. I didn't want to believe the talk about something being wrong with TMac, but it appears there was. sigh
I personally don't think you should limit his minutes. The risk of injury to his back is not related to minutes he plays unless you want to say the less he plays, the less likely he is to strain it. And if that's the case, why even play him at all then?
If you have followed Tmac throughout his career, you would know that he has these types of injuries ALL the time. If the injury is not serious, meaning that he would only miss a few games, then im ok with it. however, if the injury is anything like last year, Id be really concern. So lets all hope that injury is just "normal."
Last season when TMac was out due to his back, many die-hard TMac fans stated that a 70-80% TMac is good enough for the Rockets. I remember I questioned what it meant by 70-80%. Does it means he 1) plays (nearly) 100% of the games at 70-80% level, or 2) plays 70-80% of the games at (nearly) 100% level? And which is more beneficial to the Rockets? Nobody had answer to that question. Well, it seems that in this season, we first experienced 1) and now are facing 2). Clearly it's a double wammy. Not looking good.
Won't help. If he is that fragile. He needs to step up in the plaoffs. Even if he is injured he can still get the ball to YaO AND demand attention.
You can't just limit his minutes. Backs don't work that way. Take it from someone who has had the same problem for years. You honestly have no idea when they will flare up and it often isn't based on a strenuous activity. Guys throw their backs out sneezing, stretching, rolling over in bed...you name it. Lack of activity AFTER the injury helps. But, in reality, there isn't anything you can do to prevent the injury from flaring up other than stay in shape and keep it well stretched. The injury T-Mac had last year was something that happened in practice early in the season. He had been resting all offseason and hadn't done anything strenuous at all. He just stretched funny on a dunk attempt and his back went into spasm. Limiting his minutes won't prevent another injury. Backs just don't work that way.
gee, all these people on tmac's back, saying he should be more aggressive, drive every possession, dunk more, etc etc... and now his back's ****ed up again...
Just when he was back at full force, he pulls a back muscle. can u play in the nba with a back brace?
T-Mac needs to be honest about his back. He spent the whole offseason stating that his back was fine and that last yr all the emotional/personal problems he had "weighed-down" his back and that all the back problems are behind him. I think he is in denial. He needs to accept his situation and find the treatment and playing style that can best help him play and help his team win. The denial was evident again as he said that he came down on Gilbert's foot. I dvr'd the game and ck it over and over and he did not land on a foot. I understand he is trying to be optimistic, but he has to also be realistic and help the trainers help him w/out bein in denial. Maybe he needs surgery? He said he would retire b4 having surgery but.....maybe he needs to have some lumbar vertebrae fused or something.. Rant and ramble over. I hope tmac comes back and stays back for the rest of the season
