Ok, with the recent crap about Tracy not carrying the Rockets or any other team anywhere and the argument that Olajuwon did I have to say: not one player carries a team. It's a myth! Truth is, a team always has a leader which doesn't necessarily have to be the best player. In Houston it was Battier for a long time though everybody knows he wasn't the best player. He did set an example, which is what leaders do and ought to do. Most great players are also great leaders and take charge of their team. Olajuwon did that, not in the beginning though, Magic did, Bird did, MJ did and the list goes on. Tracy, wherever he went, was not a leader. He's not that type of a guy, which you cannot blame him for. Some people are born to lead, some and some aren't. The problem with Tracy is, he never really wanted to be the leader. He didn't want the responsibility. Undeniably he was the best player in Orlando and for a while he was in Houston. He lead by example by being unselfish but with the ****ty role players around him he had to take most shots. He also should want to take most shots, as did Olajuwon and all the others. Tracy wanted the ball at the end of games, came up in the clutch and did everything he could come play-off time. Now you can never fault one player, Tracy in this example, for the play-off losses in his Orlando days. He stepped up and there's only so much a man can do. If Maxwell doesn't go nuts in game 3 of the 1994 playoffs, say good bye to Rockets passing the Suns. If Thorpe doesn't do an excellent job on Barkley, say good-bye to the Rockets passing the Suns. If Cassell doesn't step up.. catch my drift ? I can make go on and on about every single series in the double clutch years. It was the team that won those series, not Olajuwon. It was the Orlando team that lost those series, not Tracy. Now what Olajuwon did in the 95 Spurs series and some other legends did in some series is exceptional, only a few have done that. Besides that series, Olajuwon played good and sometimes great. So did Tracy. Difference is, Olajuwon was the best player and lead on both ends of the court. Tracy might have given his all on offense, defense is where he lacked discipline and work ethic. He even stated himself that early in his career he felt he could be just a great defender, blocking shots and whatever. That's what he did. Then in Orlando he felt he could be a great offensive player. Maybe he didn't believe he couldn't be a great two-way player, maybe he lacked the work ethic, was satisfied with just doing part of the job or a combination of these things. Truth is also that role players no matter how bad can get better just by having one guy lead (by example). If the players see Tracy slacking on defense and just doing so-so, it will have affect on the team and players' effort. Doesn't take away the fact the role players Tracy had were terrible. Olajuwon had a great cast in Kenny (40% 3pt shooter, good defender), Maxwell (great defender, clutch shooter, great athlete who should've been an all-start at least once) Thorpe (simply a monster and all-star) and later had Drexler (still great at his age). Who did Tracy have ? It's as simple as some make it out to be and Tracy had his flaws and it's unfortunate, though I can never forgive him for not trying harder on defense. I will never blame him for the play-off losses. Yao didn't win a series until he had a rookie with the confidence of Cassell (Brooks), a good defensive SF (Artest) and the others. If you truly believe you can blame Tracy for not stepping up more, you can say the same for Yao. Since nobody can or should since it was never Yao's fault, the argument of Tracy not carrying his team is not viable. Remember that in 2008 the Rockets could've beaten Utah easily if it weren't for Rafer's injury and the terrible calls made by the refs. It would've been remarkable because no Yao meant no options at center on offense, an old ass Bobby J as back-up PG, Landy in his first year, Scola still adjusting and not used enough etc. Still it would not have been because of Tracy and the loss of the series is also not because Tracy didn't do enough.
You contradict yourself in the same post. You call it a myth and then show us it was a reality(Hakeem) in the same post.
Olajuwon was and still is the rockets.He carried the team and our entire city. Wish I could go back to early 90s, minus the colorful clothing. though, it's a shame we never got to see what artest, tmac and yao could have done. If we were New York, ESPN would do a 30/30 on that 2009 team.
You should've said "Myth of a wing player carrying a team" Centers in basketball have the unique ability to influence the game heavily on both sides of the ball. Something that generally no other position can. Certainly not someone with the build of T-Mac can. So yes, a player can carry a team. And no, T-Mac even if he was as good and dedicated as Kobe could not have carried those Rockets teams.
You can try to spin this any way you want it, but to argue against the results of his entire career is a losing cause. You can argue about his individual performances all you want, but that does not mean a damn in the face of defeat. In a world where results are everything, T-Mac has produced no relevant results his ENTIRE career. His ENTIRE career, he did not carry a single team past the first round. The only time he sniffed the 2nd round was on the bench. I would also like to mention that about 173 of his peers had voted him the most overrated player in SI. You know how you can tell when a player has truly put a city on its back and carried it and the team? The entire city and Rockets fans familiar with the history of Rockets still speak about Olajuwon in reverence and respect. T-Mac fans aside, not a single city has done this for T-Mac. For T-Mac, he has only left a trail of failures and burned bridges. It is not just Hakeem. Iverson carried his team not only past the first round but to the finals. LBJ, for one season, willed his team to the finals. I really do think Kobe would have led us to past the first round with those teams as well. Hakeem definitely would have as well.
My personal opinion is that had the Rockets been in the Eastern conference the past decade, we'd have made it to the conference finals, if not the finals in at least one year. If you believed that the Rockets would still be first round virgins with T-Mac in the much lesser conference, we can agree to disagree. But in my mind competition matters.
Yes. I have also heard of a guy called Scottie Pippen, who was the best player on a 50+ win Bulls team that might've beaten the eventual finalist Knicks in the playoffs without the refs screwing them. I have also heard of Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant. Both of whom I'd easily take over any 3rd best player the Rockets have had in the past decade.
People really under rate the 94 team. Otis thorpe was once an allstar. He played good defense,rebounded, and could score a little bit. You had sam and horry who you knew were going to be a big time clutch players. I don't think I have ever seen a team with as many clutch players as that one. Hakeem carried the team, but suppose the rockets had mo Williams instead of Sam and Tim Thomas instead of Robert Horry does that team win a title? That 94 team was pretty similar to the 2010 Mavs team. Chandler = thorpe Terry = Cassel Maxwell = JJ Barea Maxwell was a better defender and a worse scorer Kidd = Kenny smith - Not a great comparison Matrix = Horry One superstar with a bunch of role players. However no one player not jordan or hakeem is winning by himself.
MJ couldn't get deep into the playoffs till he had a hall of fame SF in Pippen, an allstar center in Grant and Charles Oakley down in the paint, he had some other good role players too.. he didnt do it by himself.
I definitely agree with you that if we were in the Eastern Conference, we would have made it deep in the playoffs, not necessarily the Finals though. The thing is, Houston is not in the EC, so it is moot point. My point is that a player's success and legacy is defined by tangible results and overall success, not individual performances, highlight reels, and scoring titles. His dunks and individual success are only meaningful to people who support him over the team he plays for. I personally do not care about how much points he puts on the board if it translates to another first round exit. T-Mac fans can call it bad luck, coincidence, or whatever the hell they want. Bottom line doesn't change; 0 2nd round contributions, burned bridges with every team he was a franchise player for, voted overrated by his peers, and a mouth that won't shut up.
Jordan made it into the 2nd round of the playoffs without Pippen and in his 4th year no less. T-Mac has never done that ONCE in his entire career. It is true that Jordan did not go farther than that until he got Pippen, but Pippen was still less than 3 years into the league and Jordan less than 5. We are talking about super young players that have already accomplished more than T-Mac at that point. Besides, way to downgrade comparisons. We are now comparing Jordan not going deeper into the playoffs without Pippen when both were very young to T-Mac not making it out of even the first round his entire career?
val_modus: MJ couldn't get deep into the playoffs till he had a hall of fame SF in Pippen chenjy9: Jordan made it into the 2nd round of the playoffs without Pippen getting out of the first round is "deep into the playoffs" now?
I have never compared getting out of the 2nd round of the playoffs as "going deep" so work on your reading comprehension please before you try to get smart with me. I am merely pointing out that Jordan made it to the 2nd round in his 4th year and without Pippen as opposed to T-Mac who has never made it out period in his entire career. I am also mocking the argument of some comparing MJ not going deep without Pippen to T-Mac not even getting out of the first round as if they were comparable failures. Again, learn to read please.
Unlike you, I address the bigger picture, namely my post you initially responded to which was comparing MJ and T-Mac postseason endeavors. I can't help it that you can only pick and write out of context things that support your argument and what your mental capacity can understand. Capish?
