Yeah, they had lots of problems. They only won three championships together. Hell, if those are our problems, I'll take them every day of the week and twice on Sunday's. Shaq and Kobe's problems weren't with meshing their games together. Their problems had to do with their gigantic egos. On the floor, they played tremendously well together - so well, in fact, that they basically dominated the league for 5 seasons. And for those who would annoint this team a "dynasty" before it even plays a regular season game, that's insane. No one knows what is going to happen, so that is as foolish as saying they are going to fall on their collective faces.
Couldn't have said it better myself! Thread starter is just another bitter SOF who can't let it go. You should be happy now that he's gone, since he won't "suffer" anymore in houston......well his win total will thogh.
Yes Kobe and Shaq were able to dominate for a number of years...you make a good point. Frankly, Yao can't dominate like Shaq can, and McGrady is probably on par with Kobe. As somebody already mentioned, the egos came into play and caused the Laker's destruction. Now I'm not saying McGrady's ego is on par with Kobe's, but it's going to be difficult to go from being a scoring champion to playing defense and deferring the ball to another player. McGrady is saying all the right things but it doesn't mean he believes all of it. You think when Kobe says to the media that he wishes Shaq well he really means it? Come on don't believe everything you hear...you're smarter than that! AT least I hope... Drexler was never a scoring champion...and Drexler played college ball with Hakeem so transitioning is easier when the relationship already exists. McGrady will have to reinvent his game with Yao ON THE FLOOR because he's never had an experience of a solid big man in Orlando or Toronto. Much to the chagrin of some of the posters, even though I have a sentimental attachment to Francis, I believe we ARE better off with McGrady over our former guards. I don't understand how you try to advance your argument through trivial responses such as those. One last time - McGrady and Yao together on the court will cause McGrady to radically change his game. Can McGrady still shine like he used to with the presence of a big man...I have doubts. I think based on past experience he thrives when he can isolate and run with the ball...this will not occur when Yao is on the floor. McGrady is not known for having excellent set shooting skills a la Horry or Elie. Can this be good enough to beat the Spurs and T-Wolves? I hope so...
vikask, your adaptation of talent is looking at the surface....I really think you are infatuated by 29ppg. Yes, we all know that McGrady will have to change his game. "Shine" to YOU means, him going ISO for most of the game, scoring 29ppg, passing now and again...and trying to put the team on his shoulders. Well, "shine" to me means, McGrady, Yao, Howard, JJ, Ward playing as a SINGLE UNIT. A team. Yao setting picks for McGrady and JJ. Howard been spotted by Ward for a under the basket pass off a screen from Yao. A catch and shoot from a Howard screen. A fast-break started by Yao passing to Lue and McGrady. A double-teamed Yao passing to Howard for an open 15ft shot... All you are talking about is "thriving" as an "INDIVIDUAL" player. That does NOT BRING WINS! So, you can forget about trying to turn the word, "shine" or "thrive" into something that we want. We want TEAM UNITY. We want WINS! As far as Horry and Elie. Those guys were mainly spot-up shooters. If there's anything that McGrady CAN DO is sit on the 3 pt line and hit the 3pter. That's easy for McGrady. But he's going to be kinda busy operating within the offense. We can get other players to spot-up (sharp shooters, or get some free-agents). They are easier to find that a player like McGrady. Kobe and McGrady are different. Kobe resented Shaq. Even in his interviews he was holding back. Kobe's goal was always to "be like Mike." McGrady doesn't care about his stats anymore. Not after going through what he did in Orlando. You can tell by the way that McGrady pushed to come to the Rockets, knowing that he would have to defer a bit to Yao. You can tell that he's sincere. We've had numerous threads about what we predict McGrady will average this year. Myself, I think he'll get around 24/7/6. That's "shining" and "thriving" when we are WINNING as a TEAM! So, McGrady "reinventing his game?" Sure, for the better. And I believe he can do it if he wants to win!
DavidS I respect your point...it makes sense and I hope McGrady defines "shining" as you define it. My fear is becoming another Dallas where defining the go-to guy becomes an issue for the coach and for the players. Regardless of what people say and what McGrady says in interviews, I still think it will be a huge challenge for McGrady to defer and fit into a completely different system that emphasizes defense and half-court sets. I hope it works and I'm on his side...I just wonder how good our chances are of getting into the finals and winning a championship.
I can see t-mac going ISO a few times a game, or when the shot clock is going down. We haven't seen the game time t-mac yet, we have seen glimpses of him, but I and many others can just tell he's going through the motions letting others try to earn their spot on the team and just get a feel for how the team plays. When it counts you will see the t-mac of old with the Yao of new. T-mac now has more options in times of difficulty. He can now drive to the hoop with confidence knowing that he has a 7'6" target in case of emergency. He now can have the space for an open J or 3 while the defense is hesitant to double because of yao getting good post position. I don't think t-mac will suffer in his game like francis had to either. Francis had to be a creater instead of a scorer. T-mac is still going to be a scorer and creater, just like what he has been his whole career. T-mac will have a very good season, even if he averages less ppg i'm betting his FG% 3pt% will be higher than before and that is what should count more now that we have another player able to make 20+ppg. If you look at the games of t-mac in orlando you will see that he hasn't done things much differently than what ive seen in the preseason, except that he now has that extra option of Yao to make the pass to. You see all the t-mac highlights? what about the plays that didn't go down because he couldn't escape the play due to sorry teamates to go to in time of need. T-mac and Yao will be great, just watch t-mac closely all game and you will see him look at yao so much like he has a crush on him. He wants to get yao involved and can do it without sacrificing his game.
MrRolo, Your above quote needs to be repeated... It's important recognize that all teams *need* a go-to-guy. We have two. But one that can go ISO, if need be, when the shot clock is going down, or we need a last second buzzer beater. That's what super-duper-stars do. They have the physical ability to beat their defenders on shear speed and quickness just to get that OPEN shot OR that OPEN PASS for the OPEN SHOT. About Francis. Yes, he was needed to be a creater then a scorer. Statistically, Francis prefered to be a scorer first, then a creator second. But when JVG tried to get him to play the team game, his game SUFFERED. I mean, really suffered. Why? Because Francis knows only HOW to be a SHOOTING GUARD. He's NOT good at passing without high-turnovers. McGrady, on the other hand has teammates (Ward and Lue) that do the creative passing for him (and keep their turnovers down) while McGrady can do the SHOOTING GUARD things and do creative passing as a secondary role. The benefit of McGrady, like Drexler, is that he can CREATIVELY PASS without high-turnovers. McGrady is good at what he does. A shooting guard first, creative passer second. Francis was not very good at shooting guard things (an undersized SG), and even worse at point guard things.
