What's up with the guy?? He's going nuts. He's in such a good rythym right now. Every time he rises up for a shot you know it's just a matter of how nice it goes in the net. Does is it swish? Hit back iron? Maybe it just kind of rolls in? He's even taking it the rack with some authority now and he's almost always money on the pass. I guess the real question is, how is he playing so well? Is it health? He's healthy and a healthy Tracy McGrady can't really be stopped when he's feeling it. I think it's his mindset. He's in the mindset of "Takeover. Lead the team." He knows there is no Yao so he needs to go back to his Orlando days and lead the team by example and by playing. If only he keeps it up. I just want to take this time and ask you to do something for me. IMAGINE IF YOU WILL how good we'll be if T-Mac decides (because we all know it's a matter of will for him) to keep playing like this when Yao gets back and rolls into shape. Should we throw it down to Yao for some iso in the post or should we have T-Mac run off the screens and rise up for a jumper? From seeing T-Mac is still able to take over games and lead the team to seeing Deke play this well from seeing Luther be a great contributor off the bench and Juwan being Mr. Consistency and Chuck Hayes never stop hustling and Shane Battier playing efficient to the max and knowing Bonzi Wells is still going to be part of his this and can come off the bench to help score...it almost makes Yao Ming's injury a blessing in disguise. Healthy T-Mac playing at this level? Role players stepping up? Yao Ming coming back??? I CAN'T WAIT.
i know im getting greedy, but i really can't wait until yao comes back, you guys remember that tear we went on after the all star break right? we're a much better team depth wise now than we've been for a while. now that bonzi's getting minutes, the 4 spot is efficient enough, and rafer's taking smarter shots we're really giving the nba a run for their money.
all the people who said tmac would never return to his old form should be eating their words. granted, we must hope that he doesn't have an injury to ruin all of this, but i knew the mac would be back. i haven't seen him play this good in ages and i wouldn't trade him for anyone. i want his children.
Instead of running an inside-out game, I think we're better off with an outside-in game.. Just my 2 cents.
T-Mac is also playing unselfish basketball. He's finding the open man which makes it hard for other teams to double him. This is the best overall B-Ball I've seen T-Mac play in a long time. If T-Mac continues to play like this and stays healthy, Yao comes back from the injury as good as ever, and Wells develops into a solid 3rd option; this team can make a run at the Finals.
i agree with you, but the inside out game sucks the defense in and opens up the shots that the rockets are most proficient at...threes. then again, the outside-in game keeps the d shifting and gets everyone more opportunities, (and it looks smoother )...so i think maybe they should mix it up, assuming that's possible. keep the bad guys guessing.
Am I the only one who's NOT surprised at the way T-mac has been playing lately? He's always slow and lethargic to start the season but picks it up along the way.
whatever happens, dont let Tmac feel like he needs to take a back seat when Yao comes back. he should have the mindset that "I am the swingman of this team and I am going to lead this team WITH THE HELP of my big guy". if Yao comes back and Tracy goes back to the "wussy OLD Tracy", it wont be cool at all.. I would like to us play more like we are doing right now when Yao comes back instead of just dumping it to Yao and waiting outside. I want to see passes! I want to see dunks, I want to see Tmac dishing out behind the back passes, I want everybody (especially Rafer) to cut to the basket instead of camping outside and waiting for Yao to do his thing. Yao shouldn't be the central force throughtout the whole game; Yao should take over when we need him, so to start the game, I want to see ball movement and some TMac plays, then when we go through one of those crazy "droughts", we can go to the big guy and he can take over games and win for us... if we keep playing @ the same level when Yao comes back without changing anything, we have the potential of riding 15 and 20 game winning streaks. I dont see a single team in the NBA that can compete with us when Yao comes back and everybody stays healthy. who would've imagined that it's gonna go the way it did when Yao went down and everybody was calling for ping pong balls.. Yao's injury agrees with Young Jeezy; it's screaming: open your eyes, I am a blessin' in disguise!!
JOHN PATTERSON I am surprised nobody mentioned him. He cured the back spasms for T-Mac and Bonzi Wells!
T-Mac is taking less 3's, going the the FT line more, and not using his passing as an excuse for poor shooting - surprise surprise, he's whooping ass, and the team is doing great. Everyone knew what needed to happen. Seems like T-Mac figured it out and I couldn't be more happy. He's hitting 44% from the field as of today, his highest in 4 or 5 years I think. Which is great, considering the trend has been DOWN every year since his MVP season.
Hmmm i think you never knew McGrady. Mcgrady always starts out slow and around January and February picks up his game to another level. Thats how he is. He never got out to a very strong start at the begining. Anyways i am happy he is healthy and knowing mcgrady he will be even better come playoff time. OHHHH CAN"T WAIT!!!!
I honestly think the REAL T-Mac the one from those peak years in Orlando the one in that Dallas series is better than Jordan was. The most gifted player ever. The problem is he's never even maintained for an entire 7 game series yet. But I am hoping now that he has the most dominant player in the league next to him in Yao, that THIS year 5 or 6 great games a series is from Mac is enough along with Yao to simply steamroll through 4 playoff series.
T-Mac is playing like the top 5 player he is. I say when he gets back we keep him as our number one option. Yao would probably be better served as the inside defender and 2nd option who would score between 20-30 a night depending on how T-mac is playing. If T-mac isnt playing well feed it to yao, if T-mac is getting doubled and tripled burn them with Yao. When we get both of them back its gonna be great. And with Juwan, Bonzi, and Deke giving Yao rest for the playoffs at Center we are gonna be fierce.
Tmac is playing the best all around basketbal of his career, right now! I have never seen him have such an all around game as the last few games. He knows when to shoot, when to pass and when to drive. Forget about top 5 if Yao comes back healthy we will have the top 2 candidates for MVP on our team. We are a witness.
