I really don't know what all the fuss is over Tmac. I understand some of you think he has not done enough or that he has been passive. I agree to a point. That being said he has 231 points/ 75 rebounds/ 74 assists/ 14 steals/ and 8 blocks on the season. He has done all that all while many say he has " slowed down " One more point to remember is that Yao Ming is playing like the league MVP right now and Tmac is doing the right thing deferring to him early on in the season. Once Tmac finds his shot consistantly and with Yao Ming continueing his superstar status we will be right up there with the Spurs,Mavs and Suns. WE are 8-4 guys and 3rd in the west record wise. We will be fine. Go Rockets!!!
i loved jamesp osey when he was on the rockets.."ehh not so much now" (borat) but anyways, i like how we know tmac is awesome (hopefully all star again), and he's played well. he can go on long stretches without the ball..but of course, i don't forget about him..i hope he can find a good rhythm and so by the end of the season, he'll be able to turn it on, just dominate whenever he wants to. that would be sweet.
I think the fuss is that he isn't taking charge in games when he needs to. Notice I didn't say "take over in games", because if he's really as rusty as he claims, I don't expect him to be taking over games by himself (yet). But there are times when the offense is stagnant and Yao is getting doubled prior to the entry pass and everything goes to hell for 6 or 7 minutes. During those short stretches he needs to impose himself and get things going. That does NOT mean chucking 3's or shooting contested fadeaway jumpers. It means breaking down defenders and either scoring going to the basket (where Yao has more chance to grab offensive rebounds) or to dish to open teammates. What I'm saying is that he doesn't have to be a one man show for 40 minutes like in Orlando. But during those times when the defense is keying on Yao so much that he can't receive the ball, Tracy needs to turn on the aggression. Missing 3 pointers isn't going to make the other team stop doubling Yao.
yup agreee.. and thats what tracy lacks.. it might just be his personality.. he is just too nice too and too mellow. he needs to have that crazy im gonna kill you look and burn by you.. but he doesnt... he needs to take a few lessions from kobe. ehh oh wel we are 8-4.. hope tmac only gets better
The Rockets didn't pay T-Mac to be a 19-6-6 player. If "good" is satisfactory, then fine. But the Rockets aren't winning the championship or getting a top 3 seed with T-Mac playing like this. Most people won't admit it, but if T-Mac were playing like he was in his prime the Rockets would be everyone's pick for champ.
I totally disagree. It has been driving me crazy to hear all of these so called experts (Doug Collins, Kenny Smith, etc.) saying we can't be good unless TMac gets 30 a night. He defers to Yao too much, he's not playing up to his potential. HOGWASH! Yao is our best offensive weapon. Period. He shoots a better from the floor and from the line than Tracy. Teams have athletes on the wing that can stay in front of Tracy, pester him, body him up, and make it tough for him to score. Whereas Yao had arguably his best overall game of the season against the combo of Shaq / Mourning. And how many Defensive POY's has Zo won? 5? I would rather have TMac doing exactly what he is doing. Trying to put up Oscar Robinson type numbers every night, and ALWAYS making good decisions. I think we can all agree tha JVG knows hoops, and to hear him say that TMac is one of the best half court decision makers in the league is an endorsement of the style Tracy has been playing. Let him create for the shooters, feed Yao for 15+ shots per night, and attack when Yao is doubled OR when the offense gets in a lull. Tracy is fine. I like the new Tracy.
hmm i stil think tmac needs to be more assertive.. shaq and kobe didnt get along. but they both attached the basket and was agressive at all times.. one didnt defer to the other. that kept teams on their feet since they didnt know who to guard or double at anytime. . teams always double yao cuz tehy know we are going to him. it becomes a boring slow game .. both kobe and shaq avg around 25 ppg i believe. and thats what we need tracy to do along with yao
20-6-6 would be a great season for TMAC...and he will have health for it. Later on, with a healthy YAO and BONZI, TMAC will be playing perfectly. At this stage, he is a great playmaker more so than a great scorer.
in all the games that i've been able to watch, mac has an unhealthy complexion. he looks pale and almost has a greyish color. i think his only problem is he is not in the same shape he has been in past seasons. i believe the more games he plays, the better he will be.
the fuss is that Tracy is not the closer he used to be. he was top2 in that category. I dont need to tell u how important it is to the team do I? why do u think the rox collapse so often in Q4 this season?
20-6-6 is francis numbers not Tmac numbers. We should have traded Tmac this offseason maybe for garnett, maybe we can still do that.
BINGO. I dont know How many times I heard "That guys a nice player but 19-6 Is NOT anywhere near a max player." Why is Tmac. After watching Tmac enough times this year, I wonder if it isnt the game plan. Always pounding it into Yao. I rarely EVER see Iso (yes I hate the complete ISO game, but JVG should give him more of it) at the top of the Key. Tmac "iso's" usually are him at the top, waiting for the pick, to drive and dish. Not bad if we wanted a decent PG for the money. But seems to be an absolute waste with a talent like TMAC. I hardly ever agree with Charles Barkley, but he hit the nail on the head, that this team wasnt going anywhere without TMAC becoming superhuman again. This team can support Yao, and TMac having great seasons, and I wonder if its JVGs schemes, or TMacs frustrations at not being "the main man". But I havent seen JVG do much to clear Tmac out of his "averageness". Let Tmac be to focus on offense, more then driving and dishing. Give him stretches where Tmac is the main scoring option. Yao is a great player and all, but alot of what Yao gets feeds off of Tmac getting him the points. When we played Dallas two years ago, I thought that we had the absolute right mix of TMac and Yao. Just didnt have the warriors around them. Id like to see Tmac take over, Id like to see JVG at least acknowledge Tmac by allowing him to be more then what JVG seems to be in love with "a distributing" player. NO ONE would ever of tried to make Jordan into a distributor at his prime. Not even if Shaq, Wilt, and Kareem joined the team. Whats the deal with JVG always seeming to want to praise TMac for becoming the distributor. AND no I am not comparing Tmac to Jordan, but for pure scoring ability, its pretty close.
Tmac still has the ability to be explosive whenever he wants to be. He carried the team in the 4th Qtr esp when Yao sat briefly and he got to the lane with ease. He still has a great first step to get around most defenders when he wants to drive and finish or drive and dish. I will take 19 points and 8 assists much less (the 13 dimes) he had tonight. He's still the man on the court and JVG asked him to step up more in the 4th and not settle for the jumpers. It looks like he took that to heart and kept the team aggressive in the crunch time.
But T-Mac himself said the only way they can go far is by riding Yao Ming. And he also said that he doesn't care about percentages or PPG as long as the team is winning. It's his belief already.
sorry, but you (and espn) really ought to watch games more often. they tell you a lot more than stats do.
Don't worry about the playoffs, there are fewer than a couple of players who put up better numbers in the playoffs than McGrady has over his career. However, he doesn't need to go 'all out' every season game on offense for the Rockets to make the playoffs, and he SHOULD be concerned with 'pacing' himself through the season, as should Yao, otherwise they will be worn out later on. 20-6-6 are great numbers as long as the team keeps winning and he does it efficiently. He's pretty much our floor general, he's the guy who pretty much runs our entire offense and makes decisions with the ball, so his value goes FAR beyond his scoring ability; anyone who can't see that either doesn't watch many games or is an uneducated basketball fan whose knowledge of the game is limited to how many points his guy scored. Our system is entirely predicated on having a guy with McGrady's decision-making abilities. He anchors the offense, everyone else feeds off his passing or the attention he and Yao command.
