http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5444539/ Rockets not yet set for blastoff McGrady must adapt game, roster holes need filling By Matt Guokas NBCSports.com contributor Updated: 7:31 p.m. ET July 15, 2004 It's too soon to say the Rockets with Yao Ming and offseason addition Tracy McGrady are a better team than last season when they made the playoffs, but lost to the Lakers in a five-game, first-round series. Yes, Houston now has a 1-2 punch that is the envy of the rest of the league, but the team still has holes to fill and McGrady has questions to answer. Need for a new approach McGrady will have to show he's willing to change his game. Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy wants his team to play at a slower pace to keep Yao very involved in the offense. Houston is a defensive-orientated team that seeks to control the tempo. The key is for McGrady not to take too many outside shots, especially quick ones, something he did in Orlando, where it became accepted. McGrady is used to playing the way he wants to play and he really doesn't have a good understanding of the game. A lot of players are of that mindset, so Van Gundy's biggest challenge is getting McGrady to learn to play in the fashion that will help Yao and the Rockets achieve the most success. He has to get McGrady to buy into that. All eyes will be on the dynamics of the McGrady-Van Gundy relationship. Will both player and coach make adjustments to figure out how they can best operate together? And if McGrady doesn't come around quickly to a new way of doing things, what will be the level of Van Gundy's patience with the two-time scoring champion? The center of attention Houston is looking for Yao to punish the interior front lines of opposing teams. To make the All-Star center effective at this, the Rockets will need to balance his threat down low with consistent scoring from the perimeter. McGrady is a good perimeter shooter and also a solid threat to drain three-pointers. Expect Van Gundy to impress upon McGrady that while it's worth taking a quick outside shot on occasions when a good opportunity presents itself, the emphasis will be on getting the ball inside to Yao first and letting the 7-foot-5 center see if he can take advantage of defenders in the paint. If the ball comes back out, McGrady can be expected to do his thing, especially if the shot clock is winding down. With Van Gundy's aim of dictating the tempo of games, will McGrady get to launch 20 to 25 shots a game? Probably not. By slowing the games down, there will be less opportunities for McGrady to have big-scoring efforts. He must prove he's fine with the different sort of demands that will be placed upon his game in Houston. If he is, we'll see a different Tracy McGrady than we have in the past in Orlando. A call to defend McGrady's body language is so lethargic at times that it seems like he is lazy and not giving a full effort all the time. People that were around him during his time with the Magic say that's not the case at all and that McGrady will do as much as he is asked to do. If it's demanded he ratchet up his efforts on defense, he'll respond. In the past, McGrady has not played good defense, but he is capable of it -- maybe not for an entire game, but certainly for solid stretches. He's a good off-the-ball defender as far as coming over and blocking shots and anticipating steals, but after a while in Orlando he showed little of this kind of play. Part of the reason for that was his health as a bad knee and bad back forced him to save his energy for the offensive end where he was needed to constantly put up shots. In Houston, McGrady's in a totally different atmosphere with a totally different philosophy -- one which will require him to play much better individual and team defense. Help wanted The Rockets still have holes to fill if they expect to compete with the best teams in their conference and in the league. The deal for McGrady also brought them forward Juwan Howard and guards Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines, but it cost them Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. Among Houston's needs is a point guard, but that's not as big a need as it would be for most teams because McGrady handles the ball so much. The one name mentioned a lot when it comes to the Rockets filling that need is Derek Fisher, an unrestricted free agent after playing eight seasons with the Lakers. Fisher is probably the best fit for Houston because he is an adequate pseudo point guard. He doesn't really handle the ball as much or create as many plays as other point guards, but he is a good defender, an excellent locker room guy and a leader. Even though he didn't shoot the ball well last season, Fisher is a threat to hit shots from the weak side in a spot-up position -- forcing opposing defenses to honor his outside shooting ability. As talented as McGrady and Yao are, they'll still need one or two shooters out on the court with them. That will lessen the chances of opposing teams going to a zone against McGrady -- something he does not like to face. Mobley was a three-point threat, a competitive guy who could go out and score 15 points a game, while Francis can easily average 20 points a contest. Also sought is a backup center or power forward. Juwan Howard, if he gets his touches, will give the Rockets consistent scoring and rebounding, but he is not as good a fit for Houston as was Cato, who could take some of the physical demands off Yao by banging around the paint and hitting the boards. High hopes, huge dollars McGrady has three seasons remaining on his contract, but he holds an option to end the pact after next season. Clearly, after joining Houston, neither he nor the Rockets are thinking that will happen. McGrady is being counted on to lift this franchise to great heights, but that's no slam dunk. He has his work cut out for him, and part of that is changing his game to mesh with his new team. After a tough go of it last season in Orlando, he's come to Houston seeking to play well and get the Rockets deep into the playoffs. If he does that, he'll have the Rockets asking for his signature on a contract extension -- if they don't so well before then. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It looks like the author was a little late on the Fisher thing.
I don't understand why people keep saying that. To me it seems like Tracy already understands this, which is why he wanted to play with the Rockets. (a dominate big man or did he just say big man or was it just Yao or all of the above?)
I thought a good understanding of the game was one of the things that made him special at this young an age... ?
I think it's safe to say Matt Guokas is a big Houston Rocket fan . It seems he has written as many Houston Rocket articles, during the offseason, as Jonathan Feigan has.
The thing about Rox fans is that most are blinded by T-Mac. Yes we got one of the best talents in the league that could possibly be one of the best players for years to come. Most fans are so excited about this that they feel everything else will work out. Fans on here have been wanting the "Big Slplash" for 2 years now and finally got it so they are in extacy. When the season actually starts and things don't go as they thought, the exact same hate and criticism will arise again only this time the lesser players like Nachbar, Jim Jackson, and other will get the blame. I really hope we can at least make it to the second round, and then take the next step to the conference finals the following year. We shouldn't expect the Rockets to win the title next season as many really blindly feel we will. It would be GREAT!!! but not realistic.
Well , I didn't expect the Detriot Pistons to win the title last season at this time. Who are you to say it is not realistic to win the title this season ?
i predict the level of van gundy's patience will be directly proportional to the amount of money tmac will be bringing in for les and inversely proportional to how much tmac approves of jvg's coaching.
Selling jerseys doesnt make the rox any money directly...the net sale of all NBA jerseys is split among all NBA teams(this doesnt count for team shops).....TICKETS MAKE LES MONEY!!!
van gundy should change up his offense to suit tmac and yao's game. If he doesn't change the offense to people's strengths gonan be a long season
well said, oniichan. People always talk about how Yao, T-mac should adapt to Van Gunday's system, and how come i dont hear people talking about what Van Gundy should do to make better use of Yao, or T-mac's strength?
I can seriously say and admit that I may have been blinded to a certain degree with Tracy McGrady coming to Houston. It's just that we have Yao and Tmac in Houston....Yao and Tmac!!! But as you have said, it is not going to be an easy transition. Houston will have some struggles whether it is initially or in the middle of the season but we have to stay behind Houston and pull through it. I don't expect Houston to win the championship next season but I fully believe there is a 75% chance we will make it to the 2nd round of the playoffs. Lol, you explained it perfectly, excellent post!!
To be more specific, Francis as first was hesitant to change his game and heed to JVG's instruction, then later on went on to TRY and change his game into something he wasn't capable of. Hence why he was shipped out , he'll be able to return to the ways that made him successful and we'll be able to be consistent. T-mac however, has made clear from day one that he'll let JVG lead. Which isn't at all hard to believe or doubt until proven different, since what JVG likes from his players, T-mac already possess and then some.
Indeed it was and is. I don't understand some of the doubts and questions concerning T-mac. The only valid one is his back. Whatever happened to that post of Macbeth's? Was a right on the money description of T-mac the player.
On another note Hmm, do you think you should take Brent Barry out of your sig, since he is signing with San Antonio and all.
