http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4433980.html Dec. 29, 2006, 10:26PM McGrady, Rockets cruise past Hawks By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Jeff Van Gundy, who is all about the fun, wasn't worried about Tracy McGrady's shooting touch or sloppiness with the ball. Van Gundy wanted to revive the joy. He wanted McGrady to smile, or at least grin. He wanted him happy. The rest, he assumed, would come. Then McGrady, as if Van Gundy's decree had been in the game plan, rolled with more zeal, more flair and even more fun, scoring 31 points in his 28 minutes sending the Rockets soaring to a 94-68 win over the Atlanta Hawks before 18,134 Friday at Toyota Center. The Rockets now have not lost to the Hawks in Houston in eight years. And Van Gundy got more than enough of the "Mac-ness" monster to get just what he wanted. "The main thing for him that I want him to have a joy about his job and not really get wrapped up in is he as good as the old Mac and where does he rank in Mac-ness," Van Gundy said. "Just enjoy the opportunity to play with great guys on a team that so much respects his game. We know what he's going through. I think sometimes his honest self-evaluation can sap his joy and passion. I know it's a challenge because he's been through it and it's like a broken record for him. "To try to be a competitive athlete and put in all the work he's put in, I feel for what he's been through. I don't think he needs to compare himself to what he was or what he thinks he was or what he thinks he is now. I know we'll have a lot better chance to win when he's out there attacking and playing and playing with a joy and passion." McGrady practically skipped through a 26-point first half. He hit left-handed reverses, threw down an over-the-head slam and drained three 3-pointers. He cut to the rim in a blur of a dash, taking Luther Head's pass to flash of a finish, whipped a bullet inside to Chuck Hayes and pump-faked Joe Johnson almost off the court before looking around a while and then nailing a 3 that built the Rockets largest lead of the half, 40-21, with four minutes left in the half. In case Van Gundy was still worried about McGrady's mood, McGrady looked particularly pleased with that one. The Rockets did not quite take the game to laugher that early. The Hawks cut the lead to 46-32 at halftime, close enough after a 38.2 percent shooting half to have outscored McGrady by six and still have a chance. They did not make much of that chance, taking 3½ minutes to score, 4½ to make a shot. By then, McGrady hit his first 3-pointer of the second half and a jumper, Battier knocked down a 3 and the Rockets had pushed their lead to 22. But a few minutes later, McGrady took off on a drive only to have rookie forward Solomon Jones chop down hard on the Rockets star's left thumb, looking very much like the Jerome James slap that broke Kirk Snyder's wrist or the move that martial artists use to break cinder blocks. McGrady missed two free throws badly, then left the game with 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting, in 28 minutes. He did not return, but the Rockets said he stayed out only because of the lopsided score. It got out of hand because when he went out, the most veteran Rockets took over, dominating the NBA's youngest team. Dikembe Mutombo, 40, had more rebounds in the third quarter (11) than he previously had in any game this season, 10. He finished with a season-high 14 in just 22 minutes. Juwan Howard, 33, scored 11 points of his season-high 17 points in the third quarter, while getting six of his season-high 13 rebounds. The Rockets outscored the Hawks 13-3 to roll into the fourth quarter with a 75-46 lead, and still led by 25 when they cleared the bench with 3:54 left. But the Rockets had set course on a rout with how they started. And that might have begun when McGrady went out and enjoyed himself. "I just want him, the player, to have the joy of playing," Van Gundy said. He did, and he spread it around.
If Van Gundy would do more person-coaching like he did here, and balanced out keeping his players spirits high and joy for the game with the gameplan, he really could go to the next level. I know just about all the players respect him for the work he puts in, but I think everyone would play a little better from time to time if he just let them relax a bit.
JVG is right. Tmac needs to forget what the media and people around the league are saying about him. Just focus on the game and play basketball. I think everyone uderstands that he's battling through pain right now, and I respect that, but his focus should on the task at hand. Forget the drama and just focus on out-thinking and out-playing your opponent. Lace up the sneakers and go to work. Easier said than done I guess, but this ATL game was a step in the right direction. It's obvious that Tmac is healthy enough and still talented enough to make a major impact on games so there are no more excuses...
This is the complete article with quotes from Tmac, Shane, Deke and Jizzy Van Gizzi who says Tmac was "ballin'" LMAO Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, who is all about the fun, wasn't worried about Tracy McGrady's shooting touch or sloppiness with the ball. Van Gundy wanted to revive the joy. He wanted McGrady to smile, or at least grin. He wanted him happy. Everything else, he assumed, would come. Then McGrady, as if Van Gundy's decree had been in the game plan, soared with more zeal, more flair and even more fun, scoring 31 often-spectacular points in his 28 minutes to help send the Rockets rolling to a 94-68 rout of the Atlanta Hawks before 18,134 Friday night at Toyota Center. "I'm approaching every game (to) play with a great deal of passion and enjoy it," McGrady said. "I'm just enjoying the moments. For the first time, I was actually out there playing with a peace of mind and not worrying about anything going wrong. I was out there having fun, enjoying the moment and we were playing great." McGrady brought the fun to give Van Gundy the "Mac-Ness" monster he wanted; veterans Juwan Howard and Dikembe Mutombo, dominating the league's youngest team, played with equally contagious fire. "We played with a good level of passion, and the guys played pretty darn hard," Van Gundy said. "They played with great passion." And when McGrady went out 6:37 into the second half when he took a hard hit to his left thumb, the most veteran Rockets took over. Mutombo, 40, had more rebounds in the third quarter, 11, than he had in any game this season, 10. He finished with a season-high 14 in just 22 minutes. "He was big tonight," McGrady said. "He's playing great defense, blocking shots, rebounding the ball like he's 20 again." Howard, 33, scored 11 of his season-high 17 points in the third quarter, while getting six of his season-high 13 rebounds, and three of his season-high five assists. "It was a Fab Five flashback night," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "He was great. He provides so much veteran leadership for this team. It was great to see him have a night like tonight." Age was made irrelevant, though, as Mutombo said, "He's old, and I've been old." But that looked like a good thing against the young Hawks, who made just 34.7 percent of their shots, missing all 11 3-pointers in their lowest-scoring game of the season. McGrady seemed joyous in his recovery, and unstoppable. He practically skipped through a 26-point first half. He hit lefthanded reverses, threw down an over-the-head slam and drained three 3-pointers. He cut to the rim in a blur, taking a Luther Head pass to a flash of a finish, whipped a bullet inside to Chuck Hayes and pump-faked Joe Johnson almost off the court before then nailing a trey that built the Rockets' largest lead of the first half, 40-21. "I like that he was just ballin'," Van Gundy said. "I just want him to play. He attacked the basket, let it fly and it looked great. So I hope he feels that joy and realizes how valuable he is." He did, and he spread it around.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE im so happy mac is back and to the rACk and hes fresh like crack. wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. lol van gundy said he was ballin'
that "pump-faked Joe Johnson almost off the court" followed by a step back 3 i just saw on nba tv highlight is sexy
did van gundy say ballin'? nice. a lot of love from jvg in this article of course he won't get credit for any of it next time someone says he's too harsh.
You know when JVG is saying things like "ballin'' and "Mac-ness" it's been a good day for the Rockets.
I really like the way JVG is monitoring T-mac mental state, and consistently reminds tracy of how good he is. I remember a Doc Rivers interview on Quite Frankly (steven a smith), where Doc said as soon as he found out of McGradys back condition, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was done. thats not an exact quote btw, but something along those lines...
He saw his back in practice and saw the curve of hi spine and told him "you're going to have back problems" in your career.I believe he knew because he had back problems as well. He never said he'd be done.
You got that right. But I think part of what made Tmac great in Orlando was 'cause of Doc as well. He's one of the best players' coaches out there and he can really motivate a team to overachieve. That was when we saw the dominant Tmac his first few years there. But of course, lack of talent will always catch up to you in this league, and we saw that with Tmac's last season in Orlando, having come off a sour playoff loss. That was when Rivers' act got thin imo.
Just adding on something I missed earlier. I think if JVG can be 2/3 the motivator that Doc Rivers is, then I guess we'll pretty much see a motivated and aggressive Tmac every night.
