Watching Tracy McGrady reminds me of that Monty Python sketch about the parrot. He's not a quitter; he's a rester. He takes it easy for as long as he thinks he can get away with it. Symptoms: 1. Often stands at the top of the key dribbling, betting that he can juke his man at the last moment and put in a long 3. 2. Often stands inert on the perimeter during the occasional offensive or defensive possession, essentially taking a mini-vacation. 3. Relaxes his game when he's comfortable with a lead (see: frequent 4th quarter collapses). 4. Same problem with whole-game performances. Raises his game when he thinks he needs to (e.g. 04-05 Games 1 and 2 in Dallas), but avoids working that hard if he's confident of victory (e.g. this whole series). 5. Played tremendously when Yao was out, then relaxed when Yao returned. 6. Avoids going to the rim, even in playoffs, conserving his back for some undefined professional future. 7. Almost never seriously chastises himself in postgame comments after sucking. Says he's confident and will just keep at it. Constantly alludes to his own gifts. 8. Has a habit of getting 2-game leads in series and then blowing them. 9. That play before halftime -- hey, it's only halftime. We've got plenty of time to come back and win it, just like we did in Games 1 and 2 ... right? Conclusions: 1. The problem is not that he won't play hard, raise his tempo, go to the rim, etc., when he thinks the game or the season is on the line. He'll do that. He's proven it time and again. 2. The problem is that, like the ant that lost to the grasshopper, he relaxes too long. He underestimates the opponent and overestimates his ability to recover. It's possible that subconsciously he even prefers the drama of performing at his peak with the game on the line to the boring work of performing at his peak with a 15-point lead. I don't think it's an accident that in each of his 2 playoff series with us so far, he has lost the 3rd and 4th games after winning the 1st and 2nd. And this time, I think he's been slacking the whole series. I think he's counting on his magnificent talents to pull it out at the end. But he has really, really bad judgment about when he needs to turn it on, and how high. I'm not afraid he won't raise his game in this series. He will. I'm just afraid that by the time he does, he won't have left enough margin for error. And guess what, Tracy? If you lose a 7-game series, you really are the worse team. Nobody cares whether you sucked or coasted. Now get in there and fight like there's no tomorrow.
Sounds exactly like what got the Heat swept. I don't think we're done or its too late, but we're obviously in a must-win situation thanks to that shameful pair of away games. The city and fans deserve an apology. Evan
Brilliant post Will. Totally agree...... "He underestimates the opponent and overestimates his ability to recover." "really bad judgment about when he needs to turn it on, and how high. I'm not afraid he won't raise his game in this series. He will. I'm just afraid that by the time he does, he won't have left enough margin for error." I also want to add, we see Tmac scrowl and growl when he is making a big play in a key moment of the game, a "positive play." Well, I want to see that same scowl and growl even when things ARENT going right. When the chips are down. Too often he looks disappointed. It is a look of someone giving up instead of someone saying F' that and fight to the very last minute. The players look to him and he has to lead with that outward appearence.
This goes back to my post I made FRI: TMac is not 100%. Watch, it'll come out after the playoffs are over. He's JUST NOT ATTACKING the basket (enough). He did 2-3x in G4, we need 10-15x!!
My thinking is that UTAH is a tough place to play just like Denver. Houston is at Sea Level and UTAH is up at elevation. I know it's tough cause I used to travel and tried to go running in both locations. You are winded after running half a mile. Wait till we get back to our house and take care of biz.
I know this sounds bad but Drexler was closer to Jordan than TMac is to Kobe Rocket River How about that for controversy [Drexler was the second best 2 guard most of Jordans Career alot of people did not notice just how good he and terry porter were because were they player and that guy in chicago]
Totally on point. I like 3 + 4, basically sum up our horrrible losses and embarassing collapses. And 7 is so true, he's in total denial!!! Like last game, when he insisted that he was being "aggressive". WTF?!? T-mac's the hare, he better watch out, the tortoise is gonna bite his ass.
Excellent post, Will. And exactly why I get so frustrated with this team. Everything starts and ends with TMac. He quits when we get a lead. He did a great job with the team in Yao's absence, but when the pressure is off, he relaxes. I don't know how far this team will go in the postseason, but we need to either add a leader/real PG in the offseason or see what we can get for TMac AND add a leader/real PG in the offseason. You know every coach in the league probably has the same scouting report on our team: Will relax/quit with a lead. Pick and roll them/execute offense in waning minutes. They'll fold.
Great post! Let's hope he's lost a little of that confidence that they will win the series and actually put up an effort tonight. This team needs a veteran leader more than anything ... Mcgrady may lead the offense but he is not an emotional leader and definitely not a leader by example. Sam Cassell or Bob Sura would do wonders for this team.
Great post Will. accurate and insightful, just illustrate another real life example of the great fable, the Tortoise and the Hare. The moral is: the sleeper loses the race.
I really, really wanted to post something defending T-Mac, saying how good he is, how he can cruise sometimes, because he knows when to turn it on. But this post was so accurate, so well-written, that it should just be praised. Great post, Will!
Damn, Will... where have you been? Your post is right on target. Tracy need a bucket of ice water dumped on him before the tip, wake his ass up. You said what was in the back of the minds (such as we possess) of many of us.
And he's scared of injury, VERY VERY MUCH, but it's the Rox that benefits the most when he's healthy, so i have no problems even if he continues to take jumpshots AS LONG AS he could make at least half of them. But i understand t mac, who's not afraid of injury.
That's funny, I thought he was merely pining for the fjords...although it looks to me like his game has passed on...
One should remember that all people are different and yet alike. Mostly they fall into two catagories, a) the ones who you can shame into uplifting themselves and b) those who become mentally entangled by criticism and loose any chance of making a quick recovery. So I say to all of my friends on this forum, beware of being overly analytical and critical of our players, even though they might seem to deserve it, because you might have a serious detrimental effect upon them. I realize that this coaching philosophy is not popular, but needs serious consideration.
TMac played slugishly on Satureday just in order to have more games with Jazz. He didn't want to eliminate Jazz too quick
After blowing 2 consecutive first round appearances after being up by 2 games: 2003: 3-1 2005: 2-0 Now we come to the same situation in his 3rd consecutive appearance 2007: 2-0 So what's it gonna be McGrady??? 3rd time's a charm? or 3 strikes you're out? Wake up Tracy WAKE UP!!!!!!
