This thread is for those who continually bash Yao and Tmac after every loss. If you watch the game and pay attention closely, it's pretty clear that the reason we are not on the elite level is due to the lack of talent we have surrounding our big two. First let me say that Mac and Yao did not play great games. They do a lot of good things however. Mcgrady attacked the basket and Yao was getting deep position in the paint. Our stars struggled to score late in the 4th because Utah's defenders were allowed to just sink down on Tmac and Yao without any fear of leaving someone else open for a score. Kirilienko was just roaming free out there and Fischer was running down to help constantly leaving Alston and Hayes wide open. We have got to get our guys some more help offensively. Hayes(as much as I love the guy) is so one dimensional on offense and he depends on others to create layups for him. Alston, as we all know is EXTREMELY inconsistant from the 3 point line and you can't count on him to knock down the open 3. Battier is a decent option from the 3 point line, but when he's not hitting that, he is worthless on offense. He can't get to the rim and he is too small to pound the offensive glass. Luther Head...Don't even get me started on this guy. He is a TERRIBLE passer and he may be even more one dimensional than chuck hayes. The guy just doesn't have a position. Too small to play 2 and he is no where close to having the skills necessary to play the point. There were times in last night's game when Yao flashed in the paint wide open and Luther just stood around with the ball in his hands while he watched Yao get 3 seconds called on him. He has been pathetic in this series. Juwan...Another one dimensional player who needs someone else to create for him.....Can't wait until this guy's contract is up Finally, Snyder....Well I really don't need to explain his ineptitude. Again, Yao and Tracy did not have great games last night, and that's the problem. We need them to play great every night if we want to win a game. We just don't have enough fire power on offense. Please FO, address this in the offseason before Tracy retires.
jVgOwnsYou, you are 100% correct. However, if the superstars take the credit, they also take the blame... and thus, T-Mac saying "IT'S ON ME!" It sucks, but that's the nature of the beast. I'm watching Around the Horn on ESPN right now. They are about to talk about T-Mac... not the Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz... they will talk about Tracy McGrady. I also agree that JVG owns me. We're not worthy!
I agree. TMac and Yao have done all they could. It's the supporting cast that hasn't stepped up, therefore putting even more pressure on our two stars.
And highly ironic from a guy whose monicker is jVgOwnsYou. It's amazing how people here disagree about what exactly is wrong. I'm so glad CD's leaving the fray.
sure, they're averaging around 50 pts every game. and the role players have been beyond bad, esp. battier, head, howard (the 3 guys who have been consistent for us) but i expect yao + tmac to put together like 60+ pts more regularly like they did to end the season. cmon, can we put together ONE whole game where the whole team clicked? utah did it in game 6
what's wrong with saying that, huh????? tmac showed his leadership by putting the team on his shoulder. too bad his teammates didn't do anything to help him out. so leave tmac alone. he's not the problem. he's our only bright spot in this playoff series. he's giving it all to help this team to advance. can you see it? are you blind?
While we definitely have some improving to do in the offseason with our supporting cast, they are good enough to the point that we should have this series wrapped up by now. Yao has at least given full effort in all 3 losses, though he hasn't seemed as determined and dominating as he could be. Obviously he killed us in game 6 with the turnovers. Mcgrady is the main reason we haven't won a road game yet. If he would play like he is capable of the entire game, this series would be over. That means fighting to get around double teams and creating penetration. That means not settling for long threes with the defense in his face. He's the biggest reason that Battier, Hayes, and Head weren't able to help much with the scoring in game 6. But overall, you're right. We've got to add another solid piece or two and shore up the bench to become an elite team.
Playoff averages: Yao - 24.5 pts / 11 rebs / .89 % FT / 37 MPG (up from 33 during the regular season) TMac - 24.7 pts / 6 rebs / 6 asst They may have not played "great", but they are easily doing enough to win if others would chip in. I'm actually amazed they are even getting those numbers with no one helping and the Jazz concentrating just on them.
This is my biggest concern with this team: backup PG. You know Alston would be great off the bench but instead we have him playing 40 freaking minutes a night. If we could find a PG who could get in to the paint and shoot threes we would be unstoppable. I wouldn't mind getting deeper at the PF position either. Novak is a terrible fit and was a complete waste fo a draft pick. We need a bruiser who has some size. If teams pull Yao out of the paint on the defensive end, it's a freaking lay up every time. Again, I love Chuck Hayes, but he's 6' 6 and guarding guys who have 5-6 inch advantages on him. That would be like if we put head on Kirilienko, and we all saw what happened when we tried that.
Wow, you completely suck at interpreting posts. Did you see the part where I said "It sucks"? The post was meant to defend T-Mac, not bash him.
kinda of an aside, but for my knoweldge, if tmac retires, does he still get paid that monster contract?
How come lots of great posts come out after one lousy game? You guys make this board brilliant, i enjoy read such penetrating thread rather than unvaluable post.
We just dont have a realiable 3rd scorer. If i were to ask someone who else on the rockets would be good for 13-15 points night in and night out you can count on it. There is no one. Rafer averages on the low side of that, but his variance is so high, he has many single digit nights, then goes for 20+ he isn't that consistant. While Battier is very consistant 8-12 points a night, Battier is a glue guy, but we need a 3rd piece for him to glue together.
It is like a car. TMAC is the engine. Yao is the wheel. Head is the headlight, Juwan is the mirror, Battier is the hood, hayes is the trunk. Deke is the vcr. Alston is the attenna. JVG is the driver. Now this is our car: if you don't like it, who you want to blame?
