I saw a quote from Rick Adelman saying he was especially interested in playing Shane Battier, Bonzi Wells and Tracy McGrady on the court at the same time. I presume he was envisioning this with probably Scola at the 4 and Yao at the 5. So doesn't that look like T-Mac running the point, a-la Magic Johnson? If Coach Adelman really likes this line-up so much, could T-Mac effectively end up as the Rocket's starting point guard? If so, this could be a very interesting season.
it wouldnt be too far-fetched considering tmac was the teams best passer last year and I remember reading (and posting here a long time ago) an SI article from tmac rookie year where he said magic was the player he tried to emulate the most and he constantly watched film of magic to improve his game.
But yeah, I think T-mac can and should run point if he's out there with 2-3+ other guys who can score and create their own shot. He's capable. I think the problem people had with Mcgrady running point in the past was that he'd be deferring to guys who can't really do anything with the ball in their hands. That may not be the case this year.
Adelman's offense is similar to the triangle offense where you don't need a proto typical point guard.What he was talking about was a small lineup,similar to what the spurs do when they take duncan out of the game and play oberto or horry at the 5.
Adelman is a genius, I mean thinking about moving Tmac to the point. Now, where have we heard that before?, What a BRILLIANT idea. That guy has some serious basketball intellect. DD
You can't have Bonzi, Scola and Yao on the court at the same time. The lane would be way too clogged, and there's too little perimeter threat. If he's going to have that line up on the court, then it's most likely going to be either James or Alston at PG with Battier at the 4. Three post players in at the same time does not make sense.
I said it all throughout last year, T-Mac is the best play maker right behind Steve Nash. His offensive skills are so dangerous that he commands so much attention by himself. Very good at finding teammates, especially if they're open.
i dont mind tmac facilitating, but bringing the ball up like a pg does, is not what i would like to see
Two other possibilites: 1. He's referring to playing Battier at the 4 with Yao and Brooks/Alston at the point; 2. He's thinking of the amount of ball handling and playmaking TMac did last year and thinking of letting him continue this year. If the first, we're likely to see more guards make the roster and less 4s -- likely Novak will be waived and Landry go to the D-league. If the second, that's one less point guard we will need. Based on the following, I suspect you may be right in terms of common lineups, but it doesn't necessarily mean TMac will be a "point." ("Scola fills Adelman's bill," by Fran Blinebury, The Houston Chronicle, July 18, 2007) Looking at Adelman's Sacramento team that almost beat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, they had good shooters and passers throughout the lineup, but no "true" point guard. Mike Bibby played the point for them, but was really more of a shooting guard than a true point. The Rockets could easily play such a system and thrive with Yao, TMac, Battier, Scola, and just about any fourth player, as long as they can shoot and pass. Basketball IQ and energy will equal playing time in this scheme.
We need T-mac to score, not facilitate. I much prefered the aggressive T-mac that we saw in Orlando. His aggressiveness translates to more open looks for everyone else. Players are having a much easier time guarding tracy now, because they know he is no longer as aggressive as he use to be in taking it to the hole.
Bibby's definitely a true point guard. He just didn't showcase it as much in Sacto as he did in Vancouver because so much of the offense went through C-webb/Vlade, hence why his assist numbers dropped significantly.
Well, I'm of the company that believes we're never going to see the Mcgrady we saw in Orlando ever again. Or to be more specific, the McGrady we saw in 2003 since I don't think the ORL-McGrady in 2004 was that aggressive attacking the basket either. He's lost some of his athletisism. I believe people have an easier time defending T-mac simply because T-mac's drive isn't that much of a threat as it used to be, so they can drape all over him. I don't think T-mac would continue to take jumpers if he knew he could get to the rim a lot more, but it's not that easy anymore with his lost step. I thought in the Utah series, T-mac was as aggressive as he could've been....and he still shot only 39% for the series. That gives me the inclination that we can survive with T-mac shooting less and getting other scorers involved. But he can still create open looks for open players. Remember at the start of last season when McGrady was as passive as he's ever been as a Rocket? He was still droppin 6-7 dimes a game. Great passers will get assists., and T-mac's a great passer.
I'm fully aware that t-mac's Orlando days are long gone, but as long as he still maintains the intent to take it to the hoop - he doesn't even need to be able to finish the play - he will draw in defenses and make the game much easier for both himself in terms of scoring and playmaking since he will get plenty of star calls from contact. I don't mind if he misses a layup, while trying to draw contact... at least he's trying to force the refs blow the whistle. It is when he jacks up jump shot after jump shot even when they are not falling for him that really annoys me.
T-Mac needs to play the 3. I would like to see him revert back to a role similar to Kobe Bryant. Then totally scorch the nets and become scoring champion again
It was the offense that prevented T-Mac from scoring. The defending teams already knew what the Rockets were going to do. No motion, Jam the ball down to Yao or kick it out to the perimeter. So what do opposing teams have to do? Clog the lane and defend the paint. Make us make our 3 pointers. That's what Utah did and it killed us.
