Bucher is one of the most knowledgeable beat reporters covering the scene. What he sees in TMAC is something EVERYONE already knows, but some of us have been hesitant to acknowledge because we'd like to see the potential rather than objectively looking at who we are. Quite frankly, we all know nothing will happen this year, but we're better off trading TMac for a couple of those "next rung" players Bucher refers to (e.g., Maggete, Jefferson, Josh Howard, Kevin Martin, etc). If we can get a couple of these guys for TMac, we are contenders. Aaron Brooks Kevin Martin Josh Howard Scola Yao
i generally like rick bucher but this interview was just really bad. and don't tell me he stated just facts. sometimes you have to look beyond so called facts. this interview was too much mr. obvious for my taste. but i can see how a lot of fellow clutchfans users will like this interview. tracy mcgrady really is this year's jeff van gundy.
actually, the fact that he leads the team in assists reveals that he isn't a selfish Mofu like Bucher made him out to be.. say whatever you want about Tmac, soft, a girl, a r****d, a morphine drip, but to suggest that he is selfish and doesn't prefer to run because "running requires you to be in shape" and "he prefers to have the ball in his hands" is just TOTAL.CRAP..
OK, this is just not right. It is a matter of running WITHOUT the ball that they are talking about. Starting a fast break and getting up the floor to either : 1. Finish 2. Facilitate But what happens is that Tmac does NOT run up the court, rather he loafs up and expects Rafer to pass him the ball at the top of the key and go to work. Now, Tmac is a willing passer, when double teamed, but that is in the half court set. What Bucher, myself and TONS of other people are saying is that Tmac has not committed to run, either with JVG or RA...he just hasn't....and he is fully capable of running but that would mean he does not get to dominate the ball and make all the decisions like he does now. By the way.....if he DID commit to running I believe the team and Tmac would take off like never before....but if he continues to walk up the court for the rest of the year, then I want him gone. DD
The fact that he leads the team in assists does not mean he is unselfish. TMAC thrives with the ball in his hands. He wants to either score or assist. He does not want to be the guy who makes the extra pass that ultimately LEADS to the assist. That's the fundamental problem with him and this offense...players must be completely unselfish and not even hesitate to move the ball. That's what made the old Kings teams great...the ball never stopped moving. When one person dominates the ball, teammates never develop a feel for the game and are less likely to produce when called upon.
the knee injury is just another thing to add to the grocery list of disappointments. What about the bigger picture of TMac the player himself? The interview didn't center around the knee injury, Bucher was talking about TMac HIMSELF. The player that he is now, and the player that we wish we want him to be.
I have zero care for Justice's opinion but Bucher is different. This is the same guy that was there pretty much from day one when Yao arrived in Houston (he helped write Yao's book) so he's not some guy that just watches a few games and makes some out-of-this-world assessment..like Justice.
Newsflash to all of you who feel T-mac is the one thing keeping us from being this amazing run-and-gun team... he's not. The personnel right now isn't suited to be strictly run and gun... not when we have a big man playing 40+ minutes that requires great position, and crisp half-court execution to dominate. Not when we don't have athletic forwards who are strong finishers. Not when all of our guards are suspect at shooting the ball. All of that combined (without even considering T-mac) screams of a team that is better off executing in the half-court, playing in an offense that will get players THEIR high percentage shots (Yao's hook, Battier's 3 from the corner, Alston's... well, he may not ever have one). T-mac is versatile enough to adapt to anything... and he may eventually adapt into just a simple clone-like facillitator, playing strictly within some motion system that has never won a championship. Personally, I feel he's too talented to just limit him to specific plays (just like Kobe ignores the triangle very often), and if there's anybody on this team who I want to have the ball more often than not, its him... but regardless of it all, run-and-gun isn't playing to this team's strengths. The mark of a great coach is to tailor the game to meet the team's strengths... like Riley has had 3 distinct different types of teams be very successful. Unfortunately, much like there were complaints of JVG requiring "his" players, RA will eventually require "his" players to make this system work... which means more roster turnover, more time to adapt, more time to develop chemistry, and another year off Yao and T-mac's career.
Bucher is spot on. The die-hard McGrady fans are the only ones who won't "get it". McGrady controls the tempo of the Rockets' offense and it's far too slow to be championship-level successful. I never felt good about passing on Rudy Gay for many reasons and TMac's health was among them. But if trading McGrady is not an option, then they need to start Brooks and Wells, move McGrady to SF and convert Battier and spare parts to a running PF...a Bosh type.
I think you have to see first what happens when T-mac comes back. The team is clearly changing - do he go with the flow and adopt or does he bring us back to what we were before. That will determine everything.
We're not winning games right now, whereas we were winning both last year, and early this year with him playing great. He needs to play great... if he does that, we'll win... and I'll take actual winning over the countless moral victories this team is posting every night around here.
This could very well be true. The one missing piece to this conclusion, is whether t-mac has seriously attempted to run adelman's system. So far, I would say he hasn't as he continues to walk up the court. You can't say it wont work if you dont give it a shot. We tried T-mac as the facilitator and that has yet to work.
We're playing really well right now. The hope is that when T-mac comes back, it builds on that. No one knows how it will work out, we just have to see.
Tracy will prove all the nay-sayers wrong. He's a winner, pure and simple. Get ready to jump back on the wagon for most of you.
I'm sorry but Jeff Van Gundy did not have motivational issues when the going got tough. Tracy McGrady is rightfully being called out by the fans that demand the most basic instinct out of their star player. Quiting in Philadelphia when your down 20 is not an attribute that I want in this team's most talented player. A $20 million dollar superstar should not be lacking in toughing things out when everything looks dire. It is what bore Clutch City. Jeff Van Gundy was such a complex individual/coach that it brought so many dynamic takes over his methods. But the issue of Tracy's reaction to adversity is nothing like the Jeff Van Gundy battles.
Yet to work? Have they been that bad when he's played the last 4 years? How is it possible that you all have forgotten how well T-mac being the playmaker has worked for this team... making Yao much more productive, and creating high percentage shots for each member of this offensively-challenged starting lineup (Battier+Hayes+Alston). How quickly everybody seems to forget all of that. Sure, they lost 2 highly competitive playoffs series in large part due to a severe lack of depth, against teams that had amazing depth... or maybe it was because of severe matchup issues (Boozer vs. Yao would STILL be a problem this year... maybe bigger because of Yao's regression). Regardless... this team didn't (and still doesn't) need as big of an over-haul that some of you are trying to force on them. Yao was doing just fine dominating at 25+ ppg. T-mac was doing just fine at finding the open teammate, and being the dynamic scorer/playmaker that most teams would kill for. The supporting cast knew their roles... and even though they had limited talent, did pretty well in them. Adelman can still instill that... but to do that, he needs to tighten up the rotations, exploit more of our players' real strengths rather than try to invent new ones (Yao will never be a terrific high post threat... it marginalizes him... and besides, the high post was designed for people who couldn't dominate the low post), and instill a semblance of killer instinct in a team that's severely lacking confidence, cockiness, and any sense of chemistry whatsoever.
Year 1: "I'm going to help bring Houston a championship" Year 2: "I'll help turn Stromile into an All-Star" Year 3: "It's all on me. It's on me" As much as I hope he can prove all of us wrong, nothing in his career has proven he can accomplish such feat.
