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CHRON - Super T-Mac to the rescue for the playoffs?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by t_mac1, Feb 28, 2008.

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t_mac1 Contributing Member

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Super T-Mac to the rescue for playoffs?

By STEVE CAMPBELL

TRACY Mc-Grady didn't need to hear it. Didn't particularly want to hear it.

Yao Ming needed to say it.

Blindsided by the abrupt end of his season because of a stress fracture in his left foot, Yao watched with anguish as his teammates digested the news. The sound of silence left Yao feeling alone, so desperately alone, that he had to reach out to somebody. Yao huddled with the highest remaining Rocket in the pecking order and said, "Right now is your time."

How McGrady responds to the challenge in front of him will go a long way toward shaping his legacy in the NBA.

He can go on indefinitely — if he can live with himself — as T-Mac, the style-over-substance showman. He can reinforce the pervasive notion that he wants all the perks of being a superstar without accepting and fulfilling the accompanying responsibilities.

Or he can re-invent himself as Team-Mac, honors graduate from the NBA finishing school of hard knocks and hard lessons. He can lead the Rockets from the temptation to accept a free-fall in the standings. He can deliver them to the playoffs.

It's T-Mac's time. It's T-Mac's team.

'A lot on him'
He has the skills to hold together the NBA's hottest team. Does he have the stomach for the job that Rockets coach Rick Adelman has in mind?

"It puts a lot on him," Adelman said. "We're going to ride him. I told him, 'You'll probably get your rest on the off-days.' "

It's the burden of being T-Mac, if a certain 6-foot-8 shooting guard chooses to look at it that way. It's an opportunity as incredible as T-Mac's arsenal of offensive moves, if a certain seven-time All-Star and two-time scoring champion is shrewd enough to look at it that way.

If McGrady can hold together a team that must make do without its All-Star center, then he deserves the sort of respect that so many Rockets fans are loath to give him. At 28, McGrady sounds as if he has accumulated the wisdom to see this for the opportunity that it is. Then again, McGrady pulled out the "It's on me," mantra for last year's playoffs. Rockets fans know how that ended.

"We have the right players for this situation, to really overcome," McGrady said. "It's really up to us how good we want to be. We don't necessarily pay attention to what the naysayers say. Everybody has counted us out, which is cool and understandable. We just have to keep believing."

Make no mistake: McGrady needs help. He can't do it alone, can't leap over the Western Conference in a single bound all by himself. To borrow from Jerry McGuire, he needs to help his teammates help him. He needs to bring out the best in Shane Battier and Luis Scola and Rafer Alston and Carl Landry and Dikembe Mutombo and Bobby Jackson and Luther Head.

"The team is going to go pretty much wherever he takes us," Scola said. "We know that. He's not making 35 points like he used to, but he's making us win. It's like 90 percent because of him. He's making everybody score points. He's making everybody involved. He's making the teams double-team all the time, and he's finding people, and he's making us win."

McGrady has averaged 19.4 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting — well below his career norms — during the winning streak that has thrust the Rockets to within three games of the No. 1 spot in the West. That speaks volumes of the way McGrady and his teammates have been feeding off each other. For a change, McGrady can concentrate on being a total basketball player instead of a scoring machine. All he has to show for a 28.8 career scoring average in the playoffs, after all, is a litany of first-round exits.

"I think it's his responsibility as the best player to just give us something to look to every single night," Battier said. "Just be our rock. Yao was our rock before — T-Mac, to a lesser extent. Now T-Mac has to be our rock. He has to be the guy we lean on, and that manifests itself in many different ways.

"It's not really about scoring. It's about being the guy. He's one of the few guys in the league who has the ability to control the game. Not just by scoring. Having a presence out there. Commanding attention. Making plays."

Abundant skills
During the winning streak, McGrady has topped 30 points twice, snagged as many as 11 rebounds and handed out eight or more assists five times. He is the rare player with the ability — should he unleash it — to serve as the blank Scrabble square. He can be whatever a team needs on a given night.

"He's playing great basketball," Scola said. "I think he's playing exactly the way he has to. Eventually, at the end of the game or whenever it's important, he's going to step up and he's going to score whatever he has to. Because he's that good."

He has earned a king's ransom as T-Mac, the showman with more style than substance. Now he has a chance to earn the respect — even love — of the fandom as Team-Mac by leading the Rockets onward and upward. Cape optional.

"He knows," Yao said. "He knows what he needs to do"

what i don't get is how getting this team to the playoffs will shape his legacy (didn't he do that last yr without yao?). it shoudl be helping this team ADVANCE in the playoffs. some people have their priorities wrong.

#1 t_mac1, Feb 28, 2008

ikarus Rookie

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Is it too hard for you realize people don't believe TMac alone would bring any title? It will be a team work, now ROX is missing a big piece of that team work.

t_mac1 said:

Super T-Mac to the rescue for playoffs?

By STEVE CAMPBELL

TRACY Mc-Grady didn't need to hear it. Didn't particularly want to hear it.

Yao Ming needed to say it.

Blindsided by the abrupt end of his season because of a stress fracture in his left foot, Yao watched with anguish as his teammates digested the news. The sound of silence left Yao feeling alone, so desperately alone, that he had to reach out to somebody. Yao huddled with the highest remaining Rocket in the pecking order and said, "Right now is your time."

How McGrady responds to the challenge in front of him will go a long way toward shaping his legacy in the NBA.

He can go on indefinitely — if he can live with himself — as T-Mac, the style-over-substance showman. He can reinforce the pervasive notion that he wants all the perks of being a superstar without accepting and fulfilling the accompanying responsibilities.

Or he can re-invent himself as Team-Mac, honors graduate from the NBA finishing school of hard knocks and hard lessons. He can lead the Rockets from the temptation to accept a free-fall in the standings. He can deliver them to the playoffs.

It's T-Mac's time. It's T-Mac's team.

'A lot on him'
He has the skills to hold together the NBA's hottest team. Does he have the stomach for the job that Rockets coach Rick Adelman has in mind?

"It puts a lot on him," Adelman said. "We're going to ride him. I told him, 'You'll probably get your rest on the off-days.' "

It's the burden of being T-Mac, if a certain 6-foot-8 shooting guard chooses to look at it that way. It's an opportunity as incredible as T-Mac's arsenal of offensive moves, if a certain seven-time All-Star and two-time scoring champion is shrewd enough to look at it that way.

If McGrady can hold together a team that must make do without its All-Star center, then he deserves the sort of respect that so many Rockets fans are loath to give him. At 28, McGrady sounds as if he has accumulated the wisdom to see this for the opportunity that it is. Then again, McGrady pulled out the "It's on me," mantra for last year's playoffs. Rockets fans know how that ended.

"We have the right players for this situation, to really overcome," McGrady said. "It's really up to us how good we want to be. We don't necessarily pay attention to what the naysayers say. Everybody has counted us out, which is cool and understandable. We just have to keep believing."

Make no mistake: McGrady needs help. He can't do it alone, can't leap over the Western Conference in a single bound all by himself. To borrow from Jerry McGuire, he needs to help his teammates help him. He needs to bring out the best in Shane Battier and Luis Scola and Rafer Alston and Carl Landry and Dikembe Mutombo and Bobby Jackson and Luther Head.

"The team is going to go pretty much wherever he takes us," Scola said. "We know that. He's not making 35 points like he used to, but he's making us win. It's like 90 percent because of him. He's making everybody score points. He's making everybody involved. He's making the teams double-team all the time, and he's finding people, and he's making us win."

McGrady has averaged 19.4 points per game on 40.4 percent shooting — well below his career norms — during the winning streak that has thrust the Rockets to within three games of the No. 1 spot in the West. That speaks volumes of the way McGrady and his teammates have been feeding off each other. For a change, McGrady can concentrate on being a total basketball player instead of a scoring machine. All he has to show for a 28.8 career scoring average in the playoffs, after all, is a litany of first-round exits.

"I think it's his responsibility as the best player to just give us something to look to every single night," Battier said. "Just be our rock. Yao was our rock before — T-Mac, to a lesser extent. Now T-Mac has to be our rock. He has to be the guy we lean on, and that manifests itself in many different ways.

"It's not really about scoring. It's about being the guy. He's one of the few guys in the league who has the ability to control the game. Not just by scoring. Having a presence out there. Commanding attention. Making plays."

Abundant skills
During the winning streak, McGrady has topped 30 points twice, snagged as many as 11 rebounds and handed out eight or more assists five times. He is the rare player with the ability — should he unleash it — to serve as the blank Scrabble square. He can be whatever a team needs on a given night.

"He's playing great basketball," Scola said. "I think he's playing exactly the way he has to. Eventually, at the end of the game or whenever it's important, he's going to step up and he's going to score whatever he has to. Because he's that good."

He has earned a king's ransom as T-Mac, the showman with more style than substance. Now he has a chance to earn the respect — even love — of the fandom as Team-Mac by leading the Rockets onward and upward. Cape optional.

"He knows," Yao said. "He knows what he needs to do"

what i don't get is how getting this team to the playoffs will shape his legacy (didn't he do that last yr without yao?). it shoudl be helping this team ADVANCE in the playoffs. some people have their priorities wrong.
Click to expand...

#2 ikarus, Feb 28, 2008
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For T-Mac to truly lead us to glory over this misery, we need to see great leadership. Not just in games, but at all times. In practice, a determined focus... hard workouts, no relenting. He gets in his teammates faces. You know, what you imagine MJ doing if he was in this situation. Sadly, T-Mac is just not that guy. As much as I love him, that's not his personality. That's not to say we're not going to see dominating performances from him, but it's really about more than that in order to do real damage in the playoffs without Yao.

#3 slobodan, Feb 28, 2008
t_mac1 Contributing Member

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ikarus said:

Is it too hard for you realize people don't believe TMac alone would bring any title? It will be a team work, now ROX is missing a big piece of that team work.
Click to expand...

i'm simply posting an article, not my opinion. of course tmac can't do it alone (which is explicitly stated in the article). nobody can.

#4 t_mac1, Feb 28, 2008
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Rox WILL get into the playoff. There is a lot of doubt, but I don't doubt that for a second.
I love Yao, but the recent surge is due to the offense clicking, and the still very strong defense. Yao was a key (big) part of it, but he was not THE part.

Again, Rox WILL get into the playoff. The problem, of course, is advancing past the bigs of Lakers, Spurs, etc.

#5 fuzzy88, Feb 28, 2008
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Iz on me!!!

#6 WillG, Feb 28, 2008
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5577001.html

#7 CharlieMurphy, Feb 28, 2008

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i really dont expect much in the playoffs....i think that if T-mac can lead us past the first round, then its a successful season considering the circumstances we are faced. The west is way too good to expect anything more from the rockets.

#8 GotGame15, Feb 28, 2008
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I agree with most of that article, I've been saying it all day! I don't get all the articles questioning whether Rox can even MAKE the playoffs. Its been solid team basketball during the streak. Had Yao been averaging 35 points, 15 boards during this stretch, it would be a whole different story. I can see where 22 points and 11 boards can come from. Mac will carry his share of the scoring load. Scola is ready. He's technically a rookie, but he's 27 and been playing pro ball for 7 years. He has room to grow, sure, but he's already developed. Give him minutes, give him the ball, get the hell out of the way, and let RA design plays specifically for him. If that doesn't work...uhm, well...trade T-Mac???

#9 nolimitnp, Feb 28, 2008
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That would make people feel more painful if this rox can pass the first round. People will always think like what if we have ...
Well, a good post-season means a lot to next year. It deserves the effort.

GotGame15 said:

i really dont expect much in the playoffs....i think that if T-mac can lead us past the first round, then its a successful season considering the circumstances we are faced. The west is way too good to expect anything more from the rockets.
Click to expand...

#10 ikarus, Feb 28, 2008
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Do Y.O.F.'s now only want the Rockets to lose and miss the playoffs for fear that it exposes that they may not need Yao?

Oh the horror!

What if they win without him?

GREAT! LONG LIVE THE HOUSTON ROCKETS!

Calvin Murphy era - Big E. era - Sampson era - Dream era - Franchise era - Yao era - T-Mac era - future...

Long live the ROCKETS!

I don't care who is on the team when they win it all again. AFTER that point, they will get the credit they deserve for being "elite" or "great."

To date, only 2 squads in Rockets history have truly, totally earned the right to be called "elite" or "great" and most certainly "champions."

Boo hoo...

#11 IROC it, Feb 28, 2008
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nevermind

#12 IROC it, Feb 28, 2008
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Some people on this board are pathetic.

The fact that he led us to the playoffs last year without Yao is lost on so many.

The ITS on me quote is getting a bit old.He played a super human game on Game 7 that would have won any other game on any other given day. Its old that you keep bashing him about it. Its like people bashing Brooksball on the Playoff no way thing. Its just lame and pathetic. If your really a fan you just shutup and cheer for the team.

Look at what Scola said. And then you look at the comments over this board. Im sure the majority of you know better then Scola.

Its high time fans start supporting our players instead of bagging them at every opportunity.

IT is on Mcgrady to get some winning attitude into his game. I think this will define him.

#13 bbjai, Feb 28, 2008

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bbjai said:

Some people on this board are pathetic.

The fact that he led us to the playoffs last year without Yao is lost on so many.

The ITS on me quote is getting a bit old.He played a super human game on Game 7 that would have won any other game on any other given day. Its old that you keep bashing him about it. Its like people bashing Brooksball on the Playoff no way thing. Its just lame and pathetic. If your really a fan you just shutup and cheer for the team.

Look at what Scola said. And then you look at the comments over this board. Im sure the majority of you know better then Scola

Its high time fans start supporting our players instead of bagging them at every opportunity.

IT is on Mcgrady to get some winning attitude into his gamde. I think this will define him.
Click to expand...

Thank you, finally! You can look in just about any thread and find at least one entry with a negative comment about the team....in the middle of a playoff race!. fans allowed to bash the players are in Miami. Don't like what is happening? Go find a Spurs forum and bash away. There is no place here. Save our thread space, and come back in August. I live in Portland, Blazers unrealistic playoff bid ended a month ago, but you'd never know it by watching a game at the Rose Garden. The place is ALIVE. Its exciting to be there. Its fun and the players obviously feed off the energy. Please tell me Toyota Center is energized. Don't make me jump on the Greg Oden bandwagon!

#14 nolimitnp, Feb 28, 2008
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There are no that kind of ***. They are in your imagination.
If this team wins it all, do whatever it wants to Yao. In fact, if it doesn't win at all, still do whatever it wants to Yao.

This is going to a painful season unless ROX wins it all. Period.

IROC it said:

Do Y.O.F.'s now only want the Rockets to lose and miss the playoffs for fear that it exposes that they may not need Yao?

Oh the horror!

What if they win without him?

GREAT! LONG LIVE THE HOUSTON ROCKETS!

Calvin Murphy era - Big E. era - Sampson era - Dream era - Franchise era - Yao era - T-Mac era - future...

Long live the ROCKETS!

I don't care who is on the team when they win it all again. AFTER that point, they will get the credit they deserve for being "elite" or "great."

To date, only 2 squads in Rockets history have truly, totally earned the right to be called "elite" or "great" and most certainly "champions."

Boo hoo...
Click to expand...

#15 ikarus, Feb 28, 2008
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If TMac can lead this team to the second round of the playoffs this year, it will cement his legacy even if he never wins a championship.

And the only hope that the Rockets have to make it to the second round this year is if TMac plays like the TMac we saw against Dallas a few years ago.

#16 lalala902102001, Feb 28, 2008
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I actually like T-Mac. He has talents and is easy-going. Just from time to time, I can't stop thinking he needs to grow to be a full man, which means knowing the essence of being a great basketball player. To get tough, to be hard-woring and to be team-working.

So far I've found great potentials. Maybe this is the year to shape his real leagacy in Houston and in the NBA.

#17 Munir Ming, Feb 28, 2008
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IROC it said:

Do Y.O.F.'s now only want the Rockets to lose and miss the playoffs for fear that it exposes that they may not need Yao?

Oh the horror!

What if they win without him?Boo hoo...
Click to expand...

No, as much as I love Yao, I still hope the Rockets win a sencond series in the playoffs.

#18 Munir Ming, Feb 28, 2008

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bbjai said:

Some people on this board are pathetic.

The fact that he led us to the playoffs last year without Yao is lost on so many.

The ITS on me quote is getting a bit old.He played a super human game on Game 7 that would have won any other game on any other given day. Its old that you keep bashing him about it. Its like people bashing Brooksball on the Playoff no way thing. Its just lame and pathetic. If your really a fan you just shutup and cheer for the team.

Look at what Scola said. And then you look at the comments over this board. Im sure the majority of you know better then Scola.

Its high time fans start supporting our players instead of bagging them at every opportunity.

IT is on Mcgrady to get some winning attitude into his game. I think this will define him.
Click to expand...

One thing different this time around though, is Rick Adelman's system the midas touch that finally propels T-Mac to playoff prominence OR ... is it more of the same, lowered expectations ruling the day once the playoffs start for the Rockets?

Also, a better cast of players surrounding T-Mac should at least get the Rockets to the second round. Bobby Jackson will be more valuable in money time than most on here care to believe and early on it looks like the man still has a motor. Scola and Landry can make a BIG difference on how the playoff run turns out for the Rockets.

At this point in time, I'm going to go with the Rockets losing in the conference finals probably to the Suns maybe, the Spurs or even the Lake show. I hope I'm wrong but, Shaq may very well be an x factor for the Suns come playoff time. For the Suns sake and their mortgaged future they better hope so.

#19 hatemavs4life, Feb 28, 2008
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hatemavs4life said:

One thing different this time around though, is Rick Adelman's system the midas touch that finally propels T-Mac to playoff prominence OR ... is it more of the same, lowered expectations ruling the day once the playoffs start for the Rockets?

Also, a better cast of players surrounding T-Mac should at least get the Rockets to the second round. Bobby Jackson will be more valuable in money time than most on here care to believe and early on it looks like the man still has a motor. Scola and Landry can make a BIG difference on how the playoff run turns out for the Rockets.

At this point in time, I'm going to go with the Rockets losing in the conference finals probably to the Suns maybe, the Spurs or even the Lake show. I hope I'm wrong but, Shaq may very well be an x factor for the Suns come playoff time. For the Suns sake and their mortgaged future they better hope so.
Click to expand...

I want people to GET BEHIND THE TEAM.
We still have one of the premier stars in the NBA Tracy Mcgrady. Two time scoring champion.
We are the only team with both guards averaging over 4 assists. We have two of the top rookies in this class. We have a aging Centre who has shown us before his capable for dominating a short stretch of time.

People aren't getting behind the team, I see that in the crowds, the board the people. I love the Rockets and Ill back them no matter what game! Please everyone do the same!

#20 bbjai, Feb 28, 2008

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