wekko, are u blindberry? i have zero doubt we would have lost if landry, bobby, AND battier didn't show up. but landry got all the open shots. bobby's 3pt shots were from tmac's penetration. the only tough shot he put up was the double-pumped 3pt shot. i mean, if rafer was average, he should have knocked down his shots b/c he was wide open as bdiddy went underneath the screens all the time when he used tmac as a pick. but give the man SOME credit. he is the one the opposing team focuses on. nobody is gameplanning for landry or bobby or rafer or battier. and how do you know tmac doesn't try the last few games? he looked out of gas and slow as hell. tmac's body is not in the best condition as we all know. that's why you saw the resting time is different in this game. adelman FINALLY rested him in the 2nd half for 2 minutes in the 4th quarter. he never did that at all in any close games since tmac has returned from injury. tmac played his hearts out last night. he consistently drove to the rack despite not getting ANY calls. 10 of his shots were in the paint last night (though only made 3). the big bobby wide open 3 late in the 4th and 2 of landry's dunks also in that quarter late were due to tmac's penetration. as long as you have finishers around tmac (which deke and hyaes aren't), tmac can do that for you. it's hard to play when your big men miss WIDE OPEN layups. teams wil not respect them.
Camby over Yao? lol.... why can't actual fans just accept BOTH our superstars. Objectively speaking, TMac does not look like he puts in the effort but he does. Regardless, even if FANS think he is not, but his results (in regular season) is phenomenol. Just look at the Rockets win/loss ratio with and without him. Doesn't that say something of his effort and important to the team? On the other hand Yao is a really hard worker, great player as well but without TMac's record and we still love him. Oh well I am sure we will be a great team as long as all key players are healthy next year.
I don't know if this deserves it's own thread or not so I will just post it here: The reason we played so well offensively last night is because Adelman went away from the McGrady pick-n-roll. All that does is bring another defender to double him and it blocks the passing lanes. They let T-Mac iso with Jackson and the Warriors could not double if they did it would be a wide open 3 or a layup after a cut. If they didn't, T-Mac drove it all game and when he didn't he was stroking his J's. This offense is the offense we need in the playoffs. I guarantee it. T-Mac has to take it upon himself to play aggressive and his shot has to be on, but we will win more games playing like this than by using a cluttered pick-n-roll.
great point. adelman saw how pathetic our big men were (hayes/scola) at finishing with the pick and roll. i think he should only use it rarely if landry is in the game. tmac played the role of chris webber last night. when he was in the low post, he went to work. when he was in the high post, he passed beautifully. we should run our offense through tmac now (b/c rafer is way off). when rafer regains some of his skills back, let tmac run the show. he's arguably a top 3 passer in the L. why not use his passing ability?
AS I have always said RAFER is NOT a POINT GUARD , he is a shooting guard who occasionally passes the ball. To be a Point Guard Rafer would have to become a court leader by being a Play Maker Point Guard. That he is not! The only true PLAYMAKER we have is Tracy McGrady. Every time Tracy's game is off he should just revert to running the team.
No, i think KG's intensity is extreme. But when I see tmac lose the ball at halfcourt and not even contest the opposing layup, then that bugs me. Based on his play at times on the court, it doesnt seem like he cares if he wins or loses. Thats a nonchalant attitude. If its never happened, then dont say it has. If I recall correctly, Yao played in the playoffs. He may have carried us while yao was out, but he didnt carry us to the playoffs. I wouldnt necessarily pick horry over kobe b/c kobe has proven himself to be a clutch player in the postseason. But yes, I would rather have horry take a jumper than yao. My logic is fine. You're just using it improperly. And this is proven by the degree of postseason success he's had thus far... Yao has never been heralded as a great rebounder. Great rebounders need size, strength, quickness, and agility. If you expect him to get a lot of rebounds just b/c of his size, then you're mistaken. In fact, he may be the most unathletic player on the team. Asking yao to consistently grab 15 rebounds a game is like asking tmac to consistently score 40 pts per game. Look at the players his size that have played in past years. Muresan, Bol, and Bradley. None of them were great rebounders. Its b/c they arent physically capable of quickly navigating around the lane. So you think a center as big as yao should have the quickness and lateral movement to contain point guards and shooting guards? get real. He had a day of rest in between each game. Its funny...he's the only "superstar" i've ever seen who has complained of being tired. You're thinking is way too shortsighted. these guys played an efficient game. when jackson is hitting over 50% from the 3 pt line, then his defender must respect that and guard him. which gives tmac a better driving lane. they kept the rockets in the game when tmac sat. dont underestimate their value.
Thank you. This is exactly what the Rockets did to the Hornets when they came to Houston and they destroyed them.
Good observation... He played the high post though. The pick n roll is a nice play when it is used right. They were doing it every time down the court and teams learned how to stop it especially when Deke/Hayes was on the other end, it was an instant double. The biggest difference is the movement though, somewhere down the line they started thinking that they couldn't move. Tmac would get the ball and look for cutters then but there weren't any. I always wondered why the coaches didn't put Tracy in the post more often, he has the size or quickness advantage on anyone guarding him. There aren't many guys who are 6-8 and can play sg.
Pick and roll is effective as long as you have a low post scorer. If you got guys like Chuck Hayes/Deke setting it up then your asking for disaster. Yao/Landry pull off the PnR fairly well with Tracy. I wouldn't do it every play like under JVG, but its a nice offensive weapon when you don't a set play.
Take tmac out the rockets will look like a bunch of ****kin idiots.........................Landry has no post moves........he gets no look pass from mcgrady and then jams it down............Prove me wrong.......show me a video where landry set up his own shot or post move dunk
So...? Landry not being Kevin McHale doesn't mean McGrady has a tendency to settle for bad shots. Why do McGrady fans have to dis other Rockets to defend him?
I am not going to diss Landry to defend McGrady because Landry is a beast but I don't think McGrady settled for any bad shots last night save the 3 ptr at the very end. He was feeling it and shot very well, and he limited himself. He was very aggressive and he drove it hard to the hole on many occassions. He did not settle one bit in the beginning. I just hope not getting the calls won't affect his play tonight. He needs to do that again for us to win.
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/83laeDpTaks&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/83laeDpTaks&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D5KjSA29Rhs&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D5KjSA29Rhs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> and I have never seen Robert Horry do this <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CXeYJOfmVk4&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CXeYJOfmVk4&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> Robert Horry is clutch no doubt, but he got those shots b/c somebody else drew the defense in and all he had to do was find an open spot and shoot it. But if you're trying to call tmac un-clutch then you are mistaken.
No I am not a hata but a realist and the reality about Tmac is that he is exactly like that proverbial box of chocolates: you just never know what you're going to get from him. While he stepped up last night, he was a no show in the Hornets game and he can just as easily disappear tomorrow night as anything. You just never know about him and that's what frustrates guys like Blinebury and the rest. He is easily in the league of a Kobe Bryant in terms of talent but not in terms of heart and desire and that's what has kept him from greatness. The type of player you just described should not have the anecdote of "never won a playoff series" attached to a description of his career yet that describes Tmac exactly. That's not hatin on the guy - that's just being truthful.
"All he had to do was find an open spot and shoot it." Let me ask you. What do you think is harder...setting up a teammate to hit a game winning 3 pointer...or being the teammate that has to shoot it?
if you've played basketball, then shooting it isn't that hard. Getting someone the ball where they want it to shoot is hard. All they have to do is get to the open spot and knock it down, whereas you are the focus of the defense and you have to fight through it and make a nice pass. Novak was just a body standing around until T-Mac found him for that shot. Of course there's credit that goes to the shot, but it takes talent to draw defenders away and get someone the ball wide open for a clean look. Because with the shot, if you make it, YOU'RE the hero, if you miss, it's oh well.
