No he didn't. He may have been getting similar results with bad D but he was visibly slower and on the dunk he barely go there. He just won't ever be that guy again. He is so much less atheletic but the only difference i saw in the game was he went on a little streak when his shot was falling on that poor defense. If you're holding you're breath for him to do alot better than he did in that game you must not plan on breathing again.
Do you really think it is a loss of athleticism, or that he is just not in the same shape as he was then? I mean at 28, he is still in his peak as far as years go...but maybe he hasn't learned how to keep his body in top form. I think everything has come more easily for Tracy than most, and he has never had to properly dedicate himself to dominate......as he ages, he needs to train harder to keep up his play, and I believe he is just not doing that. It may be that he is just not in optimal shape. DD
Tracy looks to be in great shape to me, I just think he has lost athleticism. He has a small, long frame that has taken a beating in the NBA for a long time despite his age. All that said, he played well last night. The team didn't lose because of his diminished skills. They lost because this team has no dynamic offensive players.
What people don't realize is the reason other guys go 48min and then sometimes dominate down the stretch is because they often take possessions off earlier in the game. Look at the 3 most common guys to do so, Kobe, Lebron and Iverson. Some might say Duncan(esp after Game 1) but he barely sees 35min on the court. For Lebron and Iverson, they ALWAYS take times off during defense. The most they would do is the usual gamble in the passing lane and sometimes succeed. But they both are shamefully lazy on defense. Lebron to his credit has improved somewhat but still mediocre. Kobe is a bit different. Media hype as led people to believe he is a defensive juggernaut when he really isn't. He slacks as much on defense as any other superstar. But now he can take offensive possessions off because he has Gasol and the very capable Odom. People might not notice but Gasol and Odom are a truly terrific 1-2 punch and allow Kobe to just play decoy and rest himself while on the court. T-Mac right now doesn't have that luxury. He has to do EVERYTHING on offense AND defense. As seen in the first half, he had to be in the passing lane, get back to his man, rotate to another man, block/alter shots, play D while being posted up, box out, rebound, and run around with cutters. All of this while seeing constant double and triple teams. Truth be told, NOBODY IN THE LEAGUE SEES AS MANY DOUBLES AND TRIPLES AS T-MAC, not Lebron, not Kobe. They see maybe 60% of the doubles and triples. That number only increases without Yao. Everyone knows T-Mac is the end-all be-all on offense for the Rockets. Putting 3-4 different fresh bodies on him on top of 40+ minutes of double and triple teams will ultimately take its toll in the 4th quarter.
I'm proud of Tracy... he played a gutty game. He didn't get to sit barely at all and you could really see it during that last 2 min. He just didn't have the energy to drive hard to the hoop; he knew he would be stripped or blocked if he tried to. He needs to play 40 min, but needs more rest late late third and late forth quarter. Like sit him with 5 mins in the game and let it run down to three min or so he can get a quick breather to go hard down the stretch.. I miss Rafer... I miss Yao
Although, I have no concrete evidence, just what I heard somewhere (on the boards, the radio, tv, reading) is that doctors didn't expect Tracy to be able to play ball too long b/c of the physical and medical limitations of his body and body type. So perhaps that's it. If so, I think you commend a guy for playing as long and as well as he has for what seems to be much longer than most gave him. Instead of praising someone for fighting and rising up above what his body was supposed to limit him to, it's become dog him b/c he can't do it by himself. I'm with LayupDrill and Champ Caliber...players take posessions off. Their teams get easy buckets from time to time. Not the Rockets...It's so obvious, but Rocket fans have hate-colored glasses. When TMac would take a HALF play on the weakside to relax b/c you know he's gettin the ball still, the internet lingo busts out, "OMGZZZzzZ!11! he's go no heart, he gives up, he's lazy, etc." Take a step back, look, really observe what happened. Dude is doing everything he possibly can to help his team beat a better team. Anyone would get tired if he had to work that hard on both ends of the court for just about every single possession with little to no break. My comments aren't based off TNT's comments. It's just plain truth. It was true during the reg season, and especially true in our post seasons with or without Yao. Year after year, it's said, Tracy doesn't have a team to support him. It's like the regular season, they are there, but post season comes, and he's alone everytime being the only one rising his game.
Agreed..granted, he can't do it alone, but c'mon, it's the mf'n playoffs and you have to make a GD rebound, mkae a GD Free Throw, make a GD layup and shoot the GD ball...You're a "superstar", act like one...
you guys are SERIOUSLY expecting too much from t-mac and it really pisses me off. if we are putting this all on one guy we have no chance of ever being a good team. not even kobe can do anything all by himself. he has plenty of help now and that is the only reason he will get out of the first round now. if lebron was in the west he wouldn't have been out of the first round yet.
He got RBs. He couldn't drive. Watch the D again. He was absolutely hounded and cut off. You guys ever try to drive when you are tired? Oh man it's TOUGH. And if he shoots, "drive stop shooting contested shots." The guy tried to make the best play on each possession. I know tracy has his downsides, but blaming him today is not right.
HUH? yea thats why Robert Horry is a superstar.. wait wha? fact is TMac carried the team all by himself and at the end he tired out, simple as that. Thats what happens when you get tag teamed by very good physical defenders all game long.
Agree, T-Mac played a ballsy game, he showed up and was far and away the best player on the court on both ends. The guy a was complete player and he did everything he could to help pull out a win. Anybody that questions his conditioning has obviously never played basketball before or if they have they were never good enough to get double and tripled team all game long. Just have someone play box and one on you and I guarantee you won't have any legs by the end of the game. I guarantee it.
We all know Kobe is better than TMac right? Kobe is a friggin superstar right? Did he get out of the first round without Shaq? NO!
T-MAC used all his power in this game.Really a excellent guy I hate Boozer , Deron Williams and AK47!
The problem is that TMac simply has no help. This team can't be an elite team and can't beat elite teams if both Yao and TMac aren't at the top of their game. Guys like Luther Head can't be relied upon come playoff time. They have proven this time and time again. You honestly could not have asked more from TMac in this game. He can't afford to take a play off because noone else on this team can create offense (except flashes from aaron brooks, I like what I see).
Sadly, i bet you 80% of the people on this board have no idea what a "box and one" actually is..... Their rationale is.... "its the end of the game, why isn't he driving into a group of 3 big guys to draw contact? he has no heart..." Its a poor basketball play people. None of you would be b****ing if Scola didnt' foul AK on that shot. Tmac made the correct play - and passed to Bjax for the 3. It seems like some of you would rather have Tmac shoot it (when he obviously was gassed and not feeling it) to show "how much he wants it" rather then the correct play.... Its just sad really.....
I can't believe some of these fans. T-Mac played a great game. He was all over the court, scoring, dishing, blocking shots and making steals. In the 4th, he was basically doubled on every possession. What did people expect him to do? At the end of the day, it is a team game. I was very glad to see the TNT guys say all that. Those are guys that actually played the game and don't sit on their butts all day dissing T-Mac for anything he does.
If Scola and Hayes make their layups then Tmac has a triple double and we win this game and Tmac would be praised as a God amongst men for carrying these scrubs during a must win game in the playoffs. It is as simple as that. A few GD layups and the tone of everything changes and we are 1-1 going to Utah.
having lurked on this board for quite some time, i tend to agree with you... first and foremost, i am a fan of the rockets. period. so win or lose, i will still support them. when zan tabak was here, i supported him. when chilly pete was here, i supported him. remember charles jones? i supported him. so it's funny to me, when someone obviously did all they could (in this case tmac), and then have the fans turn against them. to me, those people - who complain all the time - are the same guys who, when playing pick up games, call foul on everything. but i digress... i was at game one, and this guy who was cheering for the rockets all night, decided at the end of the game to yell obscenities to tmac... which is fine, had he not spent all game cursing at everyone else around him to get into the game, and literally threatening people (he was a douche in the biggest way). i didnt get it. if you've already written the rockets out, then dont watch the series, it's as simple as that.
