I think Benching McGrady will not only allow him to heal up, but give Adelman a different 6th man. Remember last year when McGrady played second unit when he hasn't fully recovered, his bench presence worked out amazingly. All these years if starting McGrady and Yao isn't a good thing (since they both tend to start out slow), perhaps now its time to change up a bit and bench McGrady. When he recovers fully, he can play starter again, but somehow McGrady as a sixth man seems very dangerous to me. He could play with a mediocre lineup like the previous 2 seasons and still achieve great results, so I think he is probably most suited to lead a second unit himself (giving Yao and Artest a rest). There are very little players that can elevate their teammates to a great extend, McGrady is a lesser version of Nash but with versatility on offense. It is probably more reliable to have Mcgrady on bench instead of Artest. Not to mention, this can limit McGrady's minutes, allowing a better recovery.
This quote is quite reassuring. I don't know, any bit of positive news about t-mac is great news to me. ========================= "I feel pretty good," says McGrady. "I aint ready to play, but as far as getting up and down the court, I can do that. My lateral movement is a little difficult right now and jumping is a little difficult, but I can get up and down the court... Talking to the doctors, I had an MRI done during our physicals and they say I can’t hurt anything, and that’s a good thing to hear." Basically, he's healing up. And he'll be good to go come opening night. That's how I (an optimist, admittedly) interpreted this quote. For the whole story by Jason Friedman, click on the link. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Training_Camp_Begins-283735-34.html
I don't like bringing T-Mac in off the bench for one reason; he is a slow-starter. You want your 6th man to electrify the team when they start off slow. T-Mac has many nights where he will satrt off the game 1-5 before hitting a streak midway through the 2nd quarter. He is a volume player who needs the minutes to catch rythym. Artest is much more suited to come off the bench. He can light a fire under the team when the first unit starts off slow, and his energy, hustle and [most importantly] ball-stopping mentality would mesh better with the 2nd unit than T-Mac's style of play.
Mcgrady coming off the bench?? A 23 million dollar sixth man? I think not. No one in there right mind would do that. As for mins, I would def bring Artest off the bench at the beginning of games and Artest, Yao, Mcgrady, Scola, and Rafer or Shane at the end of games. Maybe have mcgrady play point depending on the matchup. But mcgrady will NEVER come off the bench if he is healthy enough to play starters mins.
Hilarious! LMAO! Well . .. if we don't get out of the 1st round .. T-mac has his excuse in . . .before the season IF we do . . he is not sa Tru Warior Rocket River Amazing. . . see some Francis bashers about him not coming back . . . never be 100% . . blah blah blah yet they cannot come to the same Conclusion with St. Mac
Hahaha Francis is not in the same situation as McGrady. Not even close! Thanks for making my night! Hahahaha ParaSolid
So...haven't we come to the conclusion that neither of them will ever be the same? I mean, how many down years does it take before we realize they aren't bouncing back? Unlike alot of people, i'm not going to blame them for their injuries. Injuries happen. I'm just happy we have more firepower this time around.
Nugs wouldn't do it, and we wouldn't do it. Nugs because of the health issues. (McGrady just made himself totally untradeable, if he wasnt already, by spelling out the ongoing knee and shoulder problems. We are stuck with Tmac for better or for worse) And we wouldnt do it because management is committed to the Tmac and Yao combo and surrounding it with talent. Personally I think AI and Artest wouldnt be great together as they both tend to overpossess the rock. At least McGrady knows when to make a pass and when to take a shot.
Nuggets wouldn't do it because they are on the cusp of rebuilding and AI's contract exires this upcoming summer...we wouldn't do it because T-Mac fits our system much better and is the concensus better player.
True, but isnt McGrady's contract expiring in the much lauded summer of 2010? Nevertheless, we agree, McGrady fits our plans better.
b/c tmac not playing at a 100% is still a bona fide star. and he has shown he can still drop 40 pts in a playoff games playing through those injuries. steve francis hasn't even played like an average backup the past 3-4 years. and you want us to give him the benefit of the doubt? steve francis is DONE. there's a reason we got brent barry. brent is gonna back up alston primarily and tmac is gonna play PG too. if tmac becomes injured and can't even stay on the court or put up 6 or 7 pts, then yes, i'll say he's done like steve.
Last seaon tracy had qualms about coming off the bench. he has allways put the teams above his.i dont see how that would be any different. infact with the current circumstances, he would welcome it.
Suprise, suprise a yao-only-fan ragging on tracy. I love to see AI here hogging the ball and taking away shots from you're beloved yao.
KG had 0-7 before he got out of 1st round too. If 03 Orlando even swept by Detroit,nobody would bash T-Mac because almost everyone thought Detroit was better by far and Orlando hadn't any chance.But when Orlando unexpectedly led 3-1 because of a unbelievable T-Mac then lost finally,ppl suddenly used to bash T-Mac as if he let the better team lose.When the playoffs changed from best of five sets to seven sets...there was no lucky no burst but practically the better team will smile at the end. Similar as 05 vs Dallas,we also was the underdog.2-0 was unexpectedly.Not to mention the referee problem... Last season,if just we could have Rafer...then maybe was another story... 07 vs Jazz,yeah if T-Mac was the 05 T-Mac,we should have beaten Utah.So it's his fault. We are not blaming teammates,it's simply we haven't been that good.Everybody tried...
I hope TMac will be fully healthy when the season starts. The rockets need a starting like the Celtics last year if not better.
