ONE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See what he does when it matter or when he's getting double teamed. Too many game-by-game fans in here. T-Mac is not worth the Max contract he has......
I'm going to say he had a bad game. I cringed when he took all of those jumpers just like you guys did. I'd rather him take it to the hole, but he made the shots, and as a result we won. A lot of you are missing the underlying message behind this thread. Whenever Tmac has a bad game there are posts created and threads made about how he's had a bad game. Now that he's had a good game, I decided to make a thread about how he's had a good game. And one thing I'm noticing is a lot of the same people that will talk **** about Tmac when he has a bad game are annoyed when I make a positive thread after a good showing.
he was still taking long distance jumpers, only difference being he was making them this time. Somedays the shots fall somedays they dont. It would be nice to see him put more effort into his game instead of always taking outside jumpers, but as long as he is scoring with a good FG% i wont complain.
See, this is the sort of reaction I was hoping for. He had a good game this time, maybe he will have a good game today or perhaps not. I can respect that. On Tmac sucking in general, his shooting percentage is up to 41%, and his 3 point shooting is right under 40%. It needs to get better, but considering the question about his knee injury its not too bad. I think we should be saying words of encouragement instead of putting the guy down because there aren't exactly that many things he's doing wrong. He's jacking up shots, but he's not shooting 20 a game like your Allen Iversons of the NBA. Its not an excuse, but I'm just saying if we are going to bash him for the bad we should give him credit for the good. Although... Tmac DOES lead the team in FTs attempted and he's making 80% of his FTs. Again, thats just giving the man props for good things he's doing this season.
Your missing the underlying point my friend. To me a good game for T-Mac is not hitting his 3pt shots. A good game to me is if he's aggressive in attacking the basket and playing with some or just a slight bit of intensity. If he would have gone 0 for 20 and was attacking the basket and taking high % shots then thats a good solid game for me, win or lose I don't care. That is what will get him past the 1st round of the playoffs. When he's attacking it means T-Mac is leaving it on the floor and he's giving his team the best chance to win. As JVG says, when T-Mac is attacking good things happen to the rockets.
I guess its just a difference in opinion. I'm the type of guy where a win is a win. If you get the points, you get the points. I think we all agree he needs to rely on attacking the basket more, and to his credit, he's doing that (as evidenced by him getting to the line as much as he does), although I would like for him to rely on that a little more. But a win is a win, and a 14 point 4th quarter is a 14 point 4th quarter, and if it so happens that those 14 in the 4th were essentially what won us the game in the 4th, that's a better than average game for me. You are holding Tmac to a much higher standard than the rest of the guys on this team. If Brooks scored 14 in the 4th to lead a comeback win there would be at least 3 threads talking about it, and rightfully so.
tracy won't shut down his doubters until he wins a playoff series, and even then not everyone will shut up. he needs a deep playoff run this year. that's the only way to shut them up. who cares if people bash him after a bad game. real rocket fans look at the big picture.
Agent, I just said that I don't care if T-Mac goes 0 for 20 as long as he's being aggressive. Maybe thats a high standard for you, but not for me. Brooks in his second year in the NBA makes a little over 1 million dollars a year, T-Mac in his 12th year and maybe 7+ All Star appearances (2 time scoring champion) makes a little over 20 million a year. The team is built around T-Mac and not Aaron Brooks.
At least you aren't in denial about holding him to a higher standard. Its a difference of opinion is all. You are slightly different than the rest in that I seriously doubt if Tmac went 0-20 attacking the basket that these other people would be okay with that. You would probably hear a bunch of "you gotta make those layups Tmac". Again, I'm the type of person where I don't care how you are getting your points, if you get them I consider it a good game, if you miss them then you had a bad game.
False. T-Mac IS a good 3pt shooter whose shot selection kills his %. Players that take 4-5+ a game and have to create their own shot and take off-balanced 3pt shots are going to shoot a dissapointing % (even Kobe shoots on average about 33-35% from 3 every year, and he is one of the purest shooters in the league). I disagree that his shooting touch doesn't determine his FG %. Since 2005-2006, he simply hasn't been able to get to the rim on a consistent basis. Yes it looks good when he takes 10FTA against an average defensive team that doesn't double him (Thunder, Blazers, etc..), but as we saw against the Lakers most great defensive teams simply won't play him one-on-one all game and give him consistent driving lanes. T-Mac got to the line quite a bit against the Celtics, but every FGA he made was a jumper except the transition layup over KG, and a few of those fouls were lucky (the 3 FT's at the end of the game, the continuation for the and 1). When T-Mac plays well, it's because his jumper is going. When he sees his jumper go in, he gets a lot more offensive-minded, which opens up his game and gives him the confidence to dominate the game. When his jumper is going, teams are forced to play up on him, and that gives him enough of an advantage (even when hurt) to get to the rim. Can't do those 2 things consistently with his health right now. Hell, he can't even do the set play where he runs off the screen for the long 2pt shot that we ran as the first play of almost every game last year. He can barely get over screens right now in the high PNR, and certainly can't penetrate the defense, which has allowed him to average 5-6APG the last few years.
I somewhat agree. That jumper has to fall or people will just guard him like we guard Rafer, forcing him to shoot a jumper. Although when that shot isn't falling I would like to see him attempt to get to the line or to the basket more.
Do you watch the game of basketball?? Anyone in their right mind would know not to leave McGrady open. Unlike Rafer McGrady does drive and make things happen. I would love another team to guard McGrady like they do Rafer. McGrady can at least hit an open 3.
Agent, I have been one of the biggest T-Mac fans ever since he was playing with Toronto. But up until the last few weeks I've changed my opinion of him and his chances of ever winning a championship much less getting past the 1st round of the playoffs. I have defended and defended him for years as a rocket fan, but I think the only way he will ever succeed in advancing in the playoffs is by changing his attitude and throwing caution to the wind (being mentally tougher). He just needs to quit giving excuses and play balls out every night even if it means limping around on one leg. If he wants to win a championship it should all start now and not in the playoffs. When you claim that your knee is not strong from surgery and your in pain you should sit and heel up. Otherwise come out to give 100% effort and play with a chip on your shoulder ala. Kobe and MJ. You don't ever see Kevin Garnett take a game off or shy away from his strengths and look what that finally got him (a championship). I don't care if he scored 14pts in the fourth quarter against the worst team in the NBA. I absolutely loved his performances against Boston and Portland which were both losses. During the Boston game he came down on a fastbreak steal going one on one against Kevin Garnett and T-Mac took it right to the basket with total abandon, it was magical. Maybe one or two players in the entire league could have only done that. He played those games with intensity and thats what its going to take for him to get his confidence back and finally advance in the playoffs. He needs to set the tone for this team and he needs to start now.
What a stupid OP. T-Mac is as good as kobe when he plays at his best. So it's no wonder that he dominated the 4th quarter. That really doesn't matter in the long run if he is inconsistent at doing it. We have enough people blasting the t-mac haters every time there is a bad game. Are you telling me that these people are taking the exact same approach when it comes to a Rockets' win?
I'm saying that if we are going to jump on his ass when he has a crappy game, then its only fair that we give him props for good games. Tell me why I'm wrong. And he had another solid showing today. 6-13, 3-6 from 3. But isn't that kind of a dick move to do that? If he has a bad game its "oh, Tmac had a bad game... **** that guy" but if he has a good game its "well, he's not consistent, he needed to have that good game last time". What do you want him to do? Its like he has to shoot 50% from the floor every time or **** him. Meanwhile, Artest is getting a free pass for some reason and it can be easily argued he's playing worse. Yao's back at his FG% average, Tmac's improving towards his now (its at .411 after this game), Artest is still in the mid 30s. There is a blatant double standard going on here.
This isn't about the grand scheme of things. Tmac is a known quantity. Any complaining to be done on him has already been done (isn't mentally tough, etc). This is about how easy we fans turn on the guy vs the lack of support when he actually plays well. I happen to be of the opinion that when someone plays well, you say "hey, that guy had a good game" and when someone plays bad you say "that guy had a bad game". How hard is it to give a guy props for solid play?
he hit 4 threes in one quarter! how often will that happen? if they run the offense through yao, yeah it's possible, but more teams will adjust and rotate off rafer and stay with shooters. hell, i would let a 25% three point shooter beat you a la rafer. be real....ginobili played really well during the WCF and scored 30 points after stuggling with his ankle which inevitably cost them the series. he even admitted after that game he got lucky because he hit 5 three's. point is dont get too excited until it becomes consistent...
I agree with you, I'm not saying this is the reason why he should be at the All-star game this year. I've pointed this out a couple of times, I basically posted this thread to balance out the threads posted when Tmac has one bad game. You can say "its only one game", and you would be right. But its also only one game when he goes 2-11 for 6 points. BTW, its him and AB leading the team in 3 point percentage. They are both 18-44 on the year for 41%.
