um... tmac and yao averaged 50+ pts, 15rpg v. dallas in 04-05. um... tmac and yao averaged 50+ pts, 15rpg v. utah in 06-07 remember what yao said earlier this season before the season started, he "dedicated" this season to thank tmac for what he had done the year before. and back to your original post, will artest make an all-nba team this year? people need to understand the tmac of this year SUCKED. everyone knows that. please don't diss tmac when you say artest is better than tracy of previous years. that's really a diss when one makes all-nba and the other doesn't. really, it is.
Sheesh...do you guys really feel T-Mac is a better fit? Stats don't lie and we're obviously a "better team" w/o him. This team is fun to watch and although T-Mac is a more talented individual than anyone we have on the team; he is just another Iverson (just ask Denver or Detroit). Do I wish we had him? Yes, as I don't know if we can win it all w/o him, BUT you've got to admit - NOW this is a team and everyone is jelling, To win this game (in Denver - ALWAYS a difficult place to play) especially against a team with an ~ "equal record" is a huge step. The Rox were underdogs in '94 and are again, maybe...there really is something about history repeating itself - maybe, maybe not, but I love this team. As Gene Hackman said in Hoosiers - or at least something like it - "This is your team!" Let's root for the guys that we have and not worry about who we don't have (a la T-Mac). Great win tonight! Go Rox!
wait so who thinks artest is better than tmac? skill wise? that isnt a question, a healthy tmac is a far superior basketball player, are you going to to try and debate that? artest can not do the things that tmac does, but perhaps tmac lacks the physical toughness and strength of artest, but that doesn't make him a better player...
so what is the question? artest is better than tracy THIS YEAR? or artest is a better than tracy period in their careers? b/c from what i read, it's the latter. they think artest this year is better than tracy every year except 04-05, which is beyond absurd.
I am not sure currently who is better when both healthy. But I will take Ron any day with his tough defense and better shooting. He plays with or without ball and on both end of the court consistently. He is not a perfect player but I am so happy he plays for Houston.
No, I said that Ron and Tmac don't fit - which is true......and if the team wasn't going to resign Ron they should try to upgrade another area of need. Now that Tmac is out, the situation changed, and Ron actually fits in better with Yao than Tmac does.... You won't get people who don't understand the team concept agreeing, but now the Rockets are harder to guard because anyone could be the guy making a play late, which makes them more difficult to guard and prepare for.....Tmac was a crutch the team used too often. DD
Maybe a healthy t-mac did bring better results with yao back then. But i'd rather much take a Ron Artest. The attitude and toughness he brings to this team is an attitude and toughness that even worwell and drexler havn't seen in a couple of years as they say game after game. The intensity is what we need to win a playoff series; something that doesn't show on the a stat sheet.
Artest has a better shot selection, but the most important thing, he plays defense. he gets steals, stops in a consistent basis. Tmac don't play D. He is a good defender, but only if he wants to. And that boils down to - attitude. Such a loser attitude. And that's the reason why Ron and tmac won't fit together in one team. They do theopposite on defensive end. The good thing about Ron is he talks when he sees something that is not helping the team. The other guys, Yao, Shane, Chuck even Van Gundy ... who else, they didn't have thew balls to tell tmac that he's freakin lazy on D.
Tmac is better at being the best player on a pretty good team. Ron appears to be better at playing a prominent role on a team that is better than pretty good. In the end, do we really give a damn if McGrady can carry a team to the playoffs so it can get bounced in the first round? I thought this team was looking for more than that.
Look, its unfair to say Ron fits better now that Tmac is out. Fact is both guys struggled early on playing a team game. Whether it was because of chemistry or injuries, it is hard to say. Nobody knows what could have happened if the roles were reverse where Tmac was healthy and Ron was out for the year. Tmac could have geled with the team. You can say what you want, but its a fact that Tmac has never had a team as talented as this while he was in Houston.
Perhaps, but I doubt it would matter, his style of game is not conducive to winning in the playoffs. Late in the games, the teams have become too reliant on him...if he makes they win, and if your team is one dimensional you aren't going anywhere. DD
This is absolutely incorrect. Ron's shot selection is as bad as Tmac's or worse. Its just working out better now because there it is just one guy chucking up bad shots. Just imagine if we had two Artest on this team. Would you think our offense would flow as nicely as it does now?
artest is significantly better than this years mcgrady. that's as far as i'd be willing to go. mcgrady has offensive skills far greater than ron does, and when he's not injured he has defensive ability, if not desire. mcgrady also is a heck of a playoff performer which is understandably hard to say given his lack of success, but his numbers don't lie.
