If the Rockets decide to trade him, I'm fine with that. There's a reason why I'm not a GM and none of us here are a GM of an NBA franchise. They know much more than I do and any of us do. I'm hoping we don't take back longer contracts in return. I'm also hoping we can get a playmaker of some sorts if we trade for Tmac. Personally, I would rather use that $ in 2010, and we'll have full control of what we want. In a trade with Tmac, we may get a player that we really want, BUT there will be fillers involved to match the $ needs to make this trade work. Those fillers will be probably be on contract much longer than Tmac will for one more year. In your case, you don't want to see Tmac anymore as a Rocket. THats fine. He may only be back by February or March worst case scenario, so would it really kill you to see him play for 2 months and then just let him go? Then we can target who we want,with 22 million $ to use, maybe more by then. If we trade for Tmac, I would hope to get a playmaker in return, but I just don't see that happening in his situation, because it is a risk to trade for him. It is not a risk if he is already a part of our roster and coming back to a much improved team. He honestly can't make it worse, only better in my opinion. If he really is playing that bad or hurt, we can just bench him. Personally, I say we keep Tmac, see what he can do. If he's got nothing left, then thats that, we can sign who we want, if he can produce, he gives us a chance next year to get even further in the playoffs.
Why do you think next year's T-Mac is going to be any different? Honestly, the McGrady we saw this year looked eerily like someone trying to return from microfracture surgery.
A few years ago, the Orlando Magic was asking themselves the same question. "Are we better with out McGrady?" They are doing very well and found a post-season success after McGrady. While we decide to go through this another 4-5 years with a slower version of T-mac instead of the Orlando Magic 2-time scoring champ version. The Magic traded him in the middle of his prime. It's perfectly fine to trade a player that's past his prime and getting worse much faster than other players.
the magic didnt want to trade him it wasnt some mastermind move - tmac pulled a VC and started tanking it and openly demanded a trade - which is why we were so lucky to steal tmac, orlando HAD to get rid of him
also losing grant hill's big contract helped along with the #1 pick if we get a #1 pick + letting tracy contract go, i'm sure we'll be successful in no time
It would be basically Dwight Howard playing with Hedo, with a slower less effective McGrady holding back the team and riding pine during the playoffs. They would have been eliminated by the Celtics.
The reality t-mac detractors forget is that this team two years ago was Yao and T-mac and a bunch of scrubs. It was all Yao and T-mac - and they almost on their own got us out of the first round...with some really awful players. The only guy that remains from 2-3 years ago is Shane Battier. This team has gotten much much better - but not enough to succeed without superstars. Yao is one, T-mac is the other. T-mac's gifts are incredible. He's lead the team in assists most years, and he doesn't even play the point. This is while passing to not the best shooters in the world. He draws double teams, and makes Yao more effective. He can take it to the whole, he can shoot, and he can pass. He's a triple threat player. In fact, he is the ONLY triple threat player on the team. Now, if you want to get another player like that, fine, but they are rare. You will only get another injury ridden guy whose knee is in worse shape than t-mac's - like a Baron Davis. If you get some 2nd-tier players, it won't help us...it will be redundant. It will simply take away from guys like von wafer. You don't need any one or two dimensional players to win in the playoffs...we have a great set of role players in case anyone has missed this the past few years. People say T-mac won't recover....but most people forget again that t-mac's injury is to a NON-WEIGHT bearing part of the knee, unlike most of the other micro-fracture surgeries mentioned. That gives him a lot more hope of making a come back and doing it faster. Also, in retrospect, his decision to do it sooner than later was the smartest thing. He didn't handle it well, as often the case, but he made the right decision. He clearly wasn't the same player, and his knee clearly affected him. The guy deserves a chance to play healthy and see if he can help the team play at a higher level. I mean, he deserves a chance to play with Yao and Brooks, and wafer and all. Really, he brings a lot more to this team if people would just get over their bias. You don't have to trade him in the off season. You can wait until Feb. There's no reason to rush.
he had the surgery on a non-weight bearing part of the knee. He can make a quicker recovery. And I doubt he will be worse than this past year, while he was playing hurt.
I guarantee you McGrady fans that he won't play another game as a Rocket. This team just demonstrated a level of dedication and toughness that some sports fans never see from a home team. They also developed some great chemistry and showed that with a little health and maybe a tweak or two of the roster they could easily come out of the West next season. Management knows this so why would they bring back McGrady? It could kill the chemistry on and off the court and for what, so he can be traded half way through the season or leave after? Why would management take something that isn't broken and then force a change that everyone knows is temporary? I say all this assuming McGrady comes back healthy, close to the same athlete he was two years ago with a dedication to winning and running the offense. I don't think he is capable of any of that but even if he was why bring him back temporarily?
The last time McGrady played in a game 7 the Rockets were blown out by 40 points. McGrady played 12 seasons and never got past the first round. His fans can continue to make excuses for him but facts are facts. His faults lie in his self centeredness and lack of commitment to the game and this will not change this late in his life and basketbal career. The 22 game win streak had Yao play in 12 of them plus Alston played the best ball of his life during that period. It was not entirely McGrady although he did play good too. It was the only real time McGrady played team ball but after that he soon reverted to his old self. Enough excuses already. Aren't you McGrady fans tired of making excuses for him for 12 years now? Is it really worth all these years of devotion to a certified loser?
Good study.you must have took some time to gather all those stats and info. But if you were refering to a healthy TMAC then your analysis would be wrong..now if your refering to TMAC not helping this squad at all because of playing injured then your DOGONE right. TMAC was already playing w/ an injured and weak knee since late last season and all through the 07-08 playoffs and as for this year...well you know c'mon..i bet that a healthy TMAC playing would've helped us to more than 53 wins and most probably sent the FAKERS fishing after RD.2 this yr in the playoffs.
Tmac do often take bad shots but so do our whole team. When our team is pressured, everyone often take bad shots like AB or Ron. But with the exception of having Tracy on the court, he can create for everyone. Just hopefully he don't take any horrible shots. He creates offense for our team when we desperately need to score. When we're down with about 1 minute left on the clock, Tmac gives me the hopes of winning that game. Without him, most of the time we just don't have a closer. Closers? Tmac- great player when healthy. Can create shots, create open shots for everyone and can find a open player. Definately our best closer Ron- Great defender and good scorer. But during closing time, he often take bad shots. He can cause major turnovers during crucial times. He wouldn't be my choice for a guy to handle the ball in the last minute Yao- Great player for the first 3 quarters and always seem to be shut down by the fourth. Forces shot when team pressure him and often loses the ball easily when doubled. When fronted, he is just useless. When closing out a game, I feel comfortable with him sitting on the bench watching. He brings too much vulnerability in the last minute AB- Has proven to close out games but needs to be more consistent. Maybe a few years under him will do. Have a great shot, decent passer but make mistakes sometimes, and great at the line. If Tmac is not playing, this guy should definately handle the rock in the last minute. Shane Battier- Is the most trusted guy in my book to take a game winning shot besides AB and Tracy. Thing is, he needs to get open and someone to create for him. But once he gets the ball and is wide open on the side, most likely the shot is going in. Von Wafer- Great instant offense for our team. Good shot, and very athletic. But for closing out games, this guy seem to make very dumb decisions or just jack up shots. I rather have him find an open spot like battier and just spot up shoot. Scola- This guy has better moves than Yao, he find ways to score and is determined. I haven't seen a player with that kind of moves he had in a while. He is very consistent and during the last minute, I rather feed Scola the ball more than Yao any day. He is fearless and surprisingly, has a very high basketball IQ. When Tmac is out, its either AB or Scola who should have the ball in their hands in the last minute Kyle Lowry- He is our great pure point. I wouldn't mind having him close our games for us if AB is having a bad night. He can penetrate and is a good passer. His IQ is really good and all he will do is grow into a good player. Bad thing is, his shooting is horrible but he makes it up for his penatration.
The last time the Rockets played in a game 7 w/o McGrady they were blown out by 40 points. Incorrect, McGrady's TEAMS never made it out of the first round. Basketball is a team sport. His faults lie in the fact that he played with a ****house roster everytime he was in the playoffs and was matched up with some of the worst possible matchups and circumstances. The Mavericks series was won if not for Yao being targetted and Finley's out of bounds play. So let me get this straight, we only had that streak because his teamates started playing well and McGrady "started" playing teamball, then stopped and we immediatley lost? Thats what sounds like excuses to me. Aren't you McGrady haters tired of trying to put ALL the blame on him?
That's right lie about it. Which game 7 was this? The Rockets have made it out of the first round. T-mac hasn't.
You have an extra zero. It should be 4 pts. Last game 7, T-mac played was the Rockets-Jazz 2 seasons ago. The score was 103-99.
I think the key point for me and the historical data on Mcgrady as a Rocket is the amount of options that were available for him. Morey has said it before but Mcgrady is one of THE most double teamed people in the game today injured or not. With the emergence of Brooks and Scola this season as more consistent options its not plausible to think that a 80-90% Mcgrady will shoot a better %. But as Clutch has said he probably could shoot worse too
at the end of the game, I'd rather have the ball in a healthy McGrady's hand than Ron or even Aaron. The question will always be though, when is he healthy and now after surgery what level will he be playing at even if he is considered healthy? Old habits die hard, and McGrady will always have the mindset of a scorer so even with his great passing skills youre going to get at least 12-15 shots out of him, regardless of percentage. Honestly, what I think he needs to become is what Grant Hill is on the Suns, which is a 3rd or 4th option at best when it comes to scoring. Assuming he's reinserted into the starting lineup this would be the shooting percentage(career averages) of the starters: Player FG% 3p% Yao Ming .525 .200 Aaron Brooks .406 .356 Luis Scola .523 .000 Shane Battier .447 .388 McGrady .388 .376 From these numbers, McGrady has the lowest career shooting average of the 5 starters. Yet, what seperates him is that he can create and facilitate. At this stage of his career that is going to be his biggest contribution on any team. Sidenote: If theres a McGrady trade in the works this coming offseason or regular season, the organization is definitely going to keep a tight lip on it. This way McGrady cant announce his retirement or something through Stephen A. right before the trade.
