Now in all fairness DD, some of the teammates and the prehistoric offense of van gundy doesn't help much. I mean chuck hayes should never start in the nba, yet he was starting for the rockets. Rafer alston is also a bench player, yet he was logging major minutes too. I do think this current cast has more options and he should feel more confident in others. The offense if ran propoerly can create creases for slashes and the screen action can open up for some mid game. That's why they keep talking about ariza doing more and have room for growth. Tracy needs to just run the offense and in crucial times or at the end, become the playmaker.
I agree completely, I believe he was hampered at times by: 1. Teamates 2. Coaching 3. Himself Never said it was all his fault. DD
Yes because Mo Williams, and Derek Fisher made all the decisions on their teams... and gave it to Lebron and Kobe to finish.
Who said ALL the decisions? Tmac can still make the majority? Man....why is everything always all the way to one side or the other? DD
Why are you dodging? It is a simple question. Forget about who is to blame. Forget about what I am saying. You believe Mcgrady's style hampered his teams. So if he played according to your wishes, there MUST be some tangible improvements. No? If yes, then what are your expectations of those teams, IF Mcgrady had played "properly". Just answer the question. I am a reasonable person, I promise it won't be a waste of time. People will say "better cast", because he now has a better cast. That WOULD be the reason why he wins more. Where has Dwayne Wade led his team with his current support? What round was Kobe knocked out of before Gasol? Did he not know how to "trust his teammates" until he magically learned to the last 2 years? If so, how was he winning 3 straight championships before?
The main problem with Brooks currently is that he often gets caught in the air with nowhere to go. That is not something that happens to Tracy often. Still doesn't have the best feel for when to attack the basket for a shot or pass just yet. When he does then I think he will be somewhat dangerous.
I just look at it as a calculated risk since the Rockets will likely not be able to obtain a franchise level player and they could potentially be two difference makers at a more reasonable contract. Their talent makes them worth bringing back. Their injury history/risk is why you can't offer them huge contracts. At the right price, I would have no problem bringing them both back. Let me talk about a few players that are most often mentioned as reasonable targets for the Rockets to go after, Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh. Now, if you can sign McGrady for a contract like Lee mentioned (4 years/ $40 million), that is cheaper than what Joe Johnson would cost. McGrady and Johnson aren't that far apart. All things being equal, McGrady is a better player, but even factoring in age and injury concerns, they are probably comparable players at this point. It's the same with Chris Bosh versus Yao. Sure, Yao has the injury cloud over his head, but a Yao at $12 million a year is still better than a max deal to get Chris Bosh. I'm with Lee on this- the Rockets could well bring both guys back.
Just as a heads up, this is what people are reffering to when they say you come across as arrogant. You raised a terrible opinion about what a closer is and when people call you on it, you say something like this to try and save face.
LOL @ the above statement, as if you are somehow the only person on this board to have produced such brilliant, profound insight! Newsflash: 99% percent of this entire damn board has been wanting the team to have another creating/penetrating player on the floor in crunch time. That you think you are somehow alone in your prescience with regards to this sentiment is awesome. Newsflash 2: in case you haven't noticed, until this year, we've never had a second player capable of doing those things. you somehow, stupefyingly are screaming that that glaring weakness would have been resolved had the team merely allowed anyone else to attempt to fill the role. as if a player's lack of skills is somehow irrelevant to what he is capable of producing. absolutely amazing. or perchance it could be the fact that you continue making horrendous arguments and regurgitating their premises when confronted? maybe maybe no? it would probably behoove you to actually try and defend your arguments rather than always resorting to the appeals to authority: "oh i manage people so i understand team building, "a former div-1 player agrees with me" etc etc ad infinitum....
Tracy is a swell player when he is on the court. His attitude and overall lack of intensity has kept him from becoming an all-time great. He is not interested in being a defensive stopper, and he is not interested in doing the dirty work that it takes to be legend. He will not do the knee-burn, bruising, punishing work that great players that want to be leaders, MUST do. The Rockets have tried to surround him with players that basically specialize in this, but it has not caught on. Chuck, Shane, and Rafer, despite what I read here, made Tracys life cake, and should have been enough to win...Tracy makes excuses, Tracy fans make excuses. "I was tired" (In the playoffs, Maybe playing HARD in some regular season games would help a bit) "If I was on the Celtics" (Backhand all the teammates that do YOUR dirty work) "I thought I was playing harder" (Raptors ) Tracy would rather look good and lose, than look bad and win... http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/01/mcgrady_mopes_then_he_and_the.html He is getting paid like a superstar, he has the talent of a superstar, so he will be measured as a superstar, and he has NOT gotten the job done. No excuses. "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard". Tracy in a nutshell...
How is it that you saying it is a terrible opinion comes across ok, yet I come across as arrogant? There is nothing terrible about wanting to share responsibility late in the games, and have Tmac playing off the ball as a way to shake things up. One of his biggest flaws is that he needs to have the ball to be successful and although he makes good decisions, he has a tendency when pressured to make bad ones and jack up long contested shots, which he sometimes makes. It is those makes, which I believe give him a false sense of entitlement and it makes him shoot more often, when he misses far more than he makes. I am not saying take the ball completely away from him, but he could set a pick to free up a man, then roll to the basket, he could make a back cut, he could move off the ball some and open up the lane for others on the team, but for some reason, unless he has the ball...he doesn't move. That is what I am talking about and Leeb gets.......Maybe I am just doing a lousy job of trying to explain the sharing the ball philosophy, because I believe it makes the team and Tmac even harder to guard. I believe that is one of the biggest contributing factors to Tmac led teams falling short in the playoffs every time. Whatever, it is what I believe...and what Adelman has been trying to get him to do..... Typical. [/ignore] DD
DaDakota, This is really a simple question. Please oblige with a simple answer. There is no right or wrong. I am asking for your opinion. How many games do the 06/07 Rockets win, had Tracy Mcgrady "trusted his teammates more"? For a point of reference, they won 55 games, with Mcgrady not trusting his teammates, and hogging the decision-making. Please give me a number, in your opinion.
Your opinion is valid as far as McGrady is concerned as a player on this team. He should be active and move without the ball throughout the games. But as a closer, ie his play in the last few minutes of a close game, I feel your opinion is extremely misguided and probably the exact opposite of what a closer needs to bring to his team. I know your feelings toward McGrady and wouldnt of responded, but I recall you being taken aback in a previous thread in what you perceived to be unwarranted personal attacks. I was just pointing out that its comments like those, whether intended or not, which get under peoples skin.
your points are very valid, if T-Mac does this with the current team. in 07/08.. i think he had no choice lets look at the roster Rafer cannot shoot the ball ... check Scola/landry/ AB .. rookies/still developing.. check Luther head sucks.. check Deke.. is not Yao.. check Shane cannot do anythin on offense.. check so what else could Tracy do? now if he comes back and hogs the ball this year.. your points are valid..
Look, it is a waste of time, we are not going to agree, but as an example, please look at the 22 game winning streak a couple of years ago, Rafer was the one making a lot of the decisions, even waving Tmac off. The team was better because you had a couple of guys that were threats to set up their teamates or score. Now one could legitimatly argue how much of a threat Rafer really is or was, but the point is that the team was thriving by having multiple angles of attack. That is all I am saying...... And for the record, whenever Adelman has tried to do this, have TMac play off the ball, he has b****ed, and moaned about not getting his touches....both years. I don't mind you guys saying "Who was he going to trust"....that is fine....and it is a legitimate gripe, for me though he needs a Hakeem epiphany where he learns to let others take a more active role in the decision making process. And late, of course, he will have the ball 90% of the time, if he is healthy. Anyway, for the good of the Rockets I think we can all agree that Tmac coming back in a realtively healthy state is good for the organization and for Tmac himself. Go Rockets ! DD
Mcgrady's a guard. He's supposed to be better with the ball. His job isn't to set picks and to cut inside when he doesn't have the ball. His job is to create off the dribble when he has the ball or space the floor for his team mates by setting up outside of the three point line ready to shoot when he doesnt have the ball. If every guard on the team kept moving, setting picks, and cutting inside when they didn't have the ball, what is the guy with the ball supposed to do? He doesn't have a driving lane because now the paint is congested because when a player cuts or sets picks, he's bringing a defender with him and shrinking the court. Sometimes you have to see the game through the eyes of your team mates instead of just constantly moving around and looking to do something just for the sake of doing something.
The offense you described is very easy to guard, and exactly the kind of offense that will always fall short in the playoffs. DD
