Sure he didn't have all stars yet, but Josh Howard and Devin Harris were still pretty good back then. Same with Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry. Thats 4 players that can create their own shot and make open shots and are pure scorers. Remember in the series vs. Houston in 2005, Dirk had only 1 or 2 decent games...the rest of his games were horrible. But who saved the mavs?? Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard and Devin Harris. Those guys were able to step up and score, create, and hit open 3's. Tmac had Yao (who was only getting 30 mpg) and Mike James, who doesn't know the meaning of the word "pass". Thats a big difference. Dallas 2006 roster: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/2006.html Houston 2007 roster: http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2007.html Tmac had Rafer alston to create for him?? Also playing 44 mpg!! Then Luther head as a back up point?? You can see why this team was horribly built. Look at Garnett's old teams. His next best player was Szcerbiack and Troy Hudson in this decade. Not gonna cut it. When he got Cassell and Sprewell, they got to the Western Conference Finals and it earned him a well deserved MVP. However, once they aged or left, the Wolves went back to being a lottery team. There wasn't anything more Garnett could've done. Thats why I feel the team around you has a BIG part in a player's success. You saw how well Kobe did with Kwame Brown and Odom as the 4/5 vs. Horry/Shaq or Gasol/Bynum. The 3 years he didn't have SHaq or Gasol, he missed the playoffs, and then had 2 straight 1st round exits. If Memphis doesn't GIVE Gasol to the Lakers, Kobe wouldn't have a 4th ring, maybe not even an MVP (though he deserved one), and would still be stuck in the 1st round more than likely.
With that comment and this post it is obvious that you don't watch or understand the NBA. Idk what made you say something like this. Jason Terry?? Stackhouse before he broke down??? Devin Harris???? Josh Howard??? Oh wow. You should have thought about that deeply. Mind me Avery Johnson is a good coach. You gotta think about that all.
Were any of them All-Stars that season? Nope. Jason Terry? Nope Josh Howard an All-Star Replacement the next season. Devin Harris was not even close to being an All-Star caliber player until last season. Jerry Stackhouse? Just because he was an All-Star in 2000 and 2001 doesn't mean he's an All-Star player. So, Really....Try again. T-Mac was given this chance last season but decided to not rehab as hard and he was also given the chance in 2007 were his team for the 1st time was favorite to take out the Jazz. So, even though I do agree that you do need a team to win. T-Mac has already been granted those chances and has already failed.
I belive in TMAC!! I Belive he finally has motivation to put forth the effort expected out of a "20 mil Franchise player". One you know he wants to shut up all the critics in houston before he gets traded and most importantly he's playing for a contract!! Plus with the current roster we have he'll be able to take advantage of our new uptempo offense plus considering we dont have a legitimate proven scorer hell have a green light
Couple questions for you. -What makes you think he's motivated? You think money will do it? -When was Tracy McGrady better at playing an uptempo offense than he was in a halfcourt? Just to let you know, Tracy McGrady always has been and always will be a player that thrives off of grind it out half-court offense and he's not a player that thrives off of fast break or run and gun tempo. Tracy McGrady does not hustle, play defense, or rebound, and now you think he's willing to run the fast break with 2 other players? Sorry, but that shows absolutely no evidence. Only in Toronto, Tracy was a player that would've been better fit for a fast-paced offense. When he started to polish his skills in Orlando, he became better at running the pick n roll and playing grind it out offense. Tracy will never be the player he once was in Orlando or Toronto and he'll never reach the athletic ability he once was either, I don't care what Tim Grover said either. I don't buy a lick of it.
I agree they weren't all stars, BUT they were MUCH better than Luther Head, Rafer Alston, JL III, Kirk Snyder, Bob Sura, Jon Barry, David Wesley, Aaron Brooks, Bobby Jackson, etc. Those are bench players!! Those are the people that are supposed to take pressure of off Tmac?? Cmon man. YOu saw the difference with Kobe having Smush Parker and Kobe having Derek Fisher. You saw how Wade did with a rookie pg, vs. Jwill and Payton. Howard, Harris, Stackhouse, and Terry were all very solid players. Because of those guys, Dirk never has to worry about playing defense, he doesn't have to worry about getting 10 rpg, or creating for the entire team...all he has to worry about is scoring. Tmac has to score, create, pass effectively, not turn the ball over while handling the ball 90% of the time, play defense, and be able to finish at the rim and make sure Yao gets his touches. A LOT more responsibility for Tmac. ________________________________________________________________ How do you know Tmac didn't rehab hard?? Did you actually see him with your own eyes not rehabbing?? Did you not know that he was supposed to have microfracture surgery after the 2008 playoffs, but instead took the less drastic surgery to try and come back. Did you not see how bad Dwade struggled after injuring his left knee and left shoulder in 2007 (team went 15-67, he only played 51 games). Also, he was favored in 2007 ONLY because they had home court advantage. The Jazz had every other advantage. Who was Yao going to guard?? The ROckets picked Boozer, and he torched us. Also, who was going to stop Deron Williams? Rafer? Well Dwill scored and created plays for others at will during that series. There was no stopping him. Also, Chuck Hayes was our starting power forward!!! The man is offensively challenged. On top of that, Dikembe Mutombo is offensively challenged also, and he is our primary back up center behind Yao. So thats 2 ppl who have almost zero scoring ablility. Then you have Rafer Alston who played 44 mpg and shot 33 % from the field and 32 % from the 3 pt line. Thats not a big issue if he plays less minutes and shoots less. However, he shot 11 times per game that series and 7 of those attempts per game were 3 pt field goals!! Not going to win with your power forward and your point guard not being able to shoot well. Then to make matters worse, Battier was the one role player who shot well (45 % and 44 % 3pt), but he was only averaging 7 shots per game, and 6 of those attempts per game were 3 pt attempts! He probably should've gotten more shots than Rafer, but he didn't. Then our bench...Luther Head disappears in the playoffs. During the season, he shot 43 % field goals and 44 % 3 pt. But in the playoffs, that dropped down to 30 % field goals and 26 % on 3 pt shots. Juwan Howard also didn't show up either. He averaged 9 ppg during the season, on 47% shooting. Vs Utah he averaged 5 ppg on 40% shooting. Head, Howard, Deke, and Hayes doesn't score a single point in Game 3. Thats the bench and key players for the Rockets during the season. So lets analyze this: Rafer shoots 33 % and 32 % on 11 fga/game and 7 3pta/game Luther shoots 30 % and 26 % on 5 fga/game and 3 3pta/game Howard shoots 40 % and his production cuts in 1/2 almost. (5 fga/game) Hayes averages only 6 rpg as the starting power forward and 4 ppg (didn't score on game) Mutombo only averages 6 mpg, scores a total of 6 points and grabs a total of 11 rebounds. The one bright spot is Battier, who shot 45% and 44 %, but only averaged 7 fga/game and 6 3pta/game. So who's left to do all the scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, creating?? Tmac and Yao. Thats the reason why Yao and Tmac shot poorly in the playoffs (44 and 40 %). They had NOBODY to take any pressure off of them. Nobody could shoot and nobody else besides Tmac could create. So how are the Rockets favored (besides homecourt which doesn't mean much in a 4 vs. 5 matchup)? The Jazz have 3 legit scoring options in Deron (2nd or 3rd best pg at the time), Boozer (all star), and Okur (all star). They also have a veteran who's won championships in Derek Fisher. They also have their hustle guy/shot blocker in a long, tall AK47 (who had 3 very good games to end the series). On top of AK47, they put Fisher, Harpring, and Giricek, on Tmac. We had nobody to cover Deron or Boozer, and Okur still got open 3's. So basically, the Jazz just dared Rafer and Battier to beat the Rockets. They doubled Yao hard, and thus caused him to commit 33 turnovers in 7 games!!! And with Tmac, they put Fisher on him on the outside to limit how much he drives (shorter, but quickers and stronger) or Harpring to try to wear him down and then had AK 47 and either Okur or Boozer ready to help out. watch these 2 videos and see how hard it was for Tmac to simply get to the basket and get off a shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtpWVp07A14 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZyC8I0-6Iw&feature=channel As you can see, he's almost always surrounded by 3 or 4 players, because the Jazz knew statistics would play out in their favor if Rafer, Luther, Hayes, or Mutombo shot the ball. All they had to do was not leave Yao or Battier open in the corner. So, please tell me how the Rockets were favored in a 4 vs. 5 matchup with Homecourt advantage?? If you look at the teams, it was a miracle that Yao and Tmac were able to push this to Game 7. Just look at Game 3's boxscore...tells the entire story. http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200704260UTA.html
only thing mcgrady good for is jacking up jumpers and trying the lane in slow motion to get a foul and slowing down the ball movement. The one thing mcgrady did improve on last season was free throws
Well u need to try again rookie because just because they werent in the all star game doesnt mean they arent all stars. They are all star caliber players. Jason Terry was a proven player from his Atlanta days. Devin Harris was growing and making his name for himself.
I hope Tinman read your last post. I hate to beat a dead horse but what TMac did last season was unacceptable. He didn't rehab well and the Rockets paid a heavy price for it. However, this is a new season. If he isn't traded for quality players, Mcgrady will be the x-factor for the Rockets. We don't make the playoffs without him.
The rookie card really? Really, What the hell did Jason Terry ever proved in Atlanta? He couldn't even average 20 PPG, and guys like Ray Allen couldn't even be named as reserves last season. So, Jason Terry a guy who is playing on an absolute terrible team who can't even average 20+ PPG is a Proven player, Yep makes perfect since. Honestly, instead of giving Tracy so much credit you can give other players credit given the fact that they are better players than T-Mac has ever been anyways. Oh and just for kicks..... Tracy McGrady = ZERO .2nd Round appearances.
I am sorry, but what are you talking about? Think about that. So in your opinion, if somebody is not an all star, than you can call him a scrub Come one. JT was a player who was hitting shots all over the floor, who could create for himself and others. Howard brought pretty much the same. Stackhouse (if I remember correctly) has a very succesfull year comming off the bench. He was a pretty good scorer for them when startes were on the bench. Devin maybe was not as good, but still, he could create and attack the basket. And let's don't forget about Finley. You really cannot compare those two teams because Dallas had a lot more adventages than we had. That's how you see that. It doesn't mean it all went exactly that way. Remember, microfracture was an option even before 2008 summer, even year before. Look. Maybe the guy actually didn't want to lose that chance and instead of microfracture, he chose a normal arthroscopic so that he could be ready at the start of the season. Maybe he really wanted to play and help this team, but he just couldn't because the injury was too serious? How about that?
Scrub? Never said that, Just not an All-Star and that's all I said. Jason Terry was/is not an All-Star never has been and never will be. Jerry Stackhouse wasn't an All-Star that season either and neither was Josh Howard or Devin Harris. I'm not saying T-Mac had the better team and I don't know where any of you think I said that. All I'm saying is Dirk has already proved that he could lead a team All Star-less to the Big Stage and he did in the 2006 Playoffs. Tracy hasn't proved anything like that, Sure Dirk has had his choke jobs but his clutch moments certainly out-weigh them. I don't know about Tracy, he never really choked but he was never clutch either except for Game 2 against the Mavericks.
So if Terry averaged 20 ppg in Atlanta, he would have proved something? But since he only averaged 19.7 ppg in 2001, he didn't prove anything?
No, he still would have proved nothing. But given the fact that he couldn't even score 20 Points goes to show you he wasn't even the most reliable scorer or the best scorer. Probably was on those Hawks teams because they were pretty terrible. Regardless, Jason Terry has proved absolutely nothing in Atlanta, Nothing. He was just like Mo Williams in Miluwakee before he went on to Dallas and played with Dirk. Just some random scoring PG that wasn't capable of leading a team.
You don't understand one thing. There are plenty of player in the NBA that are great or very good and weren't/aren't all stars. That doesn't change anything because they are still damn very good. You can't compare Dallas to Houston. Dirk had a much BETTER team,
