lets forget we're talking about shane here, because then your going to say im just favoring him....but tmac was the one who claimed to be feeling great and was going to come back kicking ass...thats what i think pissed off fans the most...shane never said that, he pretty much always said, well its not 100%, but ima try and go...maybe that's the safe answer, but if you're not sure, then you're not sure. Maybe tmac believed he was 100% or maybe he just was talking big, who knows, either way that's the main reason why it was an issue, it wasn't about shane vs tmac, but what tmac himself did/said. Also taken into consideration is tmac's history of injuries....even yao has been blasted in a way, but he's too nice and doesnt talk big so he's not exactly hated like some hate tmac..
DD...about his wife being in there...i remember in the ESPN piece it said tmac "finally listened to his wife", but i dont think it truly ever explained what that meant in detail.....perhaps it was his wife who was first connected to skillzlab and she asked tmac to dump Hall and join Grover as part of this, believing Grover would train him well and that Tmac's name would bring in more attention. Also, since it is his wife, then i guess any money she gives means he's technically funding it as well...i know that's not exactly what u meant, but just pointing that out...
You don't say..... I just believe that the team will be better off trading him, I have seen enough, heard enough, watched enough. If he stays on the team, fine..I will cheer for him....but I personally believe as long as he is on the team and dominating the ball the team will fail. I, of course, reserve the right to flip flop, if he comes into camp, plays Adelman's system and becomes a true read and react type of player. He is capable, he just needs the will to do it, his history suggest otherwise, but who knows...maybe he matured as he watched the team go places last year without him. DD
By "fail", I guess you mean won't advance past 1st round. If McGrady doesn't dominate the ball, with the current roster we're probably going to fail anyway. In fact, our best chance not to fail may require McGrady dominating the ball -- and yet, even then we may still fail (i.e. not get past the first round). That's just how it is in the Western conference, unfortunately. If the Rockets played in the East, they probably would have gotten out of the first round (i.e. not failed) with McGrady dominating the ball a a few different seasons already.
I think the Rockets showed last year with a more team oriented approach they can beat even the world champions. Brooks and Lowry are potent and are only scratching the surface of what they can be, the team lost Artest but got a better younger player in Ariza. Sure Tmac is talented, but he is inefficient, he shoots too much, dominates the ball and does not move off of it. A Tmac style of team is easier to guard in the playoffs unless he goes nuts...and he is not good enough to do that on a consistent basis.... And with it being a contract year, I just think it will be uber hard for him to adapt. We shall see. DD
McGrady can be part of a team-oriented approach. He was a key contributor during the 22-game win streak. The Rockets didn't push the Lakers to 7 games because they spread the wealth on offense. It was because of their smarts and tenacity on defense, and because individuals stepped up in spurts on offense. A healthy McGrady would actually bring more stability to the offense, in my opinion.
There is no doubt about his talent, it is about his ability to adapt to a more up tempo team oriented read and react style of play similar to what Adelman ran in Sacremento. Not a walk it up and try a one on one move.....in a way, Tmac was a bit like the younger Steve Francis, just better but similar pound it into the ground and dominate the ball style. If Tmac really wanted to be a team player and learn how to win, he would become much much more of a facilitator, he is an excellent passer, if he became pass first, it would be nails. But, I think he is desperate to be "The guy" and he is not good enough. I believe the team would be better off trading him for a young guy and some expiring contracts...to someone that thinks he might be the missing piece.... DD
I hate this Trade Tracy bull..... For what? For Who? WHAT WILL WE GET FOR HIM! NO one in the leauge is a better option on this team. Save Roy, Melo, Bron, Wade and Kobe.... But Guess what THEY ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! No I got it... Lets follow DD's route and trade him for Corey Maggette.... He's a better option .... If you dont like the man... DONT POST IN THE ****ing Topic simple as that
DD, I think you're being a little harsh on T-Mac's on-court skills. The guy is one of the best passers in the league, and he's actually a WILLING passer. He took a ton of shots primarily 2 and 3 years ago, when both Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier started and played major minutes, with only an aging Juwan Howard and Luther Head providing any offense whatsoever off the bench. Tracy even said last year that Yao was the team's best player before the season even started. He clashed on court with Ron Artest, who actually IS guilty of over-dribbling and forcing bad shots. With the collective offensive talent that the Rockets have this season (Brooks, Scola, Ariza, Landry, Lowry, Andersen, to name a few), T-Mac will be MUCH more likely to pass the ball. I bet that Scola and Andersen will get tons of good looks from 15 feet off T-Mac's penetration and dishing. Brooks, Ariza and Battier will all get open looks from 3. Basically, the offense would be fairly well-distributed amongst the top 5-6 options. Sure, T-Mac will force a few shots a game. Sure, he'll take too many 3s. But for every bad shot he takes, the Rockets will get 2-3 open looks simply because he's on the court. Of course, this all assumes a HEALTHY and revitalized Tracy McGrady. Also, DD, to reiterate a point that lebigeez made earlier in the thread, exactly WHO is this "young up-and-comer" of which you speak? The only guy that I can think of who is both (a) good and (b) available is Kevin Martin, and the Kings won't be offering him up with expiring contracts. The Rockets would need to take back Udrih's ghastly long-term deal, just for starters. Lebigeez mentioned Luol Deng, but I don't even think he'd be available. And I'm not so sure he's worth nearly as much as he's being paid. There aren't many young players that will likely be available, and if a team is looking to trade for McGrady as "the missing piece", then the young player they trade probably wouldn't be viewed as a major "piece". I just don't see this magical mystery player being anyone nearly as good as a healthy T-Mac. Bottom line: Either T-Mac will not be worth a good player in return (in which case no team will trade one to us) or T-Mac will be worth far more than some above-average young player (in which case Morey shouldn't be so quick to trade him). It is doubtful that that "perfect deal" will come Morey's way. But Daryl could prove me wrong. He has before.
now that Girls name has discovered the gym, weights, core body strength and hard work, could he become our new long range shooting power forward, for me he looks much bigger.
lol, how is tmac not good enough to be the guy? he put up 32, 7, and 6 as 23-year old and he put up 27, 8, and 7 in the 07-08 playoffs when he was hurt the whole series...
