The difference being T-mac had the ball in his hands a lot more while being a lot less turnover prone. If Trevor had the ball as much as T-mac he would be even worst of on turnovers.
Tracy in while wearing a Rockets uniform has never had more that 7 ft attemps per game, hell his career is only 6.3. For perspective purposes: career FT attemps per game Wade = 9.3 James = 8.8 Pierce = 7.8 Bryant = 7.7 Maggette(Yeah I went there!)= 7.0 Not hating just pointing out that Tracy, even when healthy as a Rocket never went to he line at a high rate.
At $20+ mil this season, of course the Rockets have to give him a shot. And while it's true that no one knows how McGrady will perform, no one should also use his first 3 seasons as a Rocket as a template on how he should perform this year. Not saying you're doing that but there are far too many people on here that are that delusional. What are my expectations when McGrady comes back? 14/5/5.
Mang, Tracy used to get some calls, but those you listed get ridiculous "star" calls. Don't blame it on going to the cup. I can recall soooo many times that Tracy would TRY to drive and do that sheep sound, no call, he yells at official, and that's it. Probably why he stopped driving as much. It's a bad shot or TO if he's not going to get the call. Those on that list above get those calls almost ALL the time. So much it's sickening.
You KNOW that McGrady looks for refs to bail him out when he drives to the basket. Not saying Pierce, Kobe, Wade, etc don't do that either but they look/expect to finish out the play. McGrady will go up and, once he feels contact, will try to draw a foul.
Yeah, that's definitely his bad on that. He'll only try to finish it if it's a jumper, haha. Guess he needs to realize that he's not getting that star treatment anymore. He'll need to re-earn it.
When Ariza has not played within the offense which have been around 7 or 8 games, he has shot around 30-35%. I just went to look back at the games I believe he forced up shots and did not play within the offense (this was using my own judgment it obviously might not be everyone else opinion) and he was 34-104 with FG% of 32.7%. I chose seven games excluding, Golden state, 2nd Portland game, OKC game and Kings game which he shot the ball well since he didn't force the issue. Now, I don't find T-mac going 8 for 22 acceptable but he is a lot less likely to have that type of performance if he is healthy. If we are talking averages, that means his field goal percentage would be around 36.4% which we both know he has never been that bad. For reference the last three seasons: 06-07: 20.8 FGAT, 43% FG 07-08: 19.8 FGAT, 42% FG 08-09: 13.9 FGAT, 39% FG I truly believe that his field goals attempted won't be as high as 06-08, and should be a little bit higher than 09. I don't believe he'll shoot worst than 41%. I can't project how this T-mac is going to play but I'm sure he will create for his teammates. I know this is only me being optimistic and we both have different opinions on this point.
I was not saying that T-mac is going to go to the line a lot more but rather disputing that Ariza doesn't really get fouled that much since he isn't hard to defend when he picks up his dribble around 13 to 18 ft.
Uh, depending on the circumstance a lot of the "great closers" shot jump shots to win games. And inherent in being a closer, you have to have a team that puts you in the position night in and night out to be in the position to close. And due to injuries and sometimes lack of performance, the team never set him up to close out the game. So what are you saying? Oh, this is apologist thought! And apologists for what? You have an opinion that is entirely different from mine and others. Whether you like it or not, T-Mac is, still injured or not, in the elite player conversation more than any of the current Rockets outside of Yao. Heck, by the sheer amount that he is talked about on here as a former star, has been star, and/or never returning to the pre-injury player that he was (which also means star) he's still relevant in the superstar conversation. And yet he's still in the conversation because he's on this year's All-Star Ballot and hasn't even played yet... Funny how that works...
Don't think you're alone at cringing when Ariza tries to create for himself because I do as well. As far as McGrady and his shooting, somewhere around 41% is where I have him at. Reason being: 1. He's never been a good shooter. In terms of mechanics and consistency, he's never been a good shooter to where you think he can shoot himself out of a slump. He's been a volume shooter, not in the same breath as Antoine Walker or AI but he needs to get a jump start in order to have good shooting nights which brings up.... 2. If he were to play within this offense, there's no way McGrady will be anything better than a 41%-42% shooter. He needs to have the ball in his hands to get hot. He's never been a pull-and-pop shooter and that's what this offense is turning into. Carl Landry, Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier, David Anderson, Chase Budinger....they all play off of Brooks' and Lowry's penetration and passing. Most of the time, those players catch the ball and shoot or catch, make one move, and shoot. McGrady isn't that kind of player. Which brings to.... 3. "Well McGrady needs to be the play maker and drive" Hell, I wish that could be true but, as the past 4 years have shown, injuries have taken a toll not only on his shooting but also his ability to drive. There's a reason why McGrady has settled on chucking from long the past couple of seasons--he can't get to the basket with the same frequency like he did before. As far as how I would use McGrady if I were the Rockets/Adelman, I would post him up on the inside in the same way that Adelman got Landry at near the elbow. McGrady is still a strong player and he's smart enough to draw fouls in the mid range. Granted, McGrady's mid-range game is average but I would rather see him work inside the arc than to camp around it. By moving him towards a more mid-range area, they can use his passing abilities to get the other big men scoring opportunities.
Sorry to interject but to use the All-Star Ballot as evidence in ANYTHING, period, is useless. Case in point? Allen Iverson, 2008-2009 All Star
McGrady's turnover average per game and PER 36: 04-05: 2.6 and 2.3 05-06: 2.6 and 2.5 06-07: 3.0 and 3.0 07-08: 2.4 and 2.4 Ariza's turnover average per game and PER 36: 09-10: 2.7 and 2.6 Of course McGrady's is obviously lower but their turnover rate is about the same. I agree with you that whenever Ariza has the ball in his hands and decides to split 3 defenders, it's a turnover waiting to happen but McGrady isn't innocent of turning the ball over either.
Regarding your second paragraph, I believe I mentioned somewhere earlier that this is the exact same way I want T-mac to play the game with this offense, from the high post. Regarding number 3, I agree he doesn't drive nearly as often and this season we might even see less of it considering that his first step is not going to be half of what it use to be. Regardless I can trust that McGrady is savvy enough to still get his teammates involved, if not get the ball back to Brooks. T-mac gave the ball to Artest last year, I'm sure he will have no problem sharing the ball with Brooks as well. The beauty of having of Brooks and T-mac both in the line up is that both can create opportunities for their teammates. We both know Brooks is a lot more turnover prone but with T-mac being there he will be able to give the ball to another ball handler than also has the ability to dribble and pass.
We need T-mac in the games so we can finally get superstar calls. The refs never call fouls for us. Im sick of watching Kobe going to the line for getting breathed on. It was ridiculous the other night when Battier kept getting called for fouls. Ariza goes to draws alot of contact and never gets a fould called. In the laker game in houston when Ariza got stripped at the end of the game.. if that was kobe with the ball he would have been on the line. Once again last night we got killed again with Nash and Amare getting crappy fouls calls and being able to shoot key free throws. I hate the superstar rule but it is definately something that exist in the NBA.
