Why doesn't he improve his shooting and defense in practice then bring it to the real game. Thats what most other players do.
I don't care what happened in the past. T-Mac hobbling in one leg is still better than Horriza and his horrid FG%. I agree with OP, start cutting back Ariza's minutes.
you can't possibly determine a players field goal percentage by him just playing 8 minutes a game. he gets like 4-5 shots while he's in the game. you have to build a rhythm when you start of shooting in a game. in tracy's case he can't build a rhythm because he's not in the game long enough.
yeah tmac plays meta-dor style defense but he has moves on the offensive end. ariza's game is alot like another former guard who played next to kobe bryant...eddie jones.
Well, the reason we play Scola over Landry is because, most likely, Scola will be rejoining us next season unless renouncing his rights somehow lands us a superstar. It's almost 100% certain that TMac doesn't want anything to do with the Rockets, and the Rockets don't want anything to do with TMac.
I'm sure he does improve that in practice. But if you're only getting 7 minutes a game...how much of what you learn in practice are you able to display? And ofcourse, practices are nothing like the real thing. He has been busting his ass somewhere (if not in practices), otherwise, he wouldn't be where he is now, in terms of, returning from his surgery and playing relatively well in the short time he's been on the court.
"decent defense"? lol, not really. http://www.82games.com/0910/09HOU5.HTM#onoff defense AND offense significantly better when ariza's not playing.
Also, it's not like he's purposely trying to get the worst FG% or defensive stats. He's doing the best he can because this year is his "interview" for a nice contract with a team next year (even if that team is the Rockets).
8 minuts is too short, but Tmac hasn't been known for his shooting for several years . His TS% has been among bottom in NBA for players who took that many shots. Passing is the only great offensive weapon he stll has. Form these past few games, he couldn't even finish contested layups anymore. Unless he start to shoot a lot better in limited minutes, nothing would convince me that he'd find rhythm with longer minutes. And if he can't play good defense and can't hustle for just 8 minutes, how would you expect Tmac have more energy playing more minutes?
t-mac looks to be in MUCH better shape than last year and right now ariza's fg% 3pt% and ft% are on tap to be worse than mcgrady's numbers last year when he was on a bad leg. this isn't even about t-mac vs. ariza to me it's about giving t-mac more minutes to help ariza get more rest because he is playing TOO MANY MINUTES.
I'm not sure that Ariza's problem is caused by minutes. It's the role he has to play that messed up his offensive game. He doesn't have the tools to create for himself effectively at this moment. He is asked to do something he's not capable to do yet. More Tmac minutes won't solve that problem.
trevor looks extremely gassed in the 4th quarter from playing so many minutes. a player like mcgrady will take the workload off ariza on the offensive end. with mcgrady in, ariza will not have to dribble (which he sucks at) on the perimeter and be forced to take so many shots and work on both ends of the floor and can drop down a level in terms of scoring option.
What do you mean you dont get it? Your telling me the walking talking infomercials that spout the same cliches over and over actually think you can exxagerate every negative thing about a player, while completely ignoring the positives and expect people to believe it? You think a standing ovation is mass hysteria? We have a gaping hole at SG and one of the most talented SGs in the league being ostracised over stupid bull****. Does he have anything left? WE DONT KNOW, WE WANT TO KNOW. WHY IS THAT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND? Are we going to ruin a developmental year? Are we frustrated by previous shortcomings? YES! Do we have to burn someone at the stake every year to feel like we are making progress? NO. Any reasonable person knows teams have success, NOT players. We have a shot hungry Small Forward version of Rafer Alston trying to imitate a franchise player yet is lacking in the basic fundamentals of basketball (dribbling, shooting). His signature move is to dribble into traffic until someone looks at him, pick up the ball and then turn it over. Its an insult to our intilligence to parade this guy as a replacement for what we had, no matter how hard he hustles. The torch bearers have implemented a train of unreasonable expectations and go to work on a guy coming back from microfracture surgery without proper due dilligence. Any criticism of the guy is applicible to other players, yet they get a free pass. We have an organization completely throwing away an asset in favor of the most ineffecient offensive player in the league, AFTER the guy even offered to play here with for reduced money. The organization needs to suck it up and get over it. If a trade is in the works, so be it, but in the meantime get his ass back on the court. I don't care if he isnt in the teams future plans, stop playing games. I can't believe things have gotten so bad here I am the one who has to defend McGrady, I can barely stand him.
one thing that tmac does is reserve energy but one knock on tmac is not being able to run and gun although a team with a 7'6'' immobile center can never have a legit chance to "run and gun". again the organization owes it to mcgrady to at least give him a chance to crash and burn to ultimately shut the door on his career.
I honestly don't see what the deal is and why we have to chose between the two. I think McGrady is still a few weeks away from starting, just give him a few more minutes more then the 7 and a half they have been giving him. To be honest we could cut Ariza and Battier's minutes down from 35+ they get to a clear cut 25-30 and give the shavings to McGrady. Or depending on match ups and playing. At this point, unless Mike Harris turns out to be a legit diamond in the rough, I don't see us as having any other option, because Ariza's offense has stalled and people are starting to figure out how to play Brooks, Landry and Scola.
I don't get it means I saw a Tmac only played one good offensive game in 6 tries and no good defensive game at all. I don't care if he had some bad offensive games, but I can't stand him still play that no hustle no effort defense. I thought he'd be a lot better than this, assuming he's healthy. Obviously that's not the case, he's regressed so much on offense, and his effort on defense didn't increase. Is it so hard to make more effort on defensive end in just 8 minutes when his reputation is on the line? I'd say his expiring contract is his only asset to Rockets organization. It doesn't matter if he has anything left if he doesn't have the right mentality. Playing hard and unselfish is the identity for this team. Tmac doesn't fit.
The main argument I see in this particular thread, is that Tracy is not in the long-term plans of the Rockets. Um, did all of you posters who said this forget about Ron Artest? Ron Artest played as many minutes for us last season as Ariza does this season. Yet, there was always a chance that Ron would not stay with the Rockets. McGrady is in the same situation as Artest; he's in a contract year, around the same age as Artest, and is desperate to play for something. McGrady is better offensively than Artest, and can create his own shot. And if you want to make an argument about how McGrady throws the players under the bus or whatever, think about how bipolar Artest could have been. All I want is for McGrady to get a few quality minutes. Heck, I don't even care if we lose a game or two...we have little to no hope of winning the championship this season anyway. Let McGrady have one game, maybe two if he does well. And if he remains up to par, keep playing him. If not, then trade him, or bench him. It at least gives a valid reason to bench him.
