I was going to post this in another thread but then it got kind of long so I decided to give it, it's on thread. First, I am a basketball fan and I have always appreciated talent. That’s why when the Rockets traded Cat and Stevie away for Tracy I was both sad and excited. Even though Stevie would annoy the hell out of me with his skipping up the court I was still a fan and I was sad to see him and Cat go. But with Tmac I was extremely excited about the possibilities. Tmac represented to me the most talented player in the league albeit without team success. I thought Tmac would find his success here. He was such a talent but never had a big man like Yao to work with. I knew he was a bit of a primadonna but not as bad as Kobe and look what he and Shaq accomplished. The problem I see now is that Tmac is not always about winning. There is little to enjoy in a victory without his name stamped on it. Look at the Phoenix game when the Rockets were falling apart and Tmac wanted to contribute but was doubled so with only a few seconds left on the clock he passes to Stevie and then Stevie make an amazing shot and then clinches the game with a great defensive stop. It was a big shot and a big win and everyone was cheering except for Tracy. That was the most excitement I had as a Rocket fan since Tracy made 13 in 30. But Tmac showed no joy in it. The next game against Golden State was one of Tracy’s worst since the back problems and I almost felt he was doing a Kobe and being a no show on the court as if to say let’s see what you can do without me. I know that’s a big accusation and I am not even saying he is conscious of his actions but I can’t see how he could play so poorly with almost no life. He was barely going through the motions. Yesterday in the second half he seemed to be doing the same. He would come down the court without even acknowledging his teammates and jack up a shot. He didn’t even notice Francis. He would only pass after seeing no option for himself first. Forget about motion offense it was the Tmac show and not much else. It could have just been an anomaly and I am reading too much into it. But far too many times I have seen Tmac take ill advised shots after knowing he has been struggling and Yao is a much better option. I’ve also been a believer of the inside out game. When you have a talent like Yao you build a team around your big man. You find players who can take advantage of the double and triple teams that Yao is sure to receive. So the dilemna with adding Tmac was now you have another player who is sure to receive double and triple teams he will have to buy into starting with Yao first, not always but in crunch time it just makes more sense when he is shooting out such a high clip. But the dilemna is if you have Tmac you build around him are you might as well not have him. If the focus is not primarily him then he will not be a happy camper. Perhaps I misjudged JVG. I think Van Gundy understood Tmac’s need for attention and that in order to get Tmac’s best JVG was going to have to let Tmac run the show. I mean Yao was okay with whatever the coach ask but Tmac needed to feel this was his team. Tmac wanted the glory and didn’t want to share it. And even now it seems to me that he hates the adulation thrown upon Francis and Yao while he is the real star and plays second fiddle. Don’t get me wrong Tmac is a talent. He is the best passer on the team. When he is hot none player can stop him. He makes unbelievable shots at times and without him the Rockets struggle. So what’s the problem. You have to talents and you lose to Toronto and Memphis and Sacramento? Can you have a guy that demands doubles on the inside with a guy that demands doubles on the outside but then wants to drive inside. Is that the problem. I don’t think so. The game of basketball is space. If you can do something to create space for yourself or others to create some space for you to get your shot off then you have an advantage. Tmac and Yao both demand attention and create space for others, but it seems with all of Yao’s attention and Tmac’s attention the space teams are willing to give our other players isn’t resulting in points. I don’t know how you resolve this. We have this motion offense that has no motion. We’ve had moments but more times than not when Tmac gets the ball he looks for his shot first and then looks elsewhere and to a lesser degree Yao does the same. Where is the motion?. I don’t want to be unjustly critical. Tmac is a Rocket and he is a big part of our success but there is no question in my mind he doesn’t just want to win, he wants to be the hero and when he doesn’t get it he isn’t happy. Listen to his words, “I am the creator on this team”… “It’s on me”… “This team will only go as far as I take them”. The words don’t even matter as long as you deliver. The problem is Tmac isn’t delivering when it counts most. So now the dilemna, 2 players on a team that are unstoppable. What more could anyone ask for? Surely any coach could build a champion around them. So who do you build your team around, Yao or Tmac? I now see that answer is very obvious. If you have Tmac you build around him are you might as well not have him. If the focus is not primarily him then he will mope and you are better off without him. But is that the right direction for this team. Is it better off with no Tmac and a more one dimensional type player like Michael Redd. It never occurred to me that 2 Superstars might be 1 too many.
It is SF that Tmac has a problem with. Not Yao. Maybe Tmac is just jealous of the close relationship between SF and Yao. It was obvious to me that Tmac tanked yesterday's game to make SF look bad.
Do you think Mike would have tanked his game too yesterday to show that Rockets cannot win with Francis starting? Mike was 1-6 FG 0-2 3pts and probably thought he should starts if Rafer is out.
All this shows is that Coach A needs to sit down with each player individually and tell them what he expects out of each one of them. He also needs to address the entire team and work out the kinks.
Regarding T-Mac. He is an exceptional player. Now if he can just play smarter and get his teammates involved in the flow they will win more games. It's on him!!
Wow, that is a reach. You could see T-Mac and SF3 chatting it up on the bench. But anyways, If Kobe and Shaq can win titles while not having the best relationship, I don't see why this won't work. Considering that these two have a much better attitude than Kobe/Shaq. It took them 4 years to win their first title. Guess what, this is our 4th year with Yao and T-Mac.
No. MJ tried his best, but he is just not a great player. Tmac is the opposite. A great player, but does not give his best sometimes.
No one knows whether there are any chemistry issues but the comments by TMac after game saying that Rafer was greatly missed shows TMac prefers Rafer. Adelman should address all these issues.
ofcourse Tmac loves Yao.... you think Shaq would put up with the crap shots Tmac takes at a crucial point in a game... or at crunch time... agreed one or the other needs to go...then atleast... the one left can be the undesputed leader...
I have seen Redd quite a few games and he drives to the rim many times against several opponent players (1 against 5) and got rejected a few times. And he kept going .. ending with a team loss (eg. recent loss to the Knicks). I guess both TMac and Redd have the same mentality. I still think the coach should point this out during the game and prevent such unintelligent play to continue.
T-Mac and Yao are just average players now. Sure, there are games in which they both play like superstars. It's just that they don't play like superstars in every game. Until we can see them play like superstars in every game, I'll continue to think of them as average players. I really think the Rockets would have a much better record now than they do now if T-Mac and Yao were playing like superstars together in every game.
Average players don't usually score 25 points a game, especially when defenses focus solely on them. The problem isn't yao/mac, it's the inconsistency of everyone else
It's a sad day in Houston! Yao is standing up like a man, calling out teamates and saying even he was part of the problem. I just wish that he would not turn the ball of so much and demand the ball more. Tracy, well the Wizard of Oz comes to mind, the lion, the scarecrow and the tin man (courage-less, heartless and brainless). If his basketball I.Q. was so good, he would make sure Yao got the ball more. Old Man Rock, I think you might have hit the nail on the head.
Are either of our players really superstars outside of being popular? Neither has gotten past the first round. We don't have 1 star too many, rather the drop off from our stars to our 3rd best player is the biggest in the league in comparison to other supposed contenders. Last year we had a "slow and boring offense" but we had 5 players averaging double digit scoring, with a 6th in Juwan Howard averaging 9.7 pts. In comparison our 3rd leading scorer is only averaging 8.6 pts this year, and the whole team is scoring less, and giving up more points than last year. Some of that is adjusting to the new offense, but some of that is just under performing by various players, and over rating the impact of certain players.
Appology accepted. Seriously，I thought about the same thing. If Tmac doesnt play one on one type ball in the hands baskball, can he still be Tmac? We all see we need to play TEAM ball, but can Tmac play TEAM ball and still be Tmac. Tmac is Tmac is because what he does best, one on one and shoot. Also I give up the hope that he should finish around the rim more. His body type is lanky, not bulky unlike James or Kobe, and he isnt as agile as D.Wade. And his will to finish strong is not always strong. That D.Wade comercial, deliberating between taking to the cup or setteling for a jumper, Tmac would take a jumper more often. So Tmac is who he is, get the ball in his hands, have bailout options spread on the floor, try taking inside, but often put up a jumper. Tmac centric ball is good ball, but a first round exister so far.
The dream team wasn't a team that had to play 82+ games. They became superstars on their home teams. The Olympics was a vacation for them. All of those superstars scoring like 12 points each. They didn't care about stats as long as they were dominating.
