I nominate this the STUPIDEST thread of EVER...I mean I have seen some dumb comments on here, but this one takes the cake. We got two stars and one of them will go thru a funk regularly. Its normal. But to say that he is an attention w**** and is not happy unless he gets that attention is plain stupid...your argument is weak as hell and shows no proof that he is "moping" its just all speculation and of course your going to have alot of people agree with your opinion b/c you know this board is infested w/ biased yao fans. I agree with you that he does take alot of ill advised shots, but which player in the nba does not take ill advised shots? The guy might not play with heart but he still is the engine that runs this team...w/o him we fall apart b/c he does everything, from play making, rebounding, scoring, and defending (which IMO he could do more of) The one thing he probably needs to do more of is be more vocal like Sam Cassel. Plus come playoff time the guy always brings his A game (unlike other teamates)...I mean he ups his averages in every category and actually plays defense.
So why is he let off the hook for the regular season? Now's as good a time as any to "up his averages." His team needs him to quit shooting jumpshots when he's not making them. His team needs him to show a consistent effort. Yet he's doing none of these things and it's really getting old.
We need to figure out how to optimize the talents on this team...and yes, that sometimes means you have to subtract a key component and re-assemble with smaller, but more effective pieces that fit. I would prefer to keep Yao, but building around TMac with artest-like players with intensity and defensive mind-sets is a viable option as well.
Good one OMR. TMac and Yao don't fit. When you have a big man like Yao, you build around him. You get shooters, slashers around him. Not somebody who likes to jack up ill-advised shots. TMac is who he is. He has height advantage on his defenders. He can shoot over his defender and he always will. The problem is he isn't a good shooter. He has never been one. He will get his 20+/5/5, but on a poor fg%. His decision making is highly overrated. Game 7 against Utah, Utah were in penalty around 7:30 mark in the 4th Q. What did TMac do? He stopped attacking and settled for jumpers after jumpers. And no surprise, he isn't the shooter he thinks he is. Trade TMac for Rip & Tay or Billups will make Rockets a much better team.
The pistons will never do the trade, you have to look for a trade on a team with similar success to ours or worst, not better. Better teams won´t trade their assets for ours as their players have shown they can go for it while ours have not.
Add that to the fact that a poor team may be in rebuilding mode and won't want an expensive veteran to help the team. You are left with players that have expensive contracts and aren't producing as expected or disgruntled stars ala last years Iverson or this years Kobe and Kidd. I am not proposing these trades or that he should definitely be traded. Tmac at times has shown brilliance that only a handful of players could match but he is so inconsistent. My hope would be for Tmac to take less jumpers and move the ball more, be more quick to pass into Yao, use the pick and roll a little more in the post and instead of taking low percentage jumpers at the end of close games drive to the basket more. As I say this I recall Tmac doing most of these things at one time or another this season. So I know he can do them and do them well. My concern is why doesn't he do them on a consistent basis. I just wish he and the whole team would have a little more faith in Adelman's system.
Please don't post stuff like this... can people not see how this doesn't help? Your reply was good without it. ... and this was worse, but almost inevitable given HHP's comment.
Hell of a post, Rock. I don't know that I agree with all of it, but it's a lot more involving than a lot that we've seen in the GARM. I think we're all frustrated because I don't know that we really have an answer right now (except getting rid of Rafer --but even that won't fix the things you're addressing). Frankly, and everyone can kill me for being so knee-jerky, but I'm getting really nervous about this whole thing "working." I know it's early in the season and everybody needs time to gel or whatever, but the problems we are seeing now are some of the same ones we've seen for years: 1. It seems to me that since McGrady's health has been less than perfect, he has gone to the basket less and less which has greatly affected his potency. Therefore, he tries to take over the game with his outside shot and be just as effective as the inside shot. Unfortunately, it doesn't work most of the time--if McGrady's shot-happyness were taking place close to the basket, I don't think anybody would really have many issues with it. The guy is a great scorer--and I LOVE the guy--but I'm wondering if he'll ever get back to what he was on a consistent basis. 2. Yao's quickness has been a concern for me ever since he got here. He has dramatically improved pretty much all of the facets of his game, and especially getting on the low block and hitting his turnarounds and fadeaways with consistency. But when teams are quick and physical with him in the paint, his movements are very deliberate (possibly due to his stature) and he becomes much more predictable to defend. It's not unbelievable competitive fire that I think the guy needs--you can be mild-tempered and still be a dominant force--but there is a physical explosiveness that is so rarely seen with Yao that I wish I could see more of. 3. Knocking down the open shot. This is a problem anywhere, but especially when your offense has even a moderate focus on a post-up big man. Yao's ability to pass the ball out of the post (at least when he can react to the double-team quickly enough) makes it IMPERATIVE that we can knock down the open perimeter shot, and with our current cast, I had hoped that we had somewhat addressed that issue. But so far, it hasn't looked good. I'm definitely not giving up on this team. I'll be there watching League Pass with the rest of you. But if this is still a .500 team by the all-star break, I don't want minor shake-ups to occur. I want McGrady traded. This has nothing to do with anything personal--I love McGrady and everything he brings to the table--but the fact is that trading Yao will never happen from either a basketball or a fiscal standpoint. If the Rockets can't break out of this style of play by the all-star break, I'm willing to give up on the McGrady/Yao experiment and roll the dice on something different. A .500 team is not making it out of the West, and McGrady is still a guy that might draw on the market. Go Rockets.
It's all mental. It's what separates winners and losers. Attacking the hoop also means you will get the body punishment. You have to be man enough to do that. That's why I like players like Tony Parker, Manu, AI a lot
Heck let's not stop at 2 superstars, let's get three like Boston and San Antonio. More talent helps in general (if it is at different positions).
AI train has passed i don´t know how is he in the Nuggets, but he sure will solve some problems over here, he knows how to play with a C (Webber) he knows what is to be really close to the Championship, and he knows to be cluch. If i were Morey i will start looking in the market about T-Mac´s value because is very probable that we end realizing that he has less value than we expected and as the things are going there is no secret that it was no Van Gundy´s fault to fail time after time so you have to shake things up with the stars, and we all know Yao is not going anywhere unless he starts sucking very very bad, so i´m afraid a T-Mac trade has to be evaluated this year. Also i have to admit that when building a team it´s always safer to build around the big man, it´s how it´s done actually in basketball and if you look around the past champions they all have one big man and a cluch perimeter player. Tim Duncan-Ginobili-Parker Shaquile-Wade Wallace-Billups-Hamilton Shaquille-Kobe
Yes I would agree if this team is still playing this way by mid season than it is doubtful things will be different come playoff time if they even make it. But what realistic trade is out there that would really help. I doubt the Lakers would trade Kobe straight up for Tmac and I don't think Kidd is the answer or at least not him alone but who knows.
I agree with you, and we probably won't get value across the board...but I don't think his trade value goes up any if we wait (again, assuming we're still struggling at the break--if we're not, woohoo). It's tough to say--we've kind of handicapped ourselves by putting so much at risk in this season--we have a lot of guys already under contract, and we may be realizing that they're not the RIGHT guys. If that weren't the case, I would be in favor of trading for several players...but that being the case, I would be hoping for a point guard who can run this team...like a Kidd-caliber guy. I don't know, though...it's frustrating.
Oh man... Yao only said he was part of the problem because he didn't want to sound like a jerk. Everywhere else he made it sound like he was the one trying to "wake" his teammates up. The fact is, his words are louder than his actions right now. 6 rebounds in 40+ mins? and you are asking your teammates to wake up?... Its not TMac's job to get the ball to Yao!! GEEZ. First of all, whenever he passes to Yao in traffic, 90% of the time it is dropped by Yao for a TO. Second, most of the time Yao is taken out of the offense through fronting. YOU CANT FORCE FEED YAO. WHY CANT ALL OF YOU YOFs get that in your head?? STOP BLAMING TMAC FOR EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN.
I guess I should retitle my thread. The real problem is Yao and Tmac working together. I don't even know if it's a problem or the team is just struggling through growing pains. The thing I get is that this is Tracy's team in his mind but not everyone is on the same page. See that's the thing with having more than 1 good player on the team they still have to work like a team. There is no question about the commitment of San Antonio to win. Parker and Manu want to do whatever it takes to win. They accept that Duncan is the leader but they also have enough confidence to takeover when he struggles. Winning championships helps that bond but as good as their talent, their chemistry together is even better. The Rockets championship teams had that chemistry. Boston seems to have that chemistry but watch out for them they haven't had any rough seas yet. When the hoopla dies will and the west beats them up a little bit will still be so lovey dovey.
First, regarding the Spurs...the element they have that is missing in the Rockets is mutual trust. It's been there on occassion...but it's fleeting. My explanation is that inconsistency breeds mistrust. But...again my opinion...that is the price you pay when you have complimentary players (Hayes, Alston, Battier) as oppossed to players who can and will take over a game when required (Parker, Manu, Finley, Horry). Case in point...the Spurs just beat Dallas and Utah without Duncan. Secondly, whatever offense Adelman is trying to install is far too easily set aside when McGrady goes into ISO mode. I'll stop short of calling him a ball hog...it's far, far more complex than that. There is too much standing around waiting for McGrady to take over. To me, it's evident in Scola's body language...he has the talent and skill to start. But he's the "New Kid" and wants to fit in. I don't have a strong feeling about McGrady one way or another. But I have a very strong feeling that Yao Ming needs to be surrounded by speed players (Showtime for this Millenium). As you pointed out, a McGrady trade won't return equal value. But if you focus on incoming players with transition speed, you may be better off in a reasonable amount of time.
I think our roster needs a tough-minded and talented 3rd wheel. A bulldog who helps brings out the best in other players just by being on the floor, sort of like Sura. Our two stars aren't talented enough to carry a team like Kobe and Shaq did. The Spurs would be in a similar position to us if they didn't have both TP and Manu to support TD. BTW, I completely agree with you on the Celtics. I want to see how they react to a 2 or 3 game losing streak out West.
