Tmac looks like he needs to lose about 10 more pounds, but the worry I have is that it shows tons of weight training etc....but no speed training. His speed had seriously declined.....when are we going to see him running? That will be the key as to whether he can come back or not....all this other stuff is mostly stationary...... Speed and quickness is where you make your $$$$ in basketball. DD
On the contrary ... if it was not a fluke, why has he not even come close to repeating it? Read the book, "Fooled by Randomness."
The ability to create space, aka separation, is where you make your $$$$ in basketball. McG's ability to yoyo the ball, coupled with his length and height over almost all perimeter defenders, has almost always been his offensive keystone. Other players that don't/didnt need speed and/or quickness to gain separation: Danny Granger Magic Johnson Chris Mullin Mitch Richmond Baron Davis John Stockton Reggie Miller Sarunas Marciullonis Deron Williams Adrian Dantley Mark Aguirre Dirk Nowitski None of those guys rely on leg quickness to gain separation, with the possible exception of Miller (though I think his ability to rub off of double staggered screens and quick release were the keys to his success). Yes, there are many players that do utilize their speed/quickness to achieve separation. However, other methods should not be ignored. Ballhandling, understanding of angles, length, quick releases, bullish strength, to name a few.
I agree Steve Francis is a perfect example. If he would of ever learned how to create space he would of been all world. Instead he just tried to blow by everyone with his speed.
What I meant is that I don't like his personnality. I love him as a player, and I love to watch him play, but as soon as he opens his mouth I hate the guy. He has no respect for his teammates or for the organization that pays him. Thats like saying you have no respect for your co-workers or your boss. With the way he treated his situation last year and the way he talked about his teammates he has a long way to go before regaining the respect of the Rockets and the fans. I think people tend to forget way to fast what he said about "not having a talented team". Even if you think that deep down in your heart, and that you think that Yao isn't good, Scola has no heart, etc you just don't say it. And it isn't the first time that Tmac crosses that line. I'd rather have a player with heart that fights everytime and that does some "bad" things that are hilarious such as the underwear situation, that all the boys can laugh about in the locker room, rather than a guy throwing his team-mates and disrespecting the organization he works for. So i'll rephrase this; I think Tmac will comeback and be a good player again, but he has a very long way to go to regain his teammates and fans respect, probably longer than rehabing his body.
As of McGrady's rehab, I think the guy is going really well. He was only projected to comeback AFTER the Allstar break so I think he is ahead of schedule. What impressed me the most was the high jumping in that last video.
Of course, Houston Rockets need T-Mac. He as a first pointer is well. I belive he can back to the best.
lol. you can look at the new vids someone updated with him in an interview and you can see his face lost like some weiht and he looked much skinnier in the weather report. i think these videos were taken from june to late july/early august where he focused mostly on strengthenin the knee/basketball drills, and not really cardio yet. i think he's doin much more these last few weeks. and that potential feign update was brought up by another fan earlier in this thread. i get tmac news from clutchfans and chron just like anybody.
I have no doubt that Grover is doing exactly what McGrady needs to return to basketball with as much quickness and explosiveness as possible. I think much of his decline in speed is permanent. Obviously, not as bad as last season but I think 07-08 McGrady is a best case scenario.
Verse, thats what i try to tell people all the time. It really comes up when people bring up Battier. Battier hasnt improved any part of his game since his rookie year. Most will say its because he's not a good athlete, but i just dont think he works on situational plays and shot.Also he doesnt work on his ball handling. It doesnt have to be yo-toeing the ball like a pg, but chris mullin,Aguire,Dantley are perfect examples of guys using the dribble to create space. The deception with the shoulders and ball in hands can create a lot of space especially when u can use some lateral quickness. People think nba players go into gyms and shoot 500 jumpers. I can guarantee that a guy like kobe, lebron and guys like that don't just shoot 500 jumpers. What the train themselves to do is what you see on the court. They may run up the court and simulate weaving through traffic and pulling up. They simulate jabbing off a screen and coming back to the free throw line for a jumper. They simulate situations so when they get in them, its not a problem. If Battier worked on his game and simulated situations when guys came in out of control and he put the ball down 2 dribbles and knocked down a shot, then he would be better at it during games. Mullin was slow as molasses, but a great shooter. The only reason he survived so long was that he could shot fake, put the ball down, and if the guy closed the gap, he could feint with the ball and creat that space. DD pointed out mcgrady's declined quickness which is apparent, but because tracy is such a good ball handler and his sheer size, he can always get a good shot. His battles are more shot selection. At this stage of his career, tracy isn't going to be blowing by guys from 30 ft and finishing at the rack even with those long strides, but what he can do is use that size inside of 20 to get to 12 and rise up for those mid range jimmy's which is his best shot anyway. Also using the offense to get easy baskets and get into the flow will help alot also. I'm keeping my tabs with my guy in the mcgrady camp and i'm positive he will be there opening night. On a side note, with tracy back, if this team had a guy like camby, they would be in the same spot as last year. They would be around the 3-7 seed fighting for homecourt. If they can get camby and another player for battier,cook, and another player, they should do it.
Well according to this laker fan all tracy needs is a few all stars and he can be like kobe! http://forums.lakersground.net/viewtopic.php?t=96231&start=0
if he can stay relatively injury free (considering both his knee/shoulder are fixed), he should be better than the 07-08. people don't remember but he played on 2 injuries for the most part of that year, and was never fully healthy (though not limping as bad as last year). i think he'll be better than the 07-08 version.
