i guess you should define what "carry the team" means. if you mean he's not clutch as of late, then i may agree with you. but if you mean he's doesn't carry most of the load and is the most important to the success of the rockets, then i'll disagree. of course, if you mean the former, duncan isn't that much of a star either. i think the phrase you're using doesn't fit very well. i think a more fitting phrase is; he can't "take over a game". here's my assessment; absolute performance/expectation Yao- A-/B. T-Mac- D/F Artest- B/A Battier- C/C Scola- B+/B Rafer- F/C Landry- B/B Brooks- C/B Barry- C/C Von Wafer- B/A
Roby, doesnt hurt my feeling at all what star u give. Facts are facts. 93/94 team was a better team that's why they win championship.
btw...i was pretty close with my prediction in another thread but i guess you don't have to psychic to make these predictions http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=160786&page=4
Yao: A- McGrady: F- Artest: B+ Alston: B- Battier: C- Scola: A Landry: B+ Brooks: B+ Wafer: A Barry: C- Hayes: C Head: C- Dorsey: I Mutombo: I this team has been good considering all the line up changes the only player that has failed to me is McGrady. Hopefully he will get his self in check and come back the second half and improve his grade or he will be held back!!!and remember kids NO PASS NO PLAY
here is mine: Yao- A- T-Mac- C+ Artest- B Battier- B- Scola- A- Rafer- C+ Landry- A- Brooks- A- Barry- B Von Wafer- A Head- F Doresy-N/A Mutombo-N/A
Grades Yao Ming: B+ He's less dominant and a step slower than he was a couple injuries ago, but still ringing up good numbers consistently. Ron Artest: C He's trying hard, but not playing smart. He should settle in better in the second half. Tracy McGrady: D- Avoids the F thanks to a few good games. Luis Scola: A- I'm really surprised we aren't talking him up more this year. Rafer Alston: B- Same old Alston: strong ball handling, decent floor leadership, crummy shooting percentage Aaron Brooks: B+ I'm very impressed that he's established himself so well this year. Has to improve consistency though. Von Wafer: A+ Talk about diamond in the rough. Anyone else still think DJ Strawberry should have stayed? Carl Landry: B- Hasn't taken a step forward - production hasn't gone up much with his minutes. AWOL in far too many games. Shane Battier: B- Hampered by his feet. Hopefully he gets better soon. Luther Head: D Minutes have dropped each season, and despite his chatter, can't prove it's a bad call. Chuck Hayes: C Inability to extend his range out to 2 feet is catching up with him. Brent Barry: C Worst numbers he's put up in his 14th year. Not too shocking. Dikembe Mutombo: INC Joey Dorsey: INC
Honestly i have no idea what you're talking about. He had hit MANY big shots down the stretch when the team needed to score. Grant with Yao+T-mac they only took Dallas to a 7 game series. So WTH are u thinking? Yao alone obviously can't take us deep into playoff. During clutchtime tho, would u give the ball to a 50% shooter who had hit many big turn around jumpers down the stretch. The more memorable ones were the one at hawks' where he shot over 3 defender to seal the game. Another one was the one in Portland even tho we lost the game? (BR caught the ball, turn around and shoot the ball in 0.8 sec? well i guess the clock freeze whenever he has the ball) I haven't watch all the Rockets game but i would let Yao or T-mac take the shot depends on their defense they go against. You can't blame Yao for that BROKEN play @ the lakers game because Phil just outsmarted RA. He put Ariza on AB and kobe on Wafer because he knew one of them were going to shoot it. AB can't create and shoot with Ariza (since he's pretty long) on him so he dumped the ball to the closest teammate which was Yao and hoping that Yao would pass it back to him. Unfortunately AB0 couldn't shake him off until the last 2 sec and Yao had to shoot it. This is where we miss T-mac. He can shoot over anyone with healthy and his range is unlimited. (Yes he can shoot over kobe aswell) Now if we were down 2, i will give the rock to Yao anytime of the year and let him do his thing. There are two reason behind this. 1.) obviously it's his fgp 2.) Since Yao's shots are going to be around the rim and granted with his solf touch, it's gonna be a short rebound and it will get us a higher chance of having a put back from either carl landry or Yao. Now if they are denying the ball from Yao then T-mac can either drive for a layup or dish it to the open man that went to double Yao. That's what we missed from the lakers' game, that very ability that is missing from the rockets.
Through 40 games, here are my totally subjective grades, based on how satisfied I am on how they've met expectations: Yao: B (hasn't dominated in as many games as I thought, 14.7ppg in the 3-game losing streak, etc.) McGrady: D- (would be a F if it weren't for the rare good game) Artest: C+ Alston: C- Battier: C Scola: B+ Landry: B+ Brooks: A Wafer: A+++++++++ Barry: C (moved up from a D with his last couple games) Hayes: B Head: F (I expected him to be an F and he still is) Dorsey: I Mutombo: I
Yao: A All Star. McGrady: D- Boooooo. Artest: C+ Wish he was healthy, he could easily be an A playing day in day out. Makes a big difference when he plays even when he isn't shooting well. Alston: C- Wow, frustrating to watch. Battier: C- Inconsistent needs to get healthy. Scola: B Usually solid game in and game out. Landry: B+ Proving his worth after the contract. Brooks: B- He's done well but his size limits him big time. Wafer: A Pure scorer. Barry: C I think he could do more but isn't played with the better players often enough. Hayes: B Defensive beast.
Also, as i have said it OVER AND OVER AGAIN. If Mac is really willing to do everything to get out of the first round. Then we should try this lineup and see how it will work out. C-Yao PF-Scola SF-BATMAN SG-Von Fire PG-T-Mac Reasons? We have seen what ability Von has brought to the table. His marksmanship from beyond the arc and his explosiveness to the rim. He's like a healthy Lit Mac (less explosiveness, less creative, but just as quick and better 3pt percentage). With both Batman and Von stretch the defense, T-mac will have more room to operate inside the paint. Although if we do this, we will need T-mac to cut down his shooting. Honestly i would rather have a T-mac who avg 18/9 than a 25/5 guy because he will shoot at a much higher percentage if he passes more. You take what the defense gives you and he get double team way too often when he drives. Dishes out the ball only would make him more efficient on the offense. On the offense, unlike guarding rafer, the opponent will really need to stretch their D to each corner of the perimeter against Bat and Von. Beside, Mac has been running on this system just as long as rafer, therefore i am sure he can run the offense just fine if not better. Mac will never be as explosiveness as he once was. I am only praying for him to get his quickness back so he can break down the defense and defend someone on the court. I honestly think that we have a better chance of winning if we slide him to a combo guard. Many might say RA's defense is a great asset, but Von can do just fine on the defensive end. I understand he's not as good but Rafer is the odd man on the offensive end, he can only offer 1 good game in like 12 games (I think that's a pretty fair judgement) The person who guards him wouldn't hesitate even half a sec leaving him to double team either t-mac or yao. Therefore, with the assets we have. This is the best lineup we can imagine on the floor. On the other end, It's quite comfortable for me to have this 2nd unit lineup C-Deke Pf-Carl Sf-Ron Sg-AB Pg-Rafer This 2nd unit not only can give us a spark on the offensive end against the opponent. They also are very good on the defensive end. Given Deke to patrol the lane and having both Artest and Rafer, we can sure get some really really fast points off the steals from Artest and Rafer. Carl and Deke are gonna outrebound their opponent no matter what 2nd unit they put on us. AB is there to break down the offense and shoot the open 3's. Now you can insert BB into either the first or second unit as a combo guard if the guards are having a bad game. We also can shuffle the players around if both t-mac and wafer are having a really off night. With that 1st unit tho, i believe we are the team to beat base on talent.
