[Chron] After talk with JVG, "T-Mac" is back

certainly good to hear at least some effort between the two sides is being made

thanks for posting

 

I guess JVG is desperate right now to let T-mac be free.

 

It seems like over the last few years, every time Steve and Cuttino shared the ball, we'de all feel great, the Chronicle would run stories, we'de get quotes from them about "getting it", hear about stories with Oscar Robertson etc. Then they'de just revert.

Or more recently, every time Yao has a good game, we get quotes from him saying "I need to be agressive blah blah blah I'm feeling comfortable", then everyone on the board thinks he's finally turned the corner. Then he just reverts.

Now McGrady explodes, everyone makes a big deal about "the talk" he had with Van Gundy and thinks they've really taken the shackles off for good. Let's hope this is real.

 

I would think it is much safer to expect Tmac could sustain the level that earned him the scoring title as long as he is really assured of the coaches ok.
I believe he has been so concerned with getting other players chances to score, he hasnt been as aggressive in finding his own shot.

Before he always was told to get Yao involved first, and so he didnt feel permitted to take advantage of his strengths.

I like the new emphasis on allowing the players to pplay at a faster pace, adn let Yao get his shots in the flow rather than force feeding hiim in the post/paint. It plays to Tmac and Sura's strengths and reduces the pressure on Yao to shoulder the reponsibility of being first option the majority of the time.

As long as VG allows this wy to continue, we should get much better very quickly. A little better defense and a better showing from the PFs and we would have had Dallas last night.

 

Fair enough.

At the same time, Steve and Cuttino never nearly dropped 50 while just missing a triple double.

 

Good read, my favorite part of it was this line:

I would love to believe that TMac is stepping into the role of the leader on this team. If Yao doesn't want/have enough balls to take that role, than we only go as far as TMac.

 

why the hell couldn't he have let SF do what he wanted also then.

 

The Oscar Robertson story. That's a classic. Yeah, Steve...you got it alright.

 

No offense to Steve (I like Steve alot) but he can't come close to TMac in terms of being a good playmaker. You can't give Francis a free reign and expect him to make the right play all the time, nor be an unstoppable scorer when he needs to put his team on his back. TMac has shown he can do all of that this season. He makes great plays with the ball in his hands, whether it be scoring or making a nice pass WITHOUT TURNING THE BALL OVER.

 

Why does Reece seem like such a spectator?

 

Probably because that usually resulted in him dribbling the ball off his own foot out of bounds.

 

good, maybe he can inspure the rest of the team to play better. if it can influence yao to attack the basket immediatly after catching the ball, we will get at least 6 more points.

 

Great too see that the rockets finaly see Via Tracy is the only Succesfull Option we have left. Yao is going through a Horrid patch and other then him, we got nothing left to speak of anyway. now and in the Future, i think this team should belong to Tracy.

 

I have been a big fan of Jeff van Gundy, but this offense has looked terrible. They tried going through Yao first, and he has shown he is not capable of being the go to guy (with a little help from the refs). Maybe if McGrady starts making plays on his own, and breaking out of the JVG system, things will open up more for Yao.

And not to get too far off the point, but what in the hell has Ewing accomplished since he's been here? Yao looks worse!

 

I am not worried about Yao one bit. In fact, this is the beginning of the endof Yao's slump if McGrady continues to throw up 30 a night. Because if TMac continues, then we will start winning, and teams will start concentrating on slowing him down. When that happens, look out, Yao will be getting his 24. Everyone's efficiency will increase with TMac playing like he did against Dallas. All they have to do now, is work on their defense and we will be in the thick of the playoffs. We're not good enough to win it this year, but we are good enough to get in and make some noise, get to the second round. But they have to play uptempo and take the shackles off TMac and let him gun it.

 

This bothered me a little bit. I think it is great that McGrady made the initiative and it shows that he cares, but shouldn't Van Gundy already have done this? With the comments in the papers, McGrady has obviously been uncomfortable. Instead of just (or in addition to) telling the media that was a "cop-out," shouldn't VG have pulled aside his best player with the goal of helping him feel comfortable and bringing out the best in is game?

So...they talked, and so far it looks promising. Why does it seem as if VG would have never figured that out?

 

Well first I have to say Yao has no one to blame for his struggles; not JVG, the system, the refs, the point guards, the blame should lay solely on Yao.

But with that said, I am positive Ewing has taught Yao absolutely nothing. Nada. Everytime I see Yao going to the bench for playing like crap I see him telling Ewing what went wrong. And Ewing probably responds with his 5 star basketball analysis and Yao goes "uh huh" but I can't help but wonder if Yao's thinking "Man, WTF is he talking about?". Let's be honest guys, does anyone actually think Ewing has an higher B-ball IQ than Yao? Heck, forget about B-ball IQ, how about overall IQ? The only IQ Ewing could vouch for is probably playa-PIMP strip club IQ.

 

But I thought the Rockets were centered around Yao Ming? If we let Tmac take 40 shots a game, won't our team be the same as the Orlando Magic with T-mac???