Deckard, How old are you? I'm 30 and have been following the Rockets since '88. I'll admit, the only time I've seen Sampson play was the '86 video of Game 6 vs. the Lakers. That was it, so admittedly I am basing Ralph Sampson's skillset/impact as a player on a very small sample. I stand corrected, since I will give you the benefit that you have truly seen him play extensively. If what you say is true about Ralph, then that is amazing. What is he, like 7'4? That's pretty close to Yao's height. I used to think Yao was the most Agile Giant over 7' to play the game, but I stand corrected. Would it be a safe assumption that had Ralph NOT gotten injured, he would have been regarded higher than Hakeem? Sounds like he could do Everything Hakeem could but was simply taller. That makes him better in theory. How old are you? I wonder how old are most of the posters out here. For the most part, the posts are written very eloquently with proper grammar. Believe me, that to me speaks volumes about a person. Then again, I'm wondering what 40-50 or even 60 year old would have time/interest to spend time posting on a Basketball forum that on the surface one would assume caters to "young-uns". DaDakota doesn't look all that old in his video clips. But yet he's stated that he's followed the Rockets for how long now? 40 years? Something like that. That's insane. DD, you seem to be young at heart. How old are you?
DD, you're a intelligent man and I know you know better and I don't care who is on the rockets per se, but to say Tracy is the reason the rockets lost to Dallas is dumb. Not saying you're dumb, but that's a dumb comment. The rockets were outmanned and outgunned and still had a chance to beat dallas. If your too blind to see that, I don't know what to say. I guess you forgot he and Yao missed critical free throws in a earlier game that couldve won a game? Then to backdoor and say that the reason they got out the first rd is because he didn't play and overlooking a team that had 0 playoff experience, well, that's typical DD. We understand you're taking AntiSonics hammer against tracy and that's all well and good, just be factul and consistent. One minute its a team game and tracy should share then the next he's the reason they lost. Get real, that's pretty weak DD.
About twice your age and no, Ralph wouldn't have been better if he'd had a healthy career that came anywhere close to the length of Hakeem's. Sampson would have been a multiple All Star and talked about as one of the greats of the game, in my opinion, just not on the level of the Dream. Some of us have more time than others, and sometimes that time comes and goes. A lot of mine is at night. It just depends on my schedule. And I think the members here tend to be pretty young in comparison to a few of the rest of us, but the site appeals to all Rockets fans, regardless of age, where they live, and how long they've followed the team. That's due to the genius of our fearless leader, Clutch, and his happy crew. And it was game 5. The Showtime Lakers and defending champions didn't make it to six.
i understand and support that we are trying to build a well-rounded team where everyone contributes and we don't have to rely on one guy to carry the load. but all teams still need a guy like tmac that can create his own shot, and the simple fact is that those guys are alot rarer than most rockets fans seem to think. i'm in favor of filling our roster with well-rounded "quality" players, but you are always going to need that go-to guy to bail you out when things get rough, and contrary to popular belief, tmac (if healthy) is one of the very few in the league who is good at it. and it's an oversimplification to say "quality basketball players win rings, even if they are not superior athletes..." this isn't about athletic players vs non-athletic players. tmac is a quality basketball player who happens to be athletic, and that athleticism makes him a better player who can create something from nothing. every good team needs that, and every championship team has had that. even the pistons, a team everybody cites as a team with no true superstar, had guys who could take the ball off the dribble and create for themselves (chauncey and rip). AB is the only guy who's even close to being able to do that right now, and it's an unfortunate reality that he's often the shortest guy on the team and isn't exactly able to get off a quality shot whenever he wants. if there's a playmaker out there that you think we can realistically get to replace tmac, then i'm all ears. but as far as i can tell, tmac is probably the best we're going to get, and if he's healthy he is definitely going to help this team. for all the complaints about him being a ball-stopper, i've seen the ball get stopped plenty of times without tmac playing. only difference is that tmac can still manage to score when the offense goes to hell. and i really don't believe he's as selfish as he's made out to be. i think he genuinely wants his teammates to succeed, and he'd be more than happy if everyone on the rockets stayed aggressive when he comes back.
Great Post. Tmac was my favorite player in the NBA back in his Orlando days simply because I admired his talent and just how easy he makes it look. I've brought up this argument in the past on this board about how I truly feel that McGrady's talent is unparallel and the best in the league. Many (albeit good points) would argue otherwise. McGrady's downfall the past few seasons has been quite simply put, his Health. That is just unfortunate. There is not a single player I would take in place of the 04-05 T-mac. Not Kobe and Not Wade. I respect those wings a great deal, don't get me wrong, but McGrady is a very special player. Kobe at his best still falls short of McGrady at his peak (talent-wise) in my opinion. When Tmac was healthy, esp back in orlando, he would own KOBE on head to head matchups...trust me, I watched a lot of league pass back then. It's just sad and quite unfortunate how his career has panned out here in Houston. Injuries are the source of his recent demise. We'll see what happens this season. But I will say it again, McGrady at his best (healthy) is THE BEST WING IN THE LEAGUE. Take away "attitude" or "mentality" for a second. Can anyone here respectfully argue that Kobe and Wade have more talent than tmac?
That means that the Rockets back then against the Lakers took TWO games..not just one in LA. That's beyond impressive.
Yeah, Deckard is a old fart . The ralph comment was spot on. I always said ralph was way ahead of his time. He was like KG except taller and kinda like kg, his element is not being the man in the 4th qt. Ralph was going to be at least as good as david robinson turned out to be,but his era was one where bigs didn't shoot from 20ft. With the center population is now and the less physical play,would fit right in.
Under no circumstance do I want Mcgrady! The amount of leeway that many on this board give Tracy is amazing to me. He was once great, and I think that stains the minds of many. People think he is going to come back and save us. They fully believe it. But what if he does? We would be waiting for next year to come, so we can hitch our wagon to the same 2 horses. Maybe at a discounted price? Someone said it best on the board the other day when they said "we have to knock both the guys down a notch, that Yao and McGrady need to be the 2nd and 3rd best players on a team like that (looking toward the future. I would be open to that, but if McGrady has a solid year, he is still going to command some fairly serious money. Same for Yao. You can justify waiting for Yao, if you can ignore the last few years. He is a center (rare today) with exceptional talent, will and workethic. (McGrady lacking the latter 1.5) You have invested so much in Yao. He makes you WORLDWIDE. And he brings in commensurate revenue. Too far down that 7'6 road to turn back now. These first 2 offseason games were eye opening. I havent seen us play that fast in forever. Granted, defenses will tighten, but the pace will be shockingly different. Trevor Ariza will eventually blend himself into the offense. He is trying too hard right now though, and I see McGrady doing that same thing. Tracy is far better offensively, but my point is that I do want to see a team game. Tracy McGrady is playing for a contract. Thats a fact because he is on a contract year and wants to continue playing. He is also playing to prove something to the world, about himself. Will he perceive winning, or stats as the best answer? We'll see. I just don't like the idea of letting him play with this group of guys. To squeak us out an extra win or two, and to play his offense. Morey is a smart guy, I do think he weighed the value of tanking (developing youth and getting a high pick) vs. making the playoffs (and maybe making noise, but at least gaining the experience) Other than us needing a star player (If you believe that notion) I just don't think he is helpful to what we are or should be doing long term and I sincerely hope he is dealt early in the year so we can finally move on. He is a great offensive player and does create shots for others, but only when he dominates the ball. If there is a point where the Rockets have to shake themselves and re-evaluate his trade value (or the value they think he has) They might need to do so. He may come back and help out, but there are guys in that locker room that probably don't trust him 100 percent. Maybe the mentality of not having to get anyone shots will be helpful to our offense. I would be ok, with going mostly what we have the seen the past few nights. Lets move on.....
Damn I never understood people saying ''We gotta keep Yao, he brings revenue''. It's not like you're going to touch any cent of these revenue.
Why McGrady will succeed this season Now I'm not the biggest fan of T-mac around here, in fact I bashed him a lot last season...but here's why I think T-mac will succeed this season. 1) He seems to be taking his rehab seriously this time, and seems to be working hard with Grover et. al. 2) If you look at our roster this year, T-mac is the only proven star on it. Ariza doesn't look like he's more than a MLE player who can't ball handle (which is fine). With no Yao, no Artest, and no good ball handlers besides Lowry and Brooks, T-mac will have the opportunity to dominate the ball a lot. Which is when T-mac really excels IMO. He genuinely might not mind having another all star around, but when it comes down to it, he's always been the best when he's the solo act of the team (Orlando, Rockets the first season where Yao hadn't really emerged, whenever Yao is injured..etc). I won't be surprised if he averages 5 to 6 assists this season, if he does his usual facilitating of the offense. 3) Contract year. Two words that really say everything. And there you have it, my reasons why Tmac will succeed and put up decent stats this season. I'm thinking 17.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.6 apg, .47 FG%. Even if those aren't all-star worthy stats, it'd be considered quite an impressive comeback from his injury last season.
Chuck Norris, my name has Francis in it because I was reading this board when he played for us. Back when you were trolling the ESPN boards listening to Blink 182
I understand what you are saying, but to me, his style of play is one of the biggest reasons that the team lost. I know you don't agree, but to me, his team losing HC advantage 4 or 5 times is pretty indicative of a pattern. In the Dallas series, I think he took on too much responsibility, and ultimatly if he goes off they win, if he shares it more, the team is harder to guard and has a better chance. That is how I view it.....I know you disagree....fine. DD
That is some interesting insight there Yetti. You could well be right and it is a communication issue, not necessarily a language barrier, but a cultural one. In the US, leadership is seized by the most able, it may not be that way everywhere. Makes me wonder about an americanism: leaders are born, not made
