I can see where Wekko is coming from. Seeing Tracy when he was mobile shake a little bit and then step back for a jumper is infuriating when you know that if he shook a little bit more and wasn't so allergic to contact, he'd be at the line or dunking on people (or a lefty layup). His pull up 3's and ridiculously hard fadeaways are okay sometimes when you've hit a few shots in a row. The problem is that we all saw last year that he was physically incapable of getting the lift needed for shots like that. He'd hit a few shots then try to sky up and hit a crazy fadeaway only to find out that he only jumped a few inches from the ground, so he ended up flinging a prayer towards the rim. I'd like for McGrady to keep his 3pt percentage where it was last year, around 37% (I'd say that's respectable, wouldn't you Wekko?) and to shoot less of the 'created' jumpshots (i.e., 5 dribble step back fadeaway) when the offense is rolling. If he really is back to at least 80% capacity, I expect him to get to the rim a lot more than in previous years. His body should be sufficiently developed now that he can make a layup without getting sent to the hospital. A post up game seems like a good idea to me. IIRC, he was burning Raja Bell pretty badly in the post during that Phoenix game where Rafer and Matt Barnes had a little showdown. Pretty much all of his defenders lack the height to defend him down there, so it seems like a pretty good idea to take advantage of his footwork down there.
Feigan says McGrady has only scrimmaged for 1.5 minutes at the most. Don't get your hopes up about McGrady being ready in the next 3 weeks. It's not like he will play 32-36 minutes right off the bat. http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2009/10/magic_113_rockets_104_no_yao_n.html
That's true. 3 weeks may be not be very likely but the only fact that people around him are saying he is looking great is encouraging
Abberation stats that were up. His good numbers don't count now because he was playing injured now? I agree, his pull up jumpers suck at times, but what often gets overlooked is him taking quick shots because either a.) his man is slacking off of him or b.) its a two for one. Nope, there will always be defenders keyed in on McGrady. ALWAYS. Even when he was hobbling last year, teams sent double teams at him. In order for him to be a facilitator, he needs to have players around him who can capitalize on thier oppurtunities, ala not Luther Head, Rafer Alston and Juwon Howard. Yea and guess what...McGrady is better than all of them with the exception of Durant. I really like how you cherry picked all these guys with these wonderful stats though. Maybe a more appropriate comparison would of been players with similar roles to him (Wade-29/77, Kobe 34/84, Iggy - 33/76, J.Johnson -37/79 ) compared to Tracy - 34/75. Hmm looks to be right about average, thats odd how that works when you don't cherry pick random stats that fit your argument. Of course he has, his numbers were through the roof in the playoffs. He was posting PER's in the all time great categories. Do you even watch the games? Once teams hone in on Yao and he is fronted, nearly a third of our possession in end salvaged post up plays. Yao being out is irrelevant, he is a member of the team, in the past and in the future. Scola is one of the best post players in the NBA, if you can't see it, you need to open your eyes. Landry has shown no potential? What do you do, just stare at Yao, even when he is on the bench. I'll give you Andersen, maybe I am overly optomistic, but the moves he laid down were not overpowering moves, they were finese moves which looked unblockable No I understood you. You need a scapegoat and McGrady is an easy target. If you ever bothered to actually watch the games instead of looking at stats you would know Tracy is one of the best at making the right play, given what the defense dictates. He was the absolute best at getting Yao the ball right where he needs it to be effective. He managed to turn Chuck Hayes, an offensive black hole into a dangerous cutter. He is the best at finding the mismatch and making sure the right player gets the ball. Congrats to Wade, his team was bumped in the first round. I guess he sucks right?
larsv8, I agree with you about McGrady's play making ability (maybe I was being a homer, but back in 2004/2005 I actually preferred McGrady to Kobe because of McGrady's passing ability), and shooting 38/80 is an unreasonable demand, especially the 3point%. But being an inefficient scorer is a legitimate knock on McGrady's game, and it isn't just about last season, he's been average in that department his whole career. TS% is probably the best indicator of an individual's scoring efficiency as it takes into account free throws, and outside of one good season (2002/2003), his TS% has been mediocre at best. In comparison to Bryant, Wade, Iggy and even a "scrub" like Redd McGrady is definitely a step below. McGrady's best season's TS% is actually lower than Wade's career TS%. McGrady's TS% is actually at Joe Johnson and Allen Iverson's level. Players like Wade and Kobe are elite because of their ability to drive and earn free throws. McGrady can... but just doesn't do that enough. Given his injury history, I understand why he doesn't do it, but he is what he is. If he can get his scoring efficiency up to Bryant/Wade/Iggy levels this season, that will be the first time since 2003.
Heres the deal, believe it or not I am not an apologist of his. If there is a trade to be made for him that makes the Rockets better, I am ALL for it. I haven't looked at those percentages, but I will take your word for it. McGrady is indeed no Bryant or Wade. He is better in some areas, while worse in others. My main beef with people like Wekko is...I grow tired of these witch hunts where people think all our problems will just disapear if we trade Tracy. The man has his faults no doubt. He will never be Hakeem and lead us on his back to a finals, but to say he is the root of the problem is just plain ignorant and I take exception to it.
Ever wonder why people slack off of him....? Yeah especially when "his man is slacking off of him!" This is always my favorite defense. "_______ lost a first round series so by your logic he sucks too!" Why is it that none of those other players have McG's reputation? Is it because they've never ever ever been out of the first round? Is it because their respective work ethics are (year after year) being questioned? No! It's because mean Houston Rockets fans are haterz!
No I don't. They slack off of him because they don't want him to penetrate or they are trying to interfere with the entry pass to Yao. This is defense 101.
Exactly. His injury changed his shooting mechanics. Unless he intends to keep last year's shooting form, last year's numbers aren't reliable for comparison purposes. In both those scenarios, McGrady still has an open look. The problem is that he's not a good perimeter shooter. No, they didn't. That's true, but on that same note, McGrady cannot always defer to teammates at the end of games. You really think McGrady is better than Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Danny Granger, and Chauncey Billups? Cherry picking? I was asked what I thought McGrady's shooting percentages should be. I answered and was told that my choices were unreasonable. I then listed the players who were able to sustain such stats. If you insist on talking about "cherry picking stats", look at your own selection of McGrady's 34%fg/75%ft numbers. Those are career numbers. Why would you think his numbers from 10 years ago, which are included in his career numbers, are relevant? They're not. More relevant numbers would come from his last relatively healthy season, 07-08. He played 66 games and shot 29.2% from the 3pt line and 68.4% from the ft line. Nope, aside from making the entry pass into Yao, McGrady and Yao have generally played independently from each other on offense. How often do you see McGrady shooting an open 3 pointer as a result of the defense double teaming Yao? How often do you see McGrady cutting to the basket when Yao is posting up? Here's what you originally wrote: So you think out of all the times we try to go to Yao and he's fronted, a third of those attempts results in McGrady taking off balance shots? Actually, if we're talking about the upcoming season, Yao is absolutely irrelevant. And no, Scola is not one of the best post players in the NBA. Unless by "best", you mean in the top 20 or something. And again, no. Landry has shown no potential to being a good post up player. You haven't noticed that he prefers to face up the the basket and either shoot the jumper or try to take his man off the dribble? You're right. He does make the right play given what the defense dictates. And when the defense gives him open perimeter jumpers, he takes them b/c it's the right thing to do. Too bad he's a poor perimeter jump shooter. Actually, that credit should go to Hayes for moving without the ball. Nope, Wade is pretty darned good.
Wekko is clearly wrong if he is thinking McGrady is not a good perimeter shooter when his KNEE was right and his shoulder.
Like I said earlier there is no point in debating with people who have made up thier mind. This guy just tried to claim being injured made McGrady a better shooter. Wekko must be Shawn Bradley or something.
Actually, I said the injury changed his shooting form (which it did). Look at the elevation he used to get in prior years. He was nowhere near that last year. That's why I said last year's statistics are unreliable for comparative purposes (unless he starts to consistently shoot his jumpers with less elevation). The reason you can't debate with me is b/c you're opinions are based on emotion whereas mine are based on logic. Logic will always prevail. Emotion will cause you to say things like "Scola is one of the best post players in the NBA."
Like I said, I am not a McGrady apologist, he has his faults and Id love to see some good debate on why we would be better off without him. Sadly most people just say there one line zingers and don't post anymore afterwards ("lolz second round", "yea, when healthy" ). I'd absolutelt love to be convinced otherwise, because then it would be easy for me to jump on hate wagon and ride off into the sunset. But when people say ignorant things like he didnt jump as high so he shot better, or he is a playoff choker, I will be there to stand up for our players.
You'd love to see some good debate? Really? My arguments are always logical yet you dismiss them without refuting them. You clearly don't want to be convinced about McGrady's shortcomings. What I said is that last year's stats aren't reliable for comparative purposes because his weakened knee changed his shooting form (specifically, his elevation). If he maintains the lower elevation on his jumpers, then last year's numbers could be applicable. Is this really such a difficult concept to understand?
I'm sure it makes sense in your head, but one of the basics of jump shooting is that the more elevation you have the better the shot. Your argument is the equivilent of saying "My lawnmower is broken, but its winter and the grass stayed short all year, so the lawnmower worked better when it was broken" Its just doesnt make any sense. Your "logic" is so full of fallacies its beyond even consideration.
Dude, wekko is a longtime mcgrady hater and a Y-O-F. uptill 09 seaon, it's statistic fact that mcgrady had one of the best mid-range games in the league.
