Chron: T-Mac sits until he can be worked in (Coach unsure how to distribute minutes)

That article made it sound like the reason he got the games off was to give his body a break from a back to back, like how veteran every-day baseball players sometimes get a day off to rest their bodies. Well, in this case it sounds like Tracy got the two games off to recuperate from the minutes he HAS been playing, rather than due to a dispute with the organization.

Then again, it may just be spin, as it goes against what Clutch posted weeks ago about how it will end badly.

 

I think they were looking to see if TMac was going to play within the confines of the offense and he hasn't done that. He looked at his minutes as a chance to show he still had it, not like he was going out to help his team win. This move is saying play like us or go home till we trade you...

 

If Darryl Morey can keep McGrady on the Rockets for a price that he feels is advantageous to the team, he will absolutely strike like a viper.

 

Wanna bet?

DD

 

Why can't the Rockets just run a few plays for McGrady here and there? I honestly have no idea what Adelman is thinking with regards to seeing Ariza fumble with the basketball for all 48 mins(he plays the most on the team) while McGrady can't do much worse.

 

Can't showcase anyone with limited minutes. RA is worried that McGrady can't handle more minutes.

 

He could of easily taken Taylor's minutes and some from Ariza. I know they promised Ariza the moon, but it's not that hard to see. Trevor played 43 minutes and shot 5-17. His 1-8 from behind the arc killed us. In the previous 2 games, Ariza was 1-10 & 2-11. RA, I know you are smarter than that!

 

Great point. It isn't like the offense dies if we run plays for Tracy either. He can score and he has no issue passing the ball to a open player. Something he has done in his limited minutes this season.

For all his flaws he is a smart offensive player.

 

No thank you, I do not place wagers on the outcome of any event, what so ever.

And why would you be so taken aback by the possibility of McGrady playing more seasons for the Rockets? At worst, he would bring the current game of Grant Hill.

 

He could, but he doesn't compete as hard as Grant Hill does...maybe if Adelman can break him down and rebuild him...it might work out.

But I doubt it.

DD

 

If we take Adelman's words at face value, then it seems the problem lies not in McGrady's health (mostly), but in his ability (or willingness) to play within the system.

It was not hard to see it coming even before McGrady was activated. Adelman would have the problem of incorporating TMac into the system that had been running quite well.

The dilemma is this. This team is good when they are running. McGrady is not suitable for running. This team is not very efficient when they are playing half-court game. That is where McGrady can help. You don't want TMac to drag down what they are doing so well. But you also know that without a good half-court game, you don't go very far in the playoffs.

What is complicating the matter is that McGrady does not seem too cooperative despite what he said to the contrary.

 

I agree! When Yao comes back, the Rockets will have to run plays for him. The ball will be thrown inside to Yao, everybody else will space the floor and for the most part, the ball movement will stop. This is basically the opposite of everything they are now doing. If they can't figure how to get T-Mac involved, what are they going to do when Yao returns?

 

History has proven that fast break teams don't win play off basketball. You need to be able to slow it down and play the half court game.

As long as Tracy gets the ball into Brooks and Lowry hands so we cna try and run, there is no issue.

That is my philosophy. For the turn over, push the fast break. If the break isn't there, slow it up and run your half court offense.

 

I normally wanted to see our younger guys get minutes to develop, but Taylor just isn't impressing me. He is as raw as it gets, apparently because he hasn't been able score like we drafted him for and his defense while not horrible, certainly doesn't make up for his offensive wows or lack of confidence.

Ariza, well I like him but his nice defense along with offense seems to be waning these days. I originally very much had him as a heir to Battier's defense, but even that doesn't seem accurate or 100%.

I honestly don't get what is difficult about this situation unless they are planning on playing Harris or Budinger is on the cusp of a 100% recovery. McGrady can get at least 10-15 minutes of playing time easily, between the amount of time Brooks, Lowry, Ariza and Battier get some games, that shouldn't be a problem.

 

One solution is to let T-Mac run with the 2nd team. He has shown that he is very good at getting the ball inside to Landry. He could also draw the defense and set up Andersen for some open outside shots. I think he would work well with Lowry. A few games back, McGrady took the ball with the clock running down. He made a move toward the basket, drawing several defenders. He immediately hit Lowry with a beautiful pass for a wide open jumper.

 

Link to full article

Rockets 98, Nets 93: Grappling with the McGrady dilemma
Rick Adelman said that Tracy McGrady "was" a great player, with his choice of the term "was" seeming to jump out from the sentence. But then he described his confidence that McGrady can be great again.

As odd as the day had been, with McGrady flying to New Jersey only to pack his bags and fly back home again, the guy who had benched him was eloquent in praising him.

"He was a great player," Adelman said. "We're trying to see if we can keep a flow where he can keep his touches and not put the whole onus on him right now. That's the dilemma.

"A player of his caliber, he's smart, he's got skills other people don't have. They're in him. All the things he did before that came easy, suddenly, they're harder. When you try to incorporate that into your game as a team, that's the thing I'm struggling with. I'm trying to figure it out. As talented as he is and as smart as he is, once he gets going, he's going to find a way. I don't know how long it's going to take."

As strange as it seemed that the Rockets would choose to not play McGrady at all while deciding how and when to play him more, Adelman's confidence in him seemed to confound even more. It might, however, all make sense long-term.

For now, the decision to end the seven-minute cameo experiment led to McGrady requesting that he be permitted to return to Houston in time for his son's birthday on Sunday. He had nothing much to do on the road trip, so he figured there was no reason to stick around and the Rockets didn't see much reason to make him visit Cleveland.

He seemed surprised, but OK with the decision - for now. He chose his words carefully. He did not say anything that would make the Rockets cringe. But you know as time passes, he will grow more frustrated and will express that. He said he would not cause a confrontation, which seemed to indicate he could if he chose to let it fly. And you know that as much as the trade speculation sparked with Saturday's surprising developments, it will continue to grow in the coming days and weeks.

There does not seem to be anything in the works. The Rockets have talked to teams since last off season began. Watching McGrady return to the inactive list is not likely to get someone to sweeten their offer. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said that neither McGrady nor his representatives have asked for a trade.

Given the safe assumption that McGrady will still be on the team when it reconvenes in Houston on Tuesday, Adelman's confidence in McGrady's long-term potential seems to be a key to the decisions to come.

Adelman has never been too specific about what he would need to see in McGrady's six games in order to play him more, but said he was looking at how McGrady would impact the team as a whole.

In a way, that's the problem. McGrady is not a role player. He's not built that way. He is not a guy you tell to stand in the corner and wait for the ball, try to outwork everyone and if necessary, lose a few teeth drawing a charge or diving for a loose ball.

That is what the Rockets of Shane Battier, Chuck Hayes, Kyle Lowry and Carl Landry have become.

The Rockets of McGrady and Yao Ming were built around the gifts of a pair of special players and all that they made possible around them.

McGrady, for now, seemed to be neither the simple role player nor the special talent. The Rockets could not retool their offense around him, cutting someone else's minutes drastically and reducing the plays now run for Aaron Brooks or Landry, not yet, anyway. But they could not see much from McGrady playing seven- to eight-minute stints waiting for the ball to find him.

"I said all along I want to see where he fits," Adelman said. "Coming back from an injury like that, it's obvious he's not Tracy we knew two years ago. He knows that. What I'm trying to figure out is where we can best get him in the rotation where he can have a positive effect on the team."

Adelman might have continued the seven-minute experiment a bit longer had McGrady not begun seeking more playing time, but Adelman always said he would look at it through Christmas. He had not seen enough to retool his offense or rotation around McGrady.

"In the past couple years ... we had Yao and we had Tracy and the ball was going to go through those guys," Adelman said. "Right now, Yao's not playing and Tracy is not the same guy we had two years ago.

"You could run the offense through him and through Yao. Now, if you're going to do that, because of the injury and the rehabilitation, he suddenly can't do that.

"I don't want to do something and we lose whatever positive vibe we had, even though it's nobody's fault. I want to see how this goes and how he was going to play in those six games. I understand fully seven or eight minutes is not an easy thing for a player to just do, although he knew he was going to play those seven or eight minutes so it was a time to do whatever you can do in those seven or eight minutes."

Those seven or eight minutes were enough for McGrady to be convinced he was ready for more.

With that, the whole thing was not so strange after all.

McGrady, like all players, believed with more playing time he would become more productive. Adelman, like all coaches, felt that if McGrady could be more productive, he would get more time.

The problem with all that is that there does not seem to be a quick or easy solution waiting. They will get together on Tuesday and talk about options. But unless Adelman is going to increase McGrady's playing time and role, he won't be happy. And Adelman does not seem likely to want to return to the cameo routine.

If McGrady's agents ask permission to seek a trade, as often comes from an impasse, no one seems likely to be happy, with the Rockets sure to be picky about any package of $23 million worth of players they are offered and McGrady preferring to remain in Houston, anyway.

"I don't blame any player for saying, 'I want more,'" Adelman said. "That's what he wants. Right now, I'm not sure how to do it. We'll figure it out, I hope."

 

I think the problem has to do with McGrady's health as well. This is a quote from Adelman in the article:

"Coming back from an injury like that (microfracture knee surgery), it’s obvious he’s not the Tracy we knew two years ago. He knows that."​

I would say this is the big disagreement between Adelman and McGrady. Adelman does not believe Tracy is the same player as he was two years ago, and therefore wants McGrady to change his approach to the game.

If Adelman did believe McGrady to be that same elite player, I think he'd be willing to make more adjustments and concessions. But he doesn't see that elite player in McGrady right now - and perhaps anymore.

McGrady, however, thinks he still is that guy, but just needs time on the court (and the ball in his hands) to work himself back to that level.

IMO Adelman's calling it like he sees it, and McGrady doesn't like what the coach is seeing.

 

McGrady, for now, seemed to be neither the simple role player nor the special talent.

This is the crux of the matter, IMO.

He is just not ready and it makes no sense for the team to break up what they have to get him ready, as his contract is up at the end of this year and he probably goes somewhere else.

It is an oil and water situation.

DD

 

No not really.

We don't know where McGrady is at if given more time. Though the most pragmatic approach would be to steadily increase his minutes and to drop it whenever he puts up a bad performance.

Both sides are frustrated, but both sides are not letting it go yet. It takes a little selflessness from both parties for this to play out a little more peacefully. I don't believe this situation is irreconcilable, but I do believe there is a lot of repairing to do for both the organization and Mcgrady. It comes down to loyalty and dedication, which should reveal itself very soon.