Amen. One of Yao's problems is that he isn't athletic enough to go get passes. This I can forgive just due to his body type. But not sealing your man off....that I can't forgive....not 7 years in....
Did he? He shot 43%, 21% from behind the arc and 62% at the line in last years postseason. That's not superstar scoring. Yes, he also gave you 7 dimes a game. But for those touting he can score over anyone...well that clearly is not the case. T-Mac hasn't been an efficient scorer since his first season here. If you want to blame it on the injuries that's cool....but it doesn't change the results.
It seems like you're purposely choosing deceptive data in an attempt to prove your point. Yes, McGrady averaged 11 apg in 06/07 vs the Lakers, but he only played in 2 of the 4 games. And in 07/08, how did you calculate 9 apg? He played in 3 games against the Lakers and his assist totals were 4, 2, and 6. Looks like its 4 apg to me....
Another advantage to McGrady. He catches Yao rolling to the basket more than any other player on the team. In that 4th quarter situation, Yao is deadly no matter who is defending.
What do you think the other players did! The Rockets need a closer - T-Mac. Say what you what to, but T-Mac makes plays for others down the stretch.
Dang man...ppl keep saying this but i'm trying to remember when Tmac closed out playoff games and got us past the first round. I mean all those other closers do it in the playoffs. Tmac=Regular season closer
Oh god, please shut the hell up. I didn't know the rockets were a damn rap song. Artest is mentally tougher than mcgrady and he has been better than T this year, but there is no doubt that tracy is the better player.
When Ron Ron said Lebron was a newer version of him, it was funny at the time. Now, maybe not so much. You are exactly right in your previous post, he is not good enough off the dribble and with his lack of speed it makes him that much less of a star player. i'm not the biggest tmac fan, but there is no way he would have been shut down like that
Problem is, Tracy plays ZERO defense. So what ever he does on offense has FAR lesser value... In an ideal world we would have both...We could have been so damn good this year We still can be, but it is hard when you have 23 million dollars worth of junk on the sideline...
I'm sorry that's just not true. Tracy typically plays lazy defense, but usually towards the ends of games, he'll play defense as he doesn't want to be scored on and be the reason why the team would lose the game. The only lapse, in recent memory for that, would be the Portland game when there was confusion and he ended up allowing Roy a pretty clean look at the rim. I'm not saying he's even close to being a defender among the ranks of Artest, but he is a pretty good defender when he wants to be. Problem is, he only wants to be if it's late in the game, and he's healthy. As a matter of fact, even this season he played some pretty good defense from time to time. Actually more often than season's past. We just all remember when he completely threw in the towel and Toronto, and it disgusted pretty much all of us and rightfully so.
Yall still believe Artest is better than Tmac after last night's game vs. LA??? All he did is get embarrassed and dominated by Kobe in the 2nd half, and Kobe had every right to laugh his ass of at him and declare "I kicked Ron's Ass tonight!" Ron is a good defensive player with an attitude who can knock down the 3 pointer and outmuscle smaller guards. Thats what he is. He isn't a superstar, he is paid 8 million, which is just right for his play (maybe 10 mil/per year). He's a good player and a hard working player, but when it comes to offensive skills, playmaking and basketball IQ, he's just a buffed up, meaner version of Tayshaun Prince. The truth is, the Rockets needed somebody with his attitude and we could have used him in mismatches, because every team in the NBA will gameplan to stop Tmac, and put their bigger, better defender on him, rather than Ron Artest. I wonder what the reason for that is?? Even on one leg, teams game planned to stop Tmac. Ask any NBA coach or player. They'll all try to stop Tmac before Artest on the Rockets. Artest is what Josh Howard is to Dirk or Odom is to Kobe, an extra option to take some pressure off the playmaking star wing player. They will have favorable matchups because the star on their team will draw the bigger or better defender every night. Last night, Kobe lit Ron up and shut him down. Simple as that. I know in recent matchups Kobe has done a good job on Tmac as well, but Tmac was hurt. The last time they were both healthy, Tmac had 30 points on good shooting, while Kobe had 43 points on 39 shot attempts. This was the 07/08 season opener game. Last night, a healthy Tmac would've made a huge difference in the game. He sure as hell would be able to get Yao a post entry pass, rather than people trying to bounce pass it to him (Brooks) or Artest being denied by Kobe. He would have ran pick and roll effectively with Yao, when Yao was being fronted. He can get Yao, Scola and Landry layups, he would get Brooks and Artest wide open 3's. Just admit that Tracy McGrady is an amazing talent that we sorely miss right now against the elite teams in the NBA. If yall want to be haters about it, then fine, but tell me what Artest did last night against a great team vs. the best player in the league...get embarrassed offensively and even in his strong part of his game, defense. It was Mr. MVP who had his way with Artest in the 2nd half. I'm no Laker fan or Kobe fan by any means. I'm just telling the truth. It hurts sometimes, especially if you are a Tmac hater or a bandwagon Artest fan cuz he's had a good shooting month. The Rockets need Tracy McGrady or a player with similar talent (can make plays for himself and others, and can get Yao the ball in spots he can score, and score when the team needs him to score). Yao is great, but if teams front him or double him, he can be taken out of a game, and we'll have to hope that Von Wafer will step up or Brooks or Artest has a good shooting night, to help out Yao, Scola and Landry. You don't realize what you had once its gone (I know yall may say drama cuz of this year, and I don't disagree with yall on that), but when it comes to on the court, the last 4 years, Tmac did his thing, carrying us. We will miss him in the playoffs, even if we get past the 1st round, we won't beat the elite teams without him. We sure as hell aint beating those teams with Artest as our #2 option either...
Very good post. This T-mac hate imo has been over the top. He was a problem this year, but he was far from the problem in years past. Talent was the problem then. We have nobody to go to in crunch time to create there own shot. Our hope in the playoffs is to have a comfortable lead in the last few minutes and hold on for dear life. Quick run down of the top 8 West teams and there go to guys/guys that can create for themselves. L.A. - You know who. The same guy we supposively play good defense on only for him to torch us down the stretch every time. S.A. - Parker/Ginobili Utah - Williams Den - Anthony/Billups N.O. - CP3 Portland - Roy Dallas - Dirk/Howard Hou - ????? A HEALTHY McGrady would be perfect. Even this season when he was playing injured we saw flashes of him taking it to the hole and drawing the fouls. Oh btw, he's the only player on our team that the refs will blow the whistle for. I really hope somebody emerges and takes that role. It's obvious Artest can't do it and Yao gets taken out of possessions way too easily.
Yeah I remember him. Do you remember the team he went to after he was released from the Rockets?? No one knows he would have done the same thing for the Rockets. Up tempo team vs. Half court teams are going to result in different style of play.
