ClutchFans Game Thread: Raptors @ Rockets 12/29/2007

I have noticed that, too.

He is pretty good aboutt getting to the right spot to grab missed shots then fighting to get the ball.

I think he is overall a decent rebounder, better than I expected but not great.

 

He's the starting point guard. It has been proven that our offense goes to crap when he's out. Yeah, that makes him one of the key players on the team.

Aaron Brooks' development is awesome, and personally I love the mix of minutes Adelman is giving those two. But make no mistake, Rafer is this team's starting point guard for the rest of the season, and nothing short of season-ending injury (God forbid) will change that. At least now we can claim to have some real depth at the point, not the smoke and mirrors that was James and Francis earlier in the season.

And anyone who's not sold on Brooks yet either hasn't been watching or does not understand the game of basketball. The guy has phenomenal speed, but even more importantly, he knows *exactly* how to use his speed to his advantage. He plays an extremely cerebral game out there and makes impeccable decisions with the ball. His court vision is phenomenal and, despite being a rookie, he seems to always know exactly how to pass the ball to each player in the perfect spot to make a shot. He almost looks like he could be averaging close to 9 assists a game if given starter's minutes. There was one bounce pass right on the money between two defenders to Yao last night that illustrated this -- afterwards Bill and Clyde started to talk about bounce passes to big men and how difficult they can be. If you're not sold yet, you should be. Brooks' upside right now looks like Leandro Barbosa with real point guard skills.

 

Brooks got almost all of his minutes against Toronto's backup PG, Juan Dixon. Dixon shot well today, 4 of 6 for 8 points with a lot of his shots coming off a quick screen, but I thought Brooks did fine and held his own despite a little cold shooting.
He's still learning but Brooks is turning into a solid backup PG.

 

the only team you'd get three starters from for t-mac is minnesota, and they have no reason to make a trade for an aging super-star.

you might get an unpopular star on a team packaged with another player. So you could get Marbury for sure, and maybe another knick.

Know tell me, would you really pull the trigger on that trade????

In trading T-mac, you would get much lower quality players in return....and only a team that was trying to contend for a ring would go for an aging oft-injured super-star who hasn't ever one a playoff series.

So that leaves you with teams like Detroit, Orlando, Toronto maybe, Cleveland, and perhaps Denver. You could throw Utah i guess.

Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix will likely stay pat.


So what sort of scenario would you do? I mean realistically. One that the other team would want, and that would actually make us better.

Rarely when you get multiple players for a star does it make you better as a team. You'll get three guys who will compete for playing time and we won't have a superstar to draw double teams away from Yao.

We'll be a good team, but more like a low seed playoff team...

If you want any chance of a ring this year or next, you have to keep T-mac.

 

great effort from the rox. but if u guys think that they can beat the warriors without tracy, you are dreaming. you have to admit that the team is nothing without tracy. tracy has to play for the team to be one of the elite teams.. you can bash him all you want, but i guarantee you(if tracy is healthy) that tracy will be in the top 5 in the MVP rankings by the end of the season.. its t-mac's team. it has been and it will always be.

 

Yeah, T-Mac can take this team to the next level. But there's a flip side: T-Mac can torpedo the team if he doesn't play the system and trust his teammates.

The first couple of games after T-Mac gets back are going to be critical. How many players besides Yao and T-Mac score in double digits? And how close do the Rockets get to 100 points in those games? In a way T-Mac sitting out these last two games has been a good thing: it's allowed everyone else to step up and it's demonstrated that the Rockets can play Adelman's offense. By comparison if T-Mac gets back and we get a whole bunch of games where the Rockets regress and only Yao and T-Mac are scoring points then the organization has got huge problems.

 

perhaps it would be wise to limit t-macs minutes and easy him back in coming off the bench.

i doubt something like that would happen, but why not let bonzi start - maybe it's good the team starts the game without t-mac and he comes in as the 6th man for a game or two.

 

I have always wondered what it would be like if Tmac came off the bench, or even off the bench in the 2nd half. Even Yao to just play them both for the last 18 minutes of the game and they would monster home, hoping the other players kept the game with in 10 points though

 

some thing i noticed in the AP report notes is that the raptors after tonight are 4-5 on the second game of a back to back while the rockets are 6-12 in the second game of a back to back, is that number correct have we had that many back to back games this year?

 

tmac would never agree to coming off the bench. That would signal we have given up on him too, which would diminish his trade value which would be our only logical move if we made that decision.

 

i love the effort of Scola and Brooks which is what we have been lacking. Bonzi shows it in spurts but sometimes seems almost disinterested. We have lacked passion and despite their rookie mistakes at least Scola and Brooks are providing that.

 

I strongly support that TMAC should not be the starter. You can recall that Rocket lost all games when TMAC had hot hands in first quarter. They all run into the same circle: TMac shooted points->others watched >TMac didn't point >others didn't point as well-> TMac injured and left.

 

just unrealistic given tmacs all-star status, warranted or not.

 

Did you realize that's BS ??

The Rockets had been making all kinds of roster and coach changes ever since Big Yao came just so to piece together all the missing jigzaws for a championship.

And that included Tracy McGrady.

 

I don't really think the Barbosa comparison is accurate. Barbosa is much bigger and is a pure scorer. I'd say hes more along the lines of TJ Ford. Brooks at this stage actually has a much better J the TJ.

 

I assume that is a good idea and feasible. I doubt Adelman will pull him off the starting lineup, but he is able to put Tracy sitting on the bench a big longer if he is still not buying into the system. No hard feeling for those T-mac lovers though.

We have witnessed the tune-up progress and better play since after the match against Denver. It's worth giving bonzi a bit more time.

Does anyone know whether T-mac will be playing against Warriors?

 

we do not always get 18 rebounds out of those two, and 8 points is nothing, especially if you are going to compare what other teams are getting out of their PF spot. i guess you truly are as good as your last game.... all the times chuck has given us absolutely NOTHING are forgotten with one win over the craptors.

*sigh* you get guys are getting way too excited over these last two games. this roster does NOT have enough talent to contend, but it won't become apparent for most of you until we get undressed in the playoffs again (if we even make it)

 

Well that doesn't settle anything!!

In 1 paragraph, Tracy says a week and in another paragraph, someone(would be nice to know who that "someone" is) expects him to play against GS.

Has a pool been started yet on wheather or not TMac plays against GS?

 

next one is the real test! to yao to houston rockets!

 

Yes, I will be dreaming and the dream will turn out to be true. Go Rockets.