First, why the hell should I stop the "love" for Tmac. I am a Rockets fan and he is a Rocket. I am not some sad pathetic individual who is going to hate on a Rocket player as if he raped my sister. And if you really think teams game plan the same for Richard Jefferson as they do Tmac then there is no point in us even arguing.
Now that was just a little bit uncalled for. Completely crass. Who's the pathetic individual now? I must've really touched a nerve to be called that. I am a Rockets fan as hardcore as any. But I'm a pragmatist, too. T-Mac has had his chance in the sun and failed miserably. Mike Newlin summed it up best the last time he subbed for Calvin Murphy on his radio show. T-Mac lacks a killer instinct and the drive to be successful.
Lay off Mike Newlins nutz. I don't need some wannabe experts opinion on Tmac to know what kind of a player he is. I call you sad and pathetic and I am crass? You call Tmac a gutless coward of a player and you are all class? You are no Rockets fan. Go to the Jazz or Mavbricks boards where you belong. And you listen to the Calvin Murphy show? Yeah that show is totally objective.
For long period of time, the Rockets pretty much sucked at drafting. It wasn't one of our teams stronger suits, they only get good players when the team finishes low enough to take a players (who are pretty much sure things). But when it came to middle of pack 1st rounders or lower, they don't usually draft the best people. They were succesful with Mobley, Cassell, Gay (traded him, though), and Jefferson (traded him, too).
You are a blind Rockets sunshine optimist who would follow them off a cliff. I was paraphrasing Newlin. And I believe he is right. T-Mac is a gutless coward, IMO. And how dare you say I go to the Dallas/Utah boards. I've been a Rockets fan and Houstonian longer than you've probably been alive. I remember being heartbroken when Lloyd and Wiggins got busted for coke, when Sampson broke down physically and got shipped out to Oakland, when Olajuwon demanded a trade b/c ownership implied he was faking his injuries. I've been through all that, so don't you imply I'm something that I'm not. Just b/c I've haven't spent my life here on CF.net like you have doesn't mean my opinion is any less than yours. And if you think I'm not objective b/c I listen to Calvin(I listen to all 4 sports stations, btw). Then why don't you tell me what's an objective source then? Lay off T-Mac's nuts.
Yeah I realize it's not a popular opinion, and that I'm painting myself into a solitary corner. But T-Mac has shown time and again that he's not the man. And it's all mental for him. At this point in his career, you really would have to do T-Mac straight up for the likes of RJ, Carter, Redd, J-Rich, Joe Johnson or whoever else is of that caliber of player. We don't have the pieces necessary to add any of these guys as a third option, so the only thing we can do,IMO, is swap T-Mac for one of them. Or trade him for 2 fading guys like Billips and Tayshaun.
Oh you must mean that series against Dallas when Tmac singlehandedly shut down Dirk and was our leading scorer. The team then has a total of four individuals score in a game seven. Yeah thats tmacs fault. Or was it the series against Utah last year when Tmac was basically the only one to show up and Yao was a liability against Boozer. You must definitely mean this year when Tmac was the only star player we have and Utah's primary focus was to shut down Tmac. With 2 of 5 starters missing the entire series and Tmac still playing with a bad knee and shoulder. You are right how dare Tmac not lead us out of the first round. After all: Ginobill would lead Spers to the second round if Duncan was missing and Parker was hobbled. Kobe would lead the team of they had no Pau Gasol and Odom was hobbled. Deron Williams would for sure lead the Jazz if Boozer was out and Okur was hobbled. Josh Howard would definitely lead the Mavs if Dirk was out and Kidd was hobbled. Grow a brain. If you think Richard freakin Jefferson would have led this team as much as Tmac has then there is no hope for you. Until Tmac leads us out of the first round he is going to catch grief. I know that. I can deal with that. Until Tmac leads us anywhere people will compare him to the likes of Joe Johnson, Vince Carter and Michael Redd. I can deal with thatl. What I can not deal with is stupid ass fans who will turn on their own players and start calling them "gutless coward". Tmac is trying his freakin best and as fans that is all we can ask for.
If you want to settle for mediocrity then that's the kind of "true" Rockets fan you are then. Keep making excuses for him. Go on; you're good at it. I love all the examples and analogies you've given. Gimme some more! I've had enough of T-Mac. He has the talent to completely dominate the game and be the MAN, but the pressure and the spotlight is too much for him. He would rather be a Kevin Garnett and be part of a trio than be the MAN. But how are the Rockets going to get their BIG 3 with what they have around Yao and T-Mac. I don't see it happening unless some other GM has a brain fart like Chris Wallace had. So if that's the case, then T-Mac has to go.
You are funny. Don't want to settle for mediocrity but want to trade Tmac for Richard Jefferson? That will definitely put us over the hump there buddy.
Yes sirEE, we will carry out the order... Calling them "3rd" stars instead of them being top-tier players is slighting them admittedly. Still, none of these guys have delivered much in the what-have-you-done-lately measure. McGrady's team has been slightly more successful, and his team beats the other guys' teams handily. That doesnt make him God of Basketball, he's at least shown to be a little better. I guess that's settling for mediocrity... The Celtics didnt deal Paul Pierce, the NBA standard bearer of mediocrity. The Lakers didnt deal Kobe or Odom. They added "third guys", what this board's been talking about forever, and they took off.
