[Discussion] What happened to the T-Mac that we had in 04-05?

my guess is that he will keep in on cruise control into the regular season because he does have so much more talent around him this year.

then, in stretches when the team is struggling, he'll take over and go all-out to get the victory.

at least, if it were me, (not counting what happens when the adrenaline gets pumping), that's how i would approach it - given the history with his back. cautious, but not overly.

on the other hand, he may be tired of all the health questions and try to silence everyone with a daily appearance on ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Day.

 

I think the false dawn we see is how the team is tearing it up without TMac playing well.

I haven't been able to see all these preseason games. I wonder what kind of open shots others are getting because defenses key on TMac. Or if this isn't the case.

I suspect that TMac will start clicking on all cylinders soon but I also wonder if he's really the right fit on this team.

A question I will probably discard given the rigors of the Western Conference and the regular season.

 

Those stats also say he played 15 and 27 games in those preseasons. That would be impossible.

Searching through this BBS, though, I did find this from a Chronicle article at the end of his first preseason with us (what everybody is wishing he was still like):

Thread

 

I have a better disucssion topic

what happened to the BBS that we had in 04-05

where a rookie...
starting a sill thread like this....
in the pre-season....

would get the full court smack down from the vets !

 

The thing that I am shocked about is T-Mac's upbeat attitude given his shoddy play as of late. On Steven A. last night he seemed VERY happy saying that "I'm still a young man! I'm healthy! In the prime of my life! The Orlando Magic Mac is back! I can get my shot off anytime!, etc." Point is, he had alot of swagger about himself, Yao, and the team in general. If T-Mac can look at his performance of late and feel this good, then I'm not worried. I think he'll do what we need him to come Nov. 1st.

 

i'm hoping, like most here, that he's just coasting through pre-season.

the only problem i have with believeing that is when players coast the don't play hard, but they can stil play well. tmacs jumper has looked uncomfortable even on wide open shots, and especially on 3's. he looks like it's harder to create his own shot now and he relies on elevating over the defender for another uncomfortable looking jumper.

sure, he rebounds and passes well. he plays good defense. he will be the leagues biggest decoy next to shaq. i means he's a 10 year vet. he might only have another 3 years of playing at an above average clip. injuries don't help. he's definitely on the decline.

i too, wonder if he's irght for this team. i think his game is a great fit. however he's older than his age. he's closing the championship window earlier than the rest of the team would like.

billy, head, snyder, novak, hayes. all of these guys have thier whole careers ahead of them. yao shane and rafer are in thier prime. they have a good 5 years left of playing in thier prime before any sort of decline. tmac is already in the decline.

i say we see how it goes this year before deciding on 2 major choices. replace JVG and or replace tmac.

 

I forgot to add that .400 > .398 so "what happened to the T-Mac that we had in 04-05?" Well, he is shooting a tiny bit better. Yay - let's discuss!

 

hey look how much time he had off. all he is is rusty, it will take him more time because how long he was off. i give it to the 2nd week of the regular season till we see h old tmc.


and just rmber ther is only on ball!

 

TMac's motor doesn't run at top rpm's most of the time. He has always been a bit lazy. The question is, when he stomps the pedal, what will happen?

 

Uh. Are you for real?

 

See, you missed my point. The BBS likes taking halves to things. We are dissecting his game because he just came off an injury and are worried that he has lost a step, but are unwilling (or unable) to see that he is not playing well because of the time he had to take off because of the injury. McGrady has even admitted that he does not play his best during preseason. In 04-05 he didn't play very well during the preseason either. Add to that fact, he is rusty from not playing for over half a year. I thought Rocket fans knew that coming into the preseason, but then I see all these threads pop up and it really surprises me.

Yes, it is a legitimate thread, but it is one with a simple answer:

1. He is returning after not playing for over half a year i.e. rusty
2. McGrady has never went all out during preseason.
3. It is the preseason. (this answer depends on how important you believe the preseason is though)

 

Mac sucked in pre-season in 04-05 also, and didn't really take off until December.

 

If this thread is any indication, we need the regular season to start right now.

That should shut all the people who say Tmac this, Tmac that. Relax folks. It's preseason.

 

some of you guys act like tracy didn't just come off an injury plagued season. preseason or not, tracy's health is always a topic.

 

a thread just like this was created about a week ago. this is preseason, he's on cruise control till the regular season. anyway he says he's going to be just fine:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/sports/4288675.html

"It's coming," McGrady said. "I think my in-between game is where I want it to be. My long-distance shot, my 3-ball, I'm still trying to find it, trying to adjust to the ball and find my range. I will be fine come (the opener) Nov. 1. I'm confident everything will be sharpened up and I'll be ready to roll."

McGrady said he spends some of his time in the preseason working on his game, rather than take the best shot.

"Preseason, I go out and wouldn't play the way I would play a regular-season game," said McGrady, who had a preseason-high 19 points and five assists. "I try to work on things to see if they're working. I try to do different things, feel my teammates out, see what they like to do. ... I try to mix things up."

i don't know what game you were watching but he looked great in the second half last night when you could tell he was actually putting some energy into the game. i think wade going off in the first half got him to show the people a little of what he can do too. he also looked fantastic in game one. in my mind he's every bit as explosive as he was in 04-05 he's just not gonna show you much of it until it matters.

 

I remember going to a Mavs-Pistons game back in the day... my first opportunity to see Isiah Thomas. I watched him the whole game and he didn't do much that was impressive the first three quarters. However, about halfway through the 4th, in a close game, he absolutely took over and was clearly the fastest, quickest, most skilled guy on the court. He definitely went to a higher gear. After about a 5 minute run of buckets, steals, and assists, the game was over. It wouldn't surprise me to see TMac taking a similar approach, particularly with the talent now around him... Cruise at 85% for 3 quarters, then, when the opponent is getting tired, salt away the victory by cranking it for the 4th.

 

so looking at rimbaud's post, t-macs quote from the preseason two years ago is almost identical from the one after last nights game. even more reason to believe he'll be just fine come november.

 

I agree with yor comments on TMac's performance in the presenson, but relax, TMac is still Tmac. He is just trying to adapt to the new teammates. If he wants, he can show old Tmac anytime. He gives more chances to new guys, having them involved and learn to play in VGD's system, which is the main purpose of the preseason games. TMac's value will show in the regular season , especially at the clutch time of a game when Yao is surrounded by multiple defenders.

 

Tmac looks fine to me. I'm guessing the thread starter is a YOF trying to take a disguised cheap shot.

 

There is no doubt Tmac is not as good or past his prime IMO, but he is still a good player...and he can take over games (in the way MJ did when he was past his prime)..of course he's not MJ but he still has that turnaround /mid range jumper that's workin for him. he can be a 20/5/5 ..all he needs to do is take better shot selection. His game will be explosive in big games,, just don't expect it to be every game