I look at the video and I can only say T-mac is standing up and looks a bit lost but he's not scowling...and for a guy who's pretty emotionless I don't think you can read anything either way. Let's get something straight. There is something wrong with T-mac. We all know this. Probably part physical and part mental. No one really knows what it is. For some reason, when he is on the court, he's playing not so great. His teammates aren't pleased with him. The staff is frustrated. And T-mac doesn't want to hurt the team and is scared or something. But let's also be practical. No one, not management, not his teammates, and not smart fans - wants to get rid of him. It's not a rational decision. He's no longer the leader of this team...and I am happy for that because he was never a leader. Shane Battier is the leader of this team...he's the heart and soul of the Houston Rockets....no one on this team brings it every night like he does...and he is the one who needs to take leadership. Because no one else is even close to fit to being able to do so. No one else has been here long enough and puts the effort forward. Yao doesn't, Artest doesn't and tracy doesn't. But to say we are a better team without tracy is a dangerous thing. Maybe today that's true, but it won't be. Because this team won't get out of the first round without him. With him, with a mentally and physically healthy t-mac - this team is going to be awesome. Because t-mac makes his teammates better simply by drawing defenses....even against philly he had 9 assist. 9 assists for a shooting guard? That's pretty dope. I am sure the guy will sort out his issues...and as frustrating as it is...he will. How do I know, because the guy is smart enough to know this is his best chance to finally get that no playoff win series off his back....he's motivated....he wants it...we all know it. He just has to get mentally right which will happen as his knee gets better over the course of time. The question is only if 4 months is enough.
I am not very satisfied with Tmac's efforts on court for years especially recent days. People are more like players who play with toughness and responsibilities. But this time we need to give him some space to breath. I can figure out his confusing and great pressure inside. Look at his tiny smile, he knew he should show some passion for von's big3 but he just can't. Maybe he is bashing himself and felt a little isolated by his teammates. Anyway we felt so rage about him just because we care about him and the team really needs him. Give him some minutes, thanks
I am going to guess that English is not your first language, and change your post around to how I interpetted what you said to make it easier to understand. If I mess up, please let me know but I think your post was a very good one - as I understood it. DD
Good post, agreed. What people dont realize is if we even get the TMAC from the last game of last season come playoff time, there might be only bout 5 players I'd replace him with in the Rockets who could help us win the championship. And that's the goal isnt it? Not winning games in the regular season, winning the championship. Getting rid of him or trading him for scraps will be a step back IMO.
I saw McGrady get up and smile once. I admit I wasn't really paying attention to him but I remember towards the end of the game, he was up and smiling with the team.
Yo-Yo, I have always respected you as a poster, and I usually agree with what you say, but I gotta say....this kind of post from YOU is disturbing to me. Usually, I look to the elder statesman (minus DD...no offense, but your posts are usually a little too drastic for my taste) of this board to bring some sanity to the younger posters who feel like every loss is the end of the world, and every quote has deeper meaning. Think of the position T-Mac is in right now.....this was gonna be the year that he was vindicated as a player. This was gonna be a DEFINING year of his career. He even said it at the beginning of the year: the Artest acquisition was the most important move in his career. And then, all of a sudden, he gets on the court, and things are not ok. His knee is balky, and he can't get the lift he needs to be effective on the court. That's gotta be a jolt to his confidence, and to his mentality going into the season. For over 4 years now, you have to agree that he's been one of the biggest cheerleaders for this organization. Everytime they made a move, or made a trade, he was on board with it. He has never questioned his teammates, and if anything, he has always taken the blame for the team's shortcomings (to a fault, sometimes). He knows that this year was supposed to be special for this team AND for himself, and so far, things have been shaky at best. This isn't the way ANY of us envisioned this season to be going, and he wears his emotions on his sleeve a little more than others. His peaks are HIGH, and his valleys are LOW (as opposed to say, Tim Duncan, who seems pretty even-keeled all the time). He's always been the kind of player to rely on his physical gifts more than anything else, and right now, his body is failing him, so he's taking it hard. But, if he takes a solid month off to rehab, and gets back to full strength, I have no doubts he will come back physically and MENTALLY ready. He hasn't lost faith in this team, especially not this year. Even if he doesn't take the month, I think that this Boston game is going to give him the shot of reality that he needed to snap him out of this funk. I also truly believe that Mutombo coming back is going to help this team tremendously with chemistry and leadership....two things the Rockets are seemingly lacking right now.
I can't attest to seeing what Yoyo mentioned but I did see him up and around the guys a couple of times during timeouts... I hope it's not the way Yoyo described but if it is true then it's pretty sad
A good post, and I hope you are right, I am more worried about his teamates and what they think. For the first time the team does not need Tmac to compete, they are better with a focused healthy McGrady for sure, but they don't NEED him...like he has been needed elsewhere. Personally, I hope the organization shelves him for a while to get him right mentally and physically. The question then becomes what to do with him once he comes back, but that is a good problem to have, IMO.... To me, this all looks like a young child who has been spoiled his whole life and is now facing adversity and criticism from his inner circle, and is sulking. Let him get his mind right...AWAY from the team.... DD
when wafer hit the three, mcgrady got up. go to the main page. check out the clip. look closely. the cameraman rightfully so did not want to focus on injured players that don't really matter. go figure? the camera focused on the player that hit the shot?
they don't NEED mcgrady? we beat a celtics team by 4 points that lost to the bobcats the night before and we don't need mcgrady? lol......sure, if aaron brooks is gonna average 19 points and shoot 50 percent, we don't NEED mcgrady. sure, if ron artest is going to consistently shoot 50+ percent from the field and beyond the arc, we don't NEED mcgrady. sure, if YAO is going to shoot 76 percent for the rest of the season, we don't NEED mcgrady. and, yes, sure, if Wafer is going to shoot 66 percent from beyond the arc for the remainder of the season, then DaDakota, you would be correct, we dont' NEED mcgrady. you wish these things continue to occur in one hand, and spit in the other hand. see which hand fills up first, okay?
I will say i see what you mean by shelving him....sure, that could be good, or that could be bad. i mistook ur post for someone saying we should trade him for a draft pick. my bad.
No you got it all wrong. We must trade him for nothin or trade him by substraction or addition or something. 1. People are designed as short term memory beings. It takes too much effort to think analytical for long time in the past or distant future and calculate the best odds. 2. Whining and anger are appropriate directions. You see, humans are abstract beings. We all fear that "never got out of first round" isn't just TMac's adjective, it's his destiny. And we're scared to hearing it once more.
lol. i started to take your post serious (my mistake). lol. then i saw you were clearly being sarcastic (i hope).
Who said Hancock is a bad superhero, love the post This is team still still build on what Tmac does best, we might be able to win some regular season game without him, but in the playoff, we have no chance if he doesnt play
thanks for the comment above thats the thing that has bothered the most with me. I truly want Tracy to turn it around for the team and for himself. I really want to see him get the label of "loser" of his chest as much as anyone and I want him to do it as a rocket. My heart wants him to be out there and compete but what my mind see and tells me is different and its becoming harder and harder to convince myself that he will turn it around. . I was shocked at his behavior last night. I mean even in my original post i dont expect him to be like Deke but heck be lick tracy mcgrady. Last year, heck even earlier this season when he wasnt playing in games or in the fourth quarter he was into the games, supporting his teammates. everyone in the past has said tmac and yao aren't vocal leaders but lead by example. Yao by no means is a cheerleader like Deke but everyone has seen him on the bench happy for his teammates and into the games when he isnt in there. Doing things like that also help you keep your mental focus even when you aren't playing. anyone who has played even any sort of organized basketball on any level can tell you that. If people here don't want McGrady to be the leader then fine at least be a good teammate The whole idea of "its not his personality to do that" is BS. Your personality has nothing to do with being a good teammate. There are several players in the NBA who probably do not go out and hang out with their teammates after games and all but in the locker room and on the floor they are brothers. ...Heck look at Yao the guys on the team have said he usually keeps to himself off the court and is a quiet guy but is a great teammate. Same goes with Shane Battier who people have used a rebuttal in this thread saying he didnt even come on the trip at all. He has an injury and is listening to the doctors at what would be the best for recovering and helping the team. He traveled with the team, made himself a custom Rockets blazer, and sat and encouraged his teammates on the first 15 games of the season when he didnt play. Steve Novak has said that Shane Battier was hands down the best teammate he has ever had, from high school, college and in the pros and its not even close. With all the recent surroundings of the team losing to downright inferior teams (even with the injuries there was enough talent to beat the wizards and raptors) and McGrady's actions on and off the court there is something terribly wrong. Last night the way he distanced himself from the game something just isn't right with him, the team is keeping mum of course, we may never know what the real story is. I am for a trade for McGrady right now because he is not only hurting the team with his sub-sub-sub par play on the court but now become a distraction in the locker room and its effecting the way how the other players are playing. And thats the frustrating thing you can count on one hand the players in the league with McGrady's talent and ability you will never get equal value in talent in return. The only thing you can hope for is pieces that will help fit Adeleman's system. Those Kings teams had really just one All-NBA caliber player in Webber the rest were very good players. I think by moving McGrady you can probably get 1-2 of equal talent that were on those kings teams and with adeleman's system it can work out. Which adds to my frustration again this is by far the most talent team the rockets have had in over a decade and McGrady is letting this golden opportunity slip through his hands. I would wager that wherever the future may take McGrady, whether its staying here or going elsewhere he may never have as many talented teammates as he does today. There is no guarantee Ron will be here next year chances are if he leaves the Rockets wont be able to reacquire a player of his caliber without giving up talent in return. This is the year the Rockets can really make some noise and have a legitimate chance at making at least the WCF if not the Finals. I truly believe that. I dont know about the other people who have posted in this thread saying that I've gone overboard or unnecessarily critical of McGrady and his body language and that I'm a bandwagon fan etc... but in the long run that to me is more important for the team and its success this season than one win. I am looking at what this means for the team in the post season, can McGrady be trusted, be relied upon, what sort of mentality will his teammates have towards him, from the quotes in the past few days it looks like he has going to have to earn their trust back. This team hasn't made it past the first round in nearly 12 years. How many people here remember that day after the stockon shot? I remember it as clearly as yesterday, I was in 9th grade and I had everyone in the entire school railing on me (I went to a high school where over half the student population were from Mormon families and were Jazz fans, the rest were bandwagon bulls fans since the lakers weren't very good at the time) I wont ever forget that day and it upsets me that till this day despite 2 amazing chances (dallas, utah 2 years ago) to get back to that level they havent. I keep waiting and waiting for the day the Rockets get back to that level of play from over a decade ago, 12 years is entirely way too long for a proud franchise like this to be stuck in mud. It starts with your star players if they don't buy into the team and being a good teammate then there is no way this team is going to get any farther than it has in the past 12 years. /end rant
I'm glad someone pointed this out honestly. I noticed. It's kinda weird how in the Dallas game at the beggining of the season when he was playing they came back with that 3 from Artest he was all giddy (off the bench) and fired up. Now in a big, close game against the defending champs, on the road T Lady decides to just chillax and play it cool. No one is saying he has to be so excited he runs on the floor and practically molests everyone. Just show some type of emotion, if you care? He knows how big a game this would've been if we managed to pull it out. He's been threw slumps and losing streaks so he knows what this would've done to our confidence. I just don't agree with him sitting back as if there is no care in the world. Honesly I think he was hatin. Hatin the fact that they were playing so well coming from behind without him. Hatin cause he knows this team will now be better if he stays his a$$ on the sideline. Or just plain leaves. Another thing I noticed is how all of the people that come out to defend T Lady are the ones with him in their screen name. Just sayin.
I haven't read this whole thread but after Yao hit the shot to put us up by four T-mac was the 1st one on the floor congratulating the players. You had to look quick though because they didn't show him long.
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Ron Artest sits out that's just fine. Shane doesn't play for days and that's OK but T-Mac sits out and he's the worst scum in the world. Amazing. I just don't get Houston fans.
