If it's posted, lock it up! http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime Six games into some of the toughest double duty he could ask for, Tracy McGrady is actually feeling pretty fresh. So fresh that McGrady no longer feels the need to pretend that he's not tired. Now that he has made it to Game 7, as close to the sacred ground of the second round as he has ever been, McGrady no longer dozes through the fatigue questions he's been getting for days. "He kind of wears me down," T-Mac unexpectedly admitted, referring to Dirk Nowitzki. Emphasis on kind of. You can only wish work made you look as weary as McGrady on Thursday night, when he rifled in 37 points while spearheading the coverage that hounded Nowitzki into a 5-for-22 evening. Which means it's probably time for those of us (hello!) who've been wondering since Game 1 how T-Mac would hold up shadowing Nowitzki for long stretches while running every facet of the Houston offense to concede that their doubts have pretty much been answered. The fourth quarter of Game 7, of course, gives the doubters one more chance to dissect T-Mac's freshness, but Nowitzki warns that they needn't bother. In Game 6? "We expected him really to have 40," Nowitzki revealed. The bigger mystery, as the Interstate 45 Championship progresses to a decider Saturday night, is what to expect from Nowitzki. He hasn't come close, even once, to looking like the Fifty-Three Point Dirk who gunned down the Rockets in Dallas on Dec. 2. Nowitzki is shooting 35.1 percent from the floor in the series, just 30.8 percent on three-pointers And with McGrady reminding us nightly that no swingman in the world is more devastating with the ball in pick-and-roll situations, Kobe Bryant included, all Nowitzki has to draw on now is history. Game 7s , at least, have been good to the German, who played in two of them in the spring of 2003 and averaged 30.5 points and 15 boards in those home victories over Portland and Sacramento. McGrady, remember, has seen only one Game 7. That would be the loss that clinched his infamous nosedive in Orlando from a 3-1 lead over Detroit to a first-round exit. The guess here, though, is that T-Mac won't be subjected to any deep personal attacks no matter what happens in the next game. It's tough to imagine him getting significant blame in the event of another first-round exit ... even though the Rockets are still smarting from their inability to build on their two road wins to start the series. Reason being: McGrady makes it tough to hit him with blame when he's doing even more for the Rockets than they used to ask him in Orlando. That includes bringing teammates into the game better than ever; Houston knows it wouldn't have forced a Game 7 otherwise. Don't forget the defense. Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy would certainly prefer not to ask McGrady to guard Nowitzki so much, but Van Gundy concedes that "it's our best chance." "If it doesn't work," Van Gundy says, "put it on me." Make that only chance. Yet Van Gundy, with obviously has lots to deal with already, can take some comfort in the knowledge that the next person who claims it isn't working will be the first.
if the rockets dont win, the national media is going to look for someone to put the blame on. and its probably going to be yao. hes going to get bashed like hes never been bashed before. but, i believe!!
Speaking of trade. I was just thinking this this morning... no way our team is competing like it is with Steve, Cat, and Cato instead of T-Mac
If he really is the other "cornerstone" of this franchise, he must play better than 8 points and 5 rebounds. We got lucky Mike James and Jon Barry played so well. Mike James is streaky as heck and so is Barry. Also, if McGrady has an off night, we're screwed. Yao must have a big game Saturday.
You're right.....they also have to give him more touches regardless if he had a few turnovers. He HAS TO HAVE MORE THAN 8 SHOTS A GAME. Feed him.....believe in him.
Just a little statistical note I looked up. Before last night, there have been 3 games this year in which Yao has put up 8 or fewer points AND 5 or fewer rebounds. In the game immediately following those 3 subpar performances, Yao came back with 33-12, 27-11, and 21-9, for an average of 27 ppg and 10.7 rpg. Just thought that'd be comforting to know.
1-2. (One of the games was the Hawks loss, which should be thrown out. We lost by 4, and Jon Barry scored 4 for the Hawks. Coincidence?) 1-0 vs. Western Conference playoff teams. Edit: And usually TMac had a subpar game. TMac having a big game is a given. I don't think we can win if TMac has an offnight in game 7.
Ah yes, thanks for bringing that to my attention. On Saturdays against Western Conference playoff teams one game after Yao Ming has a sub 8 pt, 5 rebound performance, the Rockets are 1-0. It gets better. The Rockets are 5-0 in games following a game in which Moochie Norris plays but plays 12 minutes or fewer. The Moochie mojo is on!
Oh, there's more. Jeff Van Gundy is 3-2 overall in series deciding games (game 5s in old format/game 7s). However, -Jeff Van Gundy teams are 3-0 when playing the deciding game on the road. -Jeff Van Gundy teams are 2-0 in game 5/7s in which they faced elimination in the preceding game. And just to note- Avery Johnson never took part in a game 5/7 as a player. He was on the Dallas team two years ago that won 2 game 7s, but was not a part of the active roster. Surprisingly, San Antonio never played in a game 7 while Avery was a player.
We're going to win on Sat. As you can see throughout the season. The Rockets like to lose a couple of games in a row after a big streak. Now that we've lost our couple in a row, it's time to start a new streak. Believe it!!!
Chances are both TMac & Yao will go big in game 7, and pick and roll the mavs to death. As long as the *** refs don't interfere we'll toast the Mavs on their home court.
