Seriously, Wayne Hall was working for Tmac.....and he was basically just another "Yes" man that surrounds Tracy. I am glad he finally went outside his circle to get some real training. But, part of that is Hall, part of it is Tracy, and part of it is the organization. I never scream anything, but that would be taking an argument out of context, as this is about Tmac's health and the other is about "how to play team ball"......while the verbiage sounds similar, the context is completely foreign, and btw, didn't you just mention it anyway?....lol. DD
of course you will find failures, everybody fails at sometime in there life. However a lot of ppl tend to base mcgrady's lack of getting out of the first round to the effort and heart ppl assume he lacks, even though they see the numbers he puts up during the playoffs. Yes we all know about mcgrady and his issues back in toronto when he was FREAKIN 19!!!!!!!!!!!!! just a kid in the nba, you have to give them time to get use to the work ethic that makes you a great player in the league. After that first year he got better and better till he decided it was time to move on to a bigger role in the nba, so he joins the FA. The magic pick him up and BOOM, he becomes an allstar for the next 7 years. Injuries have effected his career, but it was never an issue with him coming to camp out of shape or his lack of a good work ethic. Oh and by the way injuries dont make you soft because they can happen anytime to any person, but it is how you bounce back fromthose injuries and mcgrady has and still is.
well they sure have the nerve to act like that when this guy was pulling this team i mean literally dragging that same squad, minus Artest, and yao, against the jazz to six games. I know sometimes he may say something that can be taken out of context, but thats just it. Like when t-mac said the lakers would win it all, if you heard the interview, t-mac said "well besides my guys(rockets) i would go with the lakers, but they have to get past my guys first." and another thing. T-mac comes off a season where he should have shut it down a long time ago, but he wanted to play in the playoffs. he needed shoulder surgery, and his knee was getting worse, yet he still played. So now everybody seems to act as if it caught them off guard that t-mac still had issues with his knee coming into the 08-09 season. I mean seriously, this guy could have undergone micro sugery way before the time he had chose( which was in mid feb). I mean it is just too funny, how ppl want to put this guy in the dog house, like he has made a distraction for the team last year when all he did, was speculate on whether he could play or not, when he should have just said NO I CANT, its to much and this knee is not getting any better.
and another thing if t-mac kept playing last year there would just be more bashing on how bad he played. END OF STORY
There's something I'd like to point out here, leebigez... ....as much as I'm essentially supportive of Tracy McGrady... ..here is where he needs to make the most significant impact and improvement in his approach to playing basketball. Form my perspective, Tracy McGrady is almost exactly like any other supremely talented player—so confident in his ability that it is something of a chore to find a way to work with teammates (in any system, and in any role) for the benefit of the team. The thing that makes Magic Johnson a better basketball player than Michael Jordan (to me), is Magic's understanding of how to get the most out of teammates. Magic did everything he could to elevate his teammates' ability and level of play, where Jordan almost seemed to frighten his teammates into, if nothing else, playing above their heads.... Magic understood that he NEEDED his teammates performing at a consistently high level in order to win, whereas Jordan had to be CONVINCED that teammates could be a big help in winning. I suppose, if you're counting apples against oranges, Magic and Jordan both got the same results, even if they both had different approaches. Magic believed in forging steel in fire, where Jordan believed fire burned away imperfections. Great minds don't always think alike, I'm told. But the common denominator with the both of them (and the thing you could say about truly great leaders and players), is that they both understood that they had to be PART of a team in order for the team to win. I've always felt that being part of a team in any sport meant sharing each and every experience and responsibility, both on and off the court. Every teammate had to feel like they were not only part of the team...not only crucial to the team's ultimate success...but also culpable in the team's failures and responsible for the team's performance. A synergy has to be built between teammates that goes beyond the coach's chalkboard, or the practice court, or even the locker room. There has to be a feeling of shared responsibility and commitment and effort and production from everybody (no matter what role) if there's any hope of team success. Too often around here, I've heard little to no praise for McGrady when the Rockets have done well, and scathing criticism and recriminations toward him when the Rockets fail. As a fan myself, I understand that dynamic—I even support it (these are professional players, after all)—but for everything I hold dear..... ...I cannot figure out how, if you expect great things from a TEAM, that it is so callously easy to assume that the fault or blame or failure for not meeting those expectations can lie solely at one player's feet. But in the final analysis, I do believe that Tracy McGrady's own approach to playing basketball has to be adjusted, both by his own actions and by the actions of his teammates. I had a bit of a spirited discussion a few months ago with Houston Chronicle writer Jerome Solomon on his blog, about just this very topic. He felt (and rightly) that, while Tracy McGrady was (and still may very well be) an immense basketball talent, that he wasn't a basketball genius. McGrady lacked the sense of what his team needed from him at what time and in what situation. Basically, Tracy McGrady is a player who could get your team where it wants to go, but not because he knows the way himself. And I couldn't agree more. The reason for that is simple, to me. McGrady's talent and ability have him scrutinized and analyzed more than any of his teammates ever can or will be. In a very real sense, none of McGrady's teammates can relate to him. And with expectations for other players so far beneath those of McGrady himself (where anything they do is looked at as heavenly Gospel), there is probably a very real sense that they cannot relate to him. If the Rockets have any hope of success tied to Tracy McGrady, that dynamic has to change. And I mean right now. For McGrady to win (with this team or any other), he has to establish some type of rapport with his teammates. He does not have the mindset of a Michael Jordan, who commanded respect and results through the force of his will or his demonic competitiveness...or the persona of a Magic Johnson, whose ability to reach his teammates transcended their ability to escape it. But McGrady's individual ability (which he's honed away in secret, away from so many who would foolishly believe that he was born as good a basketball player as he is and didn't have to work at it), is what his teammates both respect and rely on. His teammates have always expected great things from McGrady. They see him and play with him practically every day. The same teammates who laughed themselves silly at his pitiful failed dunk attempt in Milwaukee erupted when he threw down that dunk against Chicago in the Toyota Center last season. If there was truly such surreptitious hatred and loathing for McGrady from his teammates (or coaches or management, for that matter), he would have been out of here a long time ago. Talent wins at this level. But nobody puts up with a cancerous talented malcontent any longer than they want to, believe me. I believe that McGrady HAS to play with his teammates. Not FOR his teammates. Not BECAUSE of his teammates. He has to play WITH his teammates. And his teammates have to play with him. And whatever it takes to get that done is the responsibility of everyone involved. Tracy McGrady has to finally become part of a team. He can't go on trying to be the team himself, and people can't go on expecting him to, either. McGrady can't go on being the sole reason why the Rockets lose any more. Because he's not the only reason why they have a chance to win anymore. Watching to see if the Rockets can care about one another as they are is what's going to hold my attention, at least until the trade deadline....
I'm sure trying to pull around 300+ pounds for 40+ mins while trying to push off two or three other masses of 250+ pounds probably have something to do with Yao getting tired. I'm not sure how you can question his cardio endurance, he's always done well in that department. Honestly what you're saying doesnt make a lot of sense. Yao isn't built, not just to play ball, but to compete in any sport that requires so much jumping and shifting of your own weight. I think youre expecting him to be capable of having some freakish athleticism or something...but that's just not possible, he is what he is. Like Scola is. No world class trainer is going to turn either of those two into high jumpers. I think falsone has done a great job with yao given Yao's size and physical limitations. The problem was he did what the Rockets asked him to do, which was to thin yao out, which is what i believe has hurt him recently, but that's not a knock on Falsone.
last year was a TERRIBLE year for him. that's ONE YEAR. you do remember just the damn year before the entire world was painting him as a leader and a fighter right? just one damn year before last year.
RVS, I think u missed my point and don't understand the simple dynamics about athletes. My wife is a ex collegiate sprinter and used to train guys on proper running technique. If u know anythiing about sprinters or track guys in general its that they are technicians. The first time she watched Yao run, she said he runs poorly and would have foot problems. Now, I guess you can say it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put together Yao's size and assume he would have foot problems, but if you've been a rockets fan, you can archive when Dream learned he had poor running techniques prior to his mvp season. He corrected them and went on to do great things. Yao poor running technique as well as his weak core contributes to a lot of the problems he has despite his size. Think about shaq, a guy that has carried as much as 370 on his 7'1 frame and never had the stamina issues nor season ending foot prroblems of yao. I've said it for years that yao can get his core stronger and would become a stronger players throughout games and the season. That has a lot to do with his lack of lift late in games or the opposition bumping him of the blocks late. I'm just saying we could see a better yao if his core was a lot stronger.
I am a big fan of T-Mac!! I hope he doesn't let us down this season!! He does have unfinished business on the court so he better earn his paycheck! LoL!!
Shaq averaged more minutes than Yao and weighed 350+ lbs. Improving running technique is not gonna hurt Yao. Morey hired Darryl Eto, even though he has David Macha already. He must have alot of faith in the guy.
Darryl Morey may have finally hired the guy, Eto, to correct those problems. Does this give you hope? I never heard of him until Morey signed him.
Falsone is the personal trainer hired by Yao now, rather than the rocket team. I really wish that Yao can have a look at other physical therapists. We have to give Falsone the credit to help Yao build his mucle, but it definitly affects his body which makes him fragile in particular his foot. This might not be Falsone's fault, since Yao was too enthusiastic on trainning where he used to train 5-6 hours per day and 6 days per week in the summer two years ago.
after reading some of these responses, I can safely say that there is one thing that certainly hasn't changed around here this offseason. there are still a lot of people around here with their heads buried in the sand. fine, believe what you want.
you do know that even when he was forcing his way out of orlando, he already had a reputation behind the scenes as being a lazy, selfish, soft, quitter right? that wasnt last year.
This is weird, I read him entirely differently, that he is basically very insecure as a person and desperate for attention. He is like a child, who needs the adulation to prove to himself that he matters..... He is confident in his game, but under severe pressure will wilt. He wants to be "The man" when things are going well, but it is the "teamates fault" when things are bad. I think Tmac's biggest problem is his lack of perspective and thinking he is a leader, when the reality is that he is not even close to leading, at best he is a talented 2nd fiddle.....because he lacks that leadership "It" quality. DD
This is where I jump in... t-Mac went and asked for advice from.. I think it was Charles Barkley and he told T-Mac just play ball...
I think McGrady only went to Charles only listened to Charles "if he's talking about calories in a cupcake." That's what McGrady said. Furthermore, you think it's cool to not play the real games and then play the All Star game no matter who (supposedly) tells you to do that? Some of you are reaching so far here it's beyond pathetic.
i'm sure you also remember reading what the twolves owner said about kg for not staying in minnesota right?
i'm sure your wife is credible, but its not every day you evaluate a 7'6 NBA center's running form. Consider the fact that he spends most of his life bending over and/or ducking his head, as well as pretzeling himself inside of spaces too small for him. This world isn't made for a guy his size. Even with proper training, he's going to have muscles tighten up due to the situations he's in away fromt he gym/court. Also, they wanted to build him to withstand double teams on the block, not run long distances. With his upper/lower body imbalance that too may have an affect on his running form. As for the comparison to shaq, shaq is a different kind of athlete. He's a lot softer on his landings than Yao. Thats yao's issue, his hard landings. Also, yao has half a foot on him, that's a very significant difference. If yao was playing against guys his size and with a goal better suited for him, then perhaps that would be easier on his body. Instead he has to bend too low to get to smaller guys and play on a goal too small for him which causes him to bend his back and adjust his jump/landing to match the goal's height. Just imagine trying to play competitively on a Little Tikes basketball goal.
