Wanted to start a thread discussing the merits of his career without the need for flaming. Please objectively share with us what he should have accomplished in his career so far. Personally, i think he has done alot with what he has. The only time he should have advanced was the Utah series last year and that was a 50:50 scenario. It was because of him that the Rockets even got into game 7 with the Mavs. It was the lack of help from his teammates that resulted in their loss in that series. Earlier on in his career, his teams were utter garbage but it was only because of his play that even smelled the playoffs. Sure, hes made some comments that have brought on warranted pressure to himself. "its on me" "when we advance to the next round" etc..... But in terms of performance, i don't see anymore he could have done. If it wasn't for injuries robbing him of some of his athletic ability, Tmac would still be one of the top 5 players in the game. Even so, he is still a top talent around the league and has the unique ability (save for Lebron to make his teammates better). For anybody willing to take an indepth look at his career, he has always been on an undermanned team. His career playoff numbers are "historical" in that he's in the top 5 all time in scoring avg *28.1" and rebounds and throws dimes at over 7 per. The man always comes up big in the playoffs - its just never enough. Look, for all of you who praise Kobe, he has never advanced past the 1st round w/o Shaq, and it took KG 8 tries to make it out once (and thats with 2 allstars).
I am not a McGrady hater nor his apologist. I care about the Rockets winning and he's on their team. I watched last year's game 7 against Utah and despite an impressive bottom line, he didn't bring it in the first half (leading to a huge deficit) and he faded down the stretch. It is nothing personal against McGrady, but the bottom line is he lacks a certain focus that all the great ones have. It is hard to put your finger on it. You can't identify it by talking about his playoff stats versus his regular season stat. You know what it looks like when you see it. Hakeem and Drexler had it and he simply does not. That does not mean the Rockets will never win big with him. But they cannot build a team that will require him putting them on his back and carrying us to victory. That is exactly why we got the results we did in 05 and 07.
when rockets are losing you look at his eyes, its like saying im tired and i dont want to play anymore. reminds me of a little kid
I wholeheartedly agree. It's been amazing that this guy even took his team to the playoffs when he was in Orlando. It is a team game, but I honestly think that he doesn't help his case when he makes statements like "it's on me". When looking at his playoff stats, it's undeniable that this guy HAS performed. Again, he hurts himself with certain comments, but there has to be a point where you have to blame the entire team and not the individual.
Ok, I agree that T-mac has played well in the playoffs. Based on his stats, he's definitely not shied away from the pressure of the playoffs. I wouldn't give him the reputation of a "choker" a la Cwebb by any means. But, desertfire hit the nail on the head. Sometimes he just lacks that focus necessary to bring it all home. Even though he was on the underdog Magic team versus the Pistons, he still had a 3-1 LEAD! To not be able to pull out one victory in the next four games is a bit surprising, but even if you give T-mac the benefit of a doubt, there's still the Dallas and Utah series. Yes, we were underdogs in the Dallas series too, but it was a 4/5 matchup, not something more impossible like 1/8 or 2/7. And, we won our first 2 games of the series IN DALLAS. That series should have been game-set-match right there. And yes it's a team effort in losing, but T-mac is the star player and he sets the tone and the seriousness of the match. To lose that series after being up 2-0 in Dallas and coming back home, that's not surprising. That's just downright unbelievable. And then we have the Utah series. Once again, we were up 2-0 and lost. Granted it's a tough proposition to try to go to Utah and steal a game, but still. He also ran out of gas in Game 7 of the series. Maybe we are expecting too much, but would you really expect someone like Kobe to get tired or slow down in Game 7 of a playoff matchup? And there used to be a time when Kobe and T-mac were considered equals. It's not that he's underachieved by any means, but he clearly lacks a certain focus sometimes and when your star player lacks that focus, the rest of the team senses it and follows his lead. The fact that he's had three separate occasions where he's been up big in series leads and came up on the losing end is not a coincidence in my opinion. T-mac is far more talented than KG, but if he just had a little bit of KG's intensity, there's no way he would have let his team lose all 3 of those first round matchups.
That point is before the game even starts. Basketball is a team sport. Good teams always outplay bad teams over the long run, even when the bad team has the best player.
Agreed. You're just reinforcing my point, but my agree. T-Mac has never really had a good team, for the exception of last year.
Hmm I think the Rockets need a star point guard like what most western conference teams have in order to be considered a good team. That and your second star player cant be outplayed that bad during the playoffs.
Give me a break if you are making 19 million a year to basically play 60 games a year those 60 games you better show as much if not more heart than players like Allen Iverson, Tmac doesnt do it, let be honest, he fades in games where he just does not feel like playing.
the same Allen Iverson who's team is borderline playoff bound? and like the OP said, what's Kobe done without Shaq?
How do you quantify "heart"? Facial expressions are one thing, results are another. The fact is Tmac frustrates you because of his talent. He is talented enough to lead a team of scrubs to 50 wins but not talented enough to lead them pass the 1st round. He can only do so much... I really don't care about how much heart one shows - i care about results. Just keep in mind that similar players like Vince Carter, AI, Paul Pierce don't the ability to lead their teams to what i would call the pseudo elite level (With the exception of that one sixers visit to the finals in the notoriously weak East). People talk about heart and fire. Granted, when you see Kobe Bryant, you know he has that "extra something". But isn't he the same Kobe Bryant that deferred to his teammates in that Phx series a couple of years ago?
I agree with you on that "extra something", although I disagree that Drexler "had" it. In my mind, that extra something is what defines the best 2 or 3 players in the league of superstars. At any one time, there are only 2 or 3 people you can build a championship contender out of (Shaq, Timmy D, MJ and Dream) are the 4 that come to mind. Even then, look at the players that were on those teams. Lebron "might" have it and thats about it. For all his individual success, Kobe Byrant hasn't done squat to prove they can build a team around him. For all his talents, tmac might be best suited to play on a team where he is a 2nd banana. That way, he can do his thing without having the responsiblity to lead the team. Alot of you dont' realize how good Tmac is... His numbers may not be as good as some of the others but in terms of leading his team to wins, there are few better. You never know what you have until its gone....... All i know is, our team is 50x better for having made that trade for SF3 and Cat.
I'd like to add Dominique Wilkins to that list along with Bernard King....both only past the first round once in their careers. But those that mean they are less than what they are. No not at all. If people realize how hard it is to make to the second round of the playoffs. Basically, you are in the elite eight and amongst the top 4 - 8 teams in league....and if you take into consideration that the teams that have beaten the Rockets or better than them ... all of them were on the cusp of making to Finals or went deeper into playoffs. You can't put the team's success and failures on the shoulders of man....superstar player can mean the world for team and even get them over the hump.....but look at this way....a good team is a good team....you just don't suddenly become a bad team without a superstar player...you might not be dominate or elite, but you can still have pretty good roster.. Ex. The Bulls w/o Jordan in 94 won 55 games and almost defeated the EC champion Knicks. Celtics w/o Bird (injured or retired) were still pretty good team...56, 51, and 48. Lakers w/o Kareem (retired) were still the premier team in the west until they were upset the Portland and Phoenix. Pistons w/o B.Wallace (traded) are still one of the best teams and defenses in the league. Celtics w/o Russell were in the championship the very next year. For the Rockets, it's big reason why we haven't been able to get over the hump....is the beast known as the Western Conference. In the league, pretty much the four best teams in the west in the top 5 or 6 teams in the league. You have to take into consideration that those teams are also heavily stacked from starters to reserves...while in previous years the Rockets were pretty much two man show ... we haven't had the luxury or having a great to above average third wheel, or a great collection of decent role players. We just haven't had the team to get out of the first round....but I imagine once the pieces fall into place the team will have great shot at winning a title.
TMac can't lead the team during big games. Since our streak we are 0-4 against good teams and each one has basically been a blowout. Much of this has to do with TMac's performance. The good teams take him completely out of the game in terms of his ability to distribute and shoot the ball. He's not aggressive enough in the paint and has a real problem finishing, he's always looking for a foul rather than completing the shot. I also don't like his attitude on the court. He doesn't perform well under adversity. If he gets a bruise, he lets the whole world know with his grimacing face. I'm getting a bit tired of the "woe is me" TMac. If only we had a Jason Kidd that could distribute the ball for TMac to get decent shot opportunities, we'd be in better shape, but as of now TMac cannot do everything. He cannot shoot and distribute, he's not a true team leader.
