Give T-mac a break. Let's see how he plays after the streak. I think he will be much more on point tonight and from here on out. He did a lot for us during the streak. I don't understand why he catches so much flack.
The thing that makes tmac a superstar and a special player is his willingness to find the open man. He rarely shoots on the double coverage because it is a low percentage shot and an open teammate should always have a better shot. He doesn't drive to the rack as much anymore because he has had back problems and if someone hits him hard (like Scola hit Tony Allen) his career could be over or he'll limp through an entire season like Wade. In fact, the only thing that is keeping our ragtag band of role players together offensively is his superior passing out of the double. There isn't anything you can do out of a good double and triple team other than pass or take a bad shot. Its one of the reasons why this team plays so much better than alot of the teams that have players who would rather shoot or drive than pass. Is anyone really that jaded that they think that these rockets could do much of anything with out tmac? You may want tmac to stop passing and take more shot but you would be taking away his best attribute and what makes him a star. Sometimes I think people would be happier if we lost by more but tmac dropped 40 points on the opposing team. Does anyone really think Rafer and the gang would score so easily if he didn't pass? I'm fine with 8 points as long as we stay competitive, watch the nuggets if you wan't to see high scoring losers.
relax man.......for real .......... let me clarify if i am not clear....... I am not on a tmac witch hunt.......this is not me on some stupid knee jerk reaction "TRADE TMAC" rant............so if thats what u think i am saying please dont....this team would be atrash heap without him......that being said if our superstar is gonna get 8 and 11 points because he is tired......we dont stand a chance him passing or not.......... if his back is a big problem adapt your game he is athletic enough to do this.......if our best player scores 5 points on any given night in the playoffs guys we can mail it in now cuz all defenses saw last night and are gonna gear on tmac..........he has to find a way to not make excuses and get it done so hey he gets a past and i love tmac....dont want him to leave or get traded.....he just has to give more
What really bothers me about Mcgrady's game as of late is that he continuously defers to chumps like Chuck Hays underneath the basket only for them to miss layup after layup after layup... ... and those are gimmie-baskets... ... had the Rockets been able to make free-throws and layups last night would have been a very close game. ... Maybe they let the Celtics psyche them out. That was a tough loss.
That was the point I was getting at... If we are going to win anything we need our "chumps" to make their easy layups (it free's up everyone elses game) more than we need tmac to go superman (defenses will just keep keying in on him). Some of our easiest wins come when tmac doesn't score much. Obviously scoring 8 points isn't good though, he has to find a way to score easier also.
What I want T-Mac to do is something that he is not capable of. I have long ago accepted him for who he is. He is a great talent and a warrior some of the time. I want him to be a warrior every single night, but especially when his team is in trouble. I want him to put his team on his back and take the ball to the hole. I don't care if he can't get his shot to fall or not, but he needs to force the issue, especially when nothing else is working. Last night, he climbed under a rock when thing got tough. He was only slightly more assertive against the Lakers. We can build a team around his talent, but not his heart. That has to come from elsewhere (i.e. Battier, Landry, Scola, Ming). There's plenty of heart on this team to win a championship and plenty of talent when Yao is healthy, but if you are depending on T-Mac to will us to victory when all else is falling apart, you will be waiting a long time. Your comparison to Olajuwon either shows you weren't watching the Rockets then or you have a short memory. Down by double digits with seven to go in game five against Utah in 1995, Drexler and Olajuwon took over the game (just one of dozens of examples). McGrady does so only when its not too tough. It is not his fault, he just doesn't have the toughness that you see in great warriors in this league. There is a reason why he has the reputation he has, but he is no cancer, and he makes his teammates better. Thankfully, we have some other warriors.
You are right and if I remember correctly the Dream would have welcomed a trade at one point. Hakeem was mislabled as selfish, but I don't think many questioned his warrior like mentality. McGrady simply does not have it or at least he doesn't have it consistently. I have seen a few flashes of it. Most recently we saw it in the game where Paul had 37 points for N.O. T-Mac had 41 and refused to be denied. But T-Mac let's those games come to him when he is in the mood for one. 19 points combined in the two biggest showdowns of the year speaks for itself. But I have not, nor am I suggesting they trade T-Mac. I am suggesting they build a team that does not depend on McGrady to be at his best when the Rockets are in trouble. The Rockets must find other ways to compensate (as they did against the Lakers and failed to do against Boston).
I agree with you, and I think this team is built that way, but we are missing two key pieces to our rotation. Yao and Landry. McGrady really seems to be more of a piece of this team, rather than the only piece. If they make any noise in the playoffs, that will be quite an accomplishment given the injuries.
No doubt. This team is far more equipped to handle these situations than last year. Right now, I am hoping of a first round matchup with the Mavs (who would ever thought that would be desirable!) and I most want to avoid the Jazz. They would pound us down low.
when the going gets tough ... tmac disappears ... last two game 7's .... last two games of our streak... last game celtics played outstanding defense but to go 1-4 for the final three quarters with zero attempts at the free throw line and only 1 three pointer taken the whole game uhhh I don't know about all that now.... ur telling me everyone here would agree that its ok for tmac to take only 4 shots in 36 minutes of play and get to the basket only once or twice for those entire three quarters.... I know we all nag on him for taking to many jumpers but he attempted 11 SHOTS THE ENTIRE GAME...7 OF WHICH WERE IN THE FIRST QUARTER... where was trigger happy mcgrady this game... o yea he was too tired to shoot the ball when no one else on the team could knock down a layup... and yes celtics played a great defensive game but their defense is not perfect... for mcgrady to go to the basket only a few times in the final three quarters when we needed him the most and to barely attempt any shots when he is our best player and our role players are not knockin down any shots is beyond me... go ahead start the bashing... o yea tmac was playing great when we all played well as a team but when the team is not playing well tmac can't find that second gear anymore that all superstars have to lead their teams to victory
Apparently, that is too much to ask of him according to a lot of people. That's a shame because you (and me) are not asking him to be Kobe or Lebron or any other guy. We just want him to go out there and earn his check like every other guy on this team does. I find it interesting that some members here can't make an honest, logical defense of Tmac's lack of effort so they start threads that insinuate that being a real Rockets fan means never criticizing McGrady no matter what he does (or does not) do. The fact is that a real Rockets fan WILL criticize ANY player when he wears a Rockets jersey, plays under those retired numbers and Championship banners and disrespects the franchise by not giving their best effort every game.
So . . . if anyone says anything that is not . . THE ROCKETS ARE THE BEST!! they are a bandwagoner? Anyone point out anything that is not perfect in ROCKET LAND!! they are a bandwagoner? Rocket River
There is a difference between hating and criticizing bad games as of late. Tmac is not PERFECT and we are allowed to discuss what might be wrong with him.
