I believe homecourt does determine the winner of round one. What is it like 17-3 for the number 4 seed over the number 5 seed. That is 85% of the time.......I would rather be in the 85% range than the 15% one. DD
I think TMAC will have a better shootinf percentage if he stops the pump fake before every shot, especially when no one is taking the pump seriously anymore.
You are correct sir. That number was in the paper the other day for the last ten years, the 4 vs 5 seed. Out of the 20 matchups (east and west times ten years), the home court advantaged team won 17 out of 20. The big difference this year is that our big fella was out for 32 games. That has somewhat of a diminishing effect on our overall record. You would have to assume in prior matchups that the better record was earned by the better team. In this case I am not so sure. Yes, Utah got off to a really hot start, but I don't think they are significantly better than the Rockets. I think we are relatively evenly matched, but we will win....even without home court advantage.
stats only tell you so much. realize that in the playoffs last year, if i recall correctly, we were up 2-0 and the stats would have told us we were guaranteed a victory considering the rockets had never blown a 2-0 lead. well, the percentages were well in our favor and we messed up. if we are going to go deep this year, we HAVE to be able to win on the road. i'm confident we will do that.
This remark is COMPLETELY off. The problem isn't that McGrady should stop doing the pumpfake; it's that he needs to start actually using his pump fakes. Tracy has one of the best upfakes in the world with two feet on the ground. He fakes his man out of his shoes truly almost every time he does it... but then he never does anything afterwards. If the defender doesn't go flying in the air so McGrady can easily draw a foul, then all he does is either take one dribble to the left and either shoot or pass. It's such a great, great opportunity to drive, and he could do it literally EVERY TIME, but he doesn't... I think/hope he will in the playoffs, though. He used to much more often (including a little more while Yao was out). I don't know why you think people aren't still biting on that fake... they're falling for it now more than ever because the scouting reports right now are to play McGrady for the jumpshot since that's where the majority of his shots come from. And with a player as talented on step backs, curls, off-the-dribble, and spot-up jumpers as McGrady, you HAVE to respect his shot. People overplay McGrady constantly.
I guess i'm an idiot. Does Kirk Hinrich get double teamed on his way to the rim? Can Dunleavy really get to the rim if he has to? Carmelo, Kobe, Wade and Redd are better finishers than TMAC obviously, since they experience the same level of defensive pressure, or can get to basket almost at will. The stats are for the most part meaningless.... Danny Granger? cmon...
If you read some of EGYPT's posts in other threads, you will find the answer to that question. He doesn't watch the games or follow the team closely enough to know what's exactly happening on a regular basis.
This analysis is spot on. He usually does this at the top of the key usually resulting in the defender flying right by him and he does this exact thing stated here.
We'll see. Somehow I don't feel as confident in the Yao/McGrady Rockets as I did the Hakeem/Drexler Rockets... but, we'll see... and soon.
I wouldn't worry much about McGrady/Yao once the playoff comes around... I'm worried about the supporting cast.
That's the biggest misconception by the media and even a lot of Rox fans. McGrady never really deferred to Yao. He touches the ball more than Yao and takes the most shots out of anyone else on the team. He's been the number one option except that he just hasn't been producing like we wanted him to. I recall we opened the Utah game with hime taking the intial hand full of shots, he simply clanked them all of the iron. Mac's fragile mind-state forces his teammates to defend him and say he has been in a defering role to save face. Mac's the type that needs his ego hyped in order to be effective, otherwise he becomes Tracy McGrady and not T-Mac.
he's still the #1 option so i agree w/ u. outside of the utah game, the last few weeks we have gone to tmac late. only v. utah, b/c tmac wasn't in the game in any aspect, JVG had to go to yao and we saw what happened. tmac needs to step up NOW. he's not deferring. this is the right offense. tmac just has to step up. when he defers, it's b/c tmac WANTS to defer (as seen in te 4th) when he had the opportunities to shoot but instead pass to a tired yao. i'm sure JVG wants him to take over, but he didn't v. utah. so ultimately, tmac has to step up. that's all there is to it. if he does, we can overcome alston
Sorry to foil the love fest but you are fooling yourselves if you think he is the same player as he was in his prime. For one, he's much slower, probably half as athletic as he was in his prime, and rarely can get to the rim, much less finish. The fact that he had a 6'0 Derek Fisher on him and couldn't capitalize in the biggest game of the season was one of the low points in his career. He's still one of the 3 best decision makers in the game, an incredible ball handler, and a flat out dominating presence. But to say that he's just as good as the Old-Mac is just plain wrong and incorrect. This opening round with the Jazz will define his career. If he can't get by an inexperienced Jazz team with the best center in the league, it will speak volumes.
McGrady isn't taking many fewer shots, but he IS deferring to Yao (along with others on his team). Just not in as literal of a sense as I guess you're thinking. He's not actually looking to become a role player behind Yao (nor should he be), but he's letting Yao take most of the pressure of creating individual offense that McGrady normally has had when he was by far and away the best player on his team. McGrady is being completely inaggressive in terms of creating his own shot right now. That is one of the main reasons for his jumpshooting addiction. He's taking what the defense gives him for his 90% of his own half-assed shots, and when he looks to make something happen, he makes it happen for someone else -- not himself. Another reason for this, of course, is JVG. Van Gundy his entire career has been clueless on how to use talented perimeter scorers (unless they were pure jumpshooters). He doesn't run plays for them other than pick'n'rolls and screens/curls. The ocassional magic that we see from McGrady is usually something that he just pulls out of his hat on a broken play. These are all examples of how McGrady is just playing offense differently than he ever has before to fit with his current team. He's an extremely versatile player, and is able to fit almost any role we ask him to (remember the Mavericks series where we basically asked him to do EVERYTHING for us except play center: initiate the offense, score half our points both outside and inside, create for teammates, guard the opposition's best player). I definitely consider that a form of "deferring" (the Mavericks series isn't the greatest example, but this entire season is).
uh did u see that dunk on 3 ppl when he drove past AK47 that didn't count? did u see that alley-oop where he had to extend himself? his athleticism is sitll there. i do admit his first step is not as quick as b4 but sitll deadly. but he just doesn't want to go all out, which he woul in the playoffs. the reason tmac didn't attack dfish is b/c he's 6'0. even kobe or any smart ball plaeyr would just shoot over dfish. no effort needed. and when tmac missed 3 straight in a row, his confidence decreased (which i didn't like). when they put AK47 or others on him, he drove more. his shot just didn't go in. and i do agree when that happens, he needs to drive. but ur foolish to say his athleticism is gone. those 2 dunks tell me it's still there. he just chooses his spots. in the playoffs, he cna't "choose his spots". he'll go all out b/c there is no tomorrow.
good point. but he needs to know yao in teh 4th is often tired (turnovers, blocked shots, missed laups). he needs to take over then
This is wrong. It is a misconception caused by the Rockets lethargic ("patient"), methodical offense, along with the belief that McGrady's back has somehow affected his ability to run and jump. He is playing a different role than he ever has before, and is also clearly playing very conservatively right now. I have my own guesses as to why, but I think it has a lot to do with not wanting to risk a relapse in a game of debatable importance when he knows he has enough help to win the game without scoring 40 points. McGrady is 27 years old, and aside from some questions about his back, is undoubtedly in better shape than he has ever been in his life. You've been fooled if you really don't think he's capable of getting a step on Andrei Kirelinko and Quinton Ross any time he wants.
I think if it were the playoffs, McGrady would be doing just that. But like I said earlier, we'll see in just a couple weeks... Playoffs can't start soon enough.
Go watch some random highlights of the players in that list and come back and tell me that the vast majority of them didn't see help defense on their way to the basket or at it. It happens to every slasher whether they're a star or not. A bit off point, but what excuse is there for not finishing as efficiently as Allen Iverson? A 6'0" guy who demands as much help defense as anyone in the league should not hit a higher % near the rim than a long, athletic, quite ambidextrous 6'8" SF. It's maddening.
