This comes to my mind everytime I've seen tmac handle the ball, since his last 48 minute game. He's a step slower ans seems a little fatigued. Still we need to address getting a 3rd reliable scorer in the offseason. I KNOW tmac and yao will miss games because of injuries next season
the problem i'm talking about has nothing to do with fatigue (though that is an issue that). Even if you're fatigued you can be explosive off your first step. He's lost a step since he was a high flying scoring champ but since this last injury he hasn't been even atheletic enough to pass as a SF. KG and West both actually looked faster than him. I think there is something wrong with his knee still, anytime he attempts an inside bucket he kinda hops and limps for a few feet before he goes down the court.
I don't know how our luck will go with injuries, but I am confident that Yao and Mac have more than three "good" years. Besides, neither of them will be under contract after three years, anyways,
T-Mac is exhausted, not only physically, but mentally too. I have been defending him against the haters. But it is a fact that he is not tough. He is not tough physically (injury prone). And he is not tough mentally. Keeping the streak going after Yao went down is a heavy mental burden for him. (That also shows how hard it is to achieve the streak.) You can see that mental letdown in T-Mac since the Atlanta game. I said at that time that I worried about T-Mac's exhaustion than Landry's knee injury. T-Mac is what he is. He is a magnificent player. He is unselfish. But he cannot carry a team by himself for a very long time without physical and mental letdown.
Pinky: So what are we going to do this offseason? Brain: What we do every offseason.... Try and upgrade the point guard position. calderon for 2009!
I don't know why Head doesn't get more play. He's cut down on the "doh" mistakes, actually plays tough defense, and has shown he's a shooting, driving, and cutting threat. Heck, he can even hit freethrows. I know he's undersized, but he holds his own out there it seems. Just my thoughts.
The streak was magical, the team played out of their mind, and to an extent above their talent levels. Amazing happens. Rafer put up "career" numbers during the streak. This was wonderful, but not something that was ever going to last. The team dynamics were exceptional; timing, coordination, ball movement - beautiful. BUT, realistically, when comparing the rosters of most of the top teams in the NBA with the roster of the Rockets, the other teams have more consistent shooting, more size, more athleticism, more speed, more overall talent. FOR PERIODS OF TIME, the sum can be greater than the parts, but talent ultimately wins out, and the Rockets need more of it. Outstanding defense can carry a team for awhile, but, in the end, you still have to outscore your opponent. I agree that Yao and TMac may have three seasons left. Yao's feet may even shorten that window. This offseason is perhaps the most critical in the last twelve years. The team must add significant talent, or the streak may become the greatest memory of the TMac-Yao era. Yes the Rockets can still make the playoffs, but by the end of the month may be in the seventh spot. Yes, they can still win a series, but will have to recover some of the magic of the streak. Position for position they will be out-gunned in the playoffs just like last year. I do think Landry is something of a wild card. Had he not gone down, the streak might still be on, and in the playoffs his athleticism is a must.
The (alleged) problem with Bonzi is/was how big of a distraction vs production. I would have a bigger problem of the Bonzi trade if he was producing like he did last night . . . but he wasn't.
