[Hollinger]To Reach the Next Level, the Rockets Need McGrady

If they add in Artest they win last night...you are missing that part.

DD

 

Tim Legler said it best last night and I'm just paraphrasing what he said. "This team can win it all. They showed last night that they can hang with the Lakers and they showed us last year when they went on to win 22 games in a row. But the fact of the matter is that they can't stay healthy. You can't bet on this team for being healthy for the whole year. You need to build chemistry but you can't do that when your in and out of the line up."


That's basically how it is for the Rockets.

 

How do you know that?

 

Yeah, it is kind of crappy if you think of it like that. But the reality is that this team was built with McGrady in mind as a vital piece.

I don't want to undervalue what the team is doing right now, but that's just the way it was built IMO.

 

Becuase I threw the magic beans and that is what they told me.

DD

 

I think hollinger pretty much nails it....

all the argument about "needing" and "wanting" T-Mac is absurd...

the fact of the matter is .. we are good enough to make it into the playoffs without Mac ( and with Artest mind you...)

but in the playoffs.. we need T-Mac to win it all.. no doubt about that...

this is not about tracy being a 4th quarter beast like Kobe and hitting all the major shots.. I don't want him to do that... we all know the first thing he would do when he his given the ball in the final two mins would be to jack up a 3..

But if he can get his mind right and sets up his team mates... we can easily beat most good teams...

bottom line... the little things he does (When he is 70-100%) is pretty much extremely necessary in the playoffs.

and coach sleepy also needs to get his mind right.. If i remember correctly... Barry was not on the floor during the last possession... what the f***!!! he is the best shooter in the team without a doubt.. and coach needs to create a play to get him open for a 3 ball..

 

Nobody questions that a healthy TMac playing within our offense/defense system will help the Rockets to reach the next level.

Ppl talking about TMac vs coach A's offense, actually same with the defense. Coach A's defense is less structured and covers more areas, a lazy defender like Tamc would screw up the whole system and offer his man the open lane to the hoop.

 

This article is flawed. McGrady does more harm than good in games that matter. You want a steady hand and good decisions, but you just get horrible long range shots and defensive lapses.

 

Any argument that says we need someone in the playoffs who has a 7 year history of failing in the playoffs is flawed.

DD

 

... but... but... he scored a lot points!!!!

 

Well, obviously I'm not factoring in injuries to other team's players, that's absurd. And I'd have to see much more out of Wafer over a longer period of time before I could say that he could replace Mac.

What I'm talking about is, given that all the playoff teams in the West have all their players healthy, and we have all our players healthy, and we don't have Mac, we're not beating the Lakers or Spurs or Jazz IN A 7-GAME SERIES. I can say that because it's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Again, just look at the history of the NBA. Champions in professional basketball have transcendent players, game-changers, with the exception of the 2005 Detroit Pistons and the 1979 Seattle Sonics. Mac, if fully healthy, is that type of player. But as proven with Wade, one can't do it on their own.

Our squad minus Mac is good enough to take someone by surprise and win a playoff series, possibly 2. But not a championship. Nope. Yao is a great player, but he's not someone who can be a game-changer in a series. It's not his fault- he's just too big and immobile. I think it's amazing that he's as good as he is, because guys at his size are typically one-dimensional (Muresan, Eaton, Bol, Bradley). But he has to have a McGrady to win it all, unlike Duncan who won a championship in 2003 with a non-transcendent (at the time) Ginobilli and Parker.

To Reach the Next Level, The Rockets Need McGrady. Sad, but true.

 

Well.. then we don't need yao either.. what has he done in the playoffs?

not that i hate Yao or anything.. I love that guy. esp for his hard work and attitude..

nobody is saying here that T-Mac would suddenly become LBJ and carry the team into the finals.. we just need him to be normal and play with the team... run RA's offense.... make plays for others and set up good shots for Yao .. Artest., and others.. that would do i guess.. if Mac can do what he did with the current roster.. i am sure we can achieve something..

 

Not true...if they traded him, the pieces they got back might be enough....

TMac is not good enough to be the type of trancendent player you speak of....he has a mind made up of Pixie stix......

The competitive fire of a 3 toed sloth.....

They don't NEED him......it would be better to have him, but NEED him...no.

I think you NEED two of the three of our players out of Artest, Yao and Tmac to compete.

DD

 

You have to understand you are WRONGGGGG

 

edited.

 

So did Michael for several years before he got help, so did Dream, etc. What was Garnett's excuse?? Please, people, let's be real- the Magic and Rockets all played against teams that were better than them- with the exception of last year's Jazz. The only reason we lost that series was because we didn't have Yao. I believe that. With both Yao and McGrady, we're winning that series.

Being upset about all this mess with McGrady is no reason to lose perspective. The only way we win a championship without Mac is if we get close to equal value for him in a trade. If he's out for the year, we're not doing it. But those who don't want to believe that, fine.

 

You have to understand.....it is an opinion....neither of us is right or wrong.

DD

 

Unfortunately, it's not just about hard work and dedication and hustle and fire. It's about talent, too. Many of the hardest-working teams in the NBA did not win championships. Some of the most talented didn't, either, but many did. Lakers. Celtics. Bulls. 80s Pistons. Spurs. Rockets. The Rockets either Need Mac or someone very equivalent in a trade. Done.

 

yup we needed Tracy to close out the game for us.

 

TMAC fan for life! I will never stop believing in the Rockets or McGrady!