im sorry, but the fact is TMAC shoots way TOO MUCH!

HAHA, thats just too funny for nobody to notice... LMAO!!!

 

It's pretty obvious that TMac has not learned this aspect of the game, and it is really hurting the team. This aint the '03 Orlando Magic...TMac doesn't need to force his offense on bad shooting nights here in Houston...we have plenty of capable spot up shooters who can get the job done.

An average night by our supporting cast of Barry, Wesley, Sura, James spotting up is much better than a cold Tmac.
Plus, it keeps teams honest and allows more space for him to operate. I'm not saying he should stop shooting altogether...he should when he is presented with an opening within the offense, but there is no need to shoot with people right up in his grill or to pull up on fast breaks.

When Tmac's shot is off, he needs to either:
A) Drive to the hoop and get to the line a la Kobe

or

B) Become a playmaker...attract attention by driving and kicking it out to shooters

Our team has enough shooters that we don't need TMac jacking ish up when he's not feeling it. When Tmac can start doing this on a consistent basis, we will be true contenders and he will be a perennial MVP candidate...until then, he hasn't convinced me that there is still not some "Me-Mac" left in his game.

 

I don't mind if Tmac shoots "too" much, if both our star players are in the right spot, I don't think there is such a thing as shooting too much.

For one, I think in the last game, Tmac took a few ill advised shots, but just as painful, he passed the ball about an equal amount of times when I wanted him to shoot it. It's obvious he's been off the past games, hopefully just as a temporary result from the mini-flare against Weisbrod.

 

fact : n, Knowledge or information based on real occurrences.

opinion : n, A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.

Spot the difference.

 

I hate the "if you're cold, stop shooting" argument. When Tmac was passive, we sucked. Minn was playing good D and they were forcing our shooters like Barry and Wesley to put the ball on the floor. It was just one of those nights.

 

Well, I think that's why some people are wondering why that approach isn't taken with Yao aswell. Although Yao does pass alittle too often when he should be aggressive and doesn't demand it much. People, just as passive are quick to easily say, we tried it for the first months of the season just didn't work.

 

This is plausible. JVG should rest him, reduce PT to, say 15 minutes, for 2 or 3 games.

 

well if you had said he shoots too many 3 pointers i would have understood your point... however i think your only Offensive star should take the most shots....

he should be more like dwayne Wade who said i am not 3Pt shooter...he rarely takes them.... thats why we have Wesley/Barry/Padgett ... What do you guys think about Wade and his take on 3pt shooting?

 

Can't shoot too much when the next one may go in but Yao should be getting more than 10 shots a game I dont know if that is so much Tracy though.

 

people who say stuff like this have never played organized basketball in their life, they don't understand that sometimes you just have off nights and if you are the leader, you need to try to shoot yourself back into the game.

The people who complain and say "why don't we do this or why don't we do that", have never played a lick of basketball in their life and they will never understand.

 

can't defend t-mac on this one. i felt he got played by cassell throughout the whole game, ie sam "forced" him to to play better instead of playing smart by trusting his teammates more.

 

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That's totally bullsh*t. Basketball 101-1: always feed the hot hands. If TMAC shoots a high percentage, I don't have any problem with his 30 attempted shots per night. Obvioulsy he got a ice-cold hand during the last couple of games. But he still tried to shoot out of his slump and took those tough shots, and let his team down. Is it so hard to take a back seat and focused on setting up his teammates? I really hate the crap that "the team lives or dies by one player". Come on, it's a team sport, not his personal show. Just my 2 cents

 

Yes Yes Yes.

Every time when someone is in a shooting slump, no coach would tell you to keep shooting until you find your rhythm even though you are a superstar. Every coach would tell you to get closer to the basket, draw some fouls, and shoot the FTs, in that way, you can try to get your shooting touch back. If a coach tells a player to keep shooting the 3 pointer, the coach is an idiot.

Players like T-mac should be smart enough to know when they are in a shooting slump, thus start to draw fouls by going to the basket.

If you look at T-mac's stat, http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/statistics?statsId=3179
his offensive numbers peaked during 02-03, since that, his shooting percentages have been declining. His 3-ball percentage is at historical low since the Toronto days. His free throw attempt is at historical low since the Toronto days. You have to wonder what happened to him. My guess, he is not as good as he used to be physically. Can you say he is just a jump shooter now?

 

I think in the beginning like jordan, he used his athletic ability to score. As Jordan aged, he became the best mid range jump shooter in the game, I believe that these superstar players are trying to follow his path, I believe that Tmac is taking shots farther and farther away from the basket every year. Luckily this year most of them have fallen. Except for these past few games.

 

T-Mac's track record speaks for itself..we have a ridiculously good win percentage when he scores 30 or more points a game. I have a lot of confidence in him since he's a great scorer who also happens to have handle and court vision, and doesn't turn the ball over much. I just wished he would postup more or drive when the opportunities are there or if the shots not falling. the guy guarding him yesterday, tmac couldve posted up all day.

 

Not exactly true age wise, T-mac is 25 years old, extremely young. But his mileage in the NBA is there. Maybe he has taken too much pounding in the past. My feeling is that ever since 02-03, his back has been bothering him. He is not as good as he used to be physically.

Now, at age of 29 for Jordan, he just won his first NBA championship. At age of 25 for Jordan, Jordan won't produce numbers like 4/22 and he always bounced back from bad nights. check Of course, you can't compare T-mac to Jordan, but this shows T-mac still has a lot to learn. Check Jordan's stats. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/michael_jordan/?nav=page

 

I never agree with comments like all great players have slumps, and that won't last for the whole season, and we live and die with them. What's that? Last time I checked, basketball is still a team sport. You win as a team, and lose as a team. Did you guys watch the Cleveland loss to Toronto? In that game, LBJ scored 56 points, what an astonishing acomplishment at 20?! But he's mature enough to know that "means nothing, if the team loses". I am not a basketball guru, but I am old enough and watched enough games to gain some common sense from the game. I have heard tons of commentators talking about hundred of times during those games, who and who was in a slump (some of them are great ones), who and who doesn't lose poise, and doesn't force the issue. They talked about letting the game come to you, instead of forcing the issue; trusting your teammates, instead of being stubborn to force shots after shots and hope miraclously get out of the slump all of a sudden.

Remember that Suns game? 100% of the posters laughed how immature Amare was, when he talked about that's how he is, no matter how many times he got rejected, he just keeps going. Everyone was pointing finger at him and said the right word "TEAM". What happened to that consensus, when it comes to our own super star? yes, those are all makeable shots for him, but he's not making it. Therefore, he doesn't need to shoot everyone of them, he can pass up couple of opportunities to let other players try. Let those "hot hands" try. For argument's sake, except Bradley, no one else is taller than Yao, his turnaround jumper or mid-range jumper is always makeable. Does that mean he has to take every single one of them, whenever he gets the ball? I might be wrong, his 3 pointer shooting is 1-1, 100%, does that mean Yao should just shoot no matter where he gets the ball? Hell NO! Then why should TMac do that? Just because those are makeable? Just because he's our super star?

Again, it's a team sport, you want to involve your teammates. Great players adjust from situation to situation, from game to game, they try everything possible to win, including to defer when they are not hot.

BTW, I would like to comment on some of the posts talking about difficulty to get the ball to Yao's hands, risk for TOs etc. Yao averages 2,3 TOs per game, shooting 50%+. There will be turnovers, because of the defense, Yao's hands and atheletism, and guards' mistakes. But if you don't try Yao, the team is TO free? No, certainly not. Which risk is bigger? Forcing a shot at 30% accuracy, or trying to pass to a 50%+ guy? I don't know. There is no exact answer, but one thing I do know - if you try 6 more times to get Yao to shoot with one more TO, Yao might convert that 50% of 5 shots, for about 5 points. If you force those 6 pocessions into own shots, even WITHOUT TO, at a 30% accuracy, including 3 points, it's probably 4,5 points. It's NOT accurate at all, I have to say, just a rough idea. Get to yao's hands, although with larger risk for TOs, it doesn't necessarily cost you. Especially, your top scorer is in a slump.

That's what team concept is about. One doesn't have to score the most in each game. One can allow to have a slump here and there, coz you have your teammates.

 

That is a good point...

For people who want Tracy to shoot "less", they don't know what they are talking about. If T-Mac does not threaten the opponents every single game, they won't double him, and that will not only hurt Yao down in the post, but will completely render our perimeter shooters (Wesley, James, Barry, etc.) ineffective, because they won't get their wide open shots.

The second point is T-Mac has been passing the ball nearly as often as he normally does, but a lost point on many of you is that THE OTHER players on the team (namely every shooter on the team other than Jon Barry) are missing just as badly as T-Mac in the last two games, have you guys watched the last two games?! When our shooters don't make their wide open (and I mean WIDE OPEN) shots every single night, we will lose, because the opposite defenders won't defend the three and will come down hard on Yao inside (this is also where Juwon Howard is extremely important, because his man can't leave him open without paying for it when he makes that sweet mid-range jumper, which reliefs Yao of pressure as well). To be sure right now, our opponents are playing us 5 on 4, because our PF position is so pathetic that I could probably get a couple of college kids to play that position better than fat-Spoon and Scotty Paddy.

As for T-Mac to stop shooting, he won't, and he never will, and he shouldn't. He is our best player hands down, and he literally is the engine of this team (handles ball, passes, takes pressure off all of our shooters, and some of Yao as well). If you heard the ESPN interview on Sunday with T-Mac, he clearly stated that JVG gets on his case when he stops shooting the ball, even in blow out games like the Portland game, where he wanted to involve his teammates more and keep everyone happy.

For T-Mac to shoot even 25 shots a game, assuming he makes 11 of them or so, is not that lopsided a number. He DOES involve his teammates most of the time, he has been as unselfish as a superstar can get this season. If his shot attempts go down, then his offensive presence and dominance in the game won't hold over time.

I think the real ones some of you should have beef with are the Mike James and the other role players on the team, who if anything THEY are the ones that should only shoot if open and stop forcing shots when Yao is in the game (which seems like a rarity these days, 28 minutes, 30 minutes, that stamina thing is really a hinderance to his development and presence in the game). You might make a case that they should reduce their shots attempted, and not T-Mac. 22 shots is nothing, he wasn't really "forcing it" the last few games, he was just trying to get going to the "benefit" of the team, not to its detremint. If it was a detriment, JVG would have told him, trust me, because T-Mac is very coachable (he ain't Kobe in that regard).

What I would like to see, though, is someone taking the last couple of games' videos and braking down the number of times Yao had good positioning in the post to recieve the ball for a shot, as well as the number of times his teammates could have gotten him the ball on those positions, but passed him up instead. I guarantee you it ain't that high, I am willing to bit $10 to the tip-jar that Yao got the ball at least 70% of the time on those positions. I think people tend to exaggerate Yao's ability to get a good position, and keep his man behind him. I don't think, from watching this season, that he has done that often. When he did, like in the Suns and Sonics game, and he was determined, his teammates got him the ball almost every time down the court.

 

hmmm...didn't know T-Mac matched up with Cassell