That is quiet a rebuttal. You had me almost convinced there.... NOT! *laugh* Yep. Heartless. When things are going well, his play is comparable to elites of the game. No one comes close. Its when things are going wrong that he starts to wilt. His history backs it up. He has jumped to good leads in playoff series. But when defense adjusts and things start to tighten up, his game starts to change. He will also look for easy way out at times. Instead of attacking the rim on a comeback or increasing the margin, he will settle for long 3s. I still remember the almost comeback in game 7 against Dallas and we could have gotten to single digit in 3rd quarter and he launched a terrible 3 pointer. If Tracy Mcgrady was mentally tough, he would be just as good as Michael Jordan. He has an uncanny ability along with Jordan and Kobe to hit game winners at end of games.... but its how he approaches the whole game mentally that needs work. As I have already said, Tmac needed Phil Jackson more than Kobe did. Kobe already is ruthless by nature. Tmac needed Jackson to develop mentally.
Yep, he always wilts when things go wrong...thats it down by double digits with less than a minute to go on December 9, 2004, he scored 13 points in the last 33 seconds of a game against the San Antonio Spurs with four consecutive 3 pointers, including the game winning 3 pointer with 1.7 seconds left in the game, to help the Rockets win 81-80.
If you read my post again and pay attention you will notice I have already said he is one of the best at closing the game. Its his mental approach to entire game and playoff series that needs work. And since you bring up the Spurs...fine let's play along that line then. There is a reason Rockets struggle against them. Rockets guards and Tmac stray away from game plan and start chucking up long bombers when game starts tightening up. Look at games 2 seasons ago...same result this year. IF you still doubt me, go read up JVG's assessment of this problem too. JVG is not going to say "Aww Well Tmac is weak mentally." But when your own coach says that when things go wrong, we go away from our game plan, it implies mental weakness. If you are looking for Tracy mcgrady to keep duplicating that 33 seconds performance.....*sigh* Good luck. Tmac is one of my two favourite players in the league. The other being Yao. That does not mean they are immune to criticisms. He is in a slump right now but I am rooting for him. I want him to get back to what he was physically but more importantly I want him to be tough minded for entire 40+ minutes he plays. People take criticisms of their beloved players so personally. Sheesh....
I got you but that win against the spurs was not really just about closing out a game with one or 2 shots. It was 4 consec. 3 pointers(one was a 4 pt play) over bowen and duncan!! I am rooting for him and no I don't take it personally.
If my memory serves me correctly KOBE was the one that wilted when the game wasnt going his way. Refer to the second half of game 7 phx vs lakers "Bryant tried to keep the Lakers in it in the first half by scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The league's leading scorer, Bryant netted 50 points in Game 6. But in a puzzling disappearing act, Bryant deferred to his teammates in the second half Saturday, taking just three shots and scoring one point on a technical free throw." http://www.nba.com/games/20060506/LALPHX/recap.html TMacs numbers in the dallas series: Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk Pts gm1 47 14-27 3-7 3-3 1 5 6 4 2 0 34 gm2 47 10-19 1-2 7-8 0 8 10 4 3 3 28 gm3 42 10-23 2-7 6-8 1 9 6 5 1 0 28 gm4 45 13-26 3-9 7-8 1 6 5 5 1 1 36 gm5 42 7-22 1-4 10-14 3 9 6 2 3 2 25 gm 6 42 14-28 6-10 3-3 2 8 7 2 1 1 37 gm 7 36 10-26 1-7 6-7 4 7 7 4 0 3 27 NOt to mention he hit the game winning shot in game 2 and made some ridiculous plays. But no we lost the series mostly due to lack of depth and matchups so I guess Tmac just has no heart...Don't qualify his performance based on one decision in a game. If it weren't for him we wouldnt have been as close as we were in that series. First of all, what has Kobe done on a team led by himself besides score a lot of points in regular season games? And lasty, we need to get over this MJ comparison. Jordan was the greatest player of all time both physically and mentally. TMac is NOT MJ and never will be. TMac is a great player but he was not as fortunate to be blessed with the body that could endure as much as MJ could. And mentally MJ himself said that he could still whoop Kobe's ass or anybody else in the NBA for that matter. I guess PJ's way of developing Kobe was calling him "uncoachable" after he resigned in '04...it was all part of the zen master plan im sure. Anyway, we'll see how great of a coach he is in this contract without the greatest player of all time in MJ or one of the greatest teams assembled with the three peat lakers.
while that was quite awesome ... kobe has done many more awesome things since then and tmac has not.. COME ON GUYS.. we can keep living back in 2004.. wow that was one game.. iits still amazing but GET OVER IT.. tmac needs to shape up now for us to win.. he just doesnt look like he tries out there.. just look at kobe tonight and look at tmac play.. A REALLY BIG DIFFERENCE
Come on guys, Tmac is not Kobe. Thats a pretty tough comparison for him. Kobe is Kobe, the only person you should compare to Kobe is Jordan. Anything else is unfair to the other person. Tmac is great, and has heart, and can get in zones similar to Kobe, but come on, he isn't Kobe and never will be. Neither will Lebron.
You act like Tmac can just flip a switch and become Kobe. Come on. Tmac just needs to start hitting his jumpers and he'll be fine.
One regular season win from two years ago doesn't make a champion. Not that I'm siding with other people claiming McGrady is over the hill yet, but you can't deny that there's something going on with his game that's at issue. Frankly I think Kobe is just as much if not more of a headcase. The man caved last year vs the Suns and decided to make a point about deferring too much in a game 7 playoff series.
And if my memory serves me right, Tmac sat on the bench for the entire 4th quarter of Dallas series while his team got whooped by 40 points. Yes, same series in which he had another one of the top centers in the league. As someone already said, Kobe is a nutcase. But his desire to win and his assassin nature is unmatched. No one said he wasnt awesome in that series. I am not basing my decision on one series or one game. He wilted in game 7 and made decisions. But that's the only series where he his production has dropped off as the series went on. Do go back in his Orlando days too. Hell, just look at his games this year too. Instead of taking the best options by driving or forcing the issue, he takes the easy way out by pulling for jumpers. Ermm...Kobe has 3 rings and several clucth playoff performances. A lot of times while Shaq sat on the bench with foul trouble or because of him being a liability, Kobe saved the Lakers. If you are going to pull the "well Kobe has won nothing without Shaq" I might as well pull "well MJ hasnt won anything without Pippen" And since MJ said he could still whoop Kobe's ass I will believe him? If you are going to rely on what MJ said then how about his choice for the best player in the NBA....yea, he picked Kobe and he said it wasnt even close. You are contradicting yourself. If he was that "uncoachable", it's quiet an accomplishment on PJ's part that he won 3 championship with him, wouldnt you say? And if he was that uncoachable, why did he come back to coach him? Sure, he got his 9 rings just sitting on the bench. Talent on both teams were always there, PJ took them to next level. Why? By refining the mental approach to game by his players. Considering PJ took Suns to game 7 last year with 1 superstar, 1 role player, and a bunch of scrubs, I think he has already proven himself. If you want to go back to Bull days...he took a Jordanless Bulls to 6 games against Knicks in Semis....same Knicks Rockets beat in Finals in 7 games.
I stopped watching at halftime...sounds like an amazing performance, too bad Kobe is not likeable at all. BTW, Kobe was 14-40something in the past 2 games, he has been struggling as well. T-Mac will get his game going too before too long. T-Mac's confidence is way down....I recall his first season here, he would put up 25 point qtrs without breaking a sweat. You don't lose that kind of natural ability over a half year. Once he gets his mind right he will be fine.
Yeah, Kobe never gives up on his team when the going gets tough, he just: gets the most dominant player in the league (at the time) traded away. He just refuses to take shots and be aggressive against the Kings in the playoffs to prove a point, he refuses to take shots and be aggressive against the Pistons in Game 6 of the Finals to prove a point (lost the championship), Refused to do anything in the second half last season in the game 7 vs the suns to prove a point...that is what you call a stuck up loser.
The best thing about Kobe scoring 52 points is that his stock has risen considerably. Hopefully I'll be able to net Garnett for this scoring machine.
I don't think it's a matter of 'talent'. The one clear advanage Kobe has now over McGrady or ANY other superstar swingman in the league is his jumpshot. Kobe has a sweet jumper with perfect mechanics, it looks like Jordan's coming off his hand, although he doesn't get the same elevation Jordan did. But the arch, the release, it all looks eerily similar. Therefore, whereas McGrady would have to either be shooting lights out or just keep working extra hard to take it inside and expend more energy, Kobe can consistently rise up and shoot over anyone who's guarding him, and make it consistently. Kobe has developed his shot a lot more than McGrady has, whereas McGrady's body has changed and he has lost a few steps, he hasn't really made a conscious decision to change his mechanics on his shot whereas he wouldn't have to get all that elevation and shoot a line-drive jumper. Moreover, and I don't think anyone can overlook this and I have said it multiple times before, there is no superstar in the league who has the kind of stamina and endurance Kobe does...the guy just doesn't get tired, he's solid through 4 quarters and plays with the same energy, you rarely notice a drop off in his game due to fatigue. The other thing I have to say -- and I know Rox fans don't take it kindly that I keep pointing this out -- but McGrady is 'over-the-hill'. Whereas Kobe is in his prime years and is aging like fine wine, McGrady's peak was 3-4 seasons ago...the harsh truth, but it's reality. With that being said, he's still a damn good player and you better believe we're lucky to have a guy with his talent, not many teams have that luxury.
I stopped reading the post once I see that you also blame T-Mac lack of Kobeness on Gundy. Wow. Kobe has the killer instinct that sepearated Dream from his peers, Jordan from his, Magic and Bird from theirs. Thats what makes legends. By the way, Z, I just read in the NY Times that they finally got that video of Gundy planning 9/11. They have him on video poisining the Russian spy and found proof of him being the cause of global warming because he is so hot-headed that he is burning a hole in the ozone! If you hurry and run to Les about it, you and EDC and Rockets03 can actually get him fired before the end of the year! GO! GO! GO!
Actually, I think Iverson has more energy than Kobe. That dude is non-stop and plays broken up all year. Again, the mental aspect of the game seperates the very best from the rest. Iverson can make a case he is better than T-Mac. Talentwise? No. But all around? In a big game? Maybe.
I am not dogging T-Mac at all, he's STILL one of the top five swingmen in the league on any given night. Just because he's not at Kobe's level at this point of his career doesn't mean that he sucks. How many teams in the league have a Kobe Bryant? Only one. Not even LeBron compares to him as good as he is. Kobe is improving his game with age, he isn't declining. McGrady is and has been for a couple of seasons now, that much is irrefutable. Still, he's one of the best at his position and we're lucky to have a guy with his talent, as long as he doesn't completely break down on us physically that is.
