last time Mcgrady shot above 50% for a game...

Making excuses for a player because he plays with heart is just nonsense. Who cares if he has heart!

This reminds me of a semester when I was put on probation because I was too lazy. I told the department chair that I tried. He told me it's not the effort but the performance that counts!

Wanting to win for your team is a good thing, but actually winning it is a different thing. Also, I'm sure almost all NBA players play with heart (at least some stretch in the season).

 

Considering he takes about half of his 3 point attempts within the flow of the offense(catch n shoot) that leaves 2 of his 4 attempts for heat checks, forced shots against an expiring shot clock, or timeout forcers. And a heat check isnt a timeout forcer(and sadly he has missed his most recent TO forcer attempts). Like I said, a true heat check(where he does it not on transition with momentum) has been rare for him lately(again didnt see last night's game).

Maybe momentum 3 is a better term than time out forcer, since obviously the other coach does not HAVE to call time out. Most of the times when teams go on a 7-0 run or 9-0 run or whatever the other coach does call time out, though. Especially when the last bucket was after a turnover.

I do remember him hitting one against New Orleans and they didnt call timeout. The Rockets were only up 7 or 9 at the time. They finally did call it after falling behind by 15. It was funny. It was like: OK Byron, you going to call your time out now(down 5 after leading 2)? OK How bout now(down 7)? OK how bout now??(down 10), OK How bout now?(down 12), OK how bout now?(down 15)

I think Drexler and sometimes Worrell use the term heat check too loosely.

 

i get it... tmac isn't as competitive as Kobe or lebron but that is a smaller part of the picture here.

Even when 'hyper competitive' players decline and lose atheleticism they aren't as good. I think people look at tmac's age and think he is just being lazy but he has had some serious back injuries (not to mention scoliosis) that prevent him from being what once was.

Kobe Bryant has more skills than any SG ever (im trying not too mention MJ here) and Lebron may be the most atheletic player ever, yes they have heart but i don't buy into this garbage that they just play at a higher level because they are very competitive.

i know you guys think that tmac isn't competitive enough, fine. I'm not arguing that because i think it mostly an opinion. I just don't think it is fair to act like that is the only reason he is less productive. You think that its just a coincidence that he became less productive after having back problems?

 

I guess i'm just not the type of person to complain about something that won't change.

I would much rather complain about Luther learing to control the basketball and making better decisions, Chuch not blowing open layups, Rafer not jacking threes with an open lane, mutumbo taking jumpers, novak taking shots when he's open instead of going to the 3pt line for a harder shot....

and so many more things that can be easier changed than whining about a guy not scoring on double teams enough.

 

We have to stand by our players when they're struggling and believe in them. That's what a true fan does. Tracy's going through a harder time, but he'll get through it, believe me. He must definitely be dead tired to carry the team through the 2nd half of the season without Yao, and be as successful as they are. It's not easy, but keep your hopes up, and have faith that Tracy will come through, I'm sure he hasn't just given up. Just give it time, and he'll recover.

And next time, please don't blame the loss on a single player. Even if Tracy had a bad shooting night, it's a team effort. Other guys have to show up in the place of Tracy or Rafer or whoever it is when it's just not their night.

 

He used to make those parking lot 3's with regularity. now he rarely makes them.

 

It's funny how fans over-react to one game. They judge by what they right there in front of them at the moment. They fail to think logically.

 

if you watch past videos of him shooting, you can really see a difference in his stroke. its really not as fluid anymore in my opinion. yeah the guy can MAKE very long 3's but it would be great for him to drive more often and pick better % shots.

the thing about him and kobe (my previous post) is that i know kobe a better defender by far compared to tmac but with kobe his teams haven't been playing well until just recently ever since the post shaq years. we still need yao back asap but seeing as how thats nearly impossible we'll just have to make due with what we have.

 

never said he was...

i was just showing the litany of other flaws on this team that are much easier to fix.

 

Somethign else to note. T-Mac taking 2 less 3 pointers a game wil not dramatically improve his FG percentage. T-Mac misses alot more layups and within the offense closer jumpers than 3 pointers. As someone else said, there is something wrong with his shot. He is accurate enough to get close where some will still go in, but its wildly inconsistent. I say its his shoulder, but it could also be his elevation. His accuracy used to be attributed to his incredible elevation, especially with defenders up really close to him.

 

his decline started before that with his first back injuries in Orlando, his fg% plummeted that season.

 

It looks flat.....

And whatever happened to the new get out 30 minutes early to shoot Tmac?

Where did that guy go?

DD

 

Probably an issue with the shoulder. That doesnt excuse FT shooting though. Most people who know how to shoot FTs can shoot them 1 handed if they wanted to. You need your offhand during the game, but at the line, you can take your time and line the shot up with your shooting hand.

 

But doesn't he always talk about how the shoulder loosens up over time? So start the loosening up process..BEFORE the game.

DD

 

...but after games its sore like a B*****...

i think he's trying to find a common ground, you don't want it to be that sore before the game is over but you want it to be loose.

Come on... are you really under the impression he's so lazy he's willing to tank the first half of a game?

 

Off the top of my head, if you ignored salary figures and team chemistry, the only players in the NBA that other teams wouldn't trade for T-Mac straight up are:

Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tim Duncan, and Amare, with iffy nods to Dirk, Nash, and Tony Parker just because PG's are almost priceless in this league the way it's currently configured.

T-Mac is still among the best in the league in overall athleticism (length, speed, strength), court vision, and finishing ability near the rim. Every playoff team needs some stars to lean on and he is our only one right now. All his faults are well-documented, but at this point I would say that we are still lucky to have gotten him in the Francis deal and that we can only get worse in the short-term (2-3 years) by trading him. Let's see what happens people, have faith in this year still.

As a side note, I got this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles DVD from a friend for Christmas and finally got around to watching it yesterday, and there was a line from Splinter before the final boss fight with these imposing immortal stone creatures when someone else wanted to help the turtles out.

Splinter: No. Let them fight. They are a team.
Me (shouting at the TV): The Rockets!!!

 

When he was twelve? Wow, TMac's jump shooting has really gone south in recent years. He has an occasional "TMac night" where he can't miss, but they are becoming few and far between. He does many other things well, but the persistent "chunking" really gets on your nerves. Depending on him as the main scorer is becoming a questionable strategy.

 

Seriously, people who keeps harping how TMac is not shooting even 50% are usually recent bball followers, i.e. after Yao joined the league. First, even Yao barely averages 50% shooting AND HE IS A FRIGGIN CENTER! Yao must have one of the lowest FG shooting percent among ALL centers in the league. So where do these guys get off criticizing TMac's shooting percent. Sure it is not as high as it could be i.e. 44-45% as compared to his current season average of 43% but come on, thats about what shooting guards who are DOUBLED CONSTANTLY averages.

Finally, if TMac is such a big liability then why do we consistently win with him in the lineup, last year as well as this year??