That game against the Suns was one of the best performances I have ever seen. Wire to wire dominance. Scoring, defense, hustle, rebounding, offensive rebounding, playmaking, going to hole, hitting FTs, hitting long range jumpers and 3s... He played phenominal in that game. Total control from start to finish. HE talks about "imposing his will on the game", boy did he do that. He is focused and determined, and has really vocal leader, on and off the court.
Really? How about Yao 33-10 with 13-23 shooting and 7-8 FT? TMac is 27-7-7 with 10-26 shooting and 6-7 FT. Go look at the boxscore one more time.
again, if u WATCHED the game, about 15 of yao's points came in the 4th when the game was decided. tmac sat the whole 4th quarter. so yao's stats were very misleading.
lets not turn this into a Tmac vs Yao or Tmac vs bench thingy.... bottom line is Tmac is the leader... he needs to lead by example... ideally for the first 3 quarters... I would like to see him attack the basket but spend more time dumping the ball into Yao or out to one of our 3 point shooters... when he breaks down his guy... or gets doubled etc.. then kick it into 5th gear the 4th quarter or the last few minutes or plays... that way our other guys will have plenty of chances to put the ball in the basket... while Tmac can play at 4th gear and rest until the 4th
That's why the home court is important for game 7. Anyway, the way this team is constructed, T-mac needs to recognize the game situation: if teams double team Yao, T-mac has to take charge and attack the basket from the beginning, this will free Yao up like the last game against the Phoenix Suns; if teams do not double-team Yao, T-mac can relax in the beginning and let Yao work, then take over in the last 5 minutes of the game.
Again, if you WATCHED the game, you would know that Rox only scored 12 points in the 4th and Yao already had 24 points before 4th quarter started. I guess 9 = 15 and 24 is nowhere near 27. I'm not interested in defending Yao but can't stand people talking **** out of their mouth.
As I have said in the past, this is the first year in which I can finally judge T-Mac and Yao as players. Prior to this season, Yao wasn't a star player as of yet. He was a 'solid' player but still had lots of ups and downs. Up until this season, McGrady never had a real star player to help share the burden and carry the team through the first round. This year, he finally has Yao. Mac and Yao will share the mantle of success or failure this season; they're BOTH responsible for the destiny of this team, because it is THEIR team...this is what I have been waiting for! I expect greatness.
I don't understand why all the TOF's think they have to degrade Yao to make their boy look better. No matter how much of a god McGrady is to these people, they have to accept the reality that his team is built for BOTH Yao and McGrady. Neither one is more important than the other. In fact, I venture to say, that if Morey had to decide tomorrow which star he would keep, it would be Yao. I believe Yao still have a few years until we see his peak and McGrady has already peaked. So please, if you're a Rox fan, then don't make this a TOF orgy.
i think many GMs would pick players over tmac simply b/c of his uncertain back, even guys like dhoward, elton brand... if tmac was healthy, i think the ONLY player that GMs would pick over tmac is lebron.
Greg Anthony's "Player to Watch" in the playoffs is Tracy McGrady. He just said so on SportsCenter...
tmac's' almost always the player to watch in the playoffs b/c of his first round history. hopefully he'll get past it this yr
like I keep saying his 10th year in the NBA now? ive seen hockey players play with half their teeth knocked out... broken ribs... broken hands.. etc... no more excuses... no more complaints... never give up the window of opportunity is now... even if we lose we go down fighting... so that next year someone with talent says... hey those Rockets have something over there...
Talent or no talent, we can't lose in the first round. If we do, then Mac and Yao are clearly not franchise players we can depend on moving forward. We're the favorites for the first time in Yao and Mac's respective careers. EVERYONE and their mama are picking us to beat the Jazz, even Scott Van Papal or whatever his name is on SportCenter. No more excuses, play all out and leave everything on the floor, the rest will take care of itself. This is THE defining moment in McGrady's and Yao's careers...
say what? he has always shown crazy intensity in the playoffs. his team just is not good. nothing u can do about that. again like i said, even the best palyer of ALL TIME needed 5 yrs, and then he had phil jackson, scottie pippen, horace grant, to help him out. this is the first yr where tmac truly has another all-star besides him. yao was not that 2 yrs ago.
i don't think this is the defining moment for yao b/c this is only his first yr as a true superstar while tmac is in his 7th yr as a superstar. big difference. yao has more leeway.
Hey dakota take that negative **** out of here. It's time to get pumped for the playoffs and comments like this are not helpful. And on the off off off chance Tracy reads this forum, the last thing we want is bs like that in his head as he takes the court.
