Look at his stats during that streak, he was average to bad overall......the streak was more about Alston playing great, Scola being inserted into the lineup and the team playing good team ball. Look, I hope he does come back but if he comes back as a ball stopping chucker, the team will fail...... Because late in the 4th quarter, teams will deny that, and the rest of the team has been standing around watching all game..... The style just doesn't work against good teams in the playoffs....unless the star player is so good that he can overcome it. Tracy is not. DD
This. I still can't get over the summer after 04-05 season in which he stupidly put on like 15 pounds of muscle.
You must be blinded by your love for these guys. Maggette dogged the clippers. Von has basically flipped his mouth at RA. Neither is being paid 23 mil a year I agree. Why?? Because they didn't do anything to deserve it. Von had a one year wonder thing. I wasn't here for a while but can you answer this question for me. Since your so big on Von did you want him wearing the Rockets uniform 2 years ago?? When he got dunked on by Snyder did you want him?? Now all of a sudden you want Von who has been cut 5 times by each team he has been on.
Personally I don't want to comment on his status all the time before actually watching him play. It seems that the team organization considers him a superstar player, especially during the playoffs. Is he a complicated personality. Yes. So are other players and worse. Don't talk about the contract situation please. You know that the rockets wouldn't commit this amount of cash to him if they didn't see a superstar player in him. Fact, you can argue if he will get back to his excellence but the remnants of the huge potential is still there to give me hope that he will.
I'm not starting a fight over that topic again, who should get the credit of the streak etc. I'm simply saying that people labeled Tracy as a ball stopper back then and when he came back he proved those people wrong. Aren't the things you said above the proof that Tracy can play team ball?
Well, I for one, hope you are right. He did conform for a time, then slowly went back to his old comfortable ways...I am not saying he can't do it.... I am saying if he WON'T do it, the team WILL trade him.. DD
This is not a fair question, because we can't go back in time, and I am looking at the situation today. Von is a proven NBA asset, is he perfect? No, he has issues, but he is young, and has a decent chance to develop. So, IMO, you take small risks on players like that...not big ones...small ones. Under $2 million for the year, and hope that he continues to develop... These are the low risk, high reward types of moves I like....get some youngsters and see if they develop. Because the flip side is getting oldsters, and Morey has frankly SUCKED at that. Mike James Steve Francis Brent Barry We need to take small bets on younger players, IMO. Look, I am not going to root against Tmac, I am hopeful he has matured, if not, the team will flip him for younger players, that is what I think they will do. DD
Thread summary: 1) T-mac has "cried wolf" enough to warrant the reaction that a T-mac thread almost always invokes -- current thread 19 pages going on...??. 2) Most of the posts have been cathartic. 3) Only time will tell where the truth lies. (odd pairing of those 2 words) Let's assume Grover is close to accurate. The real problem as stated by DD and a few others is how does he willingly integrate himself into the offense that Adelman has wanted to run and will WANT to run without a Yao. Does the offense have to flow through McGrady, as in his mind, he probably considers it does? Can Aaron Brooks or Lowry really run the team so that McGrady doesn't have to be a "facilitator" most of the time. (That IS a big part of being of a "go-to-guy".) I would argue, that T-mac needs to recognize and remember the potential for Brooks to be a facilitator because of his speed. It's this mental hurdle (of thinking only he can make the offense click) that McGrady has to overcome to make the team play up to the potential of all the other players around him; i.e., those on the court with him. Stay tuned...
On a related note, does anyone have a summary from ESPN insider on the 10 players most likely to be moved by the 2/18 trade deadline? Something about t-mac in there. Thx!
Its not like we have anything to lose in backing Tmac. I for one am all in on him and a comeback. If he fails we get a trade scenariio at lest or money off the books. If he comes back better than ever then we have freaking Tmac as a player again! Tmac is still better than most and even Artest and Odom put together if he is healthy and right. Add to him a Ariza and Battier and Budinger and this team could be deeper there than ever if it works. Scola became an official PF to be reckoned with last year and Aaron stepped right into the Point duties and put us in the second round on his abilities to score. There is nothing to lose in believing in Tmac and the Rockets chances once again if he is able to start the season. So if he starts the season because of that hard work I am on board with Tmac again.
You look at him as a ball stopping chucker, a black hole but JVG and R Adelman say he is a great player with a high basketball IQ, who gets everyone involved.....hmmm. Now, do I beleive a fan who has a hard on for T-Mac or 2 NBA coaches, who have over 40 yrs. of experience between them. Somebody don't know what they are talking about!!!
