Haha "Jeff no make me play no stupid "Princeton Offense." Jeff nice. Why Adelman no nice to Mcgrady?" That's awesome.
Now here is something I don't think is entirely true, DD. Rick Adelman is probably the most underrated coach in league history. He hasn't won a championship, but he knows how to coach. He knows what works and what doesn't. And most importantly, he knows you need guys who can play. Preferably on both ends of the floor. I'd say the same thing about Jeff Van Gundy. Except that he was far too rigid in his team-building approach, given the means with which he had to build a team around both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady (little to no money through bad GM decisions—Rudy Tomjonavich and Carroll Dawson—and almost no player development). Tracy McGrady isn't any more of a self-centered diva than Kobe Bryant was, DD, when he screamed about how bad his teammates were or wanted out of Los Angeles in the worst way, and did more to ACTUALLY kill trades himself than McGrady has allegedly done. I understand it's all a matter of perception, though. We see far too much of McGrady, so obviously, we feel like he's the bigger jerk between him and Bryant. Nothing could be sillier than that, to me. Most professional athletes are by nature, vain, self-aggrandizing, and even intemperant. Not everybody is a David Robinson or a Hakeem Olajuwon in their dispositions. And not everyone has to be, either. All that matters, at the end of the day, DD, is if they can play. I don't believe that coaches at this level pine away for players that are so mal-adjusted, and so cancerous, and so uncoachable, and so weak-willed, and so inefficient, because those guys need to be coddled in order to get the most out of them. They pine away for those players because they make winning games easier. Jeff Van Gundy wanted McGrady to be a playmaker and decision-maker. Rick Adelman wants McGrady to be a scorer and finisher. McGrady has proven that he's more than capable of doing both, and doing both at a high level for extended periods of time. Two different coaches. Two different approaches. Same player, unfortunately, DD. So somebody isn't lying or putting lipstick on an already pretty ugly pig. Again, as a coach, you don't make your best player's job harder by asking him to do more. You make the game as easy for him as he makes it for you and for his teammates by SPECIFYING his role, like you would with a Shane Battier or a Chuck Hayes and lean on him when you need him, because the TEAM is good enough to compete on its own. The best player can then be what they're supposed to be—a difference-maker. McGrady is a very good decision maker and passer. Van Gundy still believes that, to this day, this is what separates McGrady from most other players. Or at least, makes him a point guard. Adelman believes that McGrady can score anytime he wants, and also believes that McGrady can score any WAY he wants. That would mean McGrady is a two-guard or a small forward, essentially the same position in the league, although you would prefer your two-guard to be the better ball handler and passer. All I would like to see is McGrady's role become more defined, DD. And by that, I mean to make sure that wherever he plays (guard or forward), you have the right complementary pieces on the floor around him. If you expect McGrady to have the ball in his hands the majority of the time to create offensive opportunities, then those other people have to finish them. When they don't or can't, you have playoffs like '05 and '07, whatever else is wrong with McGrady. As efficient as Von Wafer was for the Rockets, he filled a role made by the PRESENCE of both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. A role that meant that there would be opportunities to score for ANYBODY with the talent to do it. That’s been the case for almost five years. And that’s why Adelman got frustrated with how Wafer behaved during the postseason. Wafer got too big for his britches. Once Yao was gone, Wafer couldn’t get to the basket in the half-court sets as often because Yao didn’t create all those gaping driving lanes by being zoned or double-teamed. Couple that with the fact that Sasha Vujacic was able to play mind games with Wafer, and it seems to make sense that the Rockets aren’t willing to bet the ranch on him being anything more than a younger Corey Maggette. Trust me when I say I know where you’re coming from, DD. It’s hard not to criticize Tracy McGrady. He makes it too easy for us, on so many levels. But I’ve said time and time again that I’d rather have a coach try to harness talent than try to find it. I’d guess that that’s the way Rick Adelman and Jeff Van Gundy look at it, too…
I want to see him play before I believe this cuz I've heard it all before and it is contract year. He better say that so he can get paid smart move tmac
I hope he comes back and plays great before the All-Star game. We then have some leverage in trades or if he plays out the season, then he can come back at a reduced price after we sign a big name free agent.
Definitely. If He comes back as the Tmac of years 2000-2005 then He should be resigned. The question is for how match? I believe not for a max contract but for the MLE or at most 7 million a year rate.
If tmac regains his old form, hell yes resign him...he should retire a rocket in that case...idk about max money...no way, but a good contract for sure... I only hope he comes back strong from the surgery...i am opptimistic that he will bearing in mind that he had micro fracture on a none load bearing part of his knee..thats the good news...man i cant wait for the season to start...thank goodness football fills in for 1 1/2 months...
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I saw that ESPN had Tmac as one of top 10 most likely to be traded this year. Does anyone have ESPN Insider?
AND before you start trying to criticize other posters it was the 2008 playoffs that Yao did not play not the 2007 players and in the 2008 playoffs rafer averaged 14.3 points and 4.5 assists shane average 10 points bobby jackson average 8.7 landry 5.7 scola 14 ppg and 9.3 rebounds deke and brooks combined to average ~8 points per game so tmac had 3 other double digit scorings on the team besides himself and nearly a fourth in jackson....that seems like plenty help for a guy who had to do it all himself.[/QUOTE] uh if you add up all those point per game..they only add up to 53 points..how much did the rockets team avg in that series..you cannot say that mcgrady does not show up in the playoffs..he has better numbers than almost anyone...god i hope he comes back strong so these threads wont be filled up with tmac bashing anymore...let the man alone...i wonder if amare had to deal with this crap.. oh wait ...phoenix doesnt have the best fan website in the nba...but houston does...so lets show some love for our rockets instead of always complaining about them....go rockets!!!
That's actually a good question. Resigning Tracy McGrady at the end of his current contract is strictly going to be a matter of value, whatever level of skill McGrady may have left. I'll be clear. I do spend most of waking hours finding new and improved ways to defend McGrady, but he has a lot to improve on as a player. He also has all the intestinal fortitude you'd expect from Luther Head. Those are huge hurdles for him to climb, but with a more complete cast of players around him, I do expect a healthy McGrady to be a nice guy to have on the roster. Whether or not he should command an excessively large contract is another matter altogether. If McGrady does manage to somehow regain his form from...say...2007, I would not mind a deal where he got 3 years at about 9-10 million per year. That's not exactly chump change, mid-level money, but more of McGrady's best individual years are behind him than are in front of him. And so, you don't give a guy too much of your team's future when he has very little of his own. What would even signal the Rockets making McGrady an offer like that (assuming, of course, he accepts it), is how much better the team is and, more importantly, if and when Yao Ming returns. I know it's not en vogue right now, but you win with talented players. Not Sportscenter-type talent, but All-NBA talent, and year-in, year-out All-NBA talent. I'm sure there are a ton of players most of us would prefer to have here instead of McGrady, for all the right and wrong reasons. But if you're not looking to rebuild the team, and you expect Yao Ming back healthy and performing well, you better keep as many talented and versatile players as you can. I would say, though, that it's even money that McGrady leaves if he's offered a better deal from somebody else, monetarily. Despite what you may think, very few people in the league play for anything more than money. And a lot of it. it's their job, after all. Kevin Garnett in Minnesota didn't give back any of those two 100 million dollar contracts he got from them, even though he busted his backside for them for the bulk of his career. So figuring McGrady is playing for money is like figuring you wouldn't be able to walk from here to the moon by Christmas. I guess again, it boils down to what kind of team is here, if McGrady can accept a little less financially if the team has a real chance to win, and if management and McGrady himself wants him to stay. I say....let's all just have fun and watch what happens......
tim grover said he will have him jumping like his toronto days http://www2.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/nba/090730_mcgrady_expects_return_elite_status
You act like there is something unfair about a guy being cheered when he performs well, and doesn't when he doesn't perform well. Are fans supposed to be not care for level of performance and just cheer blindly? Are fans suppose to act the same way to good basketball and to crappy basketball? Are fans supposed to "stay loyal" even when a guy earning $20 million doesn't give 100%, creates drama among teammates, and says stupid things to the press. I don't think McGrady is a bad person or anything, but much of his negative press he brought it on himself. I don't get why there is anything wrong with fans getting tired of a guy who doesn't contribute basketball-wise and continue to act like a diva.
