in Last night's game against the Blazers, I saw something I haven't seen before: Tmac kept talking to his teammates the whole time, he talked to Scola on multiple occasions, and after every time he did that, I saw an improvement on the offensive end and something good ended up happening.. Tmac also talked to Yao after he picked up a random foul, and he also gave advice to AB occasionally.. Now, I don't know if this is new or he has being doing this and the camera happened to catch him coincidentally several times last night, but I think this is a great sign.. Tmac has always been criticized for not communicating effectively, for being a quiet guy who doesn't "lead" his team.. I've never took that "leadership" B.S seriously, mainly because I believe that leadership isn't done by talking, but by the way you perform on the court (aka you lead by example, not by telling others what to do).. but regardless of how I feel, this is a really important development for this team.. thing is, I wouldn't have given this much attention if it just happened and stuff kept going the same way, what attracted my attention was the fact that after Tmac talked to a player (mainly Scola), I saw an improvement immediately in the next play; Scola took a better position for a shot on one play, he rolled to the basket harder and in a different angle the other play and it ended up in a basket.. I just hope this keeps happening and this team continues to build chemistry to be successful in a very tough conference..
I was at the game last night and can confirm your post. We sitting right behind the rockets bench and on one time out in the 4th I saw Mac grab his rookies by the shirts and pulled them closer to him and gave them words of encouragement like a true leader should. I have to say I was impressed with his ability to instill the fire in teammates (Carl Landy especially).
Yea T-Mac got pissed when Yao missed a potential three point play on a foul down low off of his pass. I loved it. That's what this team needs. Your best player needs to raise the bar.
I remember some of posters last night didn't like that McGrady was "staring down" Scola after some mistake. Is it ok for McGrady to express frustration openly, or should his communication be purely encouragement?
I didn't really notice Tmac "staring down" Scola after a mistake.. but if that was true, I don't think that's a positive at all.. that last thing I want is Tmac turning into a Kobe behavior-wise (now shooting wise, I am all for that ).. the only signs of frustration I noticed on Mac were after a turnover, an easy layup miss, or a bone-headed play.. and it wasn't really in a mean way, he was just frustrated and tried to improve things by talking to the players, not by staring them down.. btw, can anyone confirm the "staring down" incident?
if those are the same guys who pointed out the fact that the blazers are guarding Tmac the same way the rest of the league guards the 20 years veteran Brandon Roy, then I will take it with a grain of salt...
Yeah, what kind of comment is that? They act as if Roy has won 2 consecutive scoring titles or something.
roy right now only avg 19ppg. their announcers made it seem like he's one of the top 10 scorers in this L. if they wanted to iso roy, we would have single covered him all day with battier.
I don't know if TMAC's leadership skills will be temporary or permanent but he is doing the correct thing. I hope TMAC can be that tough leader who always demands more and more from a teammate and challenges them, ala last night. Yao can be the positive leader who always uses encouragement. That's what we need!
It's not just Tracy. I've been at the games and I've seen Battier, Alston, Yao, and Mutombo "showing leadership" and talking to each other and their teammates. I've seen more of it from those five this year than when they were under JVG. It must be the Adelman effect.
I think that McGrady is more willing to speak up with the first-year players. The more Adelman plays them, the more McGrady will communicate.
Yeah right! If Brandon Roy were on the Rockets, you would be every bit as excited about him as the Blazers announcers who see him play every game.
It's nothing too new. He's been doing that in H-town for a while. I remember he gave Alston an earful after several of his trademark dumbass plays last year during the playoffs.
I'm glad to hear this! I remember Jon Barry saying earlier this season that Tracy McGrady was a quiet guy and led by example.
that's how he's been his whole career, and this is the thing he's been criticized for the most ever since his Orlando days (the criticism of his "selfishness" were obviously B.S). I think he's starting to realize that if he didn't step it up and lead the team, this team isn't going anywhere and his career and star status is at jeopardy.. makes me wonder if the fact that he isn't going to the allstar game has anything to do with this..
