Yes he did. He drove it twice in the final 2min...once to Landry for a dunk, once to a wide open Yao for the missed shot. The next play he came off a screen, tried to draw a foul and still hit the shot. The last shot was questionable, but Aldridge gave him room and T-Mac just hit a jumper the possession before. I thought T-Mac, offensively anyway, played a near-perfect game.
don't be fooled by a good game, he's lost alot athletically. He still has a great first step but that is not all quickness, it is partly skill. He reads the D's eyes and swings them into bad positioning by moving the ball from side to side. He was once quick and fast like a poor man's Kobe (athletically) and now he's more like Melo (just a quick 1st step, but not that fast). I know people think he settles for jumpers to much, which is true. The bigger problem for me is that he isn't making any, and its only gotten worse over the past couple seasons. He can get himself open but he still misses it, that's unacceptable for a 'star' NBA guard. Its nice that he's hitting his free throws but would be nicer if he could make a freaking shot.
Statistically speaking, he has been one of the top long 2pt range shooting players in the league the last 2 years. Even tonight, his 2pt shot was going pretty well. It is the 3's in which he struggles, and that is largely because he has lost some lift on his jumper. As he gets healthier, I am curious to see if his jumper improves like it theoretically should.
You tried to look smart and you made you'reself look like a fool. tmac has one of the best mid-range games in the league. it's those heat check threes that have destroyed his Field Goal. i remember reading an statistic that showed his mid range game is much better then kobe, wade and most other Elite SG's. however kobe is a much better finisher around the pain.
uhh...yeah i was clearly trying to make myself look smart. no. I think you need to define what much better than other elite SG's is. I'm pretty sure that disparity was only on long 2's anyway not all mid-range shots. He used to be a better shooter, period. You've seen him play before the past few years, right? You should know this. His mid-range shots used to be money and that is not the case anymore.
I would never have guessed that T-Mac is playing as efficient if not moreso than Kobe. That's crazy. And yeah, It's nice to see T-Mac taking to the rim and finishing with (part of) the ability we know he has. Regroup and refocus. Lakers coming up soon, but I swear if we lose to the Clippers on some stupid shht ...
According to Hollinger in his preview before the 07-08 season, T-Mac actually shot the best % on midrange shots in 06-07 for his career. As I said, his midrange game is as good as ever. It's his 3pt shooting (and last year, his ability to finish at the rim and from the line, both of which look MUCH improved this year) that is where the problem is at. Like I said, I am curious to see how well his jumper looks as his athleticism keeps coming back and his elevation gets better.
He has to always keep an eye on his bad back that had devastated him for years, and his first step is just the culprite for his back conditions. to play more games, he has to restrict his first even though that's his only effective attacking tool. His jumper sucks, his ft sucks, his dribbling sucks, and his big ass also sucks with tons of fat being asorbed year by year.
Hif free throw sicks?. he is shooting the ball at 84%. how is that bad?. damn you're stupid. he has some of the best handles forsomeone his size. he also has one of the best mid-range games in the league. so you fail.
2006/07 that sounds about right. That was the year he went to the doctor in Waco, right? Thank you for correcting me. Maybe last year just seemed that long to me.
offensively he's beginning to show himself. defensively, he's being abused pretty badly. Hopefully, once his knee heals up, he can do both.
T-Mac has great length and talent but I can't agree with the OP. He has clearly and noticeably lost significant quickness and athleticism over the past several years, including his 1st step. I think he gets around/through/over players now by using fakes and upper body strength more than quickness. He just isn't the fluid player he was 5 years ago, injured or not.
