You are hurting. We all know that. It's clear the pain in your knee is preventing you from being great. Your elevation on your jumper is flat. You can't explode up. You aren't as mobile. You can't carry your team on your back when it needs you the most. You have had multiple embarassing moments. Clearly you are struggling. But rest hasn't made it better. And playing doesn't do more damage. These two truths are the reality of your situation. So what should you do? Play as a shawdow of yourself? Continue to embarass yourself and let your greatness take a hit? Yes, and no. If you want to be a champion...then you need to be a champion. A champion is more than winning, it's an attitude, and ethos, and yes, it's setting an example. Great players find a way to contribute. If you can't jump or score. than become a great passer. Encourage your teammates. Get on the court even if it's for just 10 minutes a game to spark your team. To let them know you are there and even though you are stuggling, you are going to do all you can. Change your game. Learn how to be effective on one leg. Learn to put more arc on your shots to compensate for the lack of lift. Develop post up moves to shot over smaller guards. Become a facilitator. Find new ways to contribute. Forget about trying to be explosive....because when and if that ever comes back, you'll be a better player for this experience. And most of all, use your stuggles to inspire your t-mates, not frustrate them. This season can be salvaged. It can be salvaged with you being half the player you were but twice the man. The fans would adore you for doing that. We're all hoping...and believe if you play the role, we are still better off with you than without. But this drama is taking it's toll on your t-mates and trying the patience on everyone. End it please.
Good post Lou. The key word here for Tmac is ATTITUDE. Just playing "tough" and actually pretend you're giving some effort on defense can go a long way for your mental psyche
One thing is, TMac can be essfctive, even now. But he will be back to his normal self next season, so this year he has to make adjustments. It is like DWade last year...
tmac tmac change ur game tracy lazy mclady u deserve that name knee hurt pee hurt that is so lame google u round 2 still the same!
MJ became a good jump shooter, but was always an efficient scorer. Tmac has NEVER been an efficient player, he has always been a volume shooter...with a less than great shooting percentage. Even when he was at his peak he was never playing at a high efficiency.....he was good, but not GREAT (Efficiency wise). Now, with him losing his ability to drive, and his lateral quickness, I am not sure his jumpshot is good enough to carry him forward. Teams don't have to honor his jumper, it is not good enough, just lay off of him and force him to shoot......and if he is another Rafer....on jumpshots.....he is basically not starters material. DD
Good post, Sweet Lou. I think Tracy is trying to change his game, but he's having difficulty accepting that he has to do just that. His role may end up being somewhat like an "Eddie House" type of thing when the Rockets need some instant offense. That's probably not the best comparison, but House plays limited minutes and his job, designated by Doc Rivers, is to simply score. I think we are better off with Tmac at this point than without him. The all-star break gives him a week to get his mind right, and then another week to sit out two games. I'm optimistic.
Doesn't have to be only a jumper shooter...even with a bum knee he can be an excellent post of player because of his height. He's also a great passer. He can rebound, and defenses still have to respect him. One option would be to move T-mac to a small forward position. Point is that with his talent, he can find a way to produce.
How many chances can TMac be given. He will not help the club period. He needs more than a few weeks to get healthy.
If he is going to play on the post, he won't fit with Yao.....and as a SF his lateral quickness will still be exposed. Lou, I would LOVE for him to be able to adjust his game, but honestly, I just doubt that he has the will power to force himself to do it. This is 2 times this year now he has shut it down because he didn't like the way he was playing. I mean I don't blame him for being embarrassed but the great ones get through it and get better, Tmac runs. I really hope the team salvages the season and just shuts him down, because if TMac is not healthy or THINKS he is not healthy then he is hurting the team and they have enough to win without him. DD
To change your game requires work ethic and mental toughness, T-Mac has neither. A quote from Jonathan Feigan says it best "His abilities have diminished rapidly, but he is also limited by an ability to overcome those changes". If your an objective fan or rockets fan, to me it would seem as if the rockets just need to move on and either shut T-Mac down for the season or move his contract. Morey, Les and Adelman are delusional if they think they have any chance of bringing a championship to Houston with T-Mac as one of their main guns. It's not in the cards. You got to be a real Mother F!!!!! mentally to go and take a series away from Kobe, Duncan and KG.
I like this thread. Let's be constructive and forgiving and show some care. Let's treat Tracy as a regular person who was in a bad mood. Forget about his big contract (let's Les/Morey worry about ;-) and the fact that most of us pay the money to see him perform and devote our life to the games he is in. Let's leave him alone. Fewer spotlights and especially the sarcastic one. He feels frustrated when he has a bad night and people criticizes and laughes at him. Sometimes the truth just hurts and it's hard for people to accept and move on. it's human being, especially to celebrities. It's the case with Tracy now. We all believe that rockets are still a good team without Tracy. We may even go to the 2nd round of the playoff. But with a motivated and focused Tracy, even in his 60%, we are the better team. So let's move on and leave Tracy alone. Cheer for the current roster and wish for the best from Tracy.
This isn't a problem he can fix overnight. Tracy's been playing this way since high school, relying on his pure athleticism to take over games. His shot is derived from his jumping ability, not the arc, as you pointed out. And drastically changing shot mechanics in this stage of his career is pointless. All negativity aside, he does have all the talent in the world to adapt his game however. It's just up to him if he wants to do it. All the greats have done it, MJ and Kobe have in their later stages of their careers. But, comparing Tracy to those two would be unfair for him because he was never a special player.
I've been waiting for him to change his game for awhile now but i don't think it will happen. Even if he's walking on one leg, he will still be waving off his teammates and holding the ball behind the 3 pt line. I think he can still be an effective player in the league but he will have to change his game and learn how to contribute to the team without dominating the ball. The Minnesota game was a perfect example of what he should be doing but then he forgets all about it the next game.
That's what I would do. I would just rehab him and condition him without a time limit. I wouldn't let him on the court until he can just xplode off the knee. If he didn't come back this yr, at least by summer he will be healthy enough to trade.
