Would you please tell him to replace the 68% FT if he want to play like last year? and if possible, the 20% 3 pts in the playoff.
you do know the last 2 years, we've been one of the best road teams in the L and set the team's record for consecutive road wins last year right? we're 3 games below .500 this year. we don't seem as mentally tough this year (i think last year's team was the toughest team we've had mentally in the tmac-yao era). mentally toughness can easily be seen in how a team does on the road and faces adversity. we still have time to improve though.
Kobe and McGrady both IMO identical road players. Superstars aren't born overnight, you can tell. The confidence, the swagger, the demeanor. If you watched Rockets basketball for the last few years, you know McGrady, had that "pep in his step", where you can just at any point in the game put up a barrage of points and baskets, that make you say "wow, now that's a player." Only a select few have that in the NBA McGrady healthy was one of them and you know it.
I just remember healthy Tmac blamed the Toyota center for his bad home performace. Do you remember that from Kobe?
It always makes me laugh when guys come in here to spew hate for mcgrady and they come up with this: "Kobe's better". Damn right Kobe is better. He's one of the greatest ever. To compare the two is a complement. Tracy had game that was comparable to Kobe, but when they matched up Kobe usually got the better of him. Physically, bryant has always been in better shape. Tmac get in line with the rest.
durvasa, I don't think it is just coincidence. However, the flip side of this is that T-Mac was a poor home player. Remember the "depth perception" thing? Perhaps it is not coincidence that we are great at home this season without T-Mac. Sounds strange, doesn't it?
third person to mention it in this thread.. yet so over looked in this very thread.. though not surprising..
i have always thought that was jvg boosting his ego and trying to motivate him play better at home. remember the "depth deception" story?
I mentioned road success with McGrady in the "March could be a fortelling month'" thread where it was the usual McGrady bash fest. Which people have a right to do. But concerning actual basketball, I thought the Rockets after McGrady was out started operating more like a typical" NBA team, which is play strong at home way weaker on the road. Rockets played most their games at home in comfortable surroundings after McGrady went out. The FULL identity of the team wasnt yet revealed. For the Jazz game, to me it appeared the Rockets lacked a certain something. Like they knew what they wanted to do but still needed more games to define exactly what they want to do. To be fair I think no Rafer added to the feeling of "missing" something. Basically how Battier is the glue guy of the D, McGrady was the glue player on the road.
Without the 'best road player' all year, the Rockets would be firmly in the 2 seed right now. He cost them that many games. So no, I don't think he's missed.
We do miss T-Mac ( I mean healthly Tracy McGrady) on the road. He has always been superb on the road and he was helping this team.
28.4 PPG (2005-2007 seasons) on the road. 26.9 PPG (2005-2007 seasons) against the Jazz. Yes, I want a healthy McGrady back if possible.
Dude I hope you are happy when TMac comes back in 2010 playing for another team and he is winning road games for his new team because he days of being a Rockets are over. Thank goodness.
He was the only guy capable of getting his own shot (make or miss) down the stretch in hostile arenas, where Yao was completely taken out by the defense. Ron clearly is too slow and incapable of creating space to get off his own shot (this is where McGrady has normally shined, creating space to get off a shot). The problem is absent a true play maker on this team that can replace McGrady (not a superstar, just someone who can create their own shot when needed, like a Genobili) we are going to have a hell of a time winning close games in the playoffs, especially road games. Artest holding onto the ball trying to be a hero at the end equals certain disastrous outcome. Artest is surprisingly slow and just incapable of doing much beyond trying to bulldoze his way to the rim (which never works in the waning seconds of the game). That said, how does that song go? "the old me is dead and gone"? The old T-Mac ain't never coming back, and that is unfortunately the only version of T-Mac that is useful to the Rockets. So yeah, lets just move on.
We are 8-4 with McGrady at home, which means we are 17-2 at home without him. You could very well be right.
The question is why this team is struggling on the road more this season than past seasons. To me, that is living in the now.
