My theory on McGrady's decline in scoring productivity...

I think this year should be. Unless we can get a Mike Miller type draft day or at next years trade deadline. I think that is what we are missing.

 

My extra long theory on McGrady's decline in scoring productivity...










H e ' s - b e e n - i n j u r e d , - a n d - h e ' s - t i r e d - o f - c a r r y i n g - t h e - l o a d .


He'll be okay come playoff time.

 

how about he's just sucking right now? anybody thought of that?

he played at a tremendous MVP level right after yao went down and put together some spectacular games (remember the 2 48-minute games).

he still has it in him. when the playoffs rolls around, his focus will be there b/c all the pressure will be on him. if he sucks like he did for the past 2 games, you best believe the entire world will be trashing him like a piece of scum. i believe he has more pride than that.

there's a reason he performs better in the playoffs. reg. seasons, only houston fans care about it and watch it religiously. playoffs -> the entire world watches it. therefore, tmac will be under a magnifying glass more than ever.

like i said, his focus will be on simply for that single fact. he does not want to get embarrassed and destroyed. he will bring his A game.

worry about the defense, rebounding, and role players please.

 

Dear Basketball Gods:

Please resurrect the man in this video...

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He is only 28 years old.

Imagine... just imagine.

 

I hope your right. I to hard on him at times but he makes it easy when he settles for jumpers. This is the defining moment in TMAC career. He will either drop the 1st round stigma or crash and burn. I think him winning a series without Yao will do wonders for him in the media.

 

even if he plays at his best, we might not win it. the role players, defense, and rebounding have to be on point.

tmac has played superb in the playoffs before and lost (look in 04-05). in 04-05, we had the talent and hustle similar to this team (maybe a lil less but we had an inside presence in yao) AND LOST.

tmac has to play much better (at least 25-27ppg on 44-45% shooting, 6-7 rpg, and 6-7 apg). but the team has to play better than the past 2 games.

defense and rebounding just made me cry. on one possession last night, we gave up 5 off. boards to the jazz. that possession typified our lack of intensity after we clinched a playoff birth.

 

We have already said that he can't win it alone. Of course he is a superstar, so he is expected to lead his team, but lead his team doesn't mean to win it alone.

Bench, Shane, Rafer, Scola, those are key x-factors in the playoffs. Can they make shots when Tracy is doubled? It is very important.

 

I always say that he steps up in the playoffs, but I'm scared that he won't. But who I really want to step up are the role players. BJax, Scola, Landry, if they step up it will be great and we will most likely win. Battier needs to hit at least half his shots. And if Head and Rafer just play decent then it will be a miracle.

 

It's all about the calf sleeve man. Before he wore that in Orlando, he's just a dunking dervish Tracy McGrady and after he stopped wearing it in Houston, he's just a slow, jumpshot clanking, rarely dunking Tracy McGrady.

But when he wears it. Boy oh boy, that's when the real T-Mac comes out.

Lighten up guys. It's playoff time. Let's cheer them on.

 

I'm pretty sure we should use Battier's abillity to score more in the playoffs. I mean not only let him shot 3s, post up him, maybe set some screens cause his midrange game also is not the worst.

 

if he doesn't, it's time to cut the ties. but i truly believe he'll step up and in a HUGE way. his play will just be magnified too much and it's an opportunity for him to do this without much help from another true star (like every team in the playoffs do) -> which will only elevate his stature and legend. too much is at stake for him to be passive (like he did in the past 2 games).

however, i'm afraid if he plays well and we lose again, his confidence will be tougher to pick up b/c he'll think he will never advance no matter what he does individually.

 

I'm sure there is a mental component, how could it not be at this point?

But you can't absolutely and categorically deny the entire physical impact either. At the very least, you have to admit a possible chicken-egg component with injuries and confidence in your body. How much can you trust your body with these outrageous demands night in and night out?

And a drop in FT shooting proves it has nothing to do with his body? You'd be surprised which seemingly irrelevant injuries can affect FT shooting, along with everything else (like moving in general). Imagine if you had a back injury to the point where you could barely make it to the doctor, only to hear "Well, your back may be in pain, but you can still use your hands, right? So if you don't get back to work (and still perform at 100%) you have no heart. Seriously, it's all mental- you just need more confidence."

 

T-Mac's getting old. He's played a long time in the league and his body's showing it. Injuries to the knees and back are classic symptoms of wear and tear.

He can still be productive, but trying to play like you're 20 when you're 30 is a recipe for disaster.

 

i dont necessarily agree with the ultimatum, but it is very depressing to see how well kobe and pau mesh after waiting 3 years for tmac and yao to dominate.

the problem stems from the obvious, which is tmac is not kobe, and the more subtle, which is that pau is a clearly complimentary player whereas yao demands the ball just as much as tmac. add in that pau is quicker and deadlier off the pick and roll, and its not hard to see why they became so effective so quickly.

that said i love tmac and yao, both as players and as people. we're not far off, even if the duo is not as good as the kobe-pau duo.

 

you can say it's a mental thing. but imo mental comes from the physical decline. and physical decline comes natural for everyone. kobe and duncan are starting to show that as well, just not as much. mcgrady just has had more unfortunate injuries in recent years. and different human bodies react differently to differently injuries at different ages.

 

At the end of the day, isnt it just a matter of the ball going in or not? Some people are better FT shooters then others. Period. Some people shoot better then others. Period. Tmac is a streaky shooter, and as leader of this team, if he feels the need to shoot 20 times even if he only makes 5 or 6, its ok. He's going to take the blame if we lose, and histairicaly sometimes if we win? lol

Simple as that guys, and add in the injuries he has, right now a problem with his shoulder. I guess some people play through injuries more then others as well. Ala Kobe with his pinky, I was hoping it'd slow them down but it didnt.

 

yep kobe and pau compliment each other perfectly, but still with Yao in the low post and T-Mac on the perimeter they should be just as effective, but thats not the case. Yao isn't great at passing from the low post and T-Mac can't make a shot to save his life. This is why i think we'd be better trading T-Mac with someone who can actually hit a spot up jumpshot, like RJ.

 

I just wanted to bump this thread and commend the OP and the rest of the posters for making a thread that doesn't drift into bashing. This is one of the first threads i have read regarding one of our current stars or current coach that didn't turn into rediculous name calling and useless banter.

I like the way people have been presenting arguments wheither supporting or disputing the OP in a tactful manner.

 

I think Tracy should start wearing his leg sleeve again. That way he'll start scoring like a monster again.