Below is something on NBA.com... http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/david_aldridge/03/02/threeq.20090302/index.html "2.) Are the Rockets better off without Tracy McGrady? From now until April, absolutely. In the playoffs? Not a chance. In the regular season, the Rockets can force feed Yao Ming most nights and get away with it. While there are a few teams with the coaching bona fides and personnel to slow the big man some nights, there are too many Memphises and Sacramentos on the schedule for Houston to have too much problem getting Yao the ball, and the Rockets can win most nights with their defense, anyway. But in the playoffs, when defenses are better and teams can zero in on one opponent, the Rockets look exceedingly vulnerable without T-Mac. They don't have anyone with his ability to rise and shoot over defenders, to create offense where there is nothing happening, to average a neat 28 per postseason game as McGrady did last year. McGrady's season-ending microfracture surgery leaves the Rockets in a quandary. For now, there's no doubt that a cloud has been lifted from Toyota Center. As I wrote several weeks ago, McGrady's teammates weren't frustrated by him personally; they respect his game and know how much pain he's been in, taking injections and dragging one leg up and down the floor for almost a year. But they were nonetheless getting tired of not knowing when or if he was going to play on a given night, tired of not knowing who would play and who would not as a result, tired of waiting for McGrady to decide whether to play in pain or shut it down for the rest of the season. (With T-Mac now sidelined six to 12 months, who knows what his future in Houston will be? The Rockets would have had any number of suitors next season for a healthy McGrady in the last year of his contract, with $22 million available to luxury tax-threatened teams potentially coming off their books in time for the summer of 2010. But tax reliever or no, no team will take a flier on McGrady until they see him back on the court and healthy, and the likelihood of that happening before next year's trade deadline is slim.) Houston now has a clear identity. It knows that Ron Artest will start at the two. It knows that Shane Battier is almost back to full speed after offseason foot surgery. It knows the way to win games is to sic Artest and Battier on the opponent's best perimeter guy, as the Rockets did to near perfection against LeBron James last week, then get Yao 20-30 touches a game on the offensive end. "They know who's going to play," coach Rick Adelman said. "They know what the rotation's going to be." Artest came off the bench while McGrady started. He didn't complain. Mostly. But it's probably better for Houston that that's no longer an issue as the regular season winds down. "Obviously, I've been a starter since I've been in the NBA," Artest said. "I could be a starter on any team. You put LeBron and Kobe on the same team, I would make the argument that I should start." Artest's energy can take a team in multiple directions, but when he's channeled and focused, he still is an opponent-wrecking presence. Against Cleveland, Artest used his 260 pounds effectively against James's 270; he didn't try to muscle James around, a sure invitation to three quick first-half fouls; he became more of a wall, absorbing James's contact without giving ground, his still-excellent footwork keeping him squared up and not reaching. Twice, he turned James into Battier, who drew two charges. That's great for now. But in the playoffs, who'll get that key bucket? GM Daryl Morey believes in second-year point guard Aaron Brooks, as evidenced by the Rockets' trading starting point Rafer Alston to Orlando in a three-team deal with Memphis that brought Kyle Lowry from the Grizzlies. Brooks and Lowry have ridiculous quickness, with the ability to break down defenses, get to the rim and kick the ball out to shooters. And Brooks is a better perimeter shooter than Skip. But Brooks and Lowry are both small, and they're both susceptible to pounding the ball too much. At the end of the first half against Cleveland, Brooks dribbled, and dribbled, and dribbled, as the clock ran out without the Rockets getting off a quality shot -- drawing an on-court rebuke from Batier. As ever, Yao puts adjusting to a new point guard on his big shoulders, even though Brooks has a penchant for entry passes on the bounce, something a 7-foot-6 fella shouldn't have to deal with. "Aaron's been on this team two years already," Yao said. "We have a kind of chemistry. Passing the ball, it's about timing, it's about position. I can't just point to them. What do you need to do? I think I just need to catch those balls." Rolling of late, the Rockets look like they could still become a factor in the Western Conference, as long as Battier and Yao stay healthy. ("At times, he made Dwight Howard look very small," Artest said of Yao. "He made Superman look like Mini-Me.") But what will happen when the temperatures rise and the defenses contract and the refs put their whistles away? Even a one-legged T-Mac would probably be welcome."
I don't think people have figured out that T-mac is through. He's not coming back to what he was so people need to look at it like this... it is what it is.
Sounds about right, but I still think we could win a playoff round, depending on matchups. Just hope its not Utah again....
We had a two legged TMac and we we didnt fair to well either. I do not know why ppl want TMac to jack up low percentage 3s to close the games for us while all of our guards can do exact the same if called upon.
If the Rockets play the Blazers or the Nuggets with home court, I think they have a great chance of getting past the first round.
Good points there.. the lack of a elite or semi-elite wing would def hurt us... Motion offense is all fine in the regular season and upto 3 qs in playoff games.. the fourth quarter is all about the stars.. Yao is a star but fronting Ds would be a problem.. Artest is not a playmaker.. it all boils down to our PGs and i dunno what is gonna happen this team.. I really really hope we don't play the jazz again.. If we meet the jazz.. sloan will kill us with his pick and rolls.. I hope we meet portland or denver... good matchups for us.. and we can make it out of round 1 if we play those teams..
I think with Adelman at the helm second round is an expectation this year. If he can do it with the Kings, he can do it with the talent on the rox this year.
I'm with you on this. Hell, right now Artest is the best 3pt shooter on this team by a sizeable margin. His percentage is much better than Mac's. Clearly, he's got some chucking problems, but it's hard to argue with the result when he's hitting almost 50% from 3pt land.
I wonder why this a 1-star thread. That is a good, well-informed and well-written analysis. I think this team has the potential to prove the author wrong, but his concerns are very valid in my opinion.
I don't see why people think we need tmac. Teams have had tmac for 7 straight years and nothing happened. let's give this team a chance.
I agree, we don't need McGrady. BUT! I do not for one second think we are better without him. I think that rational is foolish.
I think it's a decent read, but probably because it's the opinion I also share. I think the article stubbles on itself at the end though. One legged McGrady is no good. Last year it worked, but I guess you can only do that for so long. I have my reasons of why I feel that this team still has a long way to go. No need to list them out. I just don't feel as confident in the team for the post season as I would if we had a healthy McGrady. Not one that has to put up nearly 30 a night. But just one that can get 18-20 maybe, and do what he does. *To me* that would give us the best chance as success.
Rockets - better without T-Mac? Pistons - better without AI? My weight - better without glazed donuts? I wish it weren't true, but some evidence points to the contrary. Maybe next year we'll be better with him. But he has to come back close to at least 80% and prove he can move it.
People who write these things have no idea of the current state of Tmac or the Rockets. The Rockets are better off in every single way without Tracy. DD
How the Rockets fare in the playoffs with this current roster remains to be seen. I am however optimistic that they can really do some damage that will surprise many. However, someone on here made a valid point about the team lacking a creator/go-to guy in the event that Yao's fronting problem is exploited towards the end of games. We all know the playoffs are much different than the regular season. How do do you think the Rockets will overcome the issue in the playoffs when it counts?
DD, believe me, I love your show, and I agree with what you say a lot of the time. Do you understand how you've taken the safest and least testable pathway? If the Rockets don't advance past the first round this year you can easily turn around and say it's because the Adelman offense is not fully developed, in fact we've only spent 23 games on it. If the rockets do get past the first round how can you confirm it's not because we're not matched up against a killer Jazz team again. Ultimately, the assumption that we are better than with McGrady leads to alot of false correlation and supposition without proof. Yes, winning percentages, points scored and allowed are all Mitigating circumstances to the arguement. However, with a smaller sample size, and without knowing the impact of cutting a Rafer Alston out of this team it's hard to be certain. It's a safe bet that McGrady will no longer be the "goto" guy, but to say that's because of his decline and his negative impact on the Rockets is a stretch. Believe me, I want McGrady gone, but that is more because I would rather have someone else in the lineup. But! If you said to me that we could go into this post season with McGrady, but not necessarily have to play him heavy minutes I'd say we're finals bound, easily. I think it's too soon to put the verdict out, and I really hope this team makes as much noise as possible. Love the show, I don't know what I'd choose, you or No Layups if you two were on the same time slot.
