Well the point I was making was that these issues have been coming up for years (physical ones). Each year a new one would crop up. I am not saying that the man did not really have back spasms or did not really have bad knees or anything, what I am saying is that these issues along with his shooting percentage, "I'm the best on the team and I'm the reason we win" attitude pisses people off. Especially people who are very talented and are in the league and on the team for a reason. His statements, body language and actions have all said "I am the team". What the current squad is saying is "We are the team".
Agreed. But you get the point right. It's the style of play and the ego behind it. It's the Jordan mold minus the Jordan.
Good point, too many people only remember last season & forget the other seasons. Go back severl seasons where T-Mac had no talent around him and basically carried this team to to the playoffs. I remember last year after he rested his knee, he returned one game and missed by one of getting a triple double. The key stat wasn't points or rebounds, but it was his assists. Somebody mentioned chemistry killer, I totally disagree. His teammates watched first hand what this injury did to his game. Seeing a man barely walking, with his knees iced down should paint a good picture.
Budinger temporarily but only to showcase McGrady to increase his trade value. Budinger is showing a tremendous all around game and it's fun to see him play. I can't wait to finally have a season where McGrady is not even mentioned in the team. The Rockets can't get rid of him fast enough as far as I am concerned.
Did you guys see Ariza trying to take it to the rack? He was terrible, a McGrady wannabe. If McGrady is back to his old form, he is preferable to Ariza. With those shooters spreading the floor and McGrady's ability to draw defenders and find the open man (something Ariza hasn't been able to do), we should do well. People forget the 22 game win streak when we had T-Mac and no Yao. Now we have an even better roster. Brooks TMac Battier Scola Hayes Ariza Landry Lowry Anderson (maybe) Budinger
Yao does the same thing & nobody has a problem with him. I was discussing this with my friend, how will T-Mac or Yao fit with this new style of play? I can see T-Mac having an easier time fitting his game than Yao. This year's Rockets are just the opposite of last year's style of play and that is Yao's type of game.
If we're going by primes T-Mac is a much,much,much better player. There's no debate. If we're going by career, Iverson has a slightly better one due to Mac's injuries Even on one knee last year, T-mac was still the superior player
I believe that if McGrady started his career in Adelman's system he would no doubt be one of the top "all around" - that includes defense, players in the league. He did not however and has subsequently made an attempt to be the next Jordan or it guy. The big difference between Jordan and McGrady is attitude. McGrady is a self-absorbed, egotistical man who hides behind his past accomplishments and tries to use them to manipulate people into thinking that he can still do it. The past 3 years he has done nothing but talk. Each year it is, "I was feeling bad but NOW I FEEL BETTER THAN EVER!!! I'm gonna come back and show you ALL wrong!!!" I live in Florida now and I work with a man who has followed local middle school through professional sports for 40+ years. Auburndale is 10 minutes away from where he lives and about 20 from me. He told me some pretty interesting stuff about Tracy McGrady that some of you may know but some of you may not. The one thing I'll mention is that in High School he was put up on such a pedestal for his athletic abilities and was so full of himself that he slapped his teacher in the face in front of his class when she told him to behave himself. He was going to go to Juvi and be expelled but since he was such a great athlete it was worked out that he go to the Christian Academy and finish school there. He went straight from there to the NBA. McGrady has always had an immature perspective of who he is and what his role is. He was a spoiled child and is still a spoiled adult. The man has had it way too easy on him because people like many on this board make excuses for him. Let the guy grow up.
I don't think there has to be an odd-man out... First, let's take a look at MPG: We can't have Ariza, Brooks, and Battier continue to play more than 35 minutes. Especially, since we're 'runnin n gunnin'. I believe that Tracy can start over Battier or Ariza and play about 25-30 minutes. For positions 1-3, there are 144 minutes total. I believe that because Lowry is playing as good, or close to as good as Brooks, they should split minutes at PG. If Tmac came back effective, we would have a better combo for PG/SG with Brooks(or)Lowry & McGrady. So we could do away with that combo, freeing up some minutes at SG. This leaves 48 minutes for Brooks and Lowry at PG. Now we have 96 minutes for 4 players: Battier, Ariza, Budinger, Tracy.. I still think Budinger is our spark off the bench, so I say he should play around 15 mpg. This leaves us with 81 minutes. 81/3= 27.. Which is reasonable for great role players. If 'I' were Adelman(my opinion), I would first judge it by how McGrady is playing.. Let's say he comes back and plays efficiently. If he's playing well, I would play him 30-40 minutes a game, obviously depending on how close it is. Last night vs the OKC for example, I probably would have played him 30 minutes. Let's average it to 35, which leaves 46 minutes. That's not a lot, but there are many variables in which these numbers can change: INJURIES-- Sound familiar? ~Back to Backs-- Fatigue ~Trades ~Doghouse-- ~McGrady cracking his way into the rotation-- You know Adelman has learned his lesson and won't just let Tracy walk in and start. He's going to make Tracy prove he can play at a higher level than these other guys, and work his way into 30mpg shape. ~etc, etc. After all of my speculation, It would leave us with.. Brooks/Lowry: Splitting 48 minutes at PG Budinger: 15 minutes off the bench at SG, possibly more depending on how he's playing. If he's hot, leave him on the court. You all know Adelman is all for that. McGrady: 30-40 MPG at SG/SF Ariza: 20-25 MPG Battier: 20-25 MPG My logic might be flawed, and if it is, feel free to correct me.
Don't you forget this is the first year that Ariza plays as a significant offensive force. He is doing great so far in developing into an overall player. .42 FG%, .46 3PT%, 4.5 Reb, 4.0 AST, 1.3 STL. He only played 6 formal games with this team. He is getting better as he plays in the new system for him and finds his comfort zone with more time.
Very well said. Of the four player iin Ariza, Shane, the rookie Budinger and Tracy. T-Mac is hands down the better player and the only player on the entire rockets roster outside of Yao that will draw a double and triple team. He's the best playmaker on the entire roster. Objectively the rockets are a much much better team with a healthy Tracy, then without him.
$23 million for this And he still gets more talks than anyone on the team. The team is 4-2 without him. If Morey can land something worthwhile for him, great. If he returns and plays well, great. If he doesn't then keep him out and let insurance cover his salary for as long as possible. When his contract comes off the books forget he was ever on the team.
So everyone's complained about Ariza's defense and his ballhandling skills, but no one thinks a potentially healthy McGrady can take time from him? The great thing about Tmac is that he would fit nicely next Ariza, Battier, and Budinger. He can play with anyone on the wings. Right now, Ariza and Battier seem redundant on the court together. We're faster now without Yao too, but no one thinks having him back would kill our ball movement. It would take ten seconds to get him the ball in the post, but we know we need him.
seriously? what is your definition of shooting poorly. Mcgrady is a pretty decent shooter for a SG./ Career avg's of 436% FG 749% FT and 339% 3P. Is that below avg. This is also counting last year when he was hurt and shot around 38%. He is also a decent defender, He is not a liability on the court if he is healthy.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5469576.html http://www.t-mac.com/tmac/blogDetail/101 That was Jan.19-22, 2008 It has not been the first time he came off the bench.
