Ok so do we give Tmac another year, or shop him this summer?

with tmac, we're at least closer to doing big things than doing what you said in #2.

you have to remember, we're playing with a bunch of injuries and highly undermanned. it isn't like tracy is healthy right now, nor are battier and alston. those are our 3 starters.

 

Trade him now. His value should be higher after this series. And I just don't think another year with this cast is going to make any difference. The big two are to injury prone and just can't stay out there long enough. We have to either add a legit scoring threat to this team, which I don't think we can do contractually. Or, we need to trade TMac for an established talent and a player on the rise.

 

I totally agree about T-Mac playing in the high post. He is lethal from that area. He can easily rise up and shoot over defenders as well as read defenses and make the right pass.

Really an excellent, excellent point, t_mac1.

What T-Mac shouldn't be doing next season is getting the ball way out on the perimeter and trying to dribble around 2 defenders. He just isn't quick enough any more to do that play after play.

Get a good PG that can break down defenses and score more consistently than Alston and let Tracy come off screens or post up high and abuse helpless defenders.

Add Yao into the equation and we will have a dominant low-presence as well.

Battier will be Battier on defense and can go back to the perimeter on offense for kick out 3s.

Meanwhile, Scola should only get better next season with a year under his belt. He will be scrappy on both ends of the court and be a nice compliment to Yao in the frontcourt.

The bottom line is we need that upgraded PG so badly. Look how much D Will does for the Jazz.

Imagine if Williams was our PG and they had Alston. The series completely shifts in our favor.

We are a good PG away from REAL contention next year.

 

Yesterday we saw the difference of a good PG. D Will went straight through Rafer for a dunk, and then next position did a layup as well. It was critical. I think with Mcgrady directing the show at high post and Yao down low we should do well with our starting 5 if we can upgrade the point. Cash in the MLE for someone like Josh Childress and we can bang with anyone

 

I totally agree about needing to upgrade the point but was does Childress have to do with that?

 

Mcgrady is never ****ing healthy!

 

yao's injuries are more of a concern to this organization than tmac's dude.

 

At the end of the day, how much is a player with bad shot selection and a reputation for disappearing when you need him most really worth?

 

we'd need someone off the bench to spark us. Our bench play this playoff has been horrendous. When we turn to someone like Luther Head for points of the bench you know we have problems. If we say pick up a point guard upgrade lets say for example (PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN EXAMPLE) TJ Ford who can score drive and dish, then we would need a 3rd man to come on and be an EFFECTIVE spell for both T-mac and Battier. At the moment the way it cuts. Head is a ridiculous backup. Brooks is a marginal backup. SF has no backup (unless you consider Mcgrady a SF as well) and PF is well covered. We need a swingman off the bench (for the MLE or sign and trade) who can create his own shot, and a PG through a trade (BJAX's contract with Francis contract). I would rate it by importance:

PG
Backup Swing
Backup Center

The way i see it, if Yao goes down any year we have no chance of contending.

 

Thats a really stupid comment, because both Mcgrady and Yao have done not much in the clutch as of late.

 

um, worth more than any other perimeter player except for lebron, kobe, and chris paul.

 

Only because we get rid of T-Mac in 2 years no matter what. You have to ask yourself if T-Mac is worth his average production or like 75% of his production because he misses a quarter of the season. I personally think we have to keep T-Mac because doing anything else will almost surely make us worse, but it is so sad sad sad to have to deal with these facts:

 

I say we keep Tmac. Scola and Landry are only going to get better. Plus we will never get equal value for Tmac...trading him can only make us worse.

 

I hear you and I think your ranking of needs is pretty accurate.

I thought you were saying Childress was our PG solution in your earlier post.

 

I dont like McGrady. He throws people under the bus. He has no heart or passion. Ive never heard anyone say anything good about him. He dissapears all the time. I really hate it when he shows off after one slam he makes after taking like 15 shots that hes just missed. I dont like the fact that I see his laughing on the bench while we are losing.

McGrady is a big sour puss, a loser, a crybaby.

It is a shame that he has all this talent but does not utilize it. He is all about show.

McGrady is all about personal accolades and stuffing his stats even if it takes him a gazillion shots before the wellness of the team.

 

realy? some may argue, that they'll take a player, that stays the same throughout the 4th quarters, and not whither, even if they may be a hair worse than tmac.

some may also argue, that they'll take a player, that steps up during the 4th quarter.

i want to see how this series turn out. tracy quits the next games, then trade him. if he doesn't and lose, it'd be a tough descision for the gm.

 

Certainly, this team cannot get equal value for him but it isn't all about talent IMO. He doesn't fit the personality of this team. This Rockets team is the hardest working group in the league. You cannot find a team with more collective heart than one with Battier, Hayes, Alston, Scola, Landry and, of course, Yao. Now sticking out like a sore thumb amongst this group is our All Star SG. A guy who spends his days making stupid comments in the media, talking about how he prefers baseball to basketball and now second guesses his coach in the media. Oh, I forgot about his dedication to playing defense for 3 plays a game and hoisting jumpers down the stretch of big games.

Does this team become less talented if he is traded? Almost certainly but if this team can get 2 good pieces. Maybe a another SG with some heart or an upgraded PG or a backup C/PF with some size and a mean streak? It has already been proven that everyone else on this team takes a more assertive role minus McGrady so it isn't far fetched to think replacing him with 2 GOOD, rotation players will result in a better overall squad even if the team no longer has a guy who can score 13 in 35. Heck, we might even get a guy who stays in shape and doesn't get tired in big games.

 

Your post is a little over the top, though I agree on some point. I think what you don't get is he can't do what he used to, he can't carry a team anymore. If you see him play now compared to before, he's not the same, he has to try harder now. Hell I don't think he can dunk like he used to either, it's a very telling sign....he's 28 years old, that's supposed to be PRIME TIME for NBA star's.

Plus, the guy talks too much, he seems more about me than the team. I get this feeling he's the kind of guy who will wait for his contract year, have a good season then get a huge contract, then retire. I don't wanna hate on him for that, cause if he can pull it off, more power to him.

I don't think he really cares about the team, rather he seems more about "t-mac". We will never win with this guy on the team, what makes it worse is he's gonna hold Yao Ming back....

 

All the Rockets need is a legit 3rd option behind Yao and McGrady. Scola COULD be the answer but I would prefer a perimeter player. Getting a 3rd scorer on this team would do wonders.

 

I got a real problem with this. I mean like, Mcgrady is setting up these people with free layups, open shots the like. But they are blowing them blowing them flat. You can say all about heart but I think more critical to the Rockets is to workout why we are so horrible at closing games. We are getting decent looks at the basket and we are blowing them flat.

Noone here knows what he does in practice. We can't really comment. The guy is playing with a bung shoulder (thats the truth and you can say how much of a p***y he is but that won't change the fact that his shoulder is hurting. Half the team is banged up too. I just don't get why you can't say the effort ain't there. His leading the rebound count half the time. His defence is as good as his minutes are giving him.