TMAC is not "entering his prime" he is about to leave his prime. Pretty soon he will probably have to be like R. Horry and only go all out during the playoffs. Its obvious he is not as explosive as he used to be. Yes he is 26 but this is also his ninth year. Obviously we won't trade him but if we want to be a contender for th next 5 years we have to deal with his contract. Its just a fact. And it has nothing to do with his current slump and everything to do with his back.
Support! I am not worry about TM's state at all. Maybe it is caused by his back or he is just too tired to take care of his new-born baby . He needs some adjustment but I don't see any problem with him. Our TM will be back soon. Actually, as long as TM is on the court, our team benefits from his presence even he is totally off.
Agreed. Don't you guys seem to recall when the game was starting to slip away with T-Mac on the bench and Yao trying to carry the team? What was done? They put McGrady in. Why? b/c he DEMANDS a doubleteam. And what does that do? Leaves SOMEONE open, takes pressure off Yao, etc. etc...it's a domino effect. T-mac affects a game in so many ways, even when he has a horrible shooting night. And to those asking for him to rest his back, unless I'm mistaken, the diagnosis is resting it does nothing. it's chronic, you can't avoid it, you can only hope he won't move a certain way to make him get hurt. You play through it basically is my understanding. Is that even right?
That's the way I understand it. TMac has said all year long that resting it doesn't do anything but make more stiff. He's just going to have to play through it. His back is on again, off again. Right now, it appears to be off again but I really don't think it's anything to panic about. Sure, we would all prefer he be 100% all the time, but that's not going to happen this year. Remember, the guy was carried off the court on a stretcher against Denver, then came back a week later and dropped in 35,42,41, and 29 points respectivley on the next 4 opponents.
I think I know that guy Man, I had some friends at that game, and they said it was horrible how T-Mac was yelling in pain Amazing he could come from that and have games like he did. It's a shooting slump he's in...everyone goes through them, except he has to go through it with double teams. The slump could be b/c of a tight back, but the fact still remains that he makes a difference when he is simply on the court.
Clyde was also well past his prime when the Rockets won it all in '95. We just need T-Mac to be at Clyde's level for the next few seasons, which will be quite possible if we rest him now, don't ask him to carry the team on his bad back, and most of all, fire Gundy for grossly exploiting his best players.
Someone else mentioned this before, and I was too busy to reply. I can't let it go this time though. You can never completely shake a bad back, true; and it can flare up at any time no matter what you do, also true. But resting it helps a lot. A month of relaxation will make T-Mac a new man. If he then takes care not to abuse it, he will be good to go for years to come.
So there are a few fans left . Back spasms happen with over-stress. Not a back disfunction. A little rest this offseason and he'll be good to go. People should be praising the fact that he could average 38 ppg for like 11 games this season and OH YEAH that 5 game winning streak which he was doing good and OH YEAH we are winless without him. EDIT: he'll not be completely back spasm free, but it probably won't happen again unless he abuses it too hard. Players get back spasms all the time, then they rest it out a little, and they are fine. I've had back spasms myself, i know.
An NBA players prime doesn't have to do with phsyicality 100% Your prime would be your most mix of atheltic ability with skill. T-Mac is not as athletic as he once was, but he's not on crutches. He can still handle the grind, and i guarantee you he'll be better come next season. He needs some rest, he was born with a back disfucntion, but it's only exploited when we works too much.
so a guy with a tempermental back has a bad game....let's trade him for second round picks and expiring contracts....some of ya'll are just flat out idiots. tmac just needs to rest his back. that means no basketball just rehab, massage, etc. for a couple of weeks and he should be fine. it's a muscular thing witch means you just need rest, stretchand rehab. stop overreacting people.
I think he has already entered that skill side of his game. Remember when he used to take it to the hole all the time? Dream was probably BETTER during his skill phase because of all the new moves he had in the bag, even though he lost SOME blocking ability. TMAC now has incredible outside shots (360s OH MY GOD!) but beating someone off the dribble and dunking on them will be reserved for the playoffs.
Constructive criticism is acceptable. However, fans who advocate pointless hating on T-Mac need to go fsck themselves.
Bottom line is, Tmac has to play better than he has been recently. Obviously, he can. But if his back problem, or whatever the problem is, doesn't allow it, we're screwed. On the other hand, if he returns to form, we're in good shape.
His poor shooting is NOTHING, but his attitude against NY's game is scary... after he shoots airballs after airballs.. it happens, it's normal, it's understandable, but why the hell he continues taking those out of rhythm, weird looking shots.. what he should do at that point is : stop shooting, play some good defense, and go home get a good sleep and come next day get his touch back in the practice.. instead he keeps jacking up bricks, completely ruined the game plan and execution.. almost cost us the game... Like I said, his shooting slump is my least worry, but his attitude, man, i dont know what to say..
To make you guys feel any better, every super-star in the league gets a bad rap when season are going bad or when thing not going the way you wanted to. Kobe got an earfull from his fan last year in the Lakers forum, hell fans in the Wolves forum wanted KG traded! Now that I think about it, all of this negativity will only feul T-Mac just as it did last year from the 1-20 start with the magic and he finished the season strong with the Rockets. It can't get any worst then this and can only go up. So, you guys can just keep talking smack about T-Mac's issues/health...but please in God's name, don't jump back on the bandwagon once T-Mac get himself straight and play at the level he's capable of.
TMAC got all the talent but plays no passion. YAO plays with passion but lack of ability. our two stars
Ive seen every Rocket game this year and you would be crazy to say that he has not reached his prime. Its a brutal truth that sucks when realized but Tmac has taken a step down in his game. Yes he can still be dominant because of his heighth and silky jumpshot but he is not close to the same type of player he was in orlando. When he led the league in scoring he took to the basket every other time and rarely shot threes from 2,3,4 ft out. And Orlando had even worse role players than this years injured Rockets. If its his back or not, he has not played like he could be playing. We knew he had a messed up back going into the SF3 trade so Tmac should not get a full pardon for missing games.We need Tmac,but he is unreliable. Its tough to back someone you cant rely on.
