It's more than him smiling when his team is losing. There's a list of things, and smiling when losing is just one thing on that list. And it's just one of the many things about this "superstar" that just doesn't add up to him or his team taking the next step.
Even though this thread is about him smiling while the team is losing could u actually list those things that are not adding up? I mean im sure the guy wants the championship just as much as we do and infinitely more because of the situation he is at, especially never passing the first round of the playoffs. This is the regular season and only the start of it, great players will step up when it counts and i trust you wont be seeing mcgrady smiling in the playoffs when he is trailing. And i hope you arent blaming the playoffs on him last year cuz as you know he was amazing and only him. No bench, no help from yao, no role players, he did everything he could. Lets not criticize the guy just yet, wait till the playoffs roll in and then we can talk about his leadership and taking this team deep.
Disclaimer so my words don't get twisted: I love the guy's game. I love his talent. I hope as much as or more than anybody that he can take his game and his team to the next level. But think about these things he DOESN'T do that he COULD do to really boost the team's morale and get the other guys to follow his lead. We all know your team goes as your best player goes, and McGrady is no different for the Rockets. So here we go: 1. Smiling when you're losing or after you've lost. 2. Not sitting with his team on the bench when he doesn't play. Imagine if he was like Deke, genuinely cheering his guys on. 3. When he's getting his rest, he he doesn't give his teammates the time of day. He doesn't look in to the game. When his teammates score, he doesn't clap. When a great play happens and he's on the bench, you barely get a golf clap out of him. 4. When he's on the court, he hardly ever talks to his teammates. Imagine if he was actually out there directing traffic. Imagine if he did things like huddle the guys up at dead balls to talk about what's going on, etc. 5. He doesn't give a consistent effort. He loafs on the defensive end throughout most of the game. He doesn't hustle or get his hands dirty There's plenty more I'm sure, but that's 5 things off the top of my head. I'm not tryin to hate on the guy, cause he's an elite player. But your team follows the example set by your stars. Pawn it off on him quiet or whatever you want to, but all I'm saying is - just think about how the team would respond if he did just one or two of these things.
got some good points there, he does tend to get lazy on defense and hes not necessarily Deke on the bench either. on the other hand tmac doesnt get enough time on the bench as it is and most of the time the team aint doing spectacular without him and he is usually pooped from doing all the work. And also we cant really say he doesnt talk to his teammates in huddles because we arent listening on every single huddle they get into. All I am saying is Tmac WILL step up his game when it counts and all this your talking about will come into effect more towards the playoffs, you can count on it. It would be nice if he was like this in the regular season, no doubt.
I agree with your post. He is an amazing player but a horrible leader. And I know he doesn't have to be the leader but when you are the teams best player you are automatically someone that everyone takes after. Sadly I could name many other similar things that he does that people don't realize. If you think that the things above are stupid , then you must be a blind tmac fan. If people on a message board see these things , you gotta believe it affects his teammates.
Thank you for summing up what I tried but failed to say. I believe in Tmac, but I just expect better leadership from him. Maybe my standards are unfair and set to high....
I just think its funny that there are so many posts that are saying he has no heart because he smiles during games... Not everyone has the same demeanor while playing. Who says you've got to have a terminator look on your face to mean you are playing hard.. or rather, "with heart"? That's ridiculous. PLUS, its not like he is out there frickin' horsing around, pantsing people. An occasional smile.. geez, give me a break.
I agree, but the smile is not what frustrates me about Tmac's play..... or his offense for that matter..... I just want Mac to get Nasty!
I'll add one more. 6, when there are like 4 or 3 seconds to go to end the first half, scores were close and Tmac has the ball in our back court, he just holds it to wait the time pass by, instead of trying to make a last shot from middle court. What is worse is that now Head does it too. I am definitely sure Head copied it from Tmac. Oh, God, I hate it with strong passion.
When you make $20 million a year and more in one game than most people could dream of making annually...I'd say it's fair to have high standards for the guy. He's an unbelievable talent, no question about it. But we've seen enough of him to know that he plays and does those things only when he feels like it. And that's another problem I have with him. You can talk about how he'll start to turn it on once the playoffs come around...and I'd tend to agree. He says it every year..."it's that time of year" or "I'm gonna bring it from here on out" etc. But what about right now? Every game is precious. Mark my words...these losses to the Sacramentos and Memphises of the league will come back to haunt the Rockets. And if he brought it every night like he should and like he gets paid to do, this team probably isn't stuck in middle of the pack in the Western Conference, and that probably elevates the Rockets to a top 3 seed. Maybe they could position themselves that way right now instead of waiting til after the All-Star break and relying on turning it on, which is risky at best. Champions don't do this. Superstars don't do this.
Man, I really hate Rafer Alston went for a dump when he should be on the floor. Just calculate how much the rockets paid for his dump.
Who the hell cares how Tmac expresses himself during a game!!!??? This aint a damn communist country where you are told what to think. I'd rather him enjoy being out on the court than being miserable all season (2005-2006 considered retirement because of personal unhappiness). I'm glad to see a pleasantly happy superstar in Houston. You expect these players, who are still human, to play the game like robots, even though they are away from their families constantly for 7 months of the year, staying in a different room every night, and along with that, have the media all over them wherever they go in public. Being an NBA superstar is not the easiest thing to deal with mentally, especially for players that have been in the league 10 years like Tmac. Hell, when I travel, it takes me a few hours to recover from jet lag, how the hell do you go out and perform on the road on a night to night basis when you have to deal with that much bs everyday? If Tmac can still smile through all of that, then I have no problem with that, I give my props to Tmac for thinking positive instead of negative. And don't use the money as an exuse, because that alone won't make anybody happy. If that were the case, you wouldn't see so many f****ed up celebrities and sports stars today. If this were the playoffs, then I would be one to be somewhat critical of him if he showed now heart or fire, but EVERY year Tmac has been in the Playoffs, he has performed with heart and passion. Its never been his fault that the teams he's been on have lost. He does everything he can in the playoffs, just look at the stats. But this is a regular season game, so who cares? He's human, let him have some fun playing this GAME. And to let the people who started this dumb thread know, Tmac looked pretty damn pissed at the end of the game. He just sat in his chair, with an angry stare onto the court for a couple of minutes, before he finally went to the locker room. Believe me, he hates losing. Before yall say anything, try playing a game of pick up ball after travelling as much as NBA players do, and see how easy it would be to drop 40 against Artest.
I get your point, but how much more do you want McGrady to do last night against Ron Artest? Drop 81 like Kobe did? Just cuz he's having fun out there doesn't mean he should be scrutinized for that. Sure every game is important, but yall know how fragile McGrady's body is. He has to pace himself during the season so he'll have enough when it really counts. Thats one of the reasons why he chose to come to the Rockets in the first place, so that he wouldn't have to score 40 a night to give his team a "chance" of winning. Personally I don't want him to burn out like he did at the end of last year in the playoffs. He had to do EVERYTHING for this team last year, and it caught up to him. That time Yao was out helped tmac step up his game, but wore him out in the process. Let Tmac play the way he has to play; he knows his body better than any of us do. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. McGrady got of to a good start, now its about pacing tmac pacing himself and staying constant.
Also, the T-Mac doesn't lead bullsh*t needs to stop. He steps up for his teammates and he leads in almost every way imagineable. Just because we are fans who don't see everything, it's hard to see sometimes how people lead. T-Mac takes people to the side in huddles and tells them what to do. He directs traffic. Yeah he doesn't cheerlead like Ronny Turiaf or fondle his teammates after good plays, but the recognition and appreciation is there. He took a bunch of criticism last year by saying "It's on me". I think that should have taken the pressure off his teammates. T-Mac took a lot of blame for the loss (he deserves blame, but not as much as he got) because of that. All because his teammates wouldn't have to worry so much. All they had to do was show up and play. He doesn't say the smartest things, but he's got his teammates back. "I will make Stro an All-Star" read that again, it's not "I expect Stro to play at an All-Star level", it's "I, me MYSELF, will make Stro and All-Star." Dumb comment? Yeah. Took pressure of STro? Yeah. "I have more talent now than ever before" Dumb comment? Yeah. Proved he believes in his team? YEah. All I gotta say is who is the one who wouldn't take **** from a scrub like Nick Collison when he took down Yao last year?
believe me,guys,even T-mac didnt smile on the cournt,somone always can find something to blame on him or yao.they didnt care about players' attitude only when the rockets won the game.
Is that you Tracy? {On a side note} Some nights (when Tracy feels like it) He will get gritty and get down and play defense, but it is way too often where Tracy just stands perfectly straight up on D and watches everyone else play, He then proceeds to walk Rafer up the court before taking the ball to shoot his jumpers or try to make the Home Run pass. (Do you notice how mad he gets when his teammates turn down his initial pass for a shot.) I cannot stand the 1-pass/shot offense we have been getting accustomed to as of late..... But then again, I will admit I am comparing him to the likes of Michael and Dream because I strongly believe he has the ability to be that type of leader (13 in 33). Tmac's next and last obstacle as a player is one that all truly great players must take, Does he have it in him? I really,really hope so Again, maybe I set the bar to high........
I don't disagree with anything you say. Again, he's a fabulous talent. What we're talking about though requires no effort at all. It's the stuff beyond the game, little things like acknowledging your teammates. They're not losing because he isn't doing these little things. But imagine the morale boost if he was on the bench cheering like Deke instead of struggling to get a golf clap out of him in his throne of his on the bench.
Tmac has the right attitude and spirit. Smiling in the face of adveristy is a strong indicator and expression of wisdom, courage and true manhood. Always smile, always confident and always victorious!
