Retrospect of the T-Mac/Yao era(Long Read)

I enjoyed it intensely up until after we got robbed in the Dallas series. Things were never quite the same after that because Yao and Mac were rarely together for prolonged periods of time... and I hated the Utah series we had, for obvious reasons.

 

Good read......the curse of T-Mac (maybe) or the Health and Heart of the Rockets (maybe) or it was just because they were versing Jazz (maybe)......

but if we didnt had tmac.......i cant image how Rockets would be like.....

in my option....(i am confused these years with T-Mac)

 

i have one more thing to say: God Knows everything......if we didnt had T-Mac ...... we couldnt have got Shane Battier and Winning Streak (W22)

 

Even though I lost respect for T-Whack, there were some fun times. 33 seconds and 22 wins were my favorite moments ever (since the championships).

 

hi im new here but,
how did Juwan prevent us from getting Roy??
brief explanation plz

 

Looking back on it and watching old games, I enjoyed it. Back when it was happening I didn't enjoy it or appreciate it enough because we could never get out of the first round. I miss the Juwan Howard, Bob Sura days

 

I would like to just point out that the league was not as strong in the 04-05 season as it is now. Also, I think we would have gotten past the Mavs if Howard was healthy. We had freakin' flyin Ryan guarding Dirk.

I never used to watch all 82 games prior to the T-Mac/Yao era but ever since then I have managed to watch almost all rockets games.

The Rockets are the best franchise Houston has. Lets enjoy it while it lasts.

P.S. Great post OP.

 

I need a "both loved it and hated it" poll option

Strong feelings both ways.

 

What really screwed up the T mac and Yao era was the drafting of Luther Head and bypassing on David Lee. If we had Lee in those Utah series, the j*zz wouldn't of gotten those crucial offensive rebounds at the end of games that were back breakers.

 

Lol, I saw this and I just had to ask.. What does God have to do with a 22 game winning streak?

 

he is saying it rhetorical
don't get OFFENDED and SURPRISED now because he mentioned a higher being

back to the topic - I enjoyed it, Rockets were a winning team for the most of the time and they were respected around the league. They were underachievers and overachievers at the same time because of the injuries

 

2006-2007 Season was our best chance. The League was a little watered down as far as elite teams-with the Mavs having the best record and losing in the first round. No Celtics yet and no Lakers with Gasol. Also the Spurs won it all and the Pistons were good, but both teams were still not as good as previous years.

I disagree with your comments about Yao working into the line up at the end of the season when he came back. He was no where near the same player from the first half of the season. The first half of 2006-2007- Yao was the best he has ever looked. Better than Dwight Howard now or any center back in 2006-2007. JVG's crew had him in a superstar dominant status in 2006 (First 2 months). Right before he got injured, I saw him play against the Spurs in San Antonio during the Christmas holidays(we didn't even have T-mac). He dominated Tim Duncan on both ends of the court and we easily beat the Spurs on their homecourt.

If only Yao had stayed Healthy that year I think that would have been our best chance at a championship. We would have been a top 3 seed and could have beaten Utah, San Antonio or Dallas if Yao was playing at the same level. And no one in the east could have even hung with us that year.

The Bad Luck continued last year too. I'm one of those peole who thinks we could have beaten the Lakers if Yao nor Deke got hurt. We needed both, but that would have got it done.

 

That's a sad era.

You had TMAC and Yao, good all star players.
but you gave them JVG and Rafer, the worst coach&GM and worst PG.


in the end, TMAC did not even get past first round

 

Basically, it was Yao and TMac were good while the team sucked.

Then the team got good, and Yao and TMac went missing.


That's how it went. Sucks, but that's basketball. Right place, right time.

 

Meh,

I don't see how you can say "I find it sad that no one really gave them credit for pulling the Rockets out of the "dark years" following Hakeem/Barkley/Clyde's departures. And that despite team playoff woes, at least the Rockets became competitive again."

The Rockets advanced further with Hakeem/Barkley/Clyde's than they did with Tracy/Yao so I don't know how you get that the Tracy/Yao era pulled the Rockets out of the "Dark Ages". That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?
Yao and Tracy didn't even advance further than what The Stevie era did. Yao did but Tracy did not.

"And also that I had more to look forward to than dribble dribble dribble dribble... During Stevie years I watched the Rockets because I loved basketball and rooted for my team. Now, I watch the Rockets because I WANT to watch them."

Quite the opposite for me during the Stevie years I watched the Rockets because I loved my team and I loved to watch a player that loved his city and leave it all on the table night in and night out.

The last couple of years we're never the same, Tracy made my stomach curl as I realized how lazy, self-centered and a me player he was. IMO the the "Dark Ages" were the years Tracy was here.

"Overall, I loved the 4 years as a Rockets fan. And I loved both T-Mac and Yao. Ultimately they were let-downs, but the journey was incredible every year save 2005-2006. And looking back, the most depressing thing was that the convergence of Morey and T-Mac/Yao's prime could not happen. That during their primes, Yao and T-Mac could only serve as cornerstone for the likes of old Juwan, Rafer, Wesley, Padgett, Bowen, Weatherspoon, Mark Jackson, and so many other mediocrities that can't pull their own weight."

I here you as far as role players, but I don't here you saying anything about Yao being "green", or the role players that the Stevie/Yao era had.

All this is besides the point and we can't change anything. All I know is finally Tracy is gone!!!!!

 

Not like we missed the playoffs for four years in a row and then got swept the following or anything. Basic reading comprehension will tell you that he said after Hakeem/Barkley/Clyde left, not while they were here.

You can argue that technically, Tracy/Yao didn't do anything more than Stevie/Yao, and you'd be right. However, the former actually had a legitimate chance and were competitive, whereas the latter got swept in their only playoff appearance.

 

Sounds like someone needs to take of their TMac glasses.

I think the OP is a very reasonable synopsis of what happened.




The '05 Mavs series will forever live in Rockets infamy, but it was quality entertainment. I can't quite say the same for the Jazz series.

Overall I really enjoyed the 4 years, despite the bitterness. Am I glad it's over? Definitely. People will revise history and say that we overrated ourselves but I don't think any of the teams were overrated; rather I think Rockets fans had very reasonable expectations that fate always managed to destroy.

 

the tmac/yao era is like an honor student who got addicted to crack.

 

Good read.

I definitely did enjoy the era. Granted there were many disappointments, it brought life back to Houston Rockets basketball.