Wow, those stats really show how off T-Mac is. IIRC, he's usually top 10 in the league in 2PT jumper %.
Its not a waste of time, he obviously needs the repetition. How many times have you seen him dunk the ball with authority this season. It's such an easy shot that it almost looks as if it has to be re-taught to the guy.
I think if Yao was under the basket uncontested he would throw it down every time. Thats just not going to happen very often especially since hes 7 6 a post up player who is never quicker than his opponent. To dunk the ball you have to get in position to do it first...Getting that close to the rim usually takes a quick/explosive step to the basket..Landry does it all the time, but Yao does not have the explosiveness of carl landry nor does he have the brute strength of a shaquille oneal. He is more like Tim Duncan who can make a bunch of different shots off the post up.
Here's an update of our marksmanship: PG: Rafer Alston - Ranked 26th out of 26 (dead last) SG: Tracy McGrady - Ranked 23rd out of 23 (dead last) SF: Ron Artest - Ranked 25th out of 25 (dead last) PF: Luis Scola - Ranked 12th out of 27 (middle of the pack) C: Yao Ming - Ranked 11th out of 19 (middle of the pack) See for yourself at espn.go.com. Click on stats and FG% and do the comparison yourself. Now once again, why is it mysterious that we lose to bad teams? The players who take the most shots on the team are (in order): Artest TMac Yao Alston Does anyone wonder why we are near the bottom of the league when it comes to offensive efficiency? I'm sorry, this does not feel like a playoff team let alone a championship contender right now.
LOL, so now we don't even look like a playoff team. How many times does this team have to prove you wrong for you to think twice?
I'd love to be proven wrong. When we were 6-1 last year, it didn't feel right. During the depths of the first half of the season last year, I was absolutely right (I even predicted something like 80% of the results ... mostly losses). The amazing 22 game win streak proved that I was ultimately wrong about the Rockets easily made the playoffs. This year, I'd love to be proven wrong again. Given the 9 teams in contention in the West, I think we are the among the 2 or 3 weakest.
Yes, even when we get all our players back. Artest is playing well on the defensive end but is hurting us offensively. Barry hasn't played well at all. A healthy TMac is no longer a top player; worse of all, he is not at all efficient.
we are also the 2nd worst shooting team in the league now at 43.1%. we are only .4 behind minnesota to take over the lead for worst shooting team in the league! GO ROCKETS!
Law of averages baby! Artest wouldn't hurt us as much with his shot selection if we were healthier. Remember that he would come off the bench if we were healthy. Barry will be productive when it matters. Let him rest his thumb issues or whatever he's dealing with. How efficient was T-Mac last year? I can tell you his efficiency wasn't the reason why we went on a streak. We shouldn't need him to be a top player anymore. That was the whole point of Morey's moves.
I just can't take 2pt percentages seriously at this stage of the season given the injuries our guys have had to go through. Rafer missing training camp, T-Mac's knee, Ron's ankle, Yao's surgery, Battier's foot ... the only starter who is close to 100% is Scola. This is a temporary situation at best. Here's something I find more significant: T-Mac's defensive numbers have improved *considerably* this season compared to previous seasons. So even though the knee has impacted his offensive game significantly, he has still been busting his chops on the defensive end. I also find it significant that despite his poor individual field goal percentage, Ron Artest has impacted the team significantly on both ends of the court, and has the second highest adjusted on/off stats on the team after Yao Ming. I think this team is significantly better than it looks right now. We'll probably have to wait until February to start seeing the results, but this team will be dominant. Maybe not as dominant as the Celtics and Cavaliers have been, but they will be dominant.
Are we watching the same T-Slack here? I've seen him moving super slow on rotations, rarely challenging shooters, and forget about getting back on a fast break.
By the numbers, he has actually been better this year. He's still not close to how good he could be if healthy and active, but the signs point to the fact that he has been displaying more effort on defense than he usually does.
Agreed. As long as we are winning, I could care less about our 2pt jump shooting %. The bottom line is what matters in the end.
Here are some numbers for those who don't believe that T-Mac has been better defensively this year: Last year, the Rockets allowed 101.4 points per 100pp with T-Mac on the floor and 100.4 when he was out, with a net of -1 point. This year, the Rockets are allowing just 98.1 with him on the floor and 104.9 with him off, a net of +6.8 points. This is the first time in a long time I can remember seeing T-Mac with a net positive on defense, and it's a pretty significant positive.
Winning is, of course, the only statistic that matters; however, efficiency probably is a better predictor of what *will* happen.
Um as far as I know 2 pt long range jumpers are one of the hardest shots to make whether contested or not. Its also one of the worst shots a player can take since its inferior in every way to taking it strong to the hoop: you don't get fouled, you shoot a lower percentage and yet you get the same 2 pts. That's probably the reason we take so few per game. IMHO it better to ignore it lol.
