Should playing time be earned?

Just because the Rockets agree with you does not mean it's right I didn't know what ever the rockets organization did was written in stone to be correct. I know you love the Rockets, but common man fans always have gripes with the upper management to their favorite teams.

 

DD, I'd really love to know why you think Taylor has earned more minutes than McGrady? I've tried to reply to you twice in this thread, and you've replied to everyone except me. I just really want to know, because that's almost a borderline absurd statement.

 

HAHA why would that shock you DD already admitted that he makes absurd statements.

 

He sure is doing better than Taylor when he's not healthy, though.

The fact that you think that Jermaine Taylor has earned more minutes than Tmac, or would be a better fit or choice for this team and franchise, is testament to your idiocy and bias.

I can't take your opinion seriously. I don't see how anyone can.

Please stop acting like a pompous child and offer some insight into your opinions if you are going to run around yelling them all over the board as if they were the words of God himself.

Your opinion is not that important, and your biases are not always correct. Please stop talking like your opinion is Gospel, if you want to have debates then make solid points and stop spewing things like "Tmac is terrible he has no future with this franchise," because there is NO WAY that you could possibly know that.

The management of this team has publicly stated that there have been no trade talks involving Mcgrady, and I'd certainly be more inclined to believe them than some pimply faced teenager on a message board who thinks there is a conspiracy behind every quote and plotting behind the doors.

 

Sometimes you point out the absurd by being absurd yourself, it is the only thing that insane people will understand.



DD

 

Lol okay, so we're going to let a talentless nobody have minutes over a former all-star who sells tickets and is popular throughout the world, and also happens to be putting out better numbers in a more limited, strict playtime.

THAT sounds like a great plan.

 

I was kinda hoping for more than one of your one liners. What exactly can you prove to show that he plays harder on both ends? He hasn't shown enough production either offensively, or defensively in the same amount of minutes McGrady has played.

 

No, my argument is that even though he is struggling he is still outputting a superior performance.

And yes, your bias is incredible. The fact that you'd rather play a nobody over someone who is putting out better numbers just because you don't like him is evidence of your bias.

 

Oh ya what else can you predict for us Nostradamus can you tell me what stocks to buy for Monday morning?

 

His point was that Tmac is doing better than those others players but you'd rather not play him because he is Tmac.

Can I ask you an honest question, DD? Would you rather the team won a championship with Mcgrady leading the way or would you rather we finish at 9th place in our division without Tmac on the team?

 

Don't say ridiculous statements I know how the story ends thats such an ignorant thing too say.

 

Dadakota,

Your point is weak to say the least. Your poll polarizes everyone's opinion. The reality is that the answer is so smack dab in the middle that such a poll is meaningless. The answer is "it depends on the situation".

You want to talk bottom lines? If T-mac wants to prove himself to you. The only way to do so is by being in game shape. There is no other way to get into game shape than actually playing an NBA game (any coach/player/commentator/average observer can corroborate this). T-Mac can get into 7-minute game shape - and that's what he did against the Clippers. For T-Mac to make a real difference, he needs a few consecutive 20-min games. That's the bottom line. I don't disagree with you that those minutes are hard to find right now. But as a person, he deserves it. At the same time, the Rockets have to stick to their new business plan. No one is wrong. No one is to blame. It is just a matter of bad timing. If Battier was traded for a big man, T-mac would come into the line up easily.

For the coach, the problem is that he made a promise to the team: if you do "this", you will win. He kept that promise and they kept their promise. T-Mac was not with the group at the time. So this becomes extremely frustrating for him.

More importantly is what a player can show in 7 minutes. First of all, there are different types of players. Some produce quickly then run out of steam. Some are very consistent. Others are less consistent. That's why some people can come into the game despite being cold and heat up. A good example of this is Flip Murray or Chris Andersen or Earl Boykins. These people can come in and do some damage quickly before running out of steam.

There are others who just can't come off the bench cold and catch fire. T-Mac (and Hakeem O-freakin-lajuwon in case you don't recall) are the kind of players which can't just get hot in 7 minutes. They take their time over the season as well as over each game.

So two points here:

1) If you consider last year to be a poor sample, then you do not have a decent basis by which to judge T-Mac. Once he is in game shape, make your judgement.

2) Some players can produce in short stints. Some can not. This is not a necessarily desirable quality. It is just by random chance that some players have it and others don't. Generally speaking, star players don't seem to have this quality very often. This is the case with T-Mac.

Also, it's important to establish a relevant information set regarding T-mac's history. It's difficult to discuss when different posters pick and choose what is relevant from his past and what is not. There needs to be a consistent approach. IMO, T-Mac has done nothing wrong but being horriffic at handling media. As a person he's not unique in any way when compared to other stars. This year, he has improved and has shown a willingness to learn. As far as I'm concerned, he's earned the minutes. Once they become available, he should get them. They just aren't available right now because Ariza deserves to work on his game and Budinger has been excellent.

In any case, T-Mac will open a lot of people's eyes by the end of this season and it will be due to stellar performance rather than bad PR. Whoever he is playing for by then. I hope it's us.

Adelman hopes it's us too. He knows this team can't make it without a star halfcourt player in the playoffs. He knoes how McGrady's passing can make Brooks more potent. Battier more useful. Ariza less defended. All of the above.

He needs to shake the rust off. I hope he keeps taking the 7 minutes and I hope the staff keep increasing it till he's at 20 minutes. Then they can decide whether he can contribute or not.

 

Here's where you and I differ.

I want our team to be successful and give minutes to the players who are (in the process of) proving they can help the team win.

You're so dead set on seeing Tmac leave ship that you don't care whether or not he can contribute to our team now and instead concentrate that last year he made a few stupid mistakes and was too injured to play.

I want the Tmac that can provide an offensive force and go to guy for our team throughout the games and season. You want Tmac gone at all costs.