Dude, stop deluding yourself! The t-mac haters on this board nowhere near represent the full demographics of t-mac fans. Exhibit A: All the people who were so sure he would "never wear a Rockets uniform again". uh huh. Exhibit B: T-mac will definitely get some booos. We all hate him. He let down houston. What does he get? A standing ovation. uh huh.
Make it four. Joining this forum when TMac came back doesn't give you much credence. TMac doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt. He chose his own path. He ruined his reputation. He alienated his team and teammates.
After following his first six games back, I thought McGrady played well enough to continue to "earn" at least 7 minutes, and maybe even a few in the second half. I don't see how Taylor - a rookie who had not previously played any meaningful minutes - is really a better alternative with Budinger out. I wish Adelman was more specific and concrete about what he expected McGrady to do or how he needed to change. It doesn't sound like there's enough communication between them about that.
There is plenty of communication, the issue is that Tracy does not like what he is being told, and is pouting about it. Do you honestly think that Rick did not tell him EXACTLY what he wanted to see, and then when Tracy asked to have his minutes increased and Rick said no.....that there was no explanation as to why? Come on, Rick Adelman played Ron Artest and Bonzi Wells... the guy is a players coach. I can say with 100% certainty that he is not the problem in this whole situation. DD
Seems to me Adelman is making a lot of mistakes in handling this. The whole should playing time be earned question is BS rhetoric. I didn't realize that microfracture surgery causes one to magically become a lockdown defender. McGrady's effort has been there, and he's playing about as well as he normally did on defense. The point is what will lead to the most success THIS season. That obviously is to try to get McGrady back to playing at a high level. There's no greater upside to the Rockets THIS season than that. Ariza is playing way too many minutes, so there's more room to ramp McGrady up. Adelman's big mistake to me was setting this magical, arbitrary 8 minutes a game rule. Declare less rules and leave yourself more flexibility to adjust without looking like you're out of control. Jermaine Taylor is not good. Ariza might play better with more rest.
I could see your unlimited minutes agenda, makes some sense, but Adelman had the same thing with Webber and he let him play too many minutes too soon and it bit him in the end. I think Rick Adelman and Daryl Morey are more trustworthy in this whole thing than the player who is desperate for a new contract. And, the flaw in your argument is that you believe Tmac will eventually get back to full health, when he just may never get there, ever...and if the team has made that choice because of the risk, and doesn't want him here next year, then they have no reason to play him at all.... DD
So this situation is: 1)RA being "nice" to Tracy and protecting him from injury for his own good 2)RA being "mean" to Tracy but only to teach him to play nice with the other kids and not be stuck up 3)RA just wanting to get Tracy away from him as soon as possible because he and the rest of the Rockets hate his guts 4) etc. etc. all at once?
Well I would hope there is communication between Adelman and McGrady, but I don't take it as a given. Adelman is human and there were too many reports before of McGrady saying he didn't get an explanation from the coach. Also, from Feigen's article: "McGrady said neither he nor his representatives have asked for his playing time to increase, beyond his answers to questions after the game in Orlando on Wednesday." In other words, there's no evidence that the conversation you (and I to at first) assume took place between Adelman and McGrady actually happened. For all we know, Adelman could've made his decision by what he believed McGrady was feeling. Maybe he heard about McGrady's recent interviews, assumed the worst and jumped the gun. Who knows. Most of these interpersonal tensions occur due to assumptions and lack of communication/verification, and it's usually not one-sided. Anyway, there's not enough info to say with 100% certainty one way or the other. On the other hand, I would have liked to have seen McGrady travel with the team over the weekend even after receiving a few DNP-CDs - rise above personal differences and show his support for his teammates. But it's easy to say this when I'm not the one having to do it.
You are sticking up way too much for Adelman in this situation. What does playing Artest and Bonzi have to do with anything. Every coach that has had Artest has played him. He has never played less then 29 min per game in a season. It has nothing to do with Adelman being a players coach. Same goes for Bonzi. When Adelman coached him, Bonzi was a mismatch nightmare. He was the best option Adelman had at that position so he played him. As for Adelman not being the problem at all, I disagree with you. Tmac was wrong to do what he did last season. Clearly Adelman was pissed by it and is holding a grudge. Tmac was childish last year, but Adelman is being the same this year. Im not saying Tmac deserves 30 min a game. But in games where Chase is out and Ariza is stinking it up, he should get some extra time simply because he offers a potentially better option. We can disagree on the health of Tmac. Is he ready or is he not, only more time on the court can tell. But you slam Tmac all the time for being a so called PR machine, but that is exactly what the Rox are being right now. To say they are somehow protecting him from his injury is crap. To say they have no intention of trading him is crap. I dont think Tmac has ever deserved sympathy during his time on the Rox, but in this case I do think he has reason to complain. Say what you want about Yao. Clearly Im a big fan of his. But you know he and the fans here would be going crazy if he only played 6-8 min a game to start next season.
That depends......if he is trying to fit in, as he says, then he should be quiet work hard and his minutes would undoubtadly go up as he gets healthy. However, if he really is trying to force the issue and get traded.....then I really do not blame him for doing whatever is in his own best interests...... It is his career.....and he needs a new contract. Yeah but I would bet Yao has the good sense not to complain to the media. Tracy's biggest problem is the way he goes to the media to air his greivences. It is like Yahoo is one big Festivus pole for Tracy McGrady. DD
I remember commentary during an Astros game years ago, them saying in the old days in baseball that everyone earned their time onto the club, no guarantees. As in, Ted Williams and Joe Dimaggio werent going to just waltz in into spring training and get handed their job. Now its letting guys on the bench jog around in the outfield while the game's being played, only a few spots up for grabs and veterans kinda coasting on through. Whether you believe that or not or want to compare to present day NBA, having the big guaranteed contracts can lock some players onto the team, make the organization feel compelled to play them to get their moneys worth, and the players can go through the motions See I Told You So is the gasoline to the internet engine.
Another Tracy thread again? I'll speak my peace and leave. Of course playing time should be earned or a player coming off injury should have to show progress. Looking from the outside, I think mcgrady has been ok, not bad not great. To say with chase being down and ariza playing way more than he's ever played and there aren't minutes is foolish to me. Its not about a new contract or anything else as much as it is in those limited minutes, he played within the offense. Thats something you said he wouldn't or couldn't do DD. Of course on defense he's not going to be tracy of 04 and thats expected, but he's getting stronger each game. Now i can also understand adelman saying trying to mix him in has challenges, but as of right now, battier nor ariza should be playing more than 32 mins a night. This whole theory of playing him 7 mins no matter how he's playing is crazy, but if thats the way adelman wants it, tracy just needs to do it. I still cant understand why they don't just get rid of the situation period. Its really dumb on both ends how the whole situation is being handled. I mean get what you can and move on already.
Here, I'll try again: 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.
