T-Mac down in every statistical category since last season

I was going to start a thread talking about tracy, but I decided to speak in this one. If tracy isn't doing this team any favors or not leading this team, how this team plays 68% ball with him minus yao the last 2 season? Maybe u didn't hear me, 68 mutherf*@#@&%g winning clip without the best center in basketball. How do anyone explain that?

If he had more finishers, he easily avg 8 or 9 asst. I mean Hayes, misses at least 3 gimmes a game. Let me say that again Chuck Hayes, how is basically d-league materiel is getting wide open layups and blowing them like linda lovelace.

Yes his numbers are down, but please show me another wing or player right now in the playoffs that has a worse cast around him. You would make it down to Portland which sits at 10.

 

Even Brandon Roy has a tall post threat in Aldridge...

 

Well this is my first post on this board...usually I'm content to just browse around, but I couldn't resist jumping in this conversation.

I honestly think that Tmac is just as capable as he was in his Orlando days (maybe not as flashy, but just as capable). The difference, unfortunately, has been injuries. Consider the fact that since he has been a Rocket, he hasn't made it through a SINGLE season playing all 82 games. If you're a volume scorer and you're constantly on/off the floor battling injuries, your production will drop. Tmac is the kind of guy that is a streaky scorer in all aspects of his offensive game. The swagger/confidence/rhythm or whatever you want to call it can only be established when you're comfortable is an offense over the course of the season. How long did it take Adelman just to solidify our lineup...only to have to experiment with it all over again?

Tmac always has the choice of jacking up 30 shots per night in order to get his 25+ points per game. If he chose to go that route, our role players wouldn't be anywhere close to where they are right now. Which would you rather have...Tmac with glitsy stats and a bunch of teammates always looking to defer to him, or a Tmac with decent numbers and a roster in which 4-5 guys can score in double figures on any given night?

 

I can't believe people are talking down our cast just to support their arguments. Tracy McGrady has a good cast.

He has gone with the flow of the team instead of trying to take the reins of the team when Yao went out. Asserting himself only when necessary. That is a good formula for him because leadership is not his strong suit.

And to the OP, yes his stats are lower than last season, but not by much. He’s doing the best he can … going against teams with more star help than he has and more zone defenses that invite the jump shot. He is not a great shooter. Just accept his gifts for what they are … he is one of the most talented offensive wing players in the NBA that defenses worry about and a volume scorer. Now if you want to get on his FT% or his effort on defense, then all power to you because you would have a point there.

 

perhaps you haven't watched those games where he has to take over for a quarter to get the team above water...

Yes, his stats are down. No, he's not Orlando Tmac, but he actually has carried this team at key times in key situations which led to many wins that we wouldn't have had without him

 

You guys think . . . THE CAVELIERS are More Talented than the ROCKETS??

Look . . I know you guys trying to Prop up Tracy
but
DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO DOG OUT OUR OWN PLAYERS TO DO IT???!?!?!

THEY HAVE WORKED D*MN HARD AND DID D*MN WELL
to have folx *****TING ON THEM TO PROP UP T-MAC

Let Tmac rise and fall on his own merits
don't DOG OUT THE OTHER ROCKETS TO DO IT!


Rocket River

 

Yeah, aside from Rafer's inconsistency and Hayes less than inconsistency at offense, the supporting cast is actually pretty good.

To OP:

But I want to point out a play from the Clipper game:

McGrady is on the weakside wing about 22 feet from the basket. Ball goes from Jackson on the strongside wing at the 3 line to Hayes in the strongside high post. Luther Head, who was stationed on the strong side corner 3 line, moves up as Bobby sets a pick for him. Head goes off Jackson's pick and curls around Hayes and heads straight for the rim. Hayes makes a nice pass(one of his underrated skills) and Head gets an easy layup.

McGrady was a decoy that play. He didnt have to do anything and his team scored 2 points. BUT, you can be sure the Clippers were aware of him the entire possession.

The Rockets got a bucket with a play basically run with Bobby Jackson, Luther Head, and Chuck Hayes. T-Mac's scoring is down because he doenst have to. T-Mac's assists are down because other players in the course of the offense are making the right play.

The only points your argument can stand on is FG% and FT%. You said it yourself he has taken less 3 pointers and I think most on this board would agree that that is a GOOD thing. As for him taking more midrange jumpers and missing more, thats what his role in the offense is. You might also note that he misses ALOT around the rim partly because thats not the best part of his game, and partly because he gets fouled alot on those with no calls. If they call the foul, you dont get a FGA. Your FG% also goes up. That can also help explain why his FTAs are down(though not %).

I realize his drives have dramatically increased lately, but he has usually kept the defense honest by driving some. Its just more apparent in recent games.

 

I reserve any judgement about TMac until the playoffs end.

 

Our supporting cast is not garbage like so many ppl here think. Just that ON PAPER Lebron has a better supporting cast right now. He has 3 former all-stars in Big Z, Ben and Wally. 2 more sharpshooters with West and Gibson. And Joe Smith who is reliable enough to get 10-14pts down low. Problem is Lebron doesn't make them better and guys (esp Ben and Wally) have decided to do what Luther Head did in last year's playoffs. Mike Brown is also a problem, he makes JVG look like Don Nelson on offense. If he ever learns to play Lebron off-ball at least 35-40% that offense will be so much better. Not even Kobe dominates the ball that much. Of course he will get 30,8,7. T-Mac had 32,6,6 doing the same thing with an infintely worse supporting cast.

Problem is Lebron is in T-Mac Orlando mode where he dominates the ball all the time as if his team is garbage. T-Mac Orlando had every reason to do so cause he had NOBODY. There isn't any hope to make this group better. A 300lb Shawn Kemp, Chris Whitney, Jerryl Sasser, Jacque Vaughn, Andrew DeClerq, and a dumb(er) Drew Gooden.

Now we know T-Mac can still give us 40-50 on any given night. But now he knows how to use his teammates(unlike Lebron/Mike Brown) and keep them involved. It's not needed to put up monster numbers(Duncan isn't having routine 20/10 games nowadays either) every nite. As seen so many times, all he needs to do is catch a lil heat when others start flailing like in that Portland game. Once he does that guys can start feeding off it and make big plays down the stretch.

 

I've had proof, but you keep ignoring me. Dude was having his BEST season statistically as a Rocket before he injured his knee against Dallas...24/6/5 on 45% shooting. EVERY year since 2000 he has been a 24/6/5 player...only 3-4 other players in the league can produce those numbers. This year his numbers have dipped due to an in season injury that threw off his rythym and conditioning, as well as a new role once he got back. Take out that initial month or so after the injury, and he is once again at 24/6/5 on approx. 43-44% shooting.

Since Yao went down, he has averaged 23.4PPG/5.9APG/5.8RPG, leading the Rockets to a 16-5 record. Only guys with similar numbers are Kobe and LeBron.

If that isn't enough production, then 52-25 should be.

Iverson had a DPOY in Mutombo, and the Cavs had 2 fluff series' against injured teams before having an actual test against the Pistons. Both supporting casts were much more talented than the Armstrong-Giricek/Gooden squads that T-Mac brought to the playoffs.

He has also led the team in assists, points, and I don't know this for fact but he is probably top 2-3 on the team since Yao went dwn in RPG. He has come up in the clutch countess times, and has led the team to 11 games over .500 without arguably the best center in the league as well as other key players.

 

Did you ever watch basketball!? T-Mac has ALWAYS put up big numbers in the playoffs. He never carries the same stat line into the playoffs. He's 3rd or 4th for all-time playoff scoring avg.

FYI, Iverson had the defensive player of the year, 6th man of the year(who was also a Most Improved candiate if not for... T-Mac and his coming out party), and coach of the year going to the finals. That's not too sorry of a team.

 

I wont be surprised if the Rockets lose in the 1st round. But I will be very surprised if T-Mac doesn't average at least 2 more PPG and over 6 Assist/Rebs in the postseason. For some reason, if we get the Jazz, I think Sloan is cocky enough to try and defend the Rockets 1 on 1.

Will you be angry with T-Mac if teams double him at midcourt, and create easy driving opportunities for guys like Rafer, Bobby J, Luther, Battier, and others and the Rockets advance, though T-Mac only averages 19ppg, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds???

I say it again, the only points you can argue are his FG% and FT%. The other stuff doesnt hold water.

 

Everyone can agree that t-mac ft and fg % can be better, but no one in the entire nba can argue the regular season results.

We can all agree that Kobe is top 1 or 2 players in the entire nba. Gasol is probably top 10 pf/c in the league. Yao is the best center in the nba. Kobe loses a guy in gasol who maybe 10 or lower in pf/c position and the team is .500. The rox are 16-5 without the best center and 38-17! Show me another guy that can take this cast and win 70% of their games. The replaced the best center in hoops with mutombo,landry, and hayes.

I'm not going to bash or curtail anyones opinion, but how come yao's shooting % is higher when he plays with tracy. U can site stats on type of stats and pers and everything else, but scola, and maybe battier, are the only guys that can start on other teams. U think rafer can start on a winning team? Hell, I'm not sure battier is a starter unless he's on a team like the spurs. I can almost say the same for scola. Say what u want, but tracy always increases his output in the playoffs.

 

T-Mac should increase all his shot % by playoffs starts or we are out in first round.

No matter how good decoy he is, i don´t want a 40% shooter taking 20 shots per game in the playoffs, that will always lead you to failure unless all the role players have a great game.

I think T-Mac has played the same with and without Yao this year (someone could check this on stats if liked) i think he has mantained his level, which stat sise is not great, but this year he has a economic reason on it (economic meant physical wise), he can´t afford to be 90% or less in playoffs being the only star on the team, so he restrains himself in easier games leading to low FG percentages, anyway i think more credit has to be given to the role players than McGrady about the team performance without Yao.

Sure he has excelled at some games, but that is why he is here, he is paid to be a consistent star, and if i compare his numbers with other stars with similar salary, then he is not that impressive.

About Cavs vs Rockets, i think the rockets have a better supporting cast that cavs, surely a longer bench and far more disciplined team than the Cavs. I by any way think that the Cavs will have a better record than the Rockets without T-Mac and LeBron. Some may say that the Rockets role players have less stats but they are by far better competitors than the Cavs.

 

I didn't think anyone is dogging the supporting cast, but we have 2 rookies, a mostly non-scoring defensive centre, front-court in general is small and lacking low-post moves, etc. I.e. in general we lack the experience that other teams have.

Next year... Next year...

In regards to Tracy's numbers, his free-throw one is the only one I'd really point to. I can't help thinking that his field goal percentage is due to the injuries as well as getting used to a new system.

He's already had enough 3rd/4th quarter explosions to show he can still put on the points when need be. I just think in general play wanting to get his team-mates involved has affected his shot selection and effectiveness at times.

 

This year his stats are a mute point. We got him so we play him.

Next year is an entirely different story.

But before we get to next year, I will say this now:

I basically know what every Rockets player is going to bring on any given night...except for one. And that's one damn expensive "one".

 

I think that is basically the point, we are expecting McGrady to deliver instead of knowing that he will deliver.

Anyway as i said it before, this year i agree on his way of playing conservative if he can afford to because he won´t have other star to help him if he falls down.

 

exactly what i'm thinking..

 

I disagree.

There is only 2 teams right now better than us without him and 3 if you count Boston.

Utah
San Antonio
These 2 teams are better than us.
Boston is too.

I believe Yao is just enough to get past Utah and San Antonio next year.
Everybody else is beatable with him next year except Boston.

We need that 3rd guy or we cant even beat Boston next season with Yao or T-Mac.

As of right now i say we are the 4th best team in the league.
Next year when we get Yao back we will be tied for as a 2nd best team in the league.

Untill we get that 3rd guy will we be better than Boston in a series.

Yao-T-Mac is good enough to be a better team than Utah and San Antonio.