Now there were many issues with this first game. The Rockets missed freethrows and layups. The jazz outhustled, out quicked and out muscled the Rockets. All of this is bad but can get better. What I'm worried about now is offensive efficiency. While being outplayed is dissapointing, what really suprised me is that the Rockets showed really bad decision making on the Offensive end. This Rockets team was supposed to be smarter, and better in other areas too, but mainly smarter. Battier needs to park his ass along the baselines and get that shot off more. He is deadly from the 3pt corners...did okay from there today, but needs to do it more. I don't think a new PF is that needed. Boozer was making fadaways, and that's extremely hard to guard. If the Rockets boxed out better and got loose balls better, they would have been fine. Bonzi Wells should definitely help the rebounding issues when he gets in shape. Their Defense was getting bad at missing their assignments off of screens. But the main point of this thread is T-Mac. Everyone says that Yao needs to be more assertive, but T-Mac has a role in this too. People won't tell T-Mac to stop shooting. Only T-Mac controls that..he has the star status and power. T-Mac can demand Yao post up every time. T-Mac's mid-range offensive game has been woefully inconsistent. It has been broke for over a year now. I understand that IF he gets hot, then keep feeding him. But they kept feeding him even though he was cold. I aboslutely hate the called play where T-Mac gets a mid-range jumper, and there is absolutely nobody fighting for the offensive rebound. And T-Mac's decision making off the PnR is good, but JVG at this point is absolutely going with a Defensive squad in there. Players are sagging off Snyder b/c he doesn't scare teams with his 3pt shooting,..and the Rockets were laying wide open 3pt bricks in the first half. Yao gets to the line just as efficiently has T-Mac does...if not more. No one else on this team has the cajones or standing to be a ball hog and demand it. Snyder might brain fart here and there, but really there's no one else. When the game was still in the balance, and even though everything stated above was going wrong, the Rockets still could have won if they played smarter offense. Dump it to Yao, and surround him with 3pt shooter. none of this pump faking step out of bounds and travel crap that happened. The offense was just way too inconsistent. Their fast breaking was good. But their set offense was smart, then stupid, then smart, then stupid.....I don't mind missed shots, but I hate stupid shots. T-Mac was a huge part of the stupid shots process this last game. I liked his drives...that was productive, but when his mid range is off...not even when..this is Yao's team now. Yes, Yao needs to know that, but T-Mac needs to defer to Yao too! T-Mac even at his best at mid-range, is not greatly superior to Yao's effiecency down low. Yes, Yao made stupid turnovers too by keeping the ball low.....but he was still efficient. I'm still pissed that the Jazz sagged so much off of the Rockets shooters today...they had no fear of teh 3pt shot. What happened to that building block picture in the other thread? Deep paint shots and 3pt shots ONLY!!!! Sorry for the rant.
**** taking a backseat. He's got to take it to the basket! If he's gonna become a jump shooter and a Ray Allen wannabe then he should take a backseat. If he wants to take it to the hoop he needs to take 20-25 shots per game.
It's all lipservice. Everyone on the Rockets will say they need to pound the ball to Yao more but they won't. That was my greatest fear heading into this season. And even though its only been one game, it looks like that may be the trend. As long as you say you'll pound the ball to Yao, you don't actually have to do it. Exhibit A: Rafer looking like a headless chicken with ADHD on the court.
That's pretty insightful there. So what happens when he takes 20-25 shots a game but only shoots 33% from the field? Yao needs to get more touches. **** anyone who doesn't believe that.
i agree. ive supported jvg since the beginning and i still believe he can get the job done, but he's seriously got to figure out some plays where mcgrady can get some easy buckets. Hes working way too hard for his buckets. oh and less turnaround fadeaways please.
Tmac was playin well in the second and third qtr, but in the forth he seemed tired, his shots were flat. Its alrite though, its only one game.
T-MAC shouldn't be taking 24 shots when he's shooting 8-24, while YAO is 8-12. MAC needs to defer to YAO more if he's gonna become a jump shooter.
Don't you think he wants to take it to the rack? Maybe he just doesn't have the athletic ability to do it efficiently anymore.
Tracy just didn't look like his old self from what I saw tonight. I think that, as long as he is not his old self, he should be getting Yao 20 to 25 shots a game and settling for 10 to 15 himself. With 25 shots a game, 30 points should be an automatic from Yao. I know it's common to say that we need to feed Yao, but as long as Tracy isn't 100%, we should finally utilize Yao to his fullest. I'd like to give Yao 25 shots a game for a stretch of 5 to 10 games, and see what he averages over that period. If you do that, I'd be willing to put 20 bucks on Yao average 30 points and 10 rebounds a game. He would essentially establish himself as a top 3 NBA Superstar. Now, by underutilizing TMac for the first month of the season (by underutilizing, I mean "limiting" him to 10 to 15 shots), I think you give him a chance to get in the full swing of things and get his feet (and back, in the literal sense) back under him. Once you get TMac back to 100% (if that's even possible), start getting him his 20 shots a game, because when he's at his best (like in '04), I don't even think I'd take anyone in the NBA over him. He simply takes over games. Besides, with Yao playing like he is, and with the McGrady of '04, we have a better one-two punch than the Lakers "dynasty" of the early 2000's ever did.
I never said Yao doesn't need more touches. They need to both get equal touches. Yao's gonna have some games where he shoots 33%. TMac will too, but he'd have fewer if he took it to the rack instead of pulling up every play.
Every Rockets game, WITHOUT FAIL, I will see many times somebody looking like they're going to throw an entry pass, Yao has position, but nope, the ball gets swung around. WTF? If you're going to have Yao post up then PASS THE BALL TO HIM? IS THIS CONCEPT THAT HARD? T-Mac needs to take more high-percentage shots (i.e. ATTACK THE BASKET). Yao takes only high-percentage shots, so MAYBE HE SHOULD HAVE MORE TOUCHES? I still think T-Mac is me-first at heart. Several times this game (at least 4) he looked at Yao in the post, who had position, and refused to pass it to him. Sure, he had 9 assists. But Marbury averages 8 assists a game for his career, and it is well established that he's selfish. So you can't just look at the assists. Near the end of last year, they started to insistently feed Yao. When he kicked it back out, he'd repost and get another try. Not seeing anything close to that this game. If Yao kicked it out the recipient of the pass didn't even think about passing it back in. This is what makes a DOMINANT POST PLAYER. You've got to feed the big man. He can't get himself the ball in the post.
yes yao could get 20-25 shots if he doesn't have 3 fouls with 8 minutes left to go in the 2nd quarter. somehow yao needs to stay on the floor, if he can't and tmac shoots a lot like he did tonight, the rockets are in for a long season...
I think TMac wants to take it to the hole every time. He would obviously know the strengths of his game way better than anyone of us do, and we all know that he's at his best when he's creating his own shot. I just think, like the other people have said - his back is either a little stiff still, or he just wasn't ready to play tonight.
i agree tmac should tone it down a little but not by much..its not tmacs fault that yao cant stay out of foul trouble and is asked to take control..and when yao gets the ball he still hasnt learned as a post player you dont bring the ball down where the guards can scrap at it..just simple things..dont be discouraged by this game
If you give the PG role to TMac, you make him take less shots and make more passes. TMac is a hell of a passer and I think he can play the point, Alston is not starting PG material but would be a decent backup. Battier is not a PF. JVG did not try this lineup in the preseason but I would lke to see him try it. PG Tmac SG Wells/Snyder SF Battier PF JH C Yao
I agree. And when they were getting the entry passes in they were ****ty. They need to get it in the corner more then dump it down low instead of Rafer trying to get it in from close to the top of the arc.
^^TMac hasnt been his old self since he came to Houston. JVG doesnt want him to drive anymore because of Yao so all he does is sit there and take fadeaways. Its only been one game but TMac is gonna be like this all year. HE is just gonna take jumpers all game and only make 40% of them. Tmac came to Houston as a top 3 player. He is not even top 10 anymore. JVG is the guy to blame. I like what JVG did to Yao, creating a beast in the post, but he has ruined Tmac into a piece of crap.