2 things about T-Mac 1. You can't play T-Mac at PG for the majority of the time unless you pack in a zone because he can't guard PGs. Yao isn't enough of a shot blocking presence on dribble penetration. Plus you don't want to get him into foul trouble. 2. He looked more than a half-step slow last night. In years past he would flat out blow past his man when coming around a screen with the ball. Last night, his man could keep up with him without any problem. This is not good. T-Mac's only what, 28? But he's an old 28.
good post. I agree that our team need to play smarter on shooting choice. It was not the case last night.
1) Umm JVG said if Tmac runs the point Luther will be on the floor with him so he wont be the one gaurding PG. 2) Tmac was playin more like a setup man tonight, when he blew off the pick he didnt attack he wasn just waiting for Yao to get open or see how the defense react. He looks tentative but hes still getting used to his teammates so Im not really worried
Sadly that would require Yao to stop getting into foul trouble limiting his agressiveness, and would require Yao to stop turning the ball over every time he puts it on the floor. Notice how Yao only scored away from double teams without dribbling or on passes from Tmac. Im not worried both players are adjusting to eachother and when they get in sync (JVG better find a way) we'll be fine
Yao's turnovers yesterday were overrated. Two of them were on bogus offensive fouls, and two of them occured near the end of the game. It's not like he spent the entire game coughing up points. I didn't like the refs either, the first two fouls were totally bogus.
1. Cool, I was going off the premise off Bonzi being the primary 2. I don't like Rafer as a 2. He's a PG and doesn't add much value if on offense he is the "shooting" guard. He doesn't scare anyone as a shooter. 2. yup, I guess we'll have to see how that goes. He just looked slow, though he had some good looks to Yao.
For our sake, I hope Yao gets more shots than Rafer and Tmac stops shooting 33%. Honestly, anyone who thinks Yao was the problem last night is an idiot.
I think some of us are overlooking one fact, that Tmac was guarded by one of the leagues best defender. AK47 is arguably the best man on man defender in the game, Tmac was pretty hot when Ak47 was saddled with foul problems in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. AK has done pretty well against Kobe as well, so lets give Tmac a few more games before we react.
I don't think it's overanalyzing. Did you read my post on the bottom of page 4? I would have written this thread even if the Rockets won. Also, Clutch's article is a good game recap too: http://www.clutchfans.net/game.cfm?gameID=2851 The point is that the Rockets Publicaly said so many things this offseason, and in the first game they didn't do anything they said, they didn't do anything they practiced. That building block sign is not some random sign. It's something the Rockets put up. "Deep paint shots" is something they preach themselves. And shot selection is something they completely control by choice. It's not like freethrows, or missing open shots. It's choosing not to do the gameplan they've prepared to do all summer. That's what upsets me.
off topic i guess but a big concern: the new overly tight foul calling is goingto cause the nba to lose quite a lot of casual viewers. it was terrible having to watch a game like that. it was almost as slow as a baseball game.
If somebody is taking 20 shots, it should be Yao. He has shot >50% over his entire career. With T-Mac short-arming all of his shots, he should not be the one shooting repeatedly.
No, the offensive fouls weren't legit. The two turnovers at the end of the game occurred after the game was decided already.
I agree.. the two offensive fouls were clearly legit and they weren't questionable at all. .. Yao always commits offensive fouls when he does his "spin move" towards the base line.. he always hooks the defender with his right arm which is an automatic foul.. the other one was a clear elbow hit to the upper body (the neck and head area) of the defender, and that's a foul too.. he actually got away with one in the beginning of the game when he elbowed Okur and they called it a defensive foul on Mehmet..
The mindset that TMAC needs to "shoot" his way out of a slump and drag his team back into a game is simply the wrong strategy to take with this group. We have plenty of players who are capable of scoring...anyone of them putting up a shot in the normal flow of the offense is preferred to TMAC hoisting up low percentage shots from the perimeter. The 13 points in 35 secs was an unforgetable performance, but it was an aberration but unfortunately, it perpetuates the mindset that TMAC shooting his way through a slump is our only shot at winning. PATIENCE, PATIENCE.
