The "rolleyes" emotinoncon use here is usually merely obnoxious, but I have absolutely no idea if this was or was not directed at me. Bottom line is there's a contingent of T-Mac fans here that just freak when Yao seems to upstage their guy. I don't want to try to convince anyone that Yao's the best player on this team, nor do I wish to suggest T-Mac can't thrive with Yao on the court. But those guys seem to have less chemistry together than they did 2 years ago and I thought then they'd be unstoppable together thereafter. It hasn't happened. T-Mac drives less now and makes at least one nifty pass to Yao per game. It's gotten to the point that if we fail t get out of the first two rounds of the playoffs the national media will trash Yao and half of this bbs will point the finger firmly at T-Mac. It's interesting to see threads like this, because I'd bet my life this offseason is going to be a moratorium on one of these guys, and JVG might well choose to get the hell out of the way. We're a half game behind Utah, and we're going to learn a lot in the next month and I'm no counting anybody out yet but neither of our superstars can shoot 35% and that bottom line is coming sooner than later. This thread shouldn't exist after a really nice win.
...You know, just because T-Mac isn't dropping 28-32 points a night anymore doesn't mean there is something wrong with his current level of play. He no longer has to carry the offensive load on his shoulders alone, and with Yao Ming, who just happens to be one of the best offensive centers of all time, he doesn't need to drop near 30 a night for our team to win. Also, I'm pretty sure T-Mac has been dropping about 23-24 ppg since Yao has been back. It isn't quite 28-30 but it's a pretty impressive average don't you think? Have you considered the fact that Mac is also averaging about 8 assists and 5 rebounds per game since Yao's return? I don't know about some of you but those numbers constitute an outstanding level of play to me. T-Mac's role with a healthy Yao is to score 20-24ppg when Yao is hot on offense, score 28-32ppg when he's not, rack up on assists either way, get a solid amount of rebounds, provide clutch play, and bring forth an explosive edge that no one else on the team can provide. He's been doing exactly that. Most importantly though, THE ROCKETS ARE WINNING AND LOOKING SHARP!Our team is playing the best ball it has played in awhile, perhaps all season, and if the team stays healthy and continues to gel going into the playoffs... watch out. I'm riding pretty high after beating one of the best teams in the NBA, and it looks to me like our team is starting to really come together for, not only a solid run at homecourt vs Utah, but also for a promising romp through the playoffs. Yao being back has completely realigned the team, and our players are starting to fit into the roles they were meant to fill.
Like alot of other members said, I believe T-mac is coasting!...T-mac said this is the best team he has ever played with, so you better believe that when the playoffs hit, he will become the BEAST that we all learn to love.... The play-offs for T-mac, will be like the Full moon to the the wolfman.... T-mac will become a savage beast...mark my words!...He is defnitely not trying to waste alot of energy right now, since he has brought us this far already!.... I believe 04' is still hanging over his head in T-mac's mind, and I doubt he will want to let this chance slip away....
tmac without yao - 28ppg tmac w/ yao - 21 ppg the obvious difference is he's deferring to yao. and sure maybe he works best as a clear-cut #1 guy but this is the first yr he has to play "not" being #1 all the damn time. at least give him a yr to adjust. he has always been #1 his entire career ever since orlando. it ain't like he can't score 30 anymore. we've seen him do that 16 times w/o yao. maybe this is a bigger and "tougher" adjustment to tmac than we thought. how the hell do u suggest him shooting 46% WITHOUT yao and more double teams? it's an adjustment. some rocket fans are not that smart. no wonder no one goes to the games either. maybe their stupidity will then be blown over to the court.
sure he's "deferring" but i don't think he's "coasting" like he doesn't care. again, tell me how do u suggest him shooting 46% and scoring 28ppg WITHOUT yao? shouldn't yao make his job easier? if he does this again NEXT YR, then theres a problem. tmac HAS to change his game to fit yao in. yao doesn't. yao can come in and be aggressive b/c the offense is inside out. tmac has to "choose his spots." again, the play doesn't go through him every time now. for tmac, that's different and as i'm seeing tough to play through in terms of having a rhythm to shoot the ball. b/c i don't know how u can explain the drastic changes b/t playing with yao and without yao.
well that's the thing u can't ever make excuses for him. free throws are about focus and mental. i do believe he'll make most of them when it counts. he has missed a few clutch fts this yr (dallas and last night) but generally he comes through.
The most important thing: his back has held up the entire season. He looks flexible, quick, and elevates well. Considering the questions about his health at the first of the season, this is the greatest news. He is in something of a shooting slump, which he will get out of right before the playoffs at which time he will get on an incredible hot streak. Like the "end of the game" miracle that left a lasting impression of the Spurs. The Rockets are a potentially dangerous playoff opponent; if certain things fall together they can beat anybody, even the Suns. Defense and shooting % will be the keys.
as DoD said, Tracy's bad shot selection has been like that before Yao came back. Some games he makes all of those shots, othergames he's shooting 30%. It's the only part of his game that's inconsistent right now. Everytyhing else, defense, running the offense, hitting big shots in crunch time, etc. is there. Hopefully he gets more consistent on the scoring end, but the rest of his game is there and actually even better IMO
I think part of the reason is because when Yao is in the game we don't post tmac up that match. I think something should be done with the system so that even if Yao is in the game we can't still post Tmac up on the other block. Tmac is most effective in the low post or high post because he is money on those mid range jumpers and can blow by his defender in a heart beat if they try to stay close to block his jump shot. We should incorporate most post up plays for tmac and pick and roll plays involving Yao and Tmac.
I can't believe some people still doubt Tmac's greatness. He has always stepped his game up for the playoffs and there is no reason for us to think otherwise. He is averaging over 8 assists in the last 5 WINS and one of those was a 50pt. thrashing. Sometimes Tmac is more valuable to the team as a distributor. He will get his points although it may not be efficient he still puts points on the board.
Comparing T-Mac's 10 games before Yao's return and since... He was shooting 42% beforehand, and 37% afterwards. Which means he been shooting worse. T-Mac has attempted 219 shots in the games before, and 218 shots after. Which means he's NOT shooting less. The fact that he defers to Yao is only in terms of how the offense is run. He's not shooting less... but is going to the foul line less, and is making less shots. To sum is up, T-Mac does worse scoring-wise when Yao's in the game. Perhaps it's because he's not a good spot-up shooter, or he's not penetrating as much(marked decrease in FT attempt).
Tracy is not deferring to Yao. Tracy has had more shot attempts than Yao in all the games except Philadelphia and Orlando. The difference is Yao is making his shots and Tracy isn't. You can't even attribute it to Yao being integrated back on the team because he misses shots even when Yao is on the bench. I think he is going less to the basket and when he does he is not finishing or is fouled and it is not called. He's also had a lot of rim outs. He's had the same luck with or without Yao on the court. Tracy is just in a shooting slump right now that is frustrating him but I have no doubt he will get out of it.
I am the biggest Tmac fan, but his approach to the game sucks ballz right now. His mental stamina needs to improve. He needs to go in a game to kick azz like JVG said, not to make friends
his shooting % is down lately but i dont think that he is playing poorly, by any means. i suppose he isnt putting up enough points for some people but who freaking cares? the rockets are winning and tmac is doing what he needs to do. I have no doubts that when the playoffs start tmac will turn it up.
