How do you think T-Mac has stepped up his game so far? I mean, I believe 2 home games that were close to the end is a sufficient sample size to check T-Mac's 'playoff game'. I'm not giddy about the jumpers, but it's not too bad because he's shown up when called upon in the clutch pretty much. I can't lie though, I'm thoroughly disappointed so far in what I've seen as to what I was expecting from him. I was expecting the all out, attack the rim half the time or more, dunking, difficult lay-up-making, tough shot making, take over the game T-Mac to show up this season in the playoffs but he hasn't yet. Maybe the Jazz are throwing too many aggressive players at him? That's not a good reason for him to be so complacent in taking jumpers though, not in the playoffs. So the question is, what do you think of T-Mac's game so far?
He is good, taking what the defense is giving him. He does not need to shoulder the scoring load as he was in the Orlando Magic. He is not going all out which is good for his body. Yao is helping a lot with the score load. So far so good.
The Jazz are throwing a bunch of 'bruisers' at him and getting very, very physical with him. I think this entire Jazz series will be like that because they run a bunch of physical bullies at T-Mac, and for the most part he's handled it well. I still think he will shoot better on the road, so will our role players. Moreover, I wouldn't extrapolate from his current play against the Jazz to mean that he will shoot the same way against any other team in the West. There isn't a single team out West that will play him as physical as Utah does; the Jazz are a special case and teams like the Suns, Mavs or even the Spurs have good defensive players they can put on him but they don't get physical like the Jazz do. The Jazz really tire him out, they're incredibly physical with him. However, I do think the Jazz are a terrific way to prepare him and the entire team for future matchups should they get past this round, and I think they will be better for it moving forward.
He is looking good. This is a long series, he doesn't have to get into his zone too quickly. I am expecting him to explode in the next 2 games.
You gotta keep in mind he scored 31pts and had 10rbs. That coupled with a few clutch shots makes him great in my eyes. You are correct though he has not really taken over the games. When I looked up at the score board and saw he had 31 I was a bit suprised. However, I think when we need him the most he will be there.
Tracy really looked for his shot in the second half. He took alot of jumpers, but that's what the defense was giving him by guarding him with the smaller quicker defender...He went to the hole when he needed to and got some calls. All in all, I am loving his leadership and his willingness to take over the game. I wouldn't mind seeing him drive in to the lane a little more, but I'm still impressed with him. Different Tmac than the one in the regular season. He's being much more of a scorer than a facilitator and I'm ok with that. That's what we all asked for isn't it?
he finished tough layups tonight and aside from the 3rd quarter in game 1, im very dissapointed in t-mac's play. 9-29? thats just atrocious. theres no excuse for a superstar to shoot so bad, especially when the team won. if we had the 05 t-mac this series i think we could sweep them.
I think he is saving the nasty dunks for Mavs/GS unless we really look like we are gonna lose this series.
Yeah he took a lot of bad shots and let Utah off the hook, but if he doesn't make that baseline fadeaway, i dont think the rox win. Thats why he's crucial to the team. There is only a handful of players in the league that can do what he can do.
This one hit home with me. I am probably one of the few that did hope to see Tmac do more scoring than facilitating. I'm happy to see that he's trying to do that in the playoffs, but I was also hoping that he would dust of the rust faster then what he is doing right now..
tmac is not a physical guy (look at his body). the jazz are the best team to defend him. spurs, mavs, suns don't play very physical on the perimeter. but tmac is putting up 28, 7, 6 in 2 games (just shoot better). he's playing very harder than in the reg. season though. no coasting.
the team chemistry is tremendous. Couple his passing with the on cue cuts and spot up shooters, this team has tremendous chemistry. His FG% must go up. Way to low. But his charity stripe attempts are up because he is attacking, and more importantly, he is converting.
I don't know what you're watching. T-Mac shot 14 free throws last night. The shooting percentages may not be there, but T-Mac has definitely taken his game to another level. He is aggressive and he is incredibly determined. And that's the huge part, determination. Through these first games, he has shown something beyond all the talk, on the basketball court -- he will NOT be denied.
yup, he won't shoot bad like this tonight. but what's good is unlike during tghe reg. season, when he shoots bad, he's not as aggressive trying to score. tonight, he keeps plugging.
Yeah, there were a couple times during the game where I thought "Tmac will not let us lose this game", and to be honest, I never really thought the Jazz were going to win at any point. I knew it could be close, but I never realisticly considered that we would lose.
Hmm... with T-Mac being my favorite player in the NBA since his Orlando days (no disrespect to Yao, he's obviously my 2nd fav.) I may be a little biased, but with that said I feel like Tracy always gets a bum rap around here. From people jumping off the McGrady train at the start of the season thru his 10 game sabbatical to people getting down right defensive and insistant regarding Yao being the focal point of the offense, it seems like a majority of clutch fans are quick to critique and criticize T-mac. T-Mac's FG% hasn't been great so far, but he's taking his game up enough to get us wins. Sometimes T-Mac takes a little while to get going, even in the regular season it isn't uncommon for him to go 3-10 then suddenly go 6-8-that's just T-Mac being T-Mac. Point is, as long as he gets going his short comings are forgiveable. Without T-Mac we wouldn't have homecourt (his daggers against the Hornets kept them from rallying) and I'm not sure if, without his ugly yet clutch shot tonight, we'd be up 2-0. T-Mac turns it up when his team needs it, and he has consistantly done that all his career. FG% aside, Tracy is getting it done big for his team. He's getting rebounds, using his passing to get Hayes, Yao, Battier and the rest going, doing a solid defensive job, being a true leader, making key shots when they are really needed, and getting free throws. He may not be throwing it down on Okur's head, but he is taking it to the lane more than he had been in the regular season; that driving is leading to free throws and key assists, and if not for a few poor calls I saw tonight those 14 free throws would probably be closer to 20. Plus, it's only game 2 and thus a bit early to really determine if he's doing enough to elevate his team. All I know is that game 3 is coming up, we're up 2-0, Yao and T-Mac are thus far looking like the duo we all hoped they could be, Tracy is putting up 28/7/6, and if the recent interviews are any indication... if it comes down to it Tracy is gonna do whats necessary to make sure our team advances. And if nothing else... perhaps at least Tracy is getting over the early series jitters, and that FG% is all up hill from here on out.
