Sometimes as a fan, we feel like part of the team. In the off-season we follow the team's every move, we play General Manager as we evaluate our roster and suggest any adjustments that are necessary to WIN A TITLE. Not to make the team more entertaining to watch, but to be the best in the league. Because isn't that our ultimate goal in the end? To see our own guys holding up the Larry O' Brien? The season's ad campaign "Live It" is exactly what we do. Through every win and every loss, we stand behind the team. We become so involved we can almost call them family. So now the time has come, the most important time of the year, the playoffs. After all the sweat, tears, and cheers throughout another rollercoaster season, this is what it's all about. What we have planned and prepared for, to make a championship run. We have the talent and all of our pieces together. But when it comes down to how the players feel, we have no control. We can't inject these guys with the passion we have every night. Yes they're athletes, their job is to go out on that court and do what they do best. Yet at the sametime, they're human beings, of course you don't expect them to be focused on basketball 24/7 do u? Just like everyone else, they all have other priorities. But when it comes down to the wire, the players have to be focused. We can have the most talented team in the league but if they don't care about winning, there's nothing we can do. After watching the 3 game skid and the player's attitudes, it's a little disheartening. As a Rocket, you play for much more than just your boss. You represent a classy organization with hall of fame players and a mass of dedicated fans from places all over the world other than Houston. It's human nature to become unfocused every now & then, so let's wake up and get back on track. Round 1 is in a couple of weeks and of course we want to continue winning. Because as stated earlier, that is our ultimate goal isn't it? A championship?
They have the mental drive. They might not 'bring it' every single game, but I absolutely believe that Yao and McGrady want to win more than anything else. I don't think you will be questioning their 'desire' or 'heart' once the playoffs roll around. Keep in mind that both guys have suffered major injuries/setbacks earlier in the season and they might be reluctant to go 'all out' the last few games and possibly aggravate a pre-existing injury. Seriously, lit up a bit on these guys, let's reserve judgment to when the season is over.
It's all about the playoffs, not this 3 game losing streak. The Houston Rockets' legacies of JVG, Tracy and Yao are on the line. The only thing keeping me remotely interested in the outcome of these final 6 games is that Utah has lost their last 2 and home court advantage against them is still in play. The recent interviews with JVG, Tracy and Yao were interesting but I've heard enough talk. I want to see this team play with the season on the line. If we hold on to leads and close out games in the playoffs, then throw this "lack of killer instinct" stuff in the garbage can. If we cough up late leads in the playoffs, then I will blow a gasket.
is tmac a winner? i am not so sure. i hope he does something this post season... but i hate to say it but i'm not sure if he is a winner. i hope these guys stay hungry and focused this post season. stay humble and for heaven sakes... this team needs to stay HUNGRY
Is Kobe a winner now? Would you call him that with his team right around .500 and after 'choking' away (to use the term some around here have thrown around) a 3-1 lead over an Amare-less and Kurt Thomas-less Suns team? It's perception more than reality.
i get what you're saying but kobe has three rings... what he does now is all icing on the cake. in the end thats what folks will remember regardless of what happens from here on out. tmac needs to have some playoff success. end of story... at least if we want to remember him as truly great. not necessarily a title but a few deep runs to at least the WCF or the finals is needed to be remembered as more than dominique wilkins. oh and tmac has yao... so it can't be said he didn't have a capable running mate like you could with kobe.
Kobe is a winner with the drive. Not quite so sure about T-Mac. However, Yao has the drive and if we only had a point guard we could still win it all even with T-Mac not having the drive of say a Kobe.
Completely disagree, his legacy will ultimately be determined by what he does AFTER running Shaq out of town. We already know that Shaq can still win it all without Kobe and that Kobe is replaceable by any number of great wing players in this league, what will Kobe show us? I am willing to bet that THAT -- not the three rings as Shaq's secondary -- will ultimately be how Kobe is remembered. Even now, Yao is no Shaq in his prime, so let's get that straight. Moreover, up 'till this season Yao has NEVER been a truly dominant player, and was largely inconsistent in that regard. This season will officially mark the first time McGrady gets to play with a truly dominant Yao Ming. That's precisely why I keep saying that THIS season is when I will start judging the pair, because for the first time ever they're both officially in their primes. I don't think this roster can win it all, but I do expect some form of 'progress' in the playoffs, and I do expect this pair to take their first step towards playoff success THIS season by beating Utah in the first round. We shall see...
thanks for this.... some people don't agree and they blame, of all people, US the fans, for saying these immensely apparent things...
Funny, guys like KG and AI never won anything. They are labeled "losers" like TMac. (Okay, Iverson did get to the Finals, but that's from a very weak Eastern conference.) But if AI got traded to Minny and together they won a couple of champions, all of a sudden they would be "winners."
McGrady has the drive of Kobe, he's just 'selective' with it like Lebron is. No one has ever questioned his passion or 'drive' to win in the playoffs before. He always leaves it all on the court when the big stage rolls around. Here's what Barkley said after McGrady and the Rockets lost to Dallas in the first round: "I just feel real bad for him, he gave it his all." Here's what he said about Kobe after the Suns series was over, "Kobe just quit on his teammates, he was selfish and he did it to make a point." It's one man's opinion, I know, but just thought I would throw this out there. Just because he started to 'pace' himself late in the regular season because he has to constantly nurse a bad back doesn't mean that he lacks the 'drive'. Duncan and Shaq, this era's greatest players and biggest winners, are notorious for 'pacing' themselves in the regular season to remain healthy for the playoffs. McGrady is concerned about his back acting up and preventing him from doing his best in the playoffs, that doesn't mean he lacks the 'drive' to win. But just a quick question: would you characterize Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson as two guys lacking the 'drive' to win?
I don't think they have the talent. I love Hayes, but he is an undersized bench player. I don't like Alston, and he is one of the worst shooters in the league. Battier has never won a playoff game. Howard is fifty something. Bonzi is AWOL. Head is a poor ball handler, but a clutch shooter, when he is hot. Essentially we have no bench. Besides Yao and TMac, we are a budget team. I don't think "drive" is the problem. The Rockets are lucky to be where they are. The sum is greater than the parts.
good point.. apart from what you said about hayes, because i think he's perfect, your comments are accurate. we need players like garcia, like tony parker, hell even earl boykins. mike james, chauncey billups, tayshaun, horry.. anyone.. pleaSE!
while you could be right about what people will remember... kobe is NOT replacable by a number of great wing players in the league. shaq happens to play with the second best perimeter player in the league in dwane wade. shaq also played in the eastern conference; a slightly easier path to his "after kobe" ring. now i'd see your point if after shaq left kobe played with another big man, say tim duncan or KG or even yao ... and couldn't win the big one. but c'mon, shaq was second fiddle to dwade. he lucked out in a way. you can't just plug "any ol" perimeter player around shaq and think that shaq can win it all. you are underestimating how special a player dwade is. i love tmac, but kobe is superior in about every way. and my point is that tmac has not shown us he is a winner. and kobe has. and so has dwade. and even lebron has won a playoff series. AI has been to the finals. who am i forgetting? nash has made a few deep runs too. what other great perimeter players are there?
LOL! The Heat came from a 0-2 series deficit to sweep the Best in the West Dallas Mavericks. How is that an 'easier path'? They DID beat the best team out West and did so in an impressive, demoralizing fashion, didn't they? Try again... Besides the point. What I am saying is this: Kobe right now is in a similar situation to McGrady when he played for Orlando. They both squandered a 3-1 series lead as the sole superstars on their respective teams. Kobe by himself hasn't done anything to distinguish him from what McGrady did back in Orlando. That's my point. I was referring to Shaq in his prime with the Lakers, when he was destroying every team in the league and bulldozing his way through to the Finals (remember when the Lakers only lost one game throughout the playoffs on their way to the finals?). During that time, you could have plugged in McGrady, Lebron, AI, even Carter of those years in and there is little doubt in my mind that the Lakers still would have won the title. The only thing Kobe is 'superior' in is scoring, and even then McGrady doesn't need to get 50 to be recognized as a great scorer, he can hold his own in that category. But I think McGrady is clearly a better all-around player than Kobe is right now, I would put Lebron and Wade ahead of Kobe in that category as well. He has to win to validate himself as a great player and not just a great talent, I am not disputing that. I think this year is his best chance yet to take a step in the right direction. But up until this season, he didn't have a true superstar by his side in the playoffs. This is the first year he does, I will judge him AND Yao from this point forward.
the path to get to the finals? c'mon man. everyone knows if you're a great team in the east your path to the finals is easier than in the west. that's not news. little doubt? well you may be right, but you're also forgetting it was kobe who closed games for the lakers. how can you ignore that? those titles are just as much kobe's (dwades) as they are shaq's. mcgrady is not a better all around player than kobe. end of story. trust me... i'm as big a rockets fan as there is! and i know this is a rockets site, but you're kidding yourself if you think tmac is even in the same tier as kobe. kobe for one is FAR superior defensively, still has his athletic game meaning he can still finish at the basket, and he has an amazing thirst to win. he has a hunger to go after his opponent unprovoked. tmac only goes off when he is doubted or put up against the wall. we should all just doubt the guy and quit giving him props. then he'll deliver for us. vs kobe? i'll give tmac the edge on his pull up J. his release point is so high its impossible to guard but that is about the only thing he's got on kobe.
