I voted for the last option; however, I am very concerned that his back has become a recurring problem. I don't know how the front office is supposed to do it, but it would be nice if the players that surrounded TMac and Yao could at least win a game or two if he is out for an extended period of time. Other teams that have superstars are able to at least win some of the times (lose more often than not though) when their main guys are out. Our team? 0-16.
You conveniently missed out Kobe and Garnett on your "great players" list. Quick, what do Kobe, KG and TMac have in common? Yeah, they are all high school kids when they entered the NBA. How much impact did they have to their team as a rookie? Besides, each of the above mentioned players came to a team that already have good pieces in place. All they needed was a franchise type player to boost it up. What did TMac have in Toronto and Orlando? BTW, what was the difference of Rockets records before and after TMac joined?
Doc Rivers got Coach of the Year for going 41-41 pre-McGrady. They added McGrady as a free agent, then won 43, 44, and 42 games. Then Rivers was fired after going 1-10 the following year. So adding McGrady didn't really improve their team at all.
You're correct about the Doc Rivers thing, my bad. Rivers got coach of the year award the year prior to acquiring T-Mac, but missed the playoffs that year. Then, they acquired McGrady and they made the playoffs the next three years and stumbled in the last one. Making the playoff is always an improvement over not making it, I am not sure how that is not an improvement.
Umm - he leads in 4 out of 8 "good" categories - how is that not "fairly even"? oh, and the fact that you think "blocks" is as relevant a category for shooting guards as points is quite telling. No - I don't get the point - with the exception of Duncan - none of these guys has ever even come close to dragging their teams to the finals by being the main main. So your point fails. But I'm glad you want bring in career. Number of times Iverson has dragged a team of less talented players to the NBA finals: 1 Number of times McGrady has done the same: 0. (and don't give me the "eastern conference" bs - T-mac spent most of his career there) Not counting..."practice" the difference goes beyond stats in this instance. Iverson at barely 6 feet tall and 190 pounds if dripping wet is as effective an inside scorer as McGrady - that says something about AI and the kind of player he is. Anyway, the point I'm making is not so much AI vs. McGrady, but that your vision of Iverson as a ballhog who jacks up shots and nothing more - is almost totally antiquated at this point. He's not the PG out of Bethel Academy recruited by Georgetown. He's a freaking shooting guard who is the focal point of his teams offense and has been for many years. It is 2006, not 1999.
DID I REALLY JUST READ THAT? You're entitled to your opinion, but I am too when I say you're a moron.
How am I a moron. Give me one reason why I shouldn't be concerned about Mcgrady's CHRONIC back troubles. You could do a lot worse than filling two holes (Joe Johnson and presumably Lamarcus Aldridge) for T-mac with his back in this kind of shape (i.e. will never be fully cured while he plays basketball. His back can go out at any moment). Besides, I didn't say that you immediately pull the trigger. I just said that I would seriously think about it.
the only question we should have about t-mac is his health. when he's healthy he is as good as any player in the nba, including kobe, lebron, whoever. this season has been too much of a clusterf#$k to be the sole reason to trade a player like mcgrady but if his back continues like this into next season i'd have to look at other options. right now i'm just holding on to hope that this season is just cursed and t-mac will be fine next year. when he's healthy he's as good you get, i wouldn't trade him for anyone.
See, this is just not true. Tmac is a great player, but he is not a proven winner, in fact, he has proven to be more of a loser than anyone else. Tmac is this generations World B. Free....he can score, but does he make his team better? Tmac is a great player, but he just doesn't have the will or force of nature that other great players have where they win games simply on their own force of will. He shows glimpses of it...the San Antonio game last year for instance....and he certainly is talented enough to do it, but he just seems to fade far too often, and give pedestrian effort when herculean effort is required. DD
Now you're overreacting too much on the other end - of course he can make a team better - look at this year for an example. he's not Tony Campbell scoring 27 points a game for the Timberwolves. The question is whether he can do it enough or consistently enough given his somewhat questionable resolve at times due to other factors - the jury's out on that.
T-mac has made the rockets better, there's no doubt. he was a better fit with yao, and he's just a better player. add t-mac to a team and they're better. I just don't know if he has the fortitude to be a champion. the jury's still out. but my problem is that people have basically annoited him and this team future champs when neither he nor yao for that matter haven't proven they can take their games to that level. it takes a lot more than talent.
I agree, although with the right system, which we don't have, Yao and T-mac would complement each other much more...It is T's team, but he still has a lot to prove and that he can do more than just score, he needs to win in the regular season and win in the playoffs...
The supporting cast is the key. Imagine, a tall, strong, aggressive, rebounding-machine PF with a high percentage jumper, al la Karl Malone. How good would the Rockets be? Imagine a three point specialist at the SG position who was 6' 5" or so, good defender.When TMac and Ming were out, we all had a good look at the supporting cast. They are not very good.
YAO will develop a more aggressive attitude T-Mac is good . .. but this team will only go as far as YAO carries them Rocket River
Other than last year, T-MAc has only played on garbage teams. Magic traded away their depth for Grant Hill. T-mac carried them as a one-man team. Imagine, if Orlando had only signed T-Mac and kept Wallace and the others in the deal. His problem hear, other than injury, is that our team outside of Yao and Alston SUCK. Zero depth.
The honeymoon will end when he stops winning games for us. Our record with him starting is excellent.
