It's not that I hold a prejudice against McGrady, what I'm saying is how many years more do we have to see to figure out Yao/Mac are just not going to do it? It's time to move on and give the ball to Brooks, which doesn't necessarily mean dumping Yao and Mac. If opportunities to upgrade the team doesn't present themselves and Yao/Mac prove to fit in the new system and are able to play through a whole season without serious injuries, re-signing them at a more reasonable price is not a bad idea.
if you read my posts, i do agree with you. tracy should no longer bring the ball up and always initiate things from the 3pt line or run pick and rolls. let AB/lowry do those things. tracy's job is now reduced to simply a scorer. he should do what ariza is doing, but with more 1-on-1 opportunities at the high post. so relax, tracy will fit in just fine. he has the skills to fit into any offense.
Are you assuming that a "truly healthy" McGrady will be capable of the same things he was 7 years ago? You need to realize that he's lost a lot of athleticism that he can't regain even if he's "truly healthy". Also, don't underestimate the impact that years of injuries has had on his psyche. Full health is meaningless if he's afraid to take contact. McGrady hasn't moved w/o the ball in years. Unless that changes, his role with Brooks with be that of a spot up shooter. Is that what you envision? Ariza came to the Rockets b/c he wanted to have a greater offensive role (which is what he was promised). I don't think he intends to play the same way w/ McGrady that he did with Kobe.
Those hypothetical stats for Brooks essentially makes him a better option already. I expect similar numbers from McGrady this season except that he's 6 years older than Brooks, more injury-prone and his explosiveness on which he relies to creat the offense is in doubt. He's not setting up his teammates by standing put.
1) if you bother to read my earlier posts, i told you mcgrady is never going to be as good as he was in his prime b/c he's lost those athleticism/speed. that is why he should give up most of the ballhandling duties to aaron. his job is sticking his ass in the high/mid post. 2) high/mid post. you can just move b/t the two posts around the ft line. not that tough brother. that's what i envision. 3) and i never said he'll play the same way when he was with kobe when mcgrady returns. tracy will be in the mid/hgh post. that should not take away the type of shots ariza has been getting (3pt shots through screens, open spot up 3s from double teams inside, fast breaks, and the occasional penetration). he should still be able to get 12-13 shots (if not more) when mcgrady returns. unless i'm mistaken that ariza plays in the post too (which he hasn't done at all).
like i said, tracy's job when he returns is to score. his responsibilities should be much anymore on a team this talented. when others have it going like they have the past 2 games, then tracy shouldn't even do much and just do what is needed and conserve his energy. however, when we have games like we did v. portland in the first game and desperately needed a guy to hold things down (an 07-08 mcgrady on 2 injuries could have still do that from time to time), then tracy should force the issue a little more. i'm sure tracy is seeing what is developing right now (like he saw what developed when he came back for the 22 game winning streak). he will fit in JUST FINE AND DANDY.
He's not doing it alone. I'm talking about a Rondo-Allen relationship. McGrady will get the ball, but he can't just demand it at will. It's Brooks' call and I believe we should trust him to make the right decision. The chance Brooks becomes an elite player is slim but it's not like we were going anywhere with the two superstars on our team.
you're close in that comparison. it should be a rondo-pierce relationship. rondo basically runs the team for boston right now, and pierce is simply a scorer. AB will run our team, and mcgrady should just look to score. tracy can't never play the ray allen role. he's not that good of a shooter to begin with. and you can't expect a guy coming off microfracture to just run around willy nilly.
The difference is he was handling the ball for most of the time then. I'm not sure he will let a young guy like Brooks steal his show. He obviously had some issues with Ron last season.
re-watch games 1 and 2 of the utah series that year. then re-watch games 3 on forward. see how much ballhandling rafer alston did. A TON. there was a reason why many feel if rafer played the entire series, we might have won. a lot of people had issues with ron last year offensively, including adelman. ron isn't a very good offensive player. AB is on another level right now. greatness recognizes greatness. AB is playing great right now. i don't know why people think tracy will have problems deferring. he deferred to a developing yao ming when he first came here (when he was the scoring champ). and knowing his limitations after surgery, he has no choice but to defer at times to AB.
If that's the case, what are you assuming a "fully healthy" McGrady to be? Think of the congestion in the paint... Based on your description, it looks like you envision Ariza mainly playing off the ball....which is what he did in LA with Kobe. Remember, he left LA to pursue a greater offensive role.
1) i'm assuming a healthy mcgrady to NOT limp. it's that simple. everything will take care of itself. 2) what congestion in the paint? have you seen the first 3 games? 3) again, have you seen the first 3 games? surely you would see how ariza gets his shots. in LA, all he did was stay in one single spot and just wait for the pass. THAT'S ALL he did. here, there are plays called for him to run through screens for jumpshots. those are the "peja" plays as i like to call them. he'll get 3-4 1-on-1 opportunities throughout the game. and he'll still get the pass-outs from AB's penetrations or double teams from scola. and he'll create some shots off of his own hustle. THAT'S HOW HE HAS BEEN SCORING. that is a greater offensive role than just standing in one spot (that's shane battier's role on this team). i suggest you watching the games. we're fun to watch.
adding to the discussion... I think Leebigez mentioned that Tracy is very high on Brooks and loves his potential.. from what Lee said.. Tracy was not getting along well with Rafer last year and wanted Brooks to play more.. so I think T-Mac would be fine with sharing responsibility with Brooks, once he gets back.. now continue
The trademark optimism of a McGrady apologist. Love it. The first 3 games didn't have Ariza/Battier roaming around the ft line when Brooks tries to penetrate (like you envision McGrady doing). He's actually going one on one a lot more than you think...so I guess the question is, have you been watching the games? Actually, that's not what he did. He played off the ball. And in your description earlier, you envisioned scenarios where he mainly played off the ball. How hard is that to understand?
where's scola and landry? scola usually stays around the low or high post. landry is always around the low post. tracy could easily occupy those spots. tracy isn't yao. he can move out of the way with the quickness when he knows brooks is penetrating, just as our big men have done. seriously, someone do a count of the types/plays called for ariza. please. if i remember correctly, he had EXACTLY a total of ONE 1-on-1 play in the entire first quarter when he exploded (and that was to beat a the buzzer and he banked it in over roy). ariza's style of play will not be affected much. if he's hot, he'll get more screens set for him (like the last 2 games). if he's not, he won't (like the first game). the rest will be spot up shots or fast breaks. how hard is that to understand? mcgrady will still get plays called for him throughout a game, regardless if he's hot or not.
if i was a video wiz like R2K and put together all the times ariza got the ball and what he does with it... lol
You're assuming he'll accept the same role he did in LA. Why do you think he tries to go one on one? It's b/c he's trying to develop his offensive game...which is why he came to Houston. It's getting annoying repeating this very elementary concept to you.
So now McGrady is going to stand in the same spots as Scola/Landry? Brilliant. Maybe they could hold hands.
