Ok like the poster above me said and i agree who is going to replace his 7 assist per game. Even bigger than that who is going to replace his presence alone?? Regardless if he isn't the same McGrady of the past teams are still going to look at him like that. Without McGrady teams are just going to double and triple team Yao forcing the other players to beat them. With T-Mac in the line-up you can't do that. Yea we have Ron this year but Mac plays with the best and actually passes Yao the ball more than anyone else on this team
Um, the guys with the ball. When a player is not playing, someone else takes his place. The shots go to others, the ball moves around too (sometimes better)....
Oddly, we seem to be doing much better with TSlack out of the line up than when he's in the lineup. Also, teams seem to be attacking TSlack effectively this year....
Some stats about Tmac's performance in the playoffs for Houston. In three years of playoffs in Houston Tmac has played 20 playoff games and here are his averages. He has scored 554 points in those games and averaged 27.7ppg, looks good, right? He has shot 203 for 477 for a FG% of .426 On 3pters he is 31 for 106 for a 3pt FG% of .292% These numbers look great, if you just look at total points, but percentage wise they are average..... This is not efficient basketball....he needs volume shots to get those points, meaning that those shots are being eaten up by him, when there are others that might have a better shot. I contend the TEAM would be better off if he took a smaller shooting role and was more efficient. And for those that say he stepped it UP in the playoffs, his percentages for both 3pters and overall are BELOW his career averages, he doesn't STEP up.... HE TAKES MORE SHOTS !! DD
I agree that this year, we have more scoring options than in years past. As such, I think McGrady will be an effective playmaker in the halfcourt playoff offense, without having to take as many shots. In playoffs of years past, however, T-Mac has been responsible for being the playmaker and scorer, because nobody else was willing or able to step up. I agree .430 shooting percentage is not ultra-efficient, but T-Mac's teammates have not exactly lit it up in the playoffs in years past. A lot of these role players that look very good and efficient right now may struggle to find their own shots in the playoffs, so having a playmaker like McGrady will be crucial.
You can't deny that McGrady stepped up against Dallas. His shooting has been wildly inconsistent in the last two postseasons, but the lack of offensive talent around him also has to be considered. This team has more weapons, and McGrady shouldn't have to shoot as much. But his talents, which are still unique on the team, will still be highly valued.
Durv, That is my point though, it is time for him to take a step back in volume of shots for the team to take a step FORWARD in success. He has enough talent around him to trust them to take the shot, or them to make the pass. Tmac has to play better TEAM ball, it is not about setting them up for a shot as much as it is about letting THEM set him and others up to.....a total team committment. If he can do that, I really believe this team can win it all...this year.... But that is a BIG if. DD
I thought he did a pretty good job of playing team basketball against Philly on offense. Hopefully he can build off that.
He did ok, on offense, but his defense was really bad....Tmac has to play both ends, and he is fully capable of doing it..... I think he is honestly TRYING to step back, and not step on his teamate's toes, he knows that they were pissed off at him for being lazy and not rehabbing like they did before the season. He knows that the team played great without him by playing together.....Tmac knows..... And, I think he realizes what he has to do, which is why this latest ankle injury is so dissappointing to me, because I was really looking forward to a backseat driving Tmac.....someone who plays within the team, because I think that is the key to this team's overall success as it is assembled. DD
that is the key: a healthy and MOTIVATED TMAC...eventhough he seems unintersted and un motivated, I think he is waiting for the playoffs...I think (actually I hope) that is the case and he will take his game to another level when he knows THIS IS IT!!!
It depends...on the scenario. Yes and No. More likely not for the 1st Round, if there is the chance he is nto healthy enough to play, I rather save him for the later rounds. If we have an opponent, besides the Spurs and Lakers. I really think T-Mac could sit out the 1st round and the Rockets could still win convincingly, if everyone else is at least 80%. I can't see Denver, NO, Phoenix, Utah, or Dallas beating us 4 times with the roster we have now unless the Great Wall is shut down for the season. Also, I think it will be toss up against SA, without T-Mac. The Rockets, I believe, are built to beat them, anyway. Yao Ming might be outstanding against them, while they have to deal with hellish bench (Brooks, Wafer, Landry, and Mutombo - hopefully). We definitely need T-Mac against the Lakers to make them play defense. They wouldn't have to worry as much if T-Mac is out I think, it would make a much easier gameplan and smoother double teams. Honestly, I believe with a healthy T-Mac, we could beat the Lakers. In that series, T-Mac or Yao will be the main key to winning, outside of our defense. I firmly believe that the Lakers won't be able to stop Yao and a wing player, either Artest, T-Mac, or Wafer.
I really don't understand why guys look at stats to prove their points. Stats are way OVERRATED. Shooting 42/43% is not that bad for a SG/SF. The only thing is the 3point %. LeBron is a horrible shooter also. If he was here would guys be screaming get rid of LeBron? As many scoring options we have McGrady is not going to put up blazing numbers.
I totally agree!! If he gets in shape and his confidence back, he will be fine! This team is a good team without him, but we need T-mac to take us to that next level in the playoffs. Ok ya he has been playing bad this season but there is still time for him to get back in shape, he just needs to stay healthy and play more games. The way defenses from opposing teams focus on him makes it a lot easier for our other players to hit open shots. T-mac, Yao, and Artest can own score at any given time which will really make it hard for defenses to defend us. Point is, we just need to stay healthy and get more floor time for them to get adjusted to each other. They just need to have chemistry thats all so im not worried
It's fairly simple - if McGrady is going to dominate offensively, we need the McGrady we saw in the Dallas series and haven't really seen since. Unfortunately, all the things that made him fantastic that series are the same things completely missing this year. I'm not ruling out at all the possibility that he can rebound, but it's been several years now and he's only been moving away from that attacking style. About the chucker stuff: For a career 33% outside shooter, McGrady already takes too large a percentage of his attempts from back there (he consistently has taken about 25% of shots from deep), and during the playoffs his already bad 33% drops to a "just cut it out" percentage - 21% last year and 25% the year before that. And that's not including the large number of long range 2s. I'll agree that we need McGrady to go far in the postseason. But it's got to be the Dallas series McGrady if he's going to be carrying the load. Otherwise, his role needs to be de-emphasized. For the first time in forever, we've got a nice array of weapons that can score. McGrady doesn't need to be an "all on me" scorer as much as we could use him as a playmaker. But he hasn't been a playmaker in a very long time. You can't create if you stay glued to the perimeter. Evan
They also don't tell you about how often a guy attacks the rim and how often a guy declines to penetrate. LeBron IS a playmaker, Tracy USED to be one.
Sure he took more shots, with the teammates out there, who else were going to take the majority of those shots? Aside from this season, we never had this much depth before. Yao and Mac for the most of those three years were the only ones that can create their own shot. Yes, he took more shots but couldn't that be a sign of him being more aggressive? Up until last year, we didn't always have the luxury of a Scola, Wafer, Landry or a Brooks to help out with the scoring. We had guys like Ryan Bowen, J-Howard, Wesley, and everyone's favorite, Luther Head for most of T-Mac's Rocket playoff career.
This is such a bogus argument.......you have to trust your teamates no matter WHO they are...that is why players like Elie, Smith, Horry, Cassel etc...get to become valuable members of a quality team. If you take all the shots....there is nothing left. Give me a WIDE OPEN Battier 3 from the corner over a contested TMac shot from the 3pt line 100 times out of 100..... Or give me a Scola elbow jumper.......to say they didn't have anyone else is pure bullcrap. It is just not true. DD
