You think Allen Iverson trusted his teammates when he went to the finals? I don't think so. You think Kobe trusted his teammates when he had 81? I don't think so. If no one is willing to take the shot and Yao and McGrady are taking more shots then they should then by all means go for it. They are paid like superstars let them do whatever it takes to win
I think we can all agree that should not be the case this year. Assuming we have Yao and Artest around, that should be an iron clad 35 ppg. Scolandry's another ironclad 17. 15 from Rafer/Brooks. 12 from Battier/Wafer/Barry. That tallies up to almost 80. We need McGrady, but do we really need 30 from him? Do we need him to take a third of the team's shots? This year? Or do we go in with a more balanced attack? I think we're far better off convincing McGrady to dial back his attempts in exchange for more of a focus on playmaking. Evan
Yeah he didn't win but my whole point is do you think he trusted his teammates to get there. He played the same way and the same style no matter what. Thats why we should have played the same way same style with McGrady and Yao. If they have to take more shots than anyone else then so be it.
No, that is not how you win....you take the best OPEN shot....if the offense is designed for Tmac to get the most shots....and they are good shots...then fine. But if he is chucking or holding the ball, making it EASY to guard the Rockets and to double and trap Yao...then it is doomed to fail. And, the latter is what happened. Tmac needs to step back, and concentrate on taking GOOD shots....being part of the offense.....not worry about touches, just worry about letting the game come to him. Too often he tries to "Impose his will" and when you are weak willed to begin with that is a recipe for failure. Tmac has to conform, or he has to go. Pretty simple really. DD
Do you even watch the playoff games?? He's the only one making things happen..i dont care what you say..we cant win without Mcgrady..its not his fkin fault that his teammates dont deliver so we'll
The Myth: we need a solid rotation w/ Tracy and Ron that has had consistent continuity in the Playoffs Checked: not a myth.
When you take all of Tracy’s playoff loses and look at his shooting percentage you will come to the conclusion that Tracy is not great in the playoffs. When his team loses in the playoffs Tracy averages a FG% of .400. That is not great, in fact it is inadequate. If your star player is taking the most shots and has a bad FG% you are going to lose.
Exactly... This year!! Go watch the playoffs again. Scola et al did not come to the party, and Tracy had to do too much. Obviously this year the rooks have that experience, and we have some new players, so things are looking better in that respect. Doesn't trust his team-mates... God knows how you can keep pumping that line out as if he doesn't try or want to...
The team isn't talented enough to win without Tracy in the playoffs but let's stop repeating the myth about Tmac being so great in the playoffs because he has not been great for a few seasons. He coudn't buy a bucket in the 4th quarter during last year's playoffs and his stats were not "another level" either. He had a good line but that was skewed by his eruption in game 6 (when the series was basically over) yet he still shot .425 for the series...not exactly scorching. His numbers the year before against the Jazz were even worse. He shot under 40%. Having said all that, the team still needs him because some of our heroes like Carl Landry, Von Wafer and Aaron Brooks are probably going to have trouble producing in the playoffs when defenses key in on them and learn their tendencies. You can assume Shane will be a non-factor as well and Rafer will give the team a few 2-14 performances. Actually, Scola seems to be the only role player capable of elevating his game in the playoffs. Superstars still win games so unless Yao is hitting on all cylinders Tracy needs to turn into a post-season monster. I'm not optimistic about that happening considering the injuries and Tracy's mental issues. Ron was brought in to be the third scorer. If he is forced to be the first or even second option on offense on a consistent basis then the team is screwed. Then again, without an upgrade at PG this team still won't get past the second round.
Let's see. Wide open Battier 3 ... he'll convert about 40% (conservatively) ... expected value = 1.2 points. Scola elbow jumper ... he'll convert about 45% ... expected value ... 0.9 points. Contested TMac shot (his favorite shot seems to be just inside the three point line); he'll hit 25% of those. Expected value 0.5 points. Do that five times a game and that's a swing of 2 points to 3.5 points. The point DD and I are missing is that we're so good that we don't need those points.
reg. seaosn is not the playoffs. we played pretty well without him last yr too. the playoffs are a different beasts.
exactly, he's been trying his a** off ever since this season started. i know he should've taken the first month off but no, he tried to get out there and play and be with the team even though he didn't play well at all and he knows that. after the two weeks off that he got, he's starting to get better and better out there. the reason we lost is because these guys hasn't even gotten the chance to practice with everyone. thus, no consistency, people don't know what their roles are. we look clueless when players get back. just give them time and they will get better.
that's the thing people don't get. AB, wafer, and scola have taken bigger roles offensively, and we hae a new star to the team. without practice, there's not going to be a lot of good chemistry and rhythm. like i said, if shane started the season like the team anticipated, tracy would have rested the first month of the season. during that time, he could have practiced with the team... and all this may have been for naught. but throughout the season, we have tracy, ron, and shane going in and out of the lineup and that makes it tough to have a rhythm. this stretch should solve a lot of these problems. i expect tracy to come back v. the bulls and continue his improved play and help the team.
And we won last year without Yao... so are you saying we don't need Yao? We've had solid wins against Denver, Detroit, and Boston without some of our big 3, but you are going to need everyone if we plan on beating these good teams in a 7 game series. You could make the argument that Yao/Artest and Co. could win a round and perhaps make the second round interesting, but we flat out aren't winning a title unless we have a healthy Tmac in the playoffs.
Well we saw how Yao was during the Jazz playoff series. He got lit up like a christmas tree by boozer and Okur pretty much defended him perfectly with single coverage. You never know what you'll get from role players come playoff time and defenses get tougher, play gets more physical. Tmac has shown he can produce during the playoffs. So can the Rockets do well in the playoffs? Maybe. Most likely not unless their stars are playing well.
