If you want to give him a hall pass in the fourth quarter, that's fine. I wanted more out of my guy. [/QUOTE] You keep putting absolutely everything on Tracy. I haven't read all the posts, but you seem to totally ignore that Rafer isn't there and that Tracy is having to take care of the point a lot and handle the ball a lot more than normal. Do you know how much this wears him down on top of trying to play his position? He's not Superman. Yeah, I think everyone would love to see him go super strong down the stretch, but I think he has simply too much load on him to do it. He admitted he was dead tired going into the 4th. Playing pretty much the whole game and doing as much as is required of him right now will do that. Like others have mentioned, he's not getting much help. Brooks and Jackson certainly aren't cutting it. Scola is doing a really nice job I think, but it just isn't enough without some more help. Who else is really stepping up. I think Battier is playing hard and scored well when given the chance, but it hasn't been much. Other teams don't put everything on one guy. Utah got nice contributions from Derron Williams, Boozer, Kirelinko, Okur, Milsap, Matt Harping, and that point guard that filled in for Derron hit a couple of big 3's. Just don't see the same aggressive play from our guys, but really we are outsized pretty good and these are some really good players on Utah. You can't expect to win with only a couple of guys really playing well against Utah, and we almost did. If some other guys were playing better, if there was someone else making assists, some other guys that were scoring threats, that would help tremendously for Tracy to get easier shots also, make even more passes, and not wear himself out. Kobe, or any other star wouldn't win in this situation either. It's not a one person game.
And you are a hysterical ninny. There is at least as much evidence to support *my* supposition as yours. I can't help but laugh at all you internet warriors who have accomplished exactly *zero* in your lives who are so quick to question the heart and integrity of people just because your little team lost a game. I love how the OBVIOUS REASONS FOR THE LOSS THAT ARE WRITTEN IN NEON AND LIT BY LASERS- namely, one team who is missing two out of their three best players is playing against a deep, healthy and more talented team- isn't enough to break through your thick-as-the-walls-of-NORAD skulls. Instead, you blame the loss on the one guy who kept his team in both games. Brilliant. You blame the guy who not only guarded Carlos freaking Boozer on several possessions, but also was the de facto point guard and only offensive threat for two entire games. Yeah, *he's* to blame. You have concluded in your inestimable wisdom that *he's* "not an assassin!" He's certainly not an assassin like you are, right sport? I mean, who assassinates logic like you do? Take your brilliant insight to the airport stat and wait for McGrady so you give him some tips on being an "assassin" like old Rileydog Wilkes Booth before they get to Utah.
Sorry, don't have time to read all the posts so I don't know if the topic has changed, but I would just like to say lololololololololololololololololol to the starter of this thread. That is all.
Out of gas in the fourth What the first two games have gotten him isn't all that great either. He's being roasted around the country for not making a field goal in the fourth quarter of Games 1 and 2. Good basketball and good media are different things. "I just play the right way," he said. "I ain't going to change because the fans want me to do something." The Jazz figured out before the series that the Rockets probably needed monster games from McGrady to have any chance of winning. The Jazz have thrown fresh body after fresh body after another at him. He has been double-teamed regularly until the fourth quarter, when the Jazz occasionally bring a third defender. At various times, Ronnie Brewer, Matt Harpring, Kyle Korver and Andrei Kirilenko have all played bump and run with McGrady. When one defender would tire, Jerry Sloan would try another. In the fourth quarter, the Jazz began mugging McGrady off the pick-and roll. Shots simply weren't there. He was magnificent for three quarters Monday and finished one assist shy of a triple-double. He was worn out and smothered at the end. Had one of his teammates hit a jumper or two, had someone generated offense, the Jazz might have backed off. Instead, they had the luxury of doing whatever needed to be done while not worrying about anyone else. Rookie point guard Aaron Brooks generated some offense early in the fourth quarter, but down the stretch the Rockets went four critical possessions without a basket. To some, it's all on McGrady. ''I've never heard of a guy coming so close to a triple-double and still hearing it's not good enough," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. ''We have to find a way to get him in some better positions. We don't have an inside game to balance things off. We have to find ways to be effective without it." McGrady played almost 44 minutes in Game 2. As Adelman said: "I felt I had to have him out there." Afterward, McGrady admitted to being exhausted. Kirilenko entered the game with 6:39 left in the fourth quarter after spending nine minutes on the bench. He was rested and aggressive just as McGrady was running out of steam. Jazz strategy sound "They know what they're doing," McGrady said. "If you don't have shooters out on the basketball court, if you don't have other playmakers, you can take one guy out (of his game). It's a pretty smart game plan." The Rockets hope to get Rafer Alston back for Game 3 on Thursday. He played like an All-Star during the 22-game winning streak, and the Rockets hope that sore hamstring gives him no more trouble. It seems unfair to expect him to step back onto the floor and be as good as ever, but he's the best option the Rockets have. As for McGrady, Adelman needs others to make plays early to take pressure off McGrady and have him fresh in the fourth quarter. McGrady has said he won't start forcing shots no matter what. He said he never played that way and didn't intend to start. I think he appreciated the suggestion anyway. that is enough said right there. utah doubles him a lot through the first 3 but he's fresh enough to take them on. starting the 4th, they go all out and just straight up mugs him b/c they know his teammates suck. even a tmac critic in justice notices the ridiculous defense they're playing on a tired tmac. and when your teammates ain't cutting it, utah isn't gonna stop its defense.
the same people that wanted us to play the jazz saying we can take them are now are saying the jazz are the better team and making excuses for tmac... how many times do u guys need to see to know that tmac shrinks down the stretch...and for people posting stats, stats dont mean jack when you dont come up big at the end of the game when your team needs you to step up...if u guys wants to just post stats then i guess you would put up VC or stephon or players like that who puts up numbers but im sure most of you would agree arent winners and big game players...theyre just stat stuffers... 1 point in the 4 qtr the first two games inexcusable...i dont care how you slice it..
Utah was determined to make it tough for him even if he scores. I think he was very uncomfortable by being swarmed. It would be difficult for Kobe or anybody if they were in Tmac's shoes.
He has to be the playmaker and the scorer. He is the one-man show out there. He tried. He tried hard. The frustrating part is the harder he tries the worst it got for him because he tired himself out. I don't blame him. Had he performed like this with Yao in the game, it would be a different story. The rest of this team simply cant match up with Utah offensively. It's easy to take the lone superstar out of the game and that's what Utah did.
Isn't that why people watch this *****? To judge the accomplishments of athletes and compare and contrast greatness...mediocrity....etc? So why lay someone out for "not accomplishing" what some athlete can or can't do? What's the argument there? If someone who never succeeded as an athlete can't judge tmac...then none of should ever post here or even watch a game right? or have any expectations because we've never played in the nba....if that's the case then let these dudes play in high school gyms with no audience, or in a 24 hour fitness. then it can be purely about athleticism and talent. if you get paid to play ball for an audience, then you open yourself up to criticism by the paying public...i don't care if its by stephen hawkings. fans who watch these games and support the team with cash money can call tmac a little b**** if they want to...its their right as consumers...has nothing to do with what you are capable of in your personal life.
Your the Stat poster. He didn't get so and so in this quarter. Listen to yourself. If another guy would have played anywhere close to what McGrady did, we would have won that game. No one else stepped up.
No one is saying that someone can't judge. But truly to put the blame on a guy that played an incredible game, a guy that got you to the playoffs in the first place is just stupid. You are an idiot if you spout that line. That is all there is to it. Don't expect not to be called on it. I just can't see where people can't see that he was swarmed by fresh player after fresh player, still almost gets a triple double and most of the rest of the team is scared to shoot. Truly how do expect to beat a team like Utah who is probably the most physically talented in the west without your starting point guard, and that guy Yao would be nice to have as well. Coaches that use a really tough press in college know that its not for just then, where it really becomes effective is in the last few minutes of the game when the other team really starts to tire. This is the same thing happening with McGrady, except its even worse. Fresh player after fresh player is being sent specifically after him, and he's hardly even coming out of the game.
Jesus, I thought I liked sports because of the excitement of the games and pulling for your team. I didn't think it was some outlet for my powers of criticism. Is that really how it works for you? If the reason you watch sports is so you can call players a "little b****" if they disappoint you then you are a pathetic loser. End of argument. Your right as a consumer is not some kind of get of jail free card for being douchebag.
Allright. Breathe. Try to follow me. It requires some ability to focus. 1. I'm not saying that we should win the series. I'm not even saying we should have won that game. Try to focus -- I conceded at the outset, before tipoff in game 1, that we are outmanned here. It's hard for a homer to concede this, but anyone can see it. 2. I'm not asking Tmac to be MVP for the year. For for the playoffs. Or for the series. I'M NOT SAYING THAT HE'S THE REASON WE LOST. Try reading. 3. I'm saying I wanted our best player to be aggressive in the 4th quarter of the game that decides whether this is going to be a series or not. I wanted Tmac to want the ball; to want to be the guy to decide whether we win or lose. I wanted him to go down shooting; go down attacking. WIN OR LOSE. One game, go out shooting and attacking. Win or lose, go out in a blaze of glory. (Maybe you'd be happier if I started a thread on each of the Rockets players. But sorry, if you're the best player on the team and paid the most, you draw the most scrutiny. The only question is whether that scrutiny is fair) 4. It seems to me that he is not that guy. He does not have that edge. He is not obsessed, driven, downright pathological. He is a very good player that played well in Game 2. I just wanted him to go down attacking. The going got toughest in the 4th quarter. Tmac didn't bring it. Perhaps you're ok with that. I hoped for more.
Well, I don't think he quit, he just didn't do enough, you know the things superstars do...Like win...
^ A Richard Justice Commentary piece. Sorry but I try not to read him if I can help it. It's like using anything Bill Walton says as evidence. Justice may hit lightening in a bottle and be right for a change but he changes his mind too many times to be taken seriously. In one piece he'll be sympathizing with McGrady and not 24 hours later he will be ripping him.
Exactly, what you want to see is how much fight does Tmac has when it matters most. If he doesn't go down fighting how do you expect the Rockets to ever win a championship.
Tmac admitted last year that he ran out of gas. If you have a winner mind set you don't run out of gas two years in a row.
