i'm not so sold on the jumper being gone. its always been an erratic thing, he's a streak shooter. what made him amazing was his ability to mix it up and keep the defenses guessing because he was/is so versatile. its a month in and we're starting to see some progress, as in he's driving more now and the jumper is going down more often now than it was during the start of the season. i dont think its right to judge him by this back to back, it might have been an off night. his performance in the early season, to me, does not hold as much weight as his recent performances, because it seems to me like he's starting to get his legs back. we'll see what he's got in the next couple of games. if he still plays like a loser, like he and yao did tonight, then we can start officially worrying. yao has been a pretty crappy back to back player, so i wasnt suprised by his performace at all. he does not get a pass though, because there's no excuse for stinking up the court like he did. tracy was bad, but so was yao. just because he's playing well this year does not mean he should get a pass from us whenever he plays this bad. it was far worse than an "off" night. he was trying to lay it up and finesse some shots when he could have leaned in and powered through them. bottom line, our stars have got to step up.
Sorry, its all in his head. Perhaps he actually has lost something - STILL in his head. I don't want to hear about 10 years in the league coming in from high school and having to "carry" teams. As though he physically hoisted 4 Orlando Magic players on his back while on the court. Also how many years has he been THE man in his career? Around half (not in Toronto with V. Carter, not this year with Yao). What would he have been doing if he didnt enter the league from high school? Playing BASKETBALL still. Carrying a college team and playing extra postseason games, then probably entering the draft after a year or two anyways. (Isnt that part the point why they want players to go to college, to play EXTRA minutes and working on their skills? Instead of warming the bench 1st 3 years like Jermaine O'Neal?) He didnt get significant minutes til his 3rd year in the league. I'm not saying playing huge minutes and injuries wont take its toll, I'm saying it shouldnt have THIS much effect on his overall game.
You guys must not have watched any Orlando Magic games with T-Mac. He is not as physically talented as he used to be. He was quicker and faster. Just simply watch videos from 3 season ago and you'll see a difference. There are gonna be plenty of nights that we are gonna see the dominating and explosive T-Mac and there are night that we won't. We just aren't gonna see it consistently anymore. That's just the way it is.
