Tracy McGrady and Layups

he blew two layups right in front of the rim last night.

i think it was just lack of focus....and that was something that plagued the whole team last night.

 

Well concerning his jumpshots, hes a very streaky jumpshooter

Otherwise him missing layups is pissing me off. Whats pissing me off even more, a lot of times it seems like there is so much contact when he drives it yet hes not getting any calls. He goes thru so much traffic to try to put the ball in the hoop

 

Well, I think the problem was when he drove to the hole, he was trying to draw fouls instead of focusing to finish it. So when refs didn't blow the whistle, he was already in the air.

 

He's 6'8" with tremendous leaping ability. He should try to dunk each and every time instead of laying it up. It's a huge let down to watch him blow those gimme's.

 

You took the words right out of my mouth. If he's too busy worried about drawing the foul, then the focus is gone.

Look at the phoenix game. The phoenix players even said that in the fourth quarter they were trying to get Yao fouled out, but "the refs weren't making the calls"

Believe me I'm glad we won, but it just goes to show you that you need to stay focused on the goal of winning the game by executing and not trying to get fouls or draw fouls.

 

That's one of the other things... 2 seasons ago in Orlando... he would've dunked those instead of laying it up... it may have to do with his back, but he seems to have lost some of that "freakish" athletic ability he once had

 

I notice this same thing long time ago. I have to say Tmac's layup is not as good as most of players in his level, not metion Kobe, AI, is not as good as even Sura, SF. So some times I just think he should take more jump shots or more practice on his layup. He is so talented so I belive he can do it.
I love him anyway.
Go rox, go Tmac.

 

Haven't seen last two games yet, but based what i've seen earlier in the season, i would say Tracy makes so many moves look so easy and effortless, the real difficulty of those doesn't always show to the rest of us.

In other words, he finds seams and explodes to the basket like few others, often having to shake multiple defenders off him in situations where no one should have any business trying layups. Some of those shots he will miss but i would say he converts them at fairly good percentage, either a bucket or foul or both being the result.

One reason why some other player,for example Kobe, might finish similar moves more often might be strength. T-Mac isn't the strongest guard out there and considering the amount of contact he has to deal with, that has to affect him somehow.

Finally, Tracy has had some nagging injuries this season and those combined with the minutes he plays, might slow him down also.

 

the thing that strikes about tmac to me is that he doesnt usually jump up, but he jumps across to reach the basket faster to lay it up. he'd probably beat his man by a lot but he still needs to make the layup, whereas if he started jumping closer to the basket his defender might be closer but he'd dunk it.
just what i see

 

yeah thats a good observation. especially to end the quarter, I sometimes see him swoop to the basket and take off pretty far from the basket and try to lay it in with the left hand only to have it hit nothing but backboard. its probably because he's travelling to fast and his hand is over the rim level, so it makes for a difficult layup. T-Mac is a lot better at laying it up when he attacks baseline. He hits like 90% of those.

 

Yeah I do what TMac did last night all the time.

The layup is so easy and it's right there so open that you just blow it..lose focus and don't score. Just miss it ..

 

This is my take on the whole Tmac missing layups deal.

Have any of yall seen the Princess Bride? When the spaniard and Wesley have the swordfight in the beginning, they're both using their left hands, EVEN THOUGH they're not left handed. If yall notice that on many of Tmac's dunks/layups, he uses his left hand, and we all know that he's not left handed. Why? Tmac is no different from the spaniard/wesley in that he's trying to be a hotshot! He knows jamming it down or even using his right hand would be "too easy" so he puts a difficult twist to it by using his left hand. And i think he (and us as well) are starting to see that he's not automatic with that left hand. Knowing the type of person Tmac is (not personally or anything) i think this little theory makes much sense.

 

I don't think Tmac is trying to make the layup too difficult. As the easiest shot in basketball besides free throw, I imagine TMac not practicing any layup, because as gifted and skilled as he is, he would not think he needs to practice it. I seemed guys being freakishly atheletic, and they can outrun and out jump anyone, but once they get to the rim for a layup, they would just miss badly. Sometimes a player needs to practice finish around the basket, especially after all that crazy moves before the layup.

 

The reason T-Mac sometimes blows layups with his left hand is really rather simple: because defenders usually expect him to shoot with his right hand and they focus on that, so he switches away from the defender to attempt and lay it in.

Now, having watched T-Mac and the Rockets ALL year long, every single game, I can confidently tell you that he has missed probably no more than 4 layups the whole season. Also, if you notice how off-balance his body is when he has to jump through defenders to get to the basket, you might understand why he has missed a few of those. Furthermore, he gets hammered plenty of times when he drives inside, and yet gets no calls, causing him to either miss the shot or turn it over. Sometimes this discourages him from driving inside any more and he starts settling for some outside shots. Also, if you have watched the team play this year, you know that T-Mac has been nagged with multiple injuries all season long, and he is playing nearly 42 minutes a game on a body that is not 100% healthy, which means fatigue also plays a role here, and the fact that he pretty much limps/whinces seemingly evertime he comes down from making a dunk. His explosiveness is not there because of those injuries. Hopefully he will have a good rest in the off-season, and then he will be back at full force. But for now, he is toughing it out and not complaining.

So yes, T-Mac's layups are plaguing the Rockets' chances to win games!

Not nearly as much as I find myself asking "How the F*** did he make that?!!!!"

Take the good with the bad, you are lucky to be watching this man play for the Rockets, he is as rare a talent as they come. I understand he does make himself look like "Superman" at times with the apparent ease he does some things on the court, but just because it looks easy doesn't mean it is.

Something to keep in mind...

 

i remember reading somewhere that tmac is really good finishing left. though that could have been an adidas commercial... anyways, i do find myself a lot times wondering why he didnt just dunk it or just how he completely blows these layups... im not sure sure what is the problem (fouled with no call?) but i do find myself wondering at times...

 

OK, it's poll time!

Which is worse...

1. T-Mac missing layups (and/or free throws for that matter) seemingly due to being lackadaisical, or

2. Yao being open, or mismatched on a guard right under the basket, getting the ball, attempting a lackadaisical, simple little flip over the rim which misses when he gets whacked by the much weaker defender...when he could've easily gotten the 2+ if he'd only gone up and finished with a power dunk, rather than letting the fly put him on the line shooting two?

 

I've seen him miss more than 4 layups in the past several games. Like I said before, forget the layup crap and just dunk it.

H3ll, all he has to do is pretend Weisass's picture is on the rim.

 

He missed an open layup that would of put the game away when Crawford hit the game winner in the first Knicks game.