Show me another player who can be an all-star-caliber SF, SG, defensive PF, or PG, depending on what his team needs in any given series, game, or quarter. Until then, Doug Collins and the rest of the armchair QBs can kiss McGrady's jock.
the way we should use the offense with yao and mcgrady is to use yao early in the quarters, and then let him sit in the final few minutes and let tracy take over. then do that all over again the next quarter. we've had problems closing out games when the offense is stagnant and i believe its because going to yao all the time slows things down too much, and there's almost no point in putting in a guy like spanoulis or luther as the sparkplug because the offense goes to yao so much. if you let chuck hayes be the center in the final minutes, it allows the offense to run the court so we arent stuck in a half court setting all game.
Precisely. Also, if Shaq can sit his fat burger eating ass on the bench and milk imaginary injuries until the playoffs, why the hell is Tmac getting so much flak for being the guy who's making everyone better while giving it his all every night? Especially since the Rockets are winning and the Heat suck balls.
After tonight's game, I'm less worried about Tracy but I'm much more worried about overall team chemistry on offense. We should have won this game by 30 points. Up 21-10, we then blew a layup and were outscored 29-16 to finish the half by an outmanned team that doesn't belong on the floor with a contender (or near contender). In the 2nd half, the defense was very good, the offense was crisp and we took control in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, we junk everything that worked prior and get 3 point happy which let's them hang around. If the game had been close, the 4th quarter collapse on offense would have poisoned our effort on defense just like the other games EXCEPT (1) We were playing an awful team & (2) We never let the lead slip away because of #1.
The key is to play Chuck Hayes good minutes in the fourth quarters. When he's on the court, good things just seem to happen. The big critique anti-Hayes people have had was his offensive deficiencies would stifle the offense because defenders could just sag off him. In actuality, the offense seems to flow much better when he's in the game (along with Yao and/or McGrady). He sets great screens, is very good moving without the ball, and he's active on the offensive boards.
Tracy McGrady is no longer a scoring champion . He has too much wear and tear even for his age. He is changing his game to suite this team and his career. Of course, I expect him to shoot better from the field. We just have to accept this fact.
It's not "chemistry" as much as it is simply a reflection of the fact that our role players are largely inconsistent, occasionally brilliant (i.e. the game against Dallas), but mostly inconsistent and undependable in the long haul. Moreover, we lack that elusive 'third option' player that we have been clamoring for ever since McGrady came into town. I just don't think we have the quality depth -- not just depth -- that teams like San Antonio and Dallas have. While those teams can afford to have their superstars either 'cruise' through the season (i.e. Duncan with the Spurs) or endure injuries (i.e. Dallas), we have no such luxury. As I said before, short of having Bonzi come back and play like he's looking for a big contract, OR making a major pickup before the trade deadline, this trend will continue.
Tmac is looking more like t-magic johnson. I felt that there was little chemistry the first few games. But now it looks like tmac has rounded the corner and looking more and more comfortable in the flow of the game. And because Tmac is such a huge focal point, the overall chemistry is better too. The 4th quarter collapses are still a concern for the time being but I'll attribute those to growing pains.
I don't accept that fact, because come playoff time, he will STILL be forcing stiffs like Shawn Bradley into retirement and forcing teams to double and triple team him, all the while dropping 30 on them. He doesn't need to be a 'scoring champion' to be a terrific scorer. He's still more than capable of doing that, he's just not looking to do it every night in a 'grind it out' 82-game NBA season. BIG difference...
I had that same feeling sometimes, that the role players were inconsistent. But I realized it was mostly during the 4th quarter collapses, and I blame that on a multitude of things on the whole team. My one wish is that Battier could somehow get more opportunities on offense, rather than picking up points on the random opportune moments. I know that's why we actually have him, but I think getting him a few looks on a regular basis will go a long way when we need other guys besides tmac and yao to step up.
I think it is chemistry. In spurts tonight and at other times earlier in the season (especially the 4th quarter collapses) the players looked like they had no idea what to do on offense. They were either standing still or going through motions that did nothing to get anybody open. To me, that is chemistry, not talent. This occurs most often when the other team is expending energy on defense. I realize we have talent issues but that isn't our main problem right now, IMO. When our offense has a consistent flow for long periods of time, then we will approach the ceiling on our capabilities. Right now, we aren't close and don't seem to be getting any closer. It is my hope we will work the kinks out by season's end. If things continue as they are, we are going to hit rough times later on.
i dont think its a good idea, kevin is no way better than tracy, what marvelous assists tmac made! 13! if the teamates had not waste too many of them then it had been up to 15 or even more! tmac now is just changing, people always changing sometimes, take that with tons of wins...
He did it all tonight. Simple as that. He flashed that "old" T-Mac at us with that crazy 3 on the in bound play and the baseline drive slamming it home with authority. He also played the "new" T-Mac dropping 13 assists and that sweet behind the back pass to Yao for the slam. If you haven't noticed, the T-Mac from Orlando is gone, and for good reason too. It's not that he couldn't do it again (score hella, i mean), it's that he doesn't need to. If T-Mac had Yao (or Shaq, KG, Duncan, etc.) in Orlando, there is no way he would have won consecutive scoring titles twice, instead he might have won consecutive championships. He is very unselfish and he had to carry that team on his own. Maybe he isn't as athletic as his Orlando days, maybe he's just rusty, but we don't need that T-Mac. We need this T-Mac, setting up his team or riding Yao's giant back and taking it easy all the way till the playoffs. We need this T-Mac, who became aggressive when the game counted and helped us close this game. We need this T-Mac who dropped 13 assists and shot pretty well. Why do people get so caught up with the stats? He (and Yao of course) are getting this team W's. The team is 9-4. His effiency is picking up as well, he just had one too many turnovers tonight, no biggie. Maybe we aren't paying him $16 mil to score 19-ish, but i'm sure we're paying him $16 mil to complement Yao (and make him better) perfectly, to drop dimes, to make his teammates better, and to get us W's.
I really don't care how many points he averages, but Tracy needs to be more efficient. He's taking too many contested 3s and too many 3s overall. And, his FT% is pretty terrible considering how many attempts he should get. Those are the areas he needs to focus on. Better shots, knock down FTs. Also, I've been wondering if Tracy's had his eyes checked. Even someone his age could start becoming more near-sighted. It's a possible explanation for the shooting woes.
while we have been harping a lot on Tmac's weaknesses the last few weeks, I have definitely noticed some of his true strengths. - His passing ability at his size is just insane. The only other guy who sees those sort of plays like TMac is Lebron! - Tmac is an excellent post defender. When SG's and SF's try to post him up, he uses his length to swipe at the ball to get them off balance and usually ends up with a blocked shot. Ruben Patterson tried it a few weeks back and got owned twice. BTW, DOES ANYONE KNOW TMAC's wingspan?? I really want to know
I think he's more or less coasting until the playoffs and saving his health for the playoffs. I'd rather he not blow his back out this early in the season and save as much energy for the playoffs as possible. That said I do worry that he'll get used to coasting through the regular season too much that he'll forget how to establish himself as a dominant force. I'd really hate for him to get the Shaq mentality of thinking he can just flip a switch and automatically become a dominant force whenever he so chooses. It's all just speculation at this point and I have no proof to back up my claims. Another factor is simply he's not the go to guy anymore on this team and no longer has to have to average 30 a game just to give his team a fighting chance. Also lets not forget that most players under JVG have their PPG total go down due to fewer possessions per game. Whatever the case may be, we're winning and have been within striking distance of every game we've played thus far. I'm not worried about Mcgrady. It's just way too early in the season to panic.
It seems that Tmac has found a more suitable way to help the Rockets. Although he has not recovered in his shooting, he can find his teammates in open spaces and pass the ball to them timely and accurately. I like the old scoring champion Tmac, but I like the overall Tmac better. Yaoming and other teammates can benefit more from his changes. 13 assists VS Grizzles represent what he contributed to the win. After resolving the 4th qua collapses, the Rockets would become a very terrible team for the other teams!
There's a big difference between seeing a large athlete and focusing on the rim or an eyelet from 23' 9"....
