don, do you mind showing Kobe's numbers, while you are at it. Or did you purposely leave those out just to make some lame point.
http://www.82games.com/0506/05HOU12E.HTM Not so, Tmac's eFG% in crunch time actually goes up. It's eFG- 50%. It's the rushed shots (aka stupid shots early in the clock from 35 feet to test how 'hot' he is) that are the problem. I like Tmac in the crunch and on a break away, but a lot of times he chooses to shoot when he hasn't even tried other options. I'd like to see Tracy continue to be the bail out guy and improve his shot selection when there is time on the clock.
Definitely left them out on purpose, but they're still better than Tmac's. I don't think Kobe is a great winner. Those other guys are winners and Mike James was on one of the worst teams in the NBA. Kobe Bryant: 45.0 % Career: 45.1 %
^^^What gets me is that you are crediting someone else being a winner by how high of a percentage someone has in a certain statistic. It's like you are setting a required line on a number than an individual needs to have in order to lead a team to a championship. So what if those players have a higher percentage. That doesn't mean Tracy can't get it done. DO you have to have a "47%" in order to be a winner? puhlease!
If you are the leader of the team on offense and you only shoot 40%, yes, that is a problem and you aren't going to win a championship. Tracy is smart enough to be the best in the game, but he doesn't have discipline. Discipline means that you don't take plays off and you make the smart play on offense every time. Dr J hit 50%, Jordan hit 50%, Oscar Robertson hit 48.5%, Larry Bird hit 50%, Walt Frazier hit 49%, George Girvin hit 51.1%, Magic Johnson hit 52%, Jerry West hit 47%, James Worthy hit 52% These guys were great swing men and they're all part of the top 50 players in NBA history. Hitting a high percentage of your shots makes you a great player. Playing defense night in and night out will allow you to get some easy buckets and increase your percentage. So yes, Tracy needs to hit a higher percentage for us to be champions. 40% won't get it done. 44% won't either. Tracy needs to be very smart with his shot selection. PGs shoot a low percentage typically, but they don't take 22 shots a game. Tracy needs to adjust his game if the Rockets are to be a great team. I believe he can do it, but he's got to break some habits, he's got to get to the basket more and he's got to play defense. I keep hearing this winning mentality from Tracy, but he's never been out of the first round. Something has got to change to make Tracy a winner. He should start with himself. Example: Tracy shoots 86% from close in and 36% from Jump Shot distance. He takes 16% of his shots from close in and 84% from longer range. If Tracy wants to win, he's got to take it inside more because he's better inside than outside. Plain and simple. I know Tracy is our best player, but he's got to play a more complete game. His heroics mask his poor qualities. What does high percentage shooting do for you? Example: Allen Iverson. He improved his shooting by 2.3% and raised his ppg average by 2.3ppg. Kobe went up 2.7% and scored 7.8ppg more. Lebron raised his percentage from 41.7 to 47.2 between rookie and sophmore year. He scored 6.3 more ppg. Dwayne went from 47.8 to 49.5-> +3.1ppg. Arenas-> +1.6%, +3.8ppg. Pierce +1.6%, +5.2ppg. Dirk +2.1%, +.5ppg. Melo +5.0%, +5.7ppg. Should I go on or do you get the point? If Tracy wants to be elite again, he's got to work on his percentages. Shaq still scores 20ppg because he shoots 60%. Higher percentage = better player. One more example for you if you don't believe me: Tracy -2.5%, -1.3ppg. Puhlease realize that Tracy is not the brilliant player he has the potential to be until he starts playing the game the way he is capable of doing. If he doesn't know this himself already, someone should tell him. He's wasting his talent if he doesn't adjust his game.
I hate to agree with Don on this but there is definitely some truth to it though the truth lies in the need for disipline. I do believe that Tracy has every ability necessary to be put in that list with the Magics and the Gervins of the world. Tracy makes those "heat check" shots that do not improve the flow or the structure of our offense and they make me kringe mainly because he can get away with it and know the coach isn't going to ride him for it. I was never a player like that, and alway got my butt chewed for stepping outside the lines. I don't think it's quite as big a deal as Don has made it out to be but I do think that Tracy will have to gain more disipline as he ages and the Rockets will benifit from it.
Yeah what Okie said. I would only add that the game has changed. Defensive rules have changed coaches ability to control stars has gotten better. The 3 point shot has become more of a part of the game for many players lowering fg percentages. Plus Tmac was injured last year which accounts for his poor shooting year. Still I would agree if there is one part of Tmac's game I would like to see improved it's his shot selection. He is so gifted and has the ability to break down players like very few. Yet at times he settles for outside shots without allowing the team to get in it's offense. This is an area I would like to see improved as Don pointed so I agree with Don and Okie. Still I don't see it to be a major problem. If he can get back to his 45% overall and +35% 3pt he will be fine. And just a little bit better shot selection and staying healthy should make that happen.
For those who questioned who the offense would be centered around well Van Gundy seemed to clear that up last night. When asked in the post game interview why he was going so much inside to Yao was that by design. Van gundy said (paraphrased), “Just say that every night… I want Yao to shoot more… if Yao scores 3 times in a row and he is guarded 1 on 1 then he needs to shoot 4 times". So it sounds likehe is saying he will let the defense dictate the focus but if Yao is available the offense will go through him first. I am also happy to report the dilemna I originally thought to exist is not. Tmac is definitely trying to work within the offense. Outside of an occasional heat check shot, which I would even say is necessary because we all know Tmac can get hot and any shot he takes is good, but outside of that occasional shot he is almost completely defers to Yao or the open man. There is perhaps a new dilemna, actually dilemna may be too strong a word, but let’s say a new problem of how to work Tmac more into the offense. Yes I actually think Tmac is being under utilized and last night he had too many difficult shots. Of course he is that one player who can make a high percentage of difficult shots. But if you are going to start the offense around Yao it seems Tmac should be the beneficiary of some of those easy baskets created by doubles on Yao. You saw Battier get some and 3 point shooters get there’s and even Novak slashed in the middle for an easy basket but what about Tmac. Surely he should get some of the easy shots created. He needs less space than any other Rocket to get his shot off. And if Yao is demanding double teams certainly there should be more space for Tmac. Of course it's preseason and most of these things will be worked out but still I am curious what you guys think or maybe you totally disagree with me and that’s okay too.
Rock, watching the game last night I was sort of disappointed in TMac. I know it's only pre season but TMac kind of by himself the whole time he was in the game. By that, I meant there were a lot one on one moves, sometimes forced shots and very seldom he played together with Yao. On pick and roll with Yao , TMac just might as well played by himself because Yao was never involved. The strength of the pick and roll is that you have to mix it up according to the defensive reaction. Battier kind of made my point for me, he played off of Yao and got Yao involved in almost every play and as a result Battier got more than a few easy layups. When TMac was not in the game, the flow and energy of the game was so much better. Like I said earlier, maybe this is only a pre season hiccup because we surely need TMac to be on the same page with the team and especially Yao.
I agree General but I did feel he was trying to conform to the offense and that is something considering in the past the offense was conformed around him. But as you said it is preseason and I think it will all work itself out. Especially after Van Gundy talking about geting the ball to Yao and then getting it to him again again and if his still open get it to him again. Inevitably defenses will change their focus to stopping Yao with double and triple teams and it is then that Tmac will have his opportunities. Of course it's more complexed than that and because of this I don't see us coming out of the blocks as strongly as some have predicted. Certainly not 15-1... but if we can stay above .500 early on, our offense will improve and Tmac will be a big part of that.
I'm loving what I see in this team this season, and we haven't even seen a lick of Wells yet! I love how Billy pushes the ball EVERY time he gets it. It's like he's off to the races as soon as he touches the dang ball.
From what I've seen, the ball not going to Yao on the pick and roll is a result of the defensive reaction. They usually bring someone else over to help cover Yao as he rolls. It usually results in an open shot for someone else.
Until opponents focus on stopping Yao, we must feed him the ball because it's the highest % option we have. When teams start playing tough defense and deny Yao the ball (or the shot), it's going to be Tracy's time, especially late in games. Those two guys are similar to peanut butter and jelly because they like each other and winning (not pecking order) is what they want. Tracy will easily work his way into the Yao-centered 1/2 court offense and get his touches. I think it may take a few games to figure things out though. At this point, my guess is NBA defenses will start the year focused more on Tracy and they will adjust when Yao destroys them. Then the fun starts. The "book" on defending the Rockets will undergo many changes as the season progresses.
Rock, a lot of us here are so excited about this season after so much sufferings in the past, we seem to be getting ahead of ourselves. We basically got a brand new team and as you and I know, it takes time for a new team to gell regardless how good the personnels are. For me, the process of watching our players grow and gell together right before my eyes is priceless, like watching Yao grew up this past season. Our team is due for a downtown celebration. I was there on Richmond back in 94&95, it was a riot!
Tmac should still be the first option this season especially in the final quarter. Like someone has pointed out earlier in this thread, it is relatively easy to stop the big man in the paint by collapsing on him. But you can't stop a wing player who can be anywhere on the court. Yao is coming along nicely. But Tmac is unstoppable when he's healthy.
I was wondering if anyone has heard anything about the return of Bonzi Wells and Luther Head? I would love to see our complete team at the Heat!
I think you have it exactly right. We have the tortoise and the hare on the same team. Yao should be slow and steady. Tracy should be a playmaker in the beginning of games and take over late. Tracy shouldn't worry about his points in any given game because he'll catch up in the 4th. This team needs to play to it's strengths. If you keep a defense guessing, they can't ever get their feet set. The strength of Tracy is the surprise. Just when you've figured out how to stop what the Rockets are trying to do, then Tracy can do his thing and win some ball games. Our strength is in variety. We've can play any style of ball and we have the most unique basketball players on earth. We have the tallest center around, we've got the tallest PG around, we've got one of the shortest big men around in Bonzi Wells and Basketball Genius in Battier. OMR, I think you are right. JVG has a huge dilemma. If he screws this up, he shouldn't have a job next year. He's got to let every player know that they are important. He's got to let them know what their weapons are. He's got to let them know what situations he wants them to use the weapons, then just press triggers in the right order. The players will know what they can do to win. The fun part will be the surprises the players come up with on their own after coach manufactures a way to win, rinse, repeat.
