No doubt a T-Mac led Rockets would do better than a Yao led Rockets, but the margin would not be as big as it stands now if Yao is also utilized as a play maker in the high post, not just a post player. I always think that Yao can have more impact if he's involved in the offense more. Pick and roll is one way of doing it, yet we see T-Mac fed Yao on his roll in this game while that kind of pass is absent in previous T-Mac less games. It doesn't mean a change in strategy will make Yao a dominant leader but a little more wins.
I wonder about what our records would be if everyone were healthy and try not to engage in the mental masturbation of praising one player at the expense of another when it's unmerited and undeserved.
Good post. If you want to get into the playoffs, Tmac will get you there. But you'll also be out in the first round. If you want to win a championship, we need both of them. If you just judge Yao and Tmac by their individual attributes, Tmac is better by far. However, basketball is a team game and both Yao and Tmac provide multiple dimensions to the Rockets team. Yao provides inside dominance. You may scoff at the statement, but almost every team double teams Yao, and those that don't, suffer because Yao has big games against those teams. Tmac provides perimeter dominance. He rules the 3 point line, clutch shots, and jump shots. He can slash and break down defenses. We need both to win. Yao cannot dominate the inside with all the rule changes and the zone defense in the NBA today. He can be shut down, there's no doubt, but it requires a double team. Tmac, on the other hand, cannot be shut down even with double teams, however, he will have to work A LOT harder as he had learned in orlando. That's why he came to Houston. These Yao vs. Tmac debate are stupid. They are both on the same team.
Does this bother anyone but me we *NEED* to be able to win without T-mac in order to make it to that NEXT Level I'm not saying win it all with out Jordan's teams . .were good When he got a good second banana they becamse great Honestly I blame Yao some. . but I also blame coaching, players and GM I know the team is build around T-mac but The players don't seem to play effective with Yao T-mac or not [T-mac makes the ineffectiveness overcomable] Either they too limited or not properly coached or something Yao's *chemistry* with the rest of the team and himself needs to be better . . but theirs with him should be as well Until that happens. . .we maybe the Jazz of the late 90s 60 wins. . . for 6 season . . 0 Championships Rocket River
Don't know why I am getting into this as I am a firm believer that we need both of these players to do anything as I believe they are equally important. But the belief that this team will be even close to good with either player is just strange to me. People here are starting to sound like the Orlando fans of old. This team is not much better than the Orlando teams of old. We have similar talent, and when we don't, we have a better talent that's at least 6 years older. We even have the same Juwan but an older version. The reason why Orlando started doing so poorly that last season TMac was there was because teams did the same thing that they did to Yao most of last week which was to focus their defense on him and ignore the rest of the team. The fact is that defenses of today's current NBA along with the rule changes have been designed to prevent any one player from carrying a team by himself. All good teams have multiple options on offense. Without Yao or TMac, we are currently a one option team. Maybe one of our players will step up. Maybe Luther Head, but until they do. Any injury we suffer will hurt us very badly.
TMac makes everybody around him better, that is not Ming's game. I still don't think this team has enough talent to hang with the "big boys." And TMac will likely be bothered with the back most of the season. This team is still a player or two short of seriously competing. Swift might become one of those players, might not. I still don't know why Wesley is still running the point from time to time, he is not very good at it. I think Head could get 20+ points every night. The kid makes some sweet passes, I loved the double feed to Ming last night. The effect TMac has on this team is nothing short of amazing.
They definately don't win more than they lose. Deke would still pick up the rebounds, and have better success closing the lane. The scoring would be tighter. But to say we would win more than we would lose is just silly. I mean come on... He's Yao Ming!!!
Maybe we should make it a sticky, that TMac is way better and more important than Yao for the Rockets. Then, I guess we can stop the jinx to the team, what if this is out, what if that is out. As great as TMac is, he needs someone to support him. That someone has to be a legit star, who can share the load offensively, draw defensive attention, and that player doesn't have super ego to be the No. 1 guy, and doesn't have to have the ball in own hands to be effective. TMac found that person in Yao. TMac is tired of being a scoring champion on a losing team, so is AI. TMac was determined and lucky to force the trade to Rockets (of course the Rockets were fortunate to get him as well). His only purpose is to win a championship, NOT to prove to some of his "fans" he can win 4 out of 8 games alone. With Yao, Rockets still has a long way to go, led by TMac to reach the promising land. Without Yao, TMac alone doesn't have a chance, no matter whether he can win 4 out of 8, or 5 or 6. Before Yao gets as good as KG, or at least 85% of KG, Wolves won't give you KG for Yao. If you want to, you can open that conversation then. For now, please stay with OUR team for 2 games in a row, before you want to trade someone and rip other teams off everyday. Please stop jinx our team and players. Whatever point you want to make, I will agree with you, but no need to suggest someone gets injured everyday, because it would be ugly.
Thank You! I know we all love to pick at scabs and open wounds, but hasnt this been discussed before? Fact is, we need everyone healthy. TMAC is an amazing basketball player, Yao is very good, but we need both to succeed. So why continue to throw this question around...it boggles my mind. Just venting a little frustration with whats been going on in these boards.
I love Tracy McGrady as a Rocket but his time with the Magic is overrated, you know there once was a time when Darrell Armstrong and Bo Outlaw were the best players on a 42 win Magic team, the next season they got McGrady and improved 2 games. Anyway, McGrady = Superman, Yao = Batman, Robin = teh ghey. And nice post, calurker.
You do know that Orlando did have Ben Wallace on that team before TMac came along. Boy, my brothers hated that. Still not sure why they gave up/traded Ben Wallace to sign Grant Hill. I think it was because Orlando had miscalculated their cap room in their quest to sign 2 big players (namely Duncan and Hill). I think Grant would have signed their anyways. It wasn't that much different from a max contract.
Victory and return of McGrady begs a question No it doesn't. It doesn't say anything about Yao. T-Mac's injury proves only one thing: Other than Yao and T-Mac, our players SUCK really bad as a group. If you thought the T-Mac's Orlando surrounding cast sucks, they're nothing compared to ours here. The difference is that JVG's coaching at least makes the Rockets play defense, which makes the scores look close. T-Mac's injury didn't "expose" Yao. It showed that we have absolutely no player who can break down the defense. No one who can set up the offense. If Yao isn't getting the ball in the post, we have no half-court offense. And even when the offense runs through Yao, our 3 point shooters fails to capitalize much more often than not. Basically, just like last year, the Rockets are a 2-men team. Without either one, their offensive capability diminishes to the point of unwatchable. I'm not sure what kind of team this would be without Yao, but does it matter? Either way, we're a lottery team without one of our two stars.
