I also believe that Yao's recovery from injury (and his liberation from the low post) was the turning point of the season. We can divide the current season into three stages. Stage 1: 9 wins, 13 losses. Yao was injured, and T-Mac was still trying to fit in. This stage ended with four losses in a row, the last of which was a 21-point pasting by Detroit on Nov. 30. Stage 2: 13 - 8. Yao was still injured. The stage began with a bang on Dec. 2 against the Mavs, when T-Mac went off for 48 points, and Sura had his first start of the season. But we still lost the game, thanks to Dirk's 53 points. The offence was noticeably improved, and we proceeded to rack up a 5-1 record. However, the rest of the league inevitably caught on to our tricks, and we ended the stage much more modestly, going 8-6. We had improved a great deal in Stage 2, but we couldn't be said to have turned the corner, not when we could lose so embarrassingly to the Bobcats -- twice. This stage ended on Jan. 17 with a depressing 99-80 blowout by the Grizz; the game featured the flying dunk by Stromile Swift on Yao, and a lot of people began saying "Yao sucks!" Stage 3: 12-3. It is absolutely amazing how sharply the stages are separated. On Jan. 18, the day after the blowout by the Grizz, Yao broke out. In this game against the Pacers, he suddenly started moving out of the low post and began shooting a lot of middle range jumpers; he went 7 for 12 in that game. He has been playing much the same way ever since. And the team has gone absolutely crazy, winning 12 of the next 14 games. So this is my vote: the turning point of the season was Yao's liberation from the low post.
This is my first post ever, though I have actively read your posts for three plus years. Hopefully, this will launch a new level of participation on my part. The obvious and most thorough answer is "all of the above". However, let me focus on the the one event that no one has mentioned that I believe started the upswing and that was the 35 and 13 Miracle. It was this game that galvanized Tracy McGrady as the undisputed leader of the team. This was the moment when he reached deep down within himself and reclaimed, once and for all, his own sense of destiny. He said no more to being a great scorer on losing teams; no more criticisms about me being a great talent, but a player who fails to lead; no more losing to the Spurs; no more display of mediocrity to frustrated Rocket fans. He confidently seized the moment, and with it seized his family, his teammates, his coach, his GM, the media, the NBA, and all of us and said I am going to win this game right here and now! I am going to make this team win ,,, !!!! Everything else follwed that. He convinced Van Gundy to no longer stifle his game, but to build with his game; he indirectly convinced CD to remove the wrong cast of players and to start replacing it with the right cast. He got Padgett going, and he now has Yao going. He has me going. This is the geatest display of leadership and teammanship that we have seen since the peak days of Hakeem , , , and if we keep going, we may even surpass those days
I voted other for when JVG took the shackles off of the offense. Only took him about 100 games to figure that out.
Wow, what a first post! Two years and 5 month of hiding? That's hardcore, man. I am glad this thread has "unleashed" your posting potential and "take the shackles off" your writing.
I vote for TMac's 13 miracle too. cuz I remember at that time lots of guys in this BBS yelled out: "Turining corner!" And it came out true.
I remember a downtown from the old days, I think. Is that someone else or did they reset your post count? Doesn't matter that much, but that was a good post. It actually kind of made me want to change my vote, but too late.
Really nice and interesting analysis, terse. I always wonder why sometimes when someone writes a good post, everyone just reads it and not responds. A good post deserves compliment.
It's a tie, but mostly leaning toward the second loss to the expansion Bobcats. That, or the 13 point-45 second miracle against San Antonio.
Yup, yup, yup. Definitely the switch in offensive philosophy from shooting the ball with less than 3 on the shot clock to shooting the first available shot and TMac taking the first available shot, no matter if it is a 30 footer running down the floor after a rebound and the offense hasn't even set up. Once Van Gundy let TMac have his head, it changed everything.
I voted for the wesley trade. Moving JJ and bringing in a better defender freed Tmac up from havin to use all of his energy chasing the opponets top offensive player around and now he concentrates more on O which has helped the entire team play better.
Thanks. I think everybody is still checking my numbers. In case anybody thinks I made them up, here is the page I used: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/yao_ming/game_by_game_stats.html
Excellent post Downtown! Thanks for backing up what I said yesterday. IMHO, this is a no brainer. T-mac 13 in 35 miracle - best comeback ever!
