Well, remember that He had a DOMINANT AND PRIME Shaq who shouldered the load...not saying Kobe didn't do his part, but its MUCH easier, when SHaq can get you 30, 13 rpg, and 3bpg http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2000.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2001.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2002.html Shaq was a complete BEAST in those 3 years, and more of a monster in the playoffs! Then he whined and wanted to trade Shaq, and Phil Jackson left, and wrote criticisms about Kobe's personality towards the team in his book...but winning can cure a lot of things...But Kobe worked hard and had some luck come his way (Gasol) and was able to repair his image. You are right though, Tmac will have to repair his image, and if he comes back at the beginning of the season, that will definetily hellp in my opinion.
people may question Kobe's selfishness and maturity, but never his talent or work ethic or desire to win. people have questioned Tmac's work ethic and desire to win. Tmac has talked about retiring before. http://www.yaysports.com/nba/2006/11/tracy_mcgrady_is_retiring.html Last night during the TNT showing of Bulls v Rockets, Tracy McGrady stated that he plans to retire when his current contract is up.
I don't quite understand your logic, since most airlines will make a stop, then you usually catch another plane if your not on a non-stop flight or you just find a non stop flight... I mean, we are in Houston right, the 4th largest city in America...just check priceline, But I did say Lebron was clearly better than Tmac because his body allows him to do the things that he does...he can endure the pounding, and he's capable of doing things that Tmac cannot do physically. Tmac at one time (02-03) was more skilled than Lebron, but never as gifted physically...was just as fast and could almost jump as high, but never as strong as him... Thats why Lebron is able to carry his teams.
Edited a bit: Don't act like McGrady was working miracles. The year before McGrady, Orlando was 41-41. These were their top 10 players in minutes played: 1) BJ Armstrong 2) Bo Outlaw 3) Ben Wallace 4) Amaechi 5) Atkins 6) Monty Williams 7) Garrity 8) Maggette 9) Doleac 10) Abdul-Wahad Add in McGrady and his 27 ppg, etc. the next year. They finish with only 2 more wins, 43-39: 1) McGrady 2) BJ Armstrong 3) Bo Outlaw 4) Mike Miller 5) Amaechi 6) Garrity 7) Doleac 8) Monty Williams 9) Troy Hudson 10) DeClerq The only significant change other than McGrady in the rotation was removing Ben Wallace (before he was a force) and Chucky Atkins and adding Mike Miller along with McGrady. Losing Wallace didn't hurt their defense as they only went from 9th to 10th, plus he only played 24 mpg. So how does adding a so-called elite player only improve a team by two games?
I believe this was the year where 9 of his family/close friends passed away in one year...plus his back problems were acting up more than ever before... due to scoliosis, a slight "S" shaped curve in his spine Maybe it was because of that that he didn't wanna play anymore...who knows? Back injuries are one of the worst injuries to have...it hurts to cough or laugh at times...really sucks. Couldn't imagine having scoliosis.
well everybody including nba players have to do their jobs despite tragedies in their life. Everybody wants something else to get them through this semi charmed life
Bo Outlaw and Darrel Armstrong were a year younger and Ben Wallace was still productive...but do bring up a good point...never looked at this before My guess is a great coaching job for one by Doc Rivers and a feisty, scrappy, defensive team, with 3 point shooters and decent rebounding. It is amazing that they won 41 games...was this the year that Rivers won Coach of the Year?? If so, he deserved it. But like I said before, Tmac gave them a scoring option, but he didn't have rebounding/interior defense And remember, he was only 21 years old!! He was expecting Grant Hill to be leading the way...he kinda had to learn on the fly to be a leader/1st scoring option, it was all new to him. He also got by much more on his physical athleticism than skill that year as well, similar to his 2000 season with Toronto. He was still somewhat raw, not as smooth as he was by 2002 to 2008. A few videos of Tmac in Toronto/1st year in Orlando. He could put up points, but he wasn't the playmaker/smooth, skilled scorer that he became...relied on athleticism much more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13gVMuGhK3g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQYxyneisxA&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVKHAEcf5nA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo1nmdvvmsQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb6KbdZsApc&feature=related
I agree, but losing people like that always makes you think and assess your life...but we don't have the option of just quitting our jobs...thats a luxury successful athletes/entertainers have.
Believe me, I wish...beats being a college student A job in pro sports would be great...a dream of mine.
Ok, that makes sense. Not sure if I'd do it, but I see where you are coming from here. Now the deal doesn't seem so bad.
#1. Did you just see the players you named? #2. McGrady's name wasn't that big yet. He wasn't an elite player yet. I don't care who you are. If your capable of taking a team to the playoffs with the guys you just named then you are damn good. #3. That sir is a miracle
Just to add to the point about Tmac not having any type of rebounding/interior presence in Orlando...if you don't think those things are not critical to a team's success, look at the 94 and 95 Bulls teams. In 1994, Horace Grant averaged 11 rpg and 1.2 bpg to be their inside presence...he's no great player or anything, but he's solid, and you consistent. Scottie Pippen has a great all around season and was 2nd in MVP voting that year, the team goes 55-27, winning only 2 less games than the previous season where they had Michael Jordan still in his ahtletic and mental peak. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1994.html Now lets look at the 95 Bulls team, who lost Horace Grant to free agency to Orlando. The Bulls have no interior presence. Scottie Pippen leads the team in rebounding and blocks per game, along with scoring, steals, and assists. Pippen had another incredible year, but with the small forward having to do all the big men's work...the Bulls weren't winning too well. The team didn't change that much except for Horace Grant leaving and Cartwright and Paxson retiring due to old age. Kukoc was a year older and better, and they picked up Ron Harper. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1995.html Yet, before Michael Jordan returned, the Bulls were barely over .500, at 34-31...thanks to Michael adding a much needed scoring/defensive boost, they finsh out the season 13-4, including two 6-game winning streaks. Tmac had very comparable seasons to Pippen in that he basicallly led the teams in all the major statistical categories: Scoring (led all 4 years there) rebounding (tied 1 year, led another) assists (tied 1 year, led the other 2 seasons) blocks (tied 1 year, led 2 years, 2nd 1 year) Yet, without rebounding/inside presence, there is NO WAY you can win...its too critical to a team's success...look at how badly the 95 Bulls suffered because of it...luckily for them the Greatest player of all time came back (although only at 85-90% of his former self) and had to salvage their season. Just some more info that I thought was interesting...
as a Houston Rockets fan those years.. i cared nothing about Orlando or tmac in orlando or did i contemplate comparing that team to Bulls with Jordan. who's with me on this?
Can you compare me the Tmac IN HOUSTON playoff results vs the Pippen IN HOUSTON playoff results? thanks.
Nice post, roslolian. There is nothing bad about McGrady getting in shape. He's done a lot for the Rockets, and it's been great having him on the team the past few years. He's not the reason they haven't won a championship recently. Trading for him was a great move. If he can help the Rockets this year with their new roster, that's fantastic. If he increases his trade value, so much the better. I wouldn't want to see him in a Rockets uniform beyond next year either -- he's getting older and is way too injury prone -- but I'd love to have him back for next year, and see how he fits into this new group. Or I'd love to see Morey trade him and his contract for another piece to the puzzle. He's worth a lot more than a can of Icehouse. Yeah, he made some mistakes in the way he handled things last year, but the over-the-top negativity, and actually questioning why he isn't being hated enough, seems kind of weird.
Look, if you don't wanna talk about Tmac in Orlando, why do you keep responding to my posts? I was talking about the importance of rebounding and interior defense...I was just making a point...I can talk about Tracy McGrady and Scottie Pippen since they were both Rockets...but obviously they didn't have their best individual seasons here...they were great players/talents at one point in their careers. It just so happens that they didn't have their best years here, but instead they had them in Orlando and Chicago, when they were younger/healthier. But I was just making a comparison of how no matter how great one plays, you need reobounding/ interior defense. Also, Don't act like you didn't get in on the Tmac in Orlando threadds....anytime I try to make a point, you'll say: "Tmac left success in Toronto, even though he couldn't have predicted how bad Grant Hill's injury was and he should've just turned down that max $" You brought up Allen Iverson and Vince Carter, both who were never Rockets. You were making a point weren't you? I read those posts, I respected it, and I did some research, and I showed you why they made it to the 2nd round and why Tmac didn't in Orlando, back in 2001. I didn't just say, "Why don't you bring up Rockets players?" I compared Tmac and Pippen because they were in similar situations in 1995 and 2001, due to how their teams were constructed. Why is it that you can pick and choose who you wanna talk about but I can't?? Last time I checked, this is a free country, and I didn't insult anybody, or a group of people...so I'll post what I want to post without getting banned. Don't be a hypocrite...you'll gladly try to put down Tmac at any chance by saying, "He didn't get out of the 1st round in Orlando, but AI and VC did." But the second I make a good post (which there are many in response to yours) you say, "stick with Rockets talk...talk about them as Rockets, talk about Dream, who plays a completely different position and was MUCH GREATER than Tmac. Make some sense before you post man...your just making yourself look bad...do your homework like I do. If you notice, people may jokingly call me Tmac's PR rep, or a HUGE Tmac fan...even though I'm more of a Dream and Yao fan, but nobody calls my posts stupid, illogical, ignorant, and biased. I ALWAYS do my homework, and I put up a link to add evidence to my post, not just highlight mixes from 15 years ago, and if somebody makes a good post to counter my arguement, I'll acknowlegde it and leave it at that...I won't whine about it like some others here...
