Tinman So the guy had a really bad year. He was playing on one leg basically. We as people don't control what happens to us. You and many other users act like players choose to be injured and not play.
I don't think TMac and Yao were as compatible as people thought they were going to be; their games didn't really match up like Kobe and Shaq, the duo they were so often compared to. Plus, they weren't as good as Kobe and Shaq, and were never going to be. TMac and Yao both possessed similar temperaments which often resulted in them being too passive and non aggressive, too laid back. Kobe and Shaq were just the opposite; a fire burned in both of them. Often, the little "pilot lights" in Yao and TMac were barely lit. Injuries were certainly a key factor, and the supporting casts were subpar, even in the Sura era (2005) which is probably the best group. The current team is an excellent supporting cast for TMac/Yao in their prime, but they are not even here, a tragic ending to an experiment that was a colossal failure. AND, what has made it worse is Les's insistence to continue "building around TMac and Yao" when it was obvious to just about every body in the NBA that the party was over before it started.
Since the Championship years, we have now been through the Steve Francis era which to me personally was even more frustrating than the Yao/TMac era. And that is going some, because the Yao/TMac era was a never ending series of disappointments. When you put it all together, the Les era (he is not responsible for the championships) has been a bust. Morey appears to be the great white hope, but he has had his "misses" as well. I am ready for some real "hope," a team that is a true contender.
You know I voted for Tmac but in all reality it was the refs in the Dallas Mavs series, Tmac was so motivated for that series and the supporting cast was fantastic. The way the playoffs were setup the Rockets could've won the title that year: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_NBA_Playoffs Suns would've been tough, but I think Yao would've slowed game down enough to steal that series and we matched up GREAT against that Spurs team, and I really don't believe Pistons stood a chance. + Add to the fact once out of the 1st round monkey being off Tmac's back he really could've erupted (or obv get lazy, but I'd like to think the former would happen). That is my opinion.
True this. I never thought Tracy and Yao was enough and thats why i was disappointed when they traded the lotto pick. I mean when alston is you're 3rd best scorer and luther head is the 6th man, how good is you're team?
Thanks, why they stubbornly defended Alston was beyond me. He was awful from the get-go and should have been gone much sooner. When you really think about it, the supporting casts were largely horrible, and changed constantly. Under Les, the Rockets have been subpar. Is Morey the only hope and is he really as good as we think he is or is he basically a cost cutter for Les after CD signed all those ridiculous contracts?
Interesting take. I never really thought compatibility was issue outside of the whole "fire" and passive demeanor element that you mentioned. McGrady was always excellent at the post feed and for a while the McGrady/Yao PnR was absolutely unguardable. Things seemed to change as injuries mounted on both fronts and Yao seemingly became a step slower after breaking his foot for the first or second time -- whatever it was. But I never really considered compatibility an issue. Always thought the star power was there -- we just got killed by injuries and the lack of an appropriate supporting cast.
Les gives a long rope to people that he trusts is what I've noticed. We hung on too long on the Rudy T era and Rudy trying build a team around Francis was his own undoing. But one thing that Les should be commended is him willing to sign off on that big trade/acquisition. From Drexler to Barkley, Pippen, trading for Francis' draft rights, and then trading for Tmac, Les isn't afraid to take risks.
Yao is so immobile in the middle, unable to really play the high post well which clogged the lane. TMac who is actually effective at slashing to the basket began to shoot mostly from the perimeter and his averages began to decline. As I recall, TMac rarely made the pass to the post.
Well, using this type of logic could anybody have been effectively paired with Yao then? Sounds to me like a Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis type perimeter oriented star is the only type of player that could have survived with Yao playing so close to the basket with this line of thinking. In any event, interesting take. I don't agree that T-Mac's effectiveness seemingly suffered once he started playing with Yao. Even back in his Orlando days when he was one of the best players in the league he was still prone to taking those patented long two's one step inside the 3-pt line, pulling up on fast breaks, taking difficult fadeways and going through stretches where he seems disinterested in taking it to the basket. Plus, he was getting to the line in his first three years as a Rocket (before injuries REALLY started to kick in) at the about the same rate as his best years in Orlando. I definitely think his body breaking down was the bigger variable throughout all of this.
It failed because we considered T-Mac and Yao as superstars, when in reality they were just all-stars. All-stars get you to the playoffs, but superstars take you to the finals. D. Wade + Dwight Howard or Lebron + Bosh are superstar pairings that say finals or bust. T-Mac and Yao were a great duo but not a superstar duo.
And can we all remember Magic Johnson once saying that one of them has got to go on a halftime show on TNT?
he didn't get the job done. that's the bottom line. and before twacks drop the usual : "if " "if " "but " "kobe" etc In the Twacks reality, he's won 10 championships, he's got 10 MVPs and he's wearing an Orlando Magic #1 jersey But in this reality, he's done nothing.
