Yao played against Boozer and Okur, who did Tmac play against? He was just expected do dominate and shine.
what does "playing with heart mean"? let's say, we actually got to the second round, how do u know if t-mac played with heart or not?? how do u know if yao played with heart or not?? he probably has more heart than most of the people in this board. i would love to see someone take his spot. i would love to see someone just to even try to do half the things he does. let me know what happens. if they actually get even past the first round, i would chop off my balls and put it in a golden jar and give it to them personally.
Yao doesn't necessarily get a free pass. He isn't perfect, but his limitations are what they are---mobility and not getting respect from the refs. Tmac is lazy, spoiled, suffers from a sense of entitlement, apathetic to the point of inertia. He'll bring it for three quarters then shut it off and watch the team lose. Plus, he's basically a Burger King: hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, have it your way, Tmac. When he has the ball, he can't give it up. He's used to being the star. An egalitarian system like Adelman's chafes. Look, watch the games when Tmac is out, how smooth the offense runs. At least Yao works hard. First in the gym, last out. Tmac? You couldn't even get him to rehab last summer. Yep, the stuff of champions. Now, don't get me wrong, he's working out NOW....yeah, just see the little workout videos he's filmed for Channel 2 or 13 or 11 or who cares: SEE! Tmac lift weights! SEE! Tmac say the right things to the interviewer. SEE! Even more b.s. You can kinda compare this to being in a longterm relationship and that person keeps making the same mistakes or just has that one giant flaw that you finally can't tolerate any more and you give up. With Tmac, the fact that he doesn't have a fire to win a championship bleeds over to his teammates when he's on the floor, and it has just become intolerable.
A free pass????? Have you just joined CF???? He has been unfairly crucified on this site countless times. Yao's biggest sin is that he isn't Hakeem, but name me more than 3 centers in the history of the NBA that are? Yao is a very good player at a minimum and an arguable superstar who is extremely consistent in production AND effort. Neither can be said for Tracy which is why people grow tired of the act. There are 30 other GMs that would give their front teeth for Yao. I bet there aren't more than 5 that would want T-mac at his current price tag.
Because he does not quit on his teammates...He is not a drama queen... Bad games will happen, but his effort does not waiver unlike a certain amanda we have...
to the op - yao doesn't get a free pass. your very own post proves it. and the reason why more people are willing to give a pass (not free, though)? amongst many other reseons, here's an important one he doesn't say "it's all on me" type of crap. more importantly, he doesn't say "i'm tired" after a game 7 loss. got it?
Yao gets a pass because if McGrady had Yao's work ethic, heart and toughness (physical and mental) then McGrady would be considered a top 5 player in the league. You see, some of us appreciate a guy giving his all every time he gets on the court. We appreciate that Yao works on his game as much or more than any player in the league. We appreciate that he is humble, honest and personable. He'll never be the best player in the league but he won't ever stop working and he'll never start giving excuses.
UH......TRACY HAS BEEN HURT FOR A LITTLE WHILE IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW. AND THE REST OF WHAT IS SAID IS STUFF A ROCKETS FAN ALREADY KNOWS. KEEP COMING WITH THOSE GREAT POSTS DAVE.
Agreed. Generally speaking, no one gets or should get a free pass. Fans criticized any player being played pooly including Rafer, T-mac, Head, Yao, AB and etc. Even Les, Morey or RA got the fire. We all know what T-mac has done this season by comparison to his performance last season. He is not the old T-mac anymore. All of his stats dropped and his attitude made me confused whether he's playing with all his heart. Whether we like him or not, he's not going anywhere this season. For the good of the Rockets, We'd better expect him to come back and fit in. Play more defense and contribute a bit more to the offense. Some people say let Wafer start and put T-mac on the bench. I think that's not gonna happen. RA is not ballsy enough to do that and whether Mr. $21 mils is T-mac or not, we need Mr.$21 mils on the court in the playoffs
Let me make this CLEAR. T-mac is not hated because he got injured. Or for the fact that he has abnormal curvature to his back where it is GUARANTEED that it's always going to cause trouble throughout his career. Nor for the fact that his pin legs aren't built to sustain all the abuse as an nba player. Houston accepted that as a package. Why is he disliked? Perhaps, ironically it is because how he was always telling people he could do anything and everything on his own. We all know those rofl words "its on me" or things like "this team will go as far as I take it". I couldn't speak for the others but personally, I find him arrogant, selfish and superficial. On court, he plays too much Iso and takes bucket loads of shots and the team often lives and dies by it. A tough deal when his shots aren't exactly money and we have an Eifel tower 3 feet close to the basket. It wasn't a big issue until now that coach calls for much more ball movement and balanced offense. Which we all know he isn't happy about but since the team is doing just fine without him, he's kept it quiet. He talks all the big talks. He hugs the spot light. He doesn't work hard enough. He doesn't take his role seriously and makes too many excuses. He acts immature (like that toronto game). You put all these things in a container and that right there is a healthy dollop of team-chemistry killer. If Heinz ever did Me-mac in a tin that would be it. It takes a lot to be fed up on by decent guys like Yao and Battier.
he has a history of being pretty damn efficient. he's a worker. he plays with heart. losing bothers him. i dont think ive ever seen him smiling when we're on our way to a loss...
This part made me laugh. Yao doesn't really get a free pass. I think people are just frustrated with how good they thought the Rockets would be with McGrady vs. the reality. It's understandable. If the Rockets make much noise in the playoffs then things will get exponentially better. If not...
I've been on this board a while. Here's how it works: when things go south, rockets fans always have a scapegoat, a player that will b dogged all season long... dig up threads for the last 8-10 years. At one point it was Steve, then Mobley (man it got ugly). Even Hakeem got some. Here's the thing about the Tmac/Yao situation. Tmac makes it TOO EASY to be hated on. His bball IQ may be off the charts, but his PR IQ is close to zero. Yao is just as injury prone and underachieving, but so far, he's had co-stars that can deflect the spotlight.
Funny, before he uttered those words, he was derided in multiple threads for not taking charge and saying something. As soon as he did, he was called arrogant.
Trust me, Yao does not get a free pass here. I personally have probably written thousands of non-complimentary words about Yao.
