I think it quite the opposite. He is our most willing passer. Unfortunately tmac is no spring chicken anymore athletically he cant slash the way clyde did when he was in the Adleman offense and since Yao is in the low post as apposed to the high post no one else can slash. This is the biggest thing messing with the flow of the offense. Adleman has never worked with the type of players we have. We have a dominant big man who is better with his back to the basket and a dominant wing player who is better shooting and passing. This isn't the old blazers or kings. Tmac do what clyde did then anymore he cant slash that way because he can't always beat his man to the rim. We don't have an offense yet because adleman is still building it. He has to find a way to accomodate the skills of our two best players before we can be really successful.
Our role players did not suck in the motion offense, Alston was a very decent pg in many games. vs gs just name one.
He refuses to defend as well. Just go over the last night's play again, count the scores by the players that TMac defended.
Tracy isn't a ball mover he's a ball stopper. The ball dies in his hands and we live or die by what he does with the basketball,In order to beat the good teams you must allow other guy's to make play's and become threats themselves we can't beat those good teams with tracy making all the plays by either a direct assist or score for himself. The probelm is tracy can only be effective if he has the ball in his hands other-wise he won't move the ball with the first pass, he won't screen, he won't cut to the basket and he doesn't feel comfortable with anyone else making play's for him. You can't even count the times someone else made a play for Tracy.
I thought he had turned the corner when he was coming off the bench. The team was setting the tone with the motion offense and he wasn't disrupting it when he got into the game. He meshed well. I was an advocate for him to return to the starting lineup mainly due to Hayes and Luther but I've seen a change in how we run the offense since he's returned to it. The stats don't tell what system is being run. It's been mostly Tracy running the show, JVG style for the most part with movement here or there like earlier in the season. Not like before Indiana. McGradySNKT is right we need a point guard, a strong-willed one that understands that system consistency is always better in the long run over relying on McGrady to bail the team out one on one. There is no real solution. It is what it is.
You made a very good point. The difference I've noticed between w/o TMac is: the ball always was passed 2 or 3 times before it found the open man when TMac was out, and the flow resulted in a higher percentage shot.
Often times he does take the last shot/pass and the play ends with him because he is the best we have at doing this. Unfortunately I would rather see him and Yao take covered shots than see some of our other players go to work (rafer,bonzi, etc). He is at his best when he is making the plays because our other players can't make plays. When he's out they just give it to yao and hope he bails them out. Watch Brandon Roy he has a similar role in their offense. They make the plays because they are great ball handlers who can pass well and shoot. This team plays so much better while he is doing this why would you change it up? JVG and RA always rave about his passing and playmaking. It is his greatest attribute.
Rafer was making plays,Rafer had a near triple double going against baron davis 18 points 12 assists 8 rebounds, luther head had 20 points 6 assists in that game as well and Yao had 36 points 19 rebounds,other guy's can make play's given the oppurtunity to do so. And please don't say this team plays much better playing this style we are barley beating bottom tier teams playing this way, It won't continue against the top tier teams. Your not going to beat the good teams with Tracy making all the plays, they will find away to isolate tracy through double teams and force other guy's to make play's which was why when tracy was out it was great guy's were getting a chance to show their skills but with tracy back other guy's are not getting those same chances
It's the GSW..let's be realistic now. Rafer is the only player that truly benefits from playing without Mac as he has the ball in his hands more. Luther gets more PT and may hit some 3's, and if he could defend he would get some minutes in the regular rotation. We are also beating elite teams. This year we have more wins against elite teams than any other prior season under T-Mac/Yao. With T-Mac out thius year we beat lower level teams and only had approximately a .500 record. Entering this season the team was 11-42 without T-Mac. Guys like Battier, Landry, and others are tailor made to live off of the attention T-Mac attracts. Without a good high post passer, the regular Adelman offense can be thrown out the window. And while the T-Mac dominant offense may hinder Rafer's game a bit, I'd rather T-Mac be more comfortable and more productive than Rafer.
You want both rafer and t-mac agressive, You don't want just one of them.You need both of them if you are going to beat these good teams in the playoffs, if not your going to lose because the top tier teams we be glad to let T-mac try and beat them by himself and shut everyone else out including Yao ming in the process. We will see come playoff time whether this duo of tracy and Yao can be effective in the post season with Tracy dominating the offense as has been doing lately.
I'm not arguing, I think you're right, we should get this type of playmaking from rafer and head all the time, but we don't, even when tmac is out. The problem is guys don't aren't making the play after the play. Tmac finds somone open on alot of posessions, thats not bad basketball. If they would knock down the open shot or penetrate and find someone else things would run much smoother. If tmac can get someone a good shot out of a double team why can't his teammates find a way to score playing 4 on 3. I don't think I stand alone when I say that tmac is our best playmaker and he should have the ball in his hands though.
Last year in the playoffs Rafer was playing very, very well. He may not be quite as good as he is without Mac, but the guy still defends, makes smart decisions passing the ball and mooches off T-Mac's ability to get him wide open 3's. At NO point in the Dallas or Utah series did the opposing team shut everyone else down and force T-Mac to beat them...the other players simply weren't doing what they did in the regular season (specifically last year). With the lack of offensive talent on this team, specifically from our consistent rotational players, playing any other type of style just isn't smart right now.
They don't have to shut everyone else out because Tracy automatically does it for them with his mentality to dominant the basketball. But really it doesn't matter because changes will be made after this season wether you love the duo or not if they don't advance in the playoffs and it will be most likely be T-mac packing rather than Yao or coach adelman.
You can't be shutting everyone else out when you are averaging 7+ APG and helping the team go for over 20+ assists each of the last 4-5 games like T-Mac has. T-Mac does dominate the ball, but he also is amazing at getting players wide open looks. And it is not his "mentality"...watch the first few games of the season, T-Mac was FLOURISHING when he didn't have to create everything and anything. But with the talent this team has, it is simply the best way. We'll see what happens...but I am loving the team's chances this year, moreso than any other year. More talent, Yao has matured, and the West is as balanced as ever.
If you watch a Cavs,Lakers, or Heat game you'll see that tmac isn't dominating the ball that much, especially for a good player. I thought they should have traded him last year(when he played like 70 games), that was their best chance to get something out of him. Its not likely they will trade him until he regains some trade value. When healthy he's a good player but no one is giving us a good player for an injury prone good player Morey is smart enough to not give up a guy and get nothing in return. Teams would only give us Pau type deals in return until he is an expiring contract.
They are playing different because they choose to let T-Mac do all the work...Rafer stands around and when TMac draws attention, the only person whom is working in the team concept is Shane Battier....Rafer stands around and Scola is doing an excellent job to fill a certain spot on the floor....the problem is Yao and Rafer!!! I know you guys are going to kill me for saying that!! Yao is stagnant because he is not only allowing his defensive man to take himself out of the game but T-Mac's play. Have you ever played ball and around your friends and playground you are the best...but when you go somewhere else, you tend to lose your aggression because you somehow feel that you are inferior to other players??? Well I think that is how Yao is playing with T-Mac.... Yao needs to realize that his play along with T-Macs will dictate our season. T-Mac has much more confidence whether he is on or off the floor. Yao doesn't have that confidence. He needs to realize that he is a great player too.
more wins against elite teams? 0-1 against Boston, 1-1 Detroit,0-3 Dallas, 0-1 NO, 1-1 Suns, 2-1 Spurs. 4/8 against elite teams, much worse than the year Rockets lost to Mavs in the playoffs.
This is only my opinion bare in mind! I believe McGrady is the best creator and can really put this team on the map when he chooses the team first and his stats secondly. Just my opinion but think about this. McGreedy has to maintain his shoe endorsements and energy drink endorsements, by doing that he has to make the espn reel when he plays night in and night out that is why he shoots the ball so much. I've seen him take really low percentage shots when we have Yao sitting in the post he pulls up for a three. I don't understand the motion offense either when the ball stays in his hands and he expects the rest of the team to move. How can the ball move in this offense? we won last night barely to one of the worst teams. This team is doomed until some one stand s up and leads....Yao should be commanding the ball and questioning the shot selection of McGreedy! Yeah he was on last night but we cant live by that. Is anyone else with me on this or am i going to be singled out as a T-mac hater?
1-1 vs Jazz, 2-0 vs Portland, 1-1 vs Lakers, 1-1 vs Magic, 1-1 vs Nuggets, etc... Last year the Rockets were horrible in the regular season against teams toward the top of each conference.
