To look on the bright side, this season's team without McGrady is better than last season. It could be because a whole bunch of people were out with T-mac last season, whereas only Snyder is out right now, but still, we're closer this season. Realistically, we were going in to back-to-back games against two of the best home teams in the league. We were playing in their home. The Lakers beat San Antonio a few nights ago at home, easily. Golden State wiped the floor with Dallas, San Antonio, Utah and Phoenix at home. Even fully healthy, I expected we'd split the back-to-back. Instead, we went 0-2 without McGrady, barely losing both games. I know you're not basing your opinion on the last two games, but I think our supporting cast outside Yao/T-Mac is better than last season and capable. But this is not about Yao not being able to win without T-mac. The rules are different now. Salary cap is stricter, the league is BETTER, and the West is probably one of the best conferences in the history of the NBA. So although Yao is not as good as the legendary guys, specifically Olajuwon, I definitely think he could win tons of games if you took T-mac's 16M and spent it on 3 players, $5M each. A PG, a PF and a Bo Outlaw kind of character. He can do this because he is dominant at his position. Because there's not much competition. Realistically, he is as dominant at his position as Lebron, Kobe, Wade and Melo. Sure, it's because he doesn't face good competition like the other guys, but nevertheless, he is dominant at his position. So if you're asking if Yao can win with 16M less to work with than other franchise players, then I say ofcourse not. I don't expect anyone to be able to do that against the Western conference. Let's see San Antonio do it, and YOU can pick which 16M to shave off their team. We need to get used to the fact that we've put all our eggs in two baskets. It's hard to deal with. For finance majors, it's like not diversifying your portfolio. Liek putting all your money in two stocks which could sky-rocket. But you understand that without diversification (investing in lots of places) your risk is sky-high as well. Now, one of the stocks crashes mightily, then no matter how well you do on the second, you're best bet is to break even. But if you do well on both, you hit the jackpot. We either need to realize that we need T-Mac or maybe come to the realization that maybe it's not such a smart idea to invest the largest amount of money in the most injury-prone player on our team. For example, for slightly less production (some would say the same), Paul Pierce plays 10 more games per regular season than McGrady. So again. We have taken the super-rewarding yet super-risky path to a championship. Consequences: We'll look awesome when the risks pan out (Yao/Mac healthy) and **** when they don't (one or both down). The role players have done their bit to ensure that.
Yao needs no help beyond more touches. Give the ******* ball to Yao. We live and die with Yao....I'm soooo down for that. Screw the bench...give the ball to YAO!!!!!!! that said. Bonzi...you bettter freaking be ready...you b*stard....I love you....show me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow, i couldn't disagree more. shane did everything a human could possibly do to stop kobe bryant. plus this was his second game of a back to back playing huge minutes both nights. kobe hit shots that only a select few in the history of the game can make in and night out. this loss and kobe's 50 has absolutely nothing to do with what shane didn't do. he is a stud on defense, tonight no different. gotta tip your hat to the superstar.
Agreed. But Kobe didn't have to go all out every second when he is on the floor, while Yao has no choice but fight for every breathing moment.
i love bouncy whales the b*stard too. he is very cute, look at his round form. but above all, he can really ball.
Totally agree! Without T-Mac, Yao took all the offensive responsibilities. When Yao was refreshed, he steped up and we got a 10 pts or more leading, then after his rest on the bench, we lost our lead. We can't count on only one guy to win such tough games, the GSW and LAL does good works in their home court, it's not the end of the world. Everybody suffers a lot before success, Yao can learn lessons and become stronger after these Ls. I want the healthy T-Mac, this guy is talented, he get 16m salary from Rox, he is our No.1 superstar, he must be strong and give us titles with Yao.
Good post but I think you underestimate how good hakeems supporting cast was. Thorpe, kenny, horry, kenny smith, cassell all playing smart w good chemistry. Imo, they are just a slight downgrade to sheed, billups, prince, hamilton.
What kind of players do you think you're going to get for $5M? How about Rafer Alston, Stromile Swift, and Juwan Howard(Oh wait, I think he makes more). You might find a fairly good guard for that money, but any decent big guy will make more on the open market.
I hate to call out 'Captain Obvious', but except for perhaps the Olajuwon run, in this day and age there have been no championship teams that didn't have at least 2 superstars and a solid supporting cast, forget whether there's a big man involved. You could argue the Pistons had 5 stars instead of 2 superstars (during the bad boy era too), that's about it. Even Jordan needed Pippen. Why would anyone expect Yao to win w/ no other help and an inconsistent supporting cast? That's why phenoms like AI and KG still haven't made it. And until Kobe gets a higher level sidekick, he won't get one again. Larry Hughes probably won't be strong enough to help Lebron. Paul Pierce anyone? No disrespect to our role players, but none of them right now are capable of giving enough consistent offensive impact to help out Yao. Again, this team looks like the Timberwolves, Philly w/ AI, or Boston right now. You might even argue the formula right now is 3 stars for perhaps the top 3 contenders right now: Phoenix (Nash, Matrix, Amare), SA (Duncan, Ginobli, Parker), and Dallas (Nowitzki, Howard, Terry).
What Yao needs is to move to New York, LA or Chicago, then he will average 10-12FT a game and especially during playoffs, he will get a lot of calls like Jordan/Shaq. In Houston, he is not going to get the calls unless Phil Jackson moves to Houston. No other coaches or cities have the prestige to bring Yao more calls. Yao might win a championship in Houston, but it is going to be much harder than if he goes to New York, LA or Chicago. Lebron James is smart enough to sign a short contract. I bet he is going to move to a large market. Otherwise, he is not going to win a championship. It's just naive to think market force does not play a role in FT calls and an extra FT call can win you a lot of close games.
I agree Jeff. What the Rockets did in 1993-94 on Dream's back was truly something special. With all due respect tinman, that championship team was one of the weakest ever. It was plodding on offense, had a weak starting backcourt and had trouble rebounding on defense sometimes. What made them win was a stifling defense that always got stops late in games. Of course Dream's shotblocking is legendary, but the other players brought an intensity on that side of the floor that was something to behold. Unlike the current Rockets team, when their offense went south, their defense kept shutting down the other team. It was amazing. Plus they had the Dream on offense and enough from the other players to make it. What it all added up to was a dramatic 7 games series against maybe the weakest NBA finals loser in history. The idea of the Bulls not being able to handle Dream is nonsense. Take the Bulls 91-92 or 92-93 championship teams. They would have swept the Knicks easily and probably beaten the Rockets 4-1. Dream would have gotten his but our backcourt would have set a record for turnovers per game. Don't let what happened in the regular season fool you. The Bulls would have adjusted in a playoff series. Yao can continue playing all-world MVP-level at center but he cannot carry this team. If Tracy doesn't come back strong we are done, especially during the playoffs. Tracy makes everyone else so much better, including Yao. With him healthy, we are a contender; without him, we may be in the lottery again.
1) That's besides the point. 2) It's depth and depth would make a huge difference. Think about it this way: if we had another Shane Battier, another Rafer Alston and another Chuck Hayes, this team would be much better, and that's not even 12M in salaries. But if you want me to give you examples of players we cannot realistically acquire because the theoretical 3 $5M signing slots could never exist, here: Stephen Hunter of the Sixers, Marko Jaric of the Wolves, and Mike James of the Wolves are all in the 5M vicinity. Having those 3 guys to replace McGrady would undoubtedly make this team a playoff team. Face the facts. There are 10 playoff teams in the West, and only 8 will make it. This team: Yao/Deke Juwan/Hayes/Novak/Padgett Battier Head/Fatboy Wells Alston/Spanoulis/Lucas is DEFINITELY not a top 10, much less top 8, team in the West. So don't expect to win like a good team. Especially back-to-back games against two of those top 10 teams who have excellent records at home.
Hakeem won playing under a different set of Rules. If he was playing to-day one would realize that the surrounding cast of Ellie Smith Cassel Horry Thorp Maxwell etc. were significant contributors and Hakeem wouldn't have shined so bright if he didn't have such a great supporting cast.
jeff are you saying we're better with t-mac then not and if we're going to win a championship he's gonna have to be healthy?
Perhaps we should ask ourselves this question, has any dominant franchise player including Olajuwon in his prime had much success when playing on a team where one-third of the total payroll was taken by players who were not serviceable?
