Here's a compilation of some links that provide a glimpse of what he went through at the beginning of the 2003-2004 season. It goes to show he adapted somewhat to defenses leading to him getting the scoring title again. I think Tracy McGrady improved his jumpshot as the season went on. I remember when the Rockets played the Magic and Yao went off. TMac was just hitting the 3s and shooting jumpers. In order to bring his game up another level, TMac knew he had to develop a consistent jumper. It was too late for the Magic, but he should have a better jumper to start the season with the Rockets. http://publ.sportsline.com/nba/story/6814170 "McGrady recently admitted that he's "clueless" about how to attack zones, and the Timberwolves kept up the pressure. Swarmed by double- and triple-teams every time he set foot in the paint, McGrady was held scoreless in the first half on four missed shots and two turnovers." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/news/2003/03/24/magic_griz_ap/ " In the second half, however, Memphis threw a floating 2-3 zone at Orlando that clogged up the inside. McGrady hit only one of 10 shots from the field and Orlando shot only 37.5 percent as a team in the second half." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...e/a/2003/12/16/SPG0B3O4CF1.DTL&type=printable http://www.bullstalk.com/index_111103.html "Despite giving up 16 first half points to Tracy McGrady, the Bulls went to a zone defense in the second half and shut down the Orlando offense just enough to hold onto a 106-100 win last night. "
With Yao in the middle and TMac's ability to get to the basket, defenses will focus on the paint like they did last year with the Rockets. This is where TMac's ability to create his own shot from mid-range comes into play. However, TMac also can dish to numerous targets on the perimeter. Look at the stats of Ward and Lue. http://www.82games.com/03NYK3A.HTM http://www.82games.com/03ORL1A.HTM The Rockets lost a playmaker in Steve but got a better playmaker in TMac. Cuttino was a very good shooter, but Ward is underrated especially by folks comparing him to Mark Jackson who has a perennial bricker. Lue's shot is pretty darn good too. Zone defenses won't have a chance against the Rockets next year.
To beat the zone you have to pass and have good shooters. The open man needs to hit the shot and the ball needs to be moved around fast to create open areas in the zone. Last year we had people who wanted to dribble against the zone or just whip the ball around the outside. If Steve was in he was hesitant to shoot as he was a bad 3pt shooter last year. This year with these players the only weak 3pt shooter is Sura and Lue, Ward, T-Mac, JJ, Boki should all stroke it if open without a second thought. Hopefully JVG and the players are smart enough to get the ball inside to Yao to suck in the defense. As for T-Mac problems last year against the zone. Those were a direct result of him being the man on the team. He was the offense and it was his creativity on the drive that led to the team offense. T-Mac averaged 1 more assist than their PG Lue. The zone stopped that. Orlando had no one else the other team was afraid of. The other team would allow Howard to shoot all day long.
Yes, Juwan Howard is going to have some wide open shots similar to what Karl Malone had in the Lakers' offense. I think he will have a good season from mid-range. He had his best FT percentage last year which means he's getting better at those repetitive shots. I think there is a strong correlation with FT percentage and the ability to hit the mid-range jumper. I don't think Lue is the bricker. Sura and Boki are the ones bricking shots.
With Ward/Sura, Jackson, Yao and Howard starting, and Lue, Mo and others off the bench, you won't be able to zone the Rockets. People got on McGrady for struggling against the zone, but coaching has to take equal blame, if not more blame for not being able to figure out the zone.
You don't have to be a great shooter to break down a zone. Being able to slash and see over the zone and make passes are also very important, which make Boki and especially Sura, very important.
And have you noticed it was after changing his FT form? He used to have that awkward hitch where he'd pause in the middle of his shot. That was ugly. Looks much more normal now.
The guys who brick FTs a lot seem to have inconsistent jumpers. With that being said, Tim Duncan is an exception.
