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Commentary, news, analysis and reader-driven discussions focusing on this year's NBA playoffs.
But while Tracy McGrady might get the lion's share of the blame for his team's Game 7 loss to the Jazz on Saturday night, it really wasn't his fault. T-Mac played well overall, getting his teammates involved early and finishing with 29 points and 13 assists. McGrady can't solve Houston's lack of athleticism up and down the roster, nor its lack of a quality power forward and point guard. Juwan Howard and Chuck Hayes are just too slow at the 4 spot to pair with the plodding Yao Ming. Utah's Carlos Boozer went right around Houston's frontcourt all night. He made Howard and Yao look like traffic cones on defense. At point guard, the situation isn't much better. Rafer Alston did a solid job for the most part during the season and the series. He even hit a three-pointer off glass late in Game 7 to give the Rockets a major boost during their rally. But if the Rockets hope to contend for an NBA title, they need a bigger, stronger, more complete floor general. As hard as Alston tries, he could not keep Utah's Deron Williams from getting in the paint all series. Plus, he doesn't score enough to take pressure off McGrady and Yao. Chauncey Billups, Mike Bibby, Jason Kidd, Mo Williams. Any of the four would be a major improvement. The problem is the Rockets don't have any room under the salary cap to sign Billups or Williams, and they don't have many assets to swing a deal for the other guys. Houston will likely have to settle for a second-tier guy, like Steve Blake, Luke Ridnour, Jamaal Tinsley or Mike James. Would a slight improvement at point and power forward be enough to make Houston a legit title contender? Who knows? If rumors are to be believed, coach Jeff Van Gundy might not be back. That means the Rockets might have a whole different look next season anyway. But the look on McGrady's face after Saturday's loss said it all. The Rockets need to upgrade those positions if they want their superstar to end his streak of first-round playoff ousters any day soon.
posted by SI.com | View comments |
Comments:McGrady played well enough, but look at what happened in the last few minutes of game 7- McGrady stopped passing... He is a brilliant player, but like 90% of the superstars in this league, he tries to do to much when things are tight. Admittedly, who was he going to pass it to? Maybe someone else can bank in a 3...
How can not fouling with 19 secs left not be Tmac's fault? 2-0 lead in 2 series now with Tmac and Yao. Completely blown.
as hard as Hayes plays, he's just too small for playing with yao... rockets need a bigger, faster and stronger 4.... I feel sorry to say this because he is really a good and hard-working person.
As for point guard, I hope knick can buy out steve francis, then he should take a small salary and play for rockets.... He's still a great player, plus rockets really doesn't need a traditional PG. I think steve fits.. Anyways, another heart breaking season for rockets and fans.... wish them best of luck next year!!! If you watched the whole series it was obvious that Utah was the better team. No, they don't have bigger stars than Houston. But, they have a better starting five and a deeper bench. Utah wore Houston down in the series. Houston was fortunate to get to game 7, the officiating in game 5 was pretty suspect. Besides, Utah is a better match up for Golden State. You have to think the Warriors were salivating at the thought of running their fast break against a plodder like Yao
Not T mac's fault? He made it his fault by running his mouth before the series. Anybody remember his comments? Something like "If we dont get out of the first round, its on me." If he doesn't want the blame, he should just shut his mouth and let his play do the talking. He played great... but he ran his mouth a little too soon. Now he should accept the responsibility he asked for like a man.
T-MAC is the bomb. He has a great team maten Yao Ming. The Rockets only need a third man. A point guard. Maybe Steve Blake or Earl Boykinks. Someone simple. It is mostly The Rockets fault. I mean come on don't blame T-MAC for everything.
shoudda stayed in toronto with vince. then he would have made it out. now...relegated to "just another superstar coming up short". t-mac? nope. more like t-wack!!
I never believed that playoff failure or a loss could be put on one man's sole arms. Unfortunately, basketball is a team sport and one man - with except of a guy called Mike - is not able to win a playoff series on his own. just ask KG, Kobe, others. Thats why I think that T-Mac was never to blame, team wins and team looses as a TEAM, superstar player is the leader but he HAS to have somebody to support him. Yao obviously was not enough this year. Sorry for T-Mac.
It's not a question of whether it was McGrady's fault. It's never solely one person's fault for a team not advancing in the playoffs. It's not tennis or golf. Team sports are different.
But it's the question of perception. People will always look at the team's superstar and say, "You didn't get it done." Just ask Peyton Manning of '02, '03, '04, '05. Tracy McGrady can't be satisfied by what he saw out of his teammates throughout this series. Because Deron Williams was killin' Alston and Rafer wasn't going back at him. Boozer scored on a 7' 5" center whenever he wanted to.. Sad, but McGrady is at home early again.
i agree.. tmac was superb last night.. i saw the game and other than yao and tmac, there wasn't any help from the other guys, especially on defense.. yao did his job on offense but failed miserably in defending boozer.. howard, hayes and yao all looked like posts in which boozer went around to.. all the love tmac, you'll win it soon..
You are right on that it's not McGrady's fault.
He commented early on before the series that if the Rocket's were to lose, it's on him. (I haven't followed basketball much lately, but maybe Tracy was attempting to take the pressure off his overmatched teammates?) Plodding is a nice comment you write about Yao. Why was Yao not dunking ferociously instead of laying the ball in? Little "hustle" plays like dunking balls and running ferociously after rebounds would have energized the crowd and perhaps the Rockets to a series win. Unless Yao assimilates this part of American culture into his evolution, he will continue to be "soft" no matter how many pounds he bench presses. As a "leader" of the Rocket's, Yao needs to embrace the dunks and "hustle" and Lead. Nonetheless, the Jazz are the better team and deservedly won. ADJ This article makes me want to throw up--poor T-Mac...boohoo You should have written about the REAL injustice in the NBA this year... Why didn't Jerry Sloan win the Coach of the Year award?
I completely agree with marty burns. Mcgrady did his job, although there are some games where he did a sub-par performance still he's not to blame. What the team needs are role players to complement both yao and t-mac. Alston is a good point guard both he's not much of a play maker with the likes of jason kidd, baron davis and steve nash. At the power forward, juwan did a good job at the regular season but was a dissapointment during the play-offs. What the team need are players that can hit open shots and consistent whenever double teams gang up on yao or t-mac.
Great series all around, seriously this was one of those series that both teams played hard and fought. I'm a Jazz fan so I'm happy, but I'm very impressed with what the rockets did. The "Utah sucks" chant by the crowd wasn't too cool though, these are two teams that both sides fans shouldn't disrespect.
I agree that it was not totally McGrady's fault, but it was mostly McGrady's and Yao's fault. If both would have match the intensity of the Jazz from the start and both would have taken it hard to the hole from the start instead of settling for fade aways then the outcome might have been different.
On a side note. They should do away with Van Gundy and bring a coach who knows how to run an athletic team and but a fire under players that need it. AND TRADE YAO MING for tough athletic/defensive scorers. Yao has value, let use it to our advantage while we still can. Its not McGrady's fault. He averaged almost 25 and 7 during this series. This is a guy who has never been in trouble off the court and has always respected his opponents and the game. Ive met the guy several times and i feel bad for him. He will get his due and so will the long suffering H-Town sports fan!
The Rockets need a revamp of their roster if they even hope of entering the 2nd round this coming season. Once again, T-Mac gets an early vacation. They lack the pieces needed to compete further.
Their current roster is not meant for a championship team. They are slow, sluggish and lost especially during transtion periods. The GSW would have likely run circles around them if they were lucky to go through the 2nd round. The time for change is now. It is a cumulation of faults. Firstly is Yao, who was dominated by Boozer. Either he is just asleep or lazy, or he doesn't have the physique and reaction time to deal with a player like Boozer. Second is Van Gundy. He should have seen what was going on and placed a different player on Boozer. Who was killing them since game 2. Finally, McGrady deserves some blame, as he settled for too many jumpers. I guarantee, Kobe would not have played like that.
I Totally agree. Look at the stats of those guys; Yao 29, T-Mac 29 and 13 dimes?! It's clear that the entourage has to be improved, or otherwise T-Mac might leave the NBA entirely in a year or two...all those back-aches have to be compensated in another way than money (he's not going to be able to spend all the money he has anyway:)
Can we please stop talking about T-Mac now??????????????
As a lifelong Jazz fan, I want to say how impressed I've been throughout this series with how the Rockets and their fans have carried themselves. They didn't talk smack or gloat when they had a 2-0 lead, and they're not making excuses (blaming the refs, complaining about "dirty" tactics, whatever) now that the series is over. McGrady in particular has been a class act. I feel for the guy - he deserves credit for carrying a limited team to 52 wins and a strong showing in the first round, not blame for the loss. Great series, Houston.
i say we go get smush parker who is a free agent he athletic enough he's a better shooter and scorer the rafe he has nice size and can guard the larger point guards in the league...getting kidd billups or bibby would be great but i dont think we have a chance at gettin any of the 3. OR we can find a way to get ACIE LAW IV or CONLEY. we need a penetrating points guard instead of someone who dont want to attack the basket, nor was he a good shooter. yeah the point guard position needs to be filled FIRST!
McGrady seemed to give up on driving the hoop near the end of the game, when the Jazz were in foul trouble. The Rockets need toughness badly - the Jazz were knocking Yao to the floor over and over and the Rockets did not do the same to Boozer. You can see how much they miss Bob Sura.
Here's hoping they manage to draft somebody useful - I don't know who at PG will be available that late in the draft, but it's their best shot. The Rockets need to make a trade for Kenyon Martin! The Nuggets are looking to unload his hefty contract and the Rockets would benefit from K-Mart looking to get a fresh jump start on his career.
It wasn't all tmac's fault, but he does share the blame. The inability to take over the game at the end (also taking a step back jumper instead of beating his man which he was capable of in crunch time) suggest this.
The Rockets made a blunder of gigantic proportions by trading Rudy Gay for Shane Battier. Sure, Battier brings a lot of intangibles to the table, but his offensive output leaves a lot to be desired. Trading Stromile Swift wasn't a great move either. He was exactly the sort of athletic power-forward the team needed in the frontcourt with Yao. I don't see the Rockets advancing past the first round in the next few years unless they make some major changes.
oooh first comment. Considering i'm from orlando, and the way that T-Mac, a max contract superstar (which he deserves) ripped on the team after he was traded, i can't help but to laugh. T-Mac just at the end has yet to realize that he can't do it by himself, and Yao's not good enough by himself to help him. So, where he could've been at Orlando with Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and finally a good season out of Grant Hill, he had to settle for another first round exit. shows you should never complain when things are gonna get better. but i guess he's enjoying playing with all those adequate superstars down in houston, right?
Honestly, I am a little tired of "superstars not having enough help" comment. First it was Kobe and now TMac. You make the team around you better - then you can be referred to as "superstar". Most of these guys need to look around to see why your teams have little cap room to add good players. You took it all!!!!!
Funny how every time the Jazz win you don't actually read or hear anything about the Jazz. It's how the other team screwed up that makes headlines. This has always been the case with the Jazz.
No need to cry T-Mc. IF KOBE HAD NOT PAIRED WITH SHAQ, YOU WOULD BE IN THE SAME BOAT WITH KOBE -- Up To First Round Only. Buy hey T-Mc, you have a better future than Kobe. You are not that selfish.
There is no doubt Utah is the better team in the series and that's why they are moving on. Houston had their opportunities in game 7 (plenty of them). But poorly coached and poorly executed at the end of the game. Yao can't guard Boozer all series, why kept it that way all night without changing. With less than 2 minutes left and Houston down by 4. Houston had 1 full and 2 20 sec timeouts, they should take Yao out and put someone like Mutambo in on defense possision. And put Yao in on offense. And the no foul with 16 sec.. Jeff Van Gundy should get the blame. Poorly coached.
The Rockets are DYING to get out of the first round. The ONLY way that's happening is if they get a steady point guard that can step up and also hit the three.
They also need a more atheltic 4 since Yao has defensive defeciences against faster big men. All in all, the Rockets need to upgrade or face a future of first round exits. Firstly, I'm sad for TMac, but he was right "The better team won" ( and I don't care much for the Jazz or Sloan). tMac played extremely well, but this is always the problem with a jeff van gundy team. He never has athletic players and he slows down the game soo much that even athletic players may have little impact. For some reason, he correlates playing slow to playing good defense. Wrong! Dallas can play fast and yet play reasonable defense. Battier had a good season, but I never liked that Rudy Gay trade. Lost out a young and athletic (AND swift) for just one decent player.
Van Gundy should go, try to get Ivaroni; Josh Smith is rotting in Atlanta and disagrees with the coach always, GO GET HIM!! If Houston wants to win, they have no choice but to go over the cap and get Bibby or Kidd, or else just stay as a also-run team As a Rockets fan I was really wanting them to beat Utah, but I'am also a realist and I did not think the Rockets could beat Utah because of matchup problems. The point guard position and the power forward position hurt the Rockets in that you had Darren Williams against Rafer Alston and Chuck Hayes against Carlos Boozer. Please! And the Jazz' bench is by far better than Houston,s. As for Yao I'M of the minority that I believe that the Rockets will never win an NBA Championship with Yao Ming at center. Too slow and not athletic enough to keep up with the other centers in the Western Conference.
I've been a pretty solid TMac fan and TMac defender up until now. But after what I saw tonight, I just can't do it anymore. Houston was up by four, and the Utah Jazz were in the penalty for the last 7:30 of the game, and Utah won. Instead of driving to the basket for the rest of the game, and winning the game at the stripe, TMac started passing the ball off to other people and not taking charge. Yeah, he may have scored 30, but that 30 is meaningless in the entire scope of the game. Then, in that joke of a post game interview, dude tries to act like he cares and almost starts "crying" before the interview ends. I was pissed and I'm not even a Rockets fan. Tracy McGrady is now 0-7 in the first round of the playoffs. Before the series started, TMac said that if the Rockets didn't get out of the first round, it would be his fault. and it is.
I think that it is quite unfair to put all the blame on McGrady. It is true that he choked at the end, but I believe the real need to win a series is a team effort and trust for teammates (Detroit, Bulls, Suns). Look at the playbook at the end of the game.....it's just horrible.
I think Yao is not a bad player, he is a star with the game that doesn't really belong in this era. How come as a 7-6 he got outrebounded by player almost 1 ft shorter (Boozer is only 6-8/9). I think he also need to insert himself better on the team defense since his man-to-man defense sucks. Can we talk about how the Jazz won instead of how Tmac lost? Better coach, better players means better team won. Tmac's on the verge of tears after the game, and suddenly we forget how they were outplayed by the superior credit. The victory of a TEAM is apparently less important than the fall of a "STAR."
its mcgradys fault. take the credit, take the blame. and besides, he said its "all on him"
I'm sorry, but T-MAC did NOT do enough to win this game. After he drove and scored to put the Rockets up by five, he dissappeared. He stopped going to the hole and instead kept pulling up for fall away jumpers and kept passing it off instead of carrying this team on his shoulders. There is not one single player on the Jazz that can guard T-MAC one on one and for some reason he choose NOT to exploit that. There is no reason Rafer Alston should have had the ball in his hands when he turned it over with the Rockets leading by 5. TMAC should have made sure the play was his to make. Drive to the hoop and if there is nothing there then, pass to the open guy. But once he choose not to be a factor in the last six minutes I knew the game was over. It's no wonder he has never made it past the first round, he just simply does not make it happen.
Lets face it, the better team won. I couldn't believe that everyone jumped on the houston rocket's bandwagon saying that they were going to win the series after the year that Utah had. With exception to the last two weeks of the season. Utah was the best team in the series and desirves the credit for winning. IT wasn't houston'mistakes that gave the series to the jazz, it was the way Utah played. Its as simple as that!
If Yao and MCGrady want a better supporting cast thay should take pay cuts . One can't have the cake and eat it too.
t-mac played well but also contributed 2 major blunders that cost them the game. he settled for 2 jumpers in the 4th quarter when the jazz where in penalty and passed off to howard which both resulted in the jazz scoring at the other end and taking the lead for good. lastly, how come the rockets didn't foul the jazz with a few seconds to play and they're behind by 2?????
I like Tracy but why can't he learn to zip it ... just like when he opened his mouth in an earlier playoff series, when you talk like that, the pressure inevitably increases, especially if your mates are not barking too. His defense down the stretch was horrendous and it was that tenacious defense that got them the lead when he wasn't even in the game.
I dont like Yao's softness or Alston's love for ballhandling and street ball playing instead of passing and defending. If they shook this team up completely, got rid of Yao and Hayes and Alston to maybe like, Minnesota for KG and Mike James and someone, they'd have a chance for years to come. I can't see this team improving, I CAN see them holding back T-Mac from his potential for years to come.
Tmac needs help. They need to shake this team up completely and get rid of soft Yao Ming and Streetballer Alston. Im not sure a shoot first PG like Bibby would help much, but something needs to get done. If they brought in Carlisle after the season and made some bold moves in the offseason, they could be very good.
"It's all on me!!! I need to inspire my teammates!!!" Those are pretty powerful words that TMac couldn't back up. But as a Jazz fan, look at what the Jazz are saying about each other. This was a team game, not one player was more important than any other player, they worked together. I think this might be the year of the TEAM in the NBA. All the scoring leaders are gone already. Not too many EGO's left in the West, including owners. This year is the team! Look at the SUNS, Spurs, Warriors! All great teams. The Jazz are a great TEAM, too. Go Jazz!!!!
Agree that last 7:00 in the penalty Rockets went soft and were just happy to be back in the game or wasted needed energy to get there. Last minute entire team went to sleep with poor decisions and strategy. Won't matter much as Suns-Spurs winner will rule...
This Jazz team can really play. They are so much fun to watch. Deron Williams should have been most improved player hands down. I barely knew his name last year. Now, he's a legit superstar. And Boozer, he's another one. He may be the most skilled , quick player, for his size.
Somebody on here said Houston should get Smush Parker? Ha Ha Ha! Man, feel free. You can have him. They won't even sniff the 1st round with Smush...
T-mac is by far the most overrated player in the NBA. Once again, he got exposed for the fraud that he is. I have never once seen an analyst talk bad about T-mac, because apparently, T-mac can do no wrong. He didn't get out of this first round, nor will he, because he's just not as good as what everyone makes him out to be. Now we can finally stop kissing T-mac's feet and realize he is not as good as we think.
One thing to say; break up the team except fot T-Mac. And yeah fire Van Gundy too!
Toronto knows...Orlando knows it...McGrady is a glory hog...how can a player who plays a team sport say its on him...so he basically told his teammates that they don't have to be accountable because either way he will take the responsibility..that is if they win..he is the hero..and if they lose he is the martyr..what a punk...when will these fools learn that its not about Carmelo or Dirk or TMac or Kobe...its about the team...McGrady will be a perpetual loser in the playoffs...
Houston, like Dallas, is a team that is not built to appropriately accomodate it's star players. Obviously, Rafer Alston wasn't going to be the point guard to help lead this team anywhere, which is probably why McGrady didn't mind being a facilitator, since he pretty much had to. Yao has to find a way to stay relevant out there, especially against smaller, more athletic teams of which there are many in his conference. Most teams will be hamstrung to make moves in the off-season, so going out and getting the right pieces will take some serious maneuvering. It's going to come down to which teams are having firesales and which disgruntled and under-utilized players can be mined from the rotting carcasses of teams like Minnesota, Indiana, Seattle, and maybe Sacramento. Basically, the Rockets need to be at top level within the next two or three seasons. Can they do that be sifting through and adding otherwise discarded malcontents? Research, research, research. You have to be able to tell the difference between Bonzi Wells and Stephen Jackson. Both have considerable talent, both have condsiderable rap sheets, but only one has any heart. Heart must be the main focus of the Rockets off-season. Without Battier, this series would've been over in 5.
I agree, Mcgrady did his fair share, and it's not his fault...
What I really liked this series was Boozer continually shooting rainbow shots over Yao and swishing them, or spinning around him and dunking on him, and rebounding over him... Go Jazz! Yes...I respect T-mac a great deal but heavens...lets talk about Boozer and the Jazz a little bit as well...it's amazing that the media has been so one sided both pro and con for Houston...let's mention Utah!
T-Mac is a great player. Michael Jordan needed the Jordanaires (Pippen and Grant) amongst others to be on the floor with him to be truly successful. When will owners and GMs learn that selling tickets with a marquee name is selling out the players on the court. T-Mac will have another crack at the playoffs, hopefully with a more complete compliment of players and will be a winner.
Does anybody talking about Yao not keeping up at center in the NBA realize Boozer is a power forward? Centers do not guard power forwards...unless you're the Rockets and have Chuck Hayes. Okur is the Jazz center, not Boozer - and to that end the Rockets have/had a huge advantage at that position...they just lacked at the point and P. forward. Be disappointed, but look at the positional matchups before dumping on dominant players.
When a team looses, its not the fault of a single player, but the whole entire team. From the management down to the bench players. Everyone should be held accountable of their actions, and think what should each of them do to have done better. Season ended, management should ponder the next move, while the players should wonder what aspect of their games need improvement.
Houston should trade up and get conley.
If you didn't know any better, you'd think that T-Mac was playing the Jazz 1 on 5 and that the Jazz just lucked into a win because T-Mac fell apart. Last time I checked, the game was played 5 on 5 and you won and lost as a team. Stop blaming T-Mac! Stop talking about T-Mac! Start giving the Jazz some credit for the much-deserved win.
"Funny how every time the Jazz win you don't actually read or hear anything about the Jazz. It's how the other team screwed up that makes headlines. This has always been the case with the Jazz."
i agree, what about the WINNER Based on the fact the utah was obviously a much more complete team then houston why would Jerry Sloan get coach of the year for finishing behind houston with the better team? When Mcgrady isnt on the floor his team isnt able to do anything. Yao is to inconsistent and too soft to lead his team when Tmac isnt on the floor. Mcgrady doesnt go to the basket enough but can anyone name a star who doesn't have that problem? Yao's lack of rebounding in crunch time killed his team. Him getting dunked on kills the crowd. Its amazing too see a 7-5 player with his skills have so little impact on the game. It would have been nice to see tracy go down shootin 30-35 shots instead of passing the ball into the post as part of houstons ridiculous offensive game plan. It was either pass to yao to far out on the block and have him take a 15 foot turn around or hopefully tmac could provide wide open shots for his teammates, wide open shots being the only shots there capable of making.
I like comment re: having a 3rd player to compliment the stars. The Bulls had their greatest success with MJ, Pip and ...
Horace Grant Rodman Ron Harper Toni Kukoc Yep a solid 3rd player to provide relief. It just so happens they won during those years. 1. Throughout the Rockets' comeback, TMac drove to the basket, got a score, got fouled, or dished to an open teammate. Then, just as in the rest of the games in this series, TMac inexplicably stopped driving and bricked ill-advised jumpers.
2. Is there any reason Yao cannot back down Mehmet Okur or Jason Collins (or Dirk Nowitzki two years ago) and dunk the ball as his inspiration Shaq always did? I only saw him do that once last night. And why does he make those soft easy-to-block fade away jumpers his goto move late in games? He is not Akeem and he does not make that move the way Akeem did (Akeem used to be able to jump off the floor.) I believe that if he cannot improve the efficiency of his signature moves and his passing from the post, he has reached the height of his abilities already. Yes, maybe you are correct about the Rockets future roster, but last night they still had a chance. They lost the series because their two cornerstones did not make the right decisions when the game was on the line. I really miss Rudy T's coaching and wish he was still here. If any coach know how to become a champion, he is the one!
T-Mac and Yao is a poor tandem. They have a mediocre supporting cast. Battier is tough but he should be more aggressive in offensive end. Mutombo and Howard are too old and too slow. Hayes and Head, well, are serviceable only. Bonzi is out of control or he may be the x-factor in this series. Alston is a must-trade point guard.
So Rockets should shake and fix things up quickly. Yes we understand you have no cap room and there is no way to get bibby or mo williams, but please lure boykins/barnes/magloire to Houston. why is it a big deal when Andrei Kirilenko cries after game 1, but everyone feels sorry for McGrady when he cries at his press conference. Im sorry. I have a hard time feeling bad for anyone that cashes a $500,000 check every two weeks for playing basketball. Who's fault it is they lost doesn't matter. Get a grip on reality you babies
My question is, what does it say about McGrady that having the best C tandem and a great SF isn't enough? That he also "needs" someone like a Billups or Kidd (two fo the best PGs in the league) or a high-priced young guy like Mo Williams AND an above average PF (someone who's taller, bigger and as/good better than Hayes is gonna be hard to come by) just to get out of the first round?
Duncan has gone deep into the playoffs with guys like Elson, Rasho, etc starting at C. Dirk has gone to the finals with Erik Dampier and Adrian Griffen as starters (for stretches). Etc etc. Its a generally accepted limitation of the "build around 2 superstars" model of franchise structure, that one of your positions is going to be only mediocre. That's not why they lose though...plenty of teams have won with those models. They lose b/c their superstars aren't good enough to make up for those short-comings. And that blame falls squarely on the shoulders of T-Mac and Yao. Yeah yao sucks.
Houston should trade yao to the lakers. :-) I would love to see kobe, yao, and jackson together. Tracy who? Paul Milsap is someone who deserves to be talked about. That was some solid effort in game six. I cant wait to see a consistent lineup of Boozer, Memo, Milsap, Williams and a confident Kirilenko. Hard to argue with Fisher when he's hot though.
Nice Job Jazz. Bring on the Warriors. Should be a good battle of very contrasting styles. Everyone knows who the REAL coach of the year is. Lets see if the team can force Jerry's stile on Golden State. IT wasnt T-Mac's fault. If you look at the last minute of the game you can chalk up the loss to the rockets not getting their own offensive boards. That was the game plain and simple.
with the jazz winning the series i feel bad again for Jerry Sloan who just keeps proving that he deserves the coach of the year! None of you writers picked them to win in your predictions which i found outrageous given that the jazz had a deeper and quicker team. Also if Dirk Nowitzki wins the MVP i think this seasons awards are a mockery. I thought Sam Mitchell and the raptors played terrible basketball during stretches and he is coach of the year? Jerry deserved it. Camby was most defensive player of the year? Denver...gone. Dirk, MVP? that would be a major catastrophe to the league. He doesnt deserve any hardware the way he played the series. No heart whatsoever. Monta Ellis, the supposedly most improved player didnt do squat either. hardly even getting to play. the only decent award winners are barbosa and deng. Barbosa has been a total nightmare for teams off the bench and as they say "blured" the lakers. then deng, even though it was just the sportsmanship award sportsmanship goes a long way in todays league. he played a hell of a series against miami. so there. those are my thoughts. jerry just keeps being screwed every year.
I don't suppose that the Rockets deal with Yao and China will allow them to trade Yao? He has size, but he is slow in every way and fails everytime on the fall-away jumpshot. Yao also gets hacked and mangled by opponents and I don't believe he'll ever get the calls because he argues with the refs too much and maybe because of who he is. With Yao's salary gone, the Rockets could afford a primo point guard and pull in faster players to rotate around T-Mac. Although with his recurring back problems, T-Macs days may be numbered in the NBA, so maybe he should be dealt now instead and then the Rockets could get younger and faster soon.
T-Mac will take the blame for this heartbreaker like a true leader would, but it's not his fault that the team is not as good as Utah. Boozer and co. simply were the better team. Boozer were killing the Rockets ever since game 2 (though he will not get the same looks and space against the more athletic Warriors).
Houston needs another playmaker, that's for sure. The support that Yao and T-Mac is getting is simply not enough. Even two superstars can only carry a team so far if the supporting cast is not as good. Utah was daring the rest of the Rockets to beat them, and they didn't. Simple as that. Utah really deserves some kudos for taking this series, since they are not getting enough credit. They deserve it. Boozer and Deron reminds me of Stockton-Malone, and how can Jerry Sloan not win Coach of the Year? If I have to donate $20 for him to win it this year from Sam Mitchell, I honestly WILL. This is what happens when the living breathing back injury and the gentle giant plays a hard-nosed, Jerry Sloan coached team. UTAH! UTAH! UTAH! UTAH! UTAH! UTAH! UTAH!
How can you NOT blame McGrady? Maybe not for this series, but what about the previous five? When will this all-star player step up and play like one? He has had too many chances. Cut from the same cloth as Vince Carter except he doesnt roll around on the floor in pain as often.
The loss is not McGrady's fault.
It is the Utah Jazz fault because THEY WERE/ARE THE BETTER TEAM!!! They are also a young team that should be together for the next 3 - 5 years and should only get better. Utah Jazz - the Rodney Dangerfields of the NBA. What was McGrady thinking when he didn't foul Williams with 19 seconds left? That mistake was was all on him. Why everyone feels so sorry for him, I don't understand. After never making it passed the first round and totally downplaying the biggest game in his career, he deserve all the critizism he has brought on himself. Especially after remarking that he is the reason that all of his teammates score. His ego is bigger than Kobe's, and I'm sure his tears were bigger than AK-47's after game two.
How is getting Mike James or Luke Ridnour an improvement over Skip? Skip is more than an adequte point in the league. Tell me something James or Ridnour can do that Skip can't do. Skip can break defenses off the dribble, he's creative, got good court vision, he can hit the outside shot when open and he dosent turn the ball over excessively like he did in his old days. What more do you want in your point guard? The only thing he's not that good at is finishing at the rim and defending, but neither James or Ridnour are especially strong in that department either.
What the Rockets do need is better 4. Howard is just too old and slow, and Hayes, while active and athletic is just too small to really contend with the bigs in the league. Everyone needs to get off McGrady! Yao Ming is 7'6, why did he only have 6 rebounds..come on..TMAC has 5 rebounds himself! We need to trade for KG and the three of Yao, Tmac and KG will be able to contend with the likes of the western conference
trade Yao for KG. Yao is too slow, he bobbles passes, doesn't protect the ball, and can't rebound. I saw many plays where Yao was in the best position to get the rebound but couldn't get his arms up quick enough. game changing rebounds, that resulted in a putback for the other team or a missed putback for the rockets. little things like that change a game.
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