11/05/24
June 29, 2004
Mercifully, T-Mac has landed.: In Houston. Discussed earlier. It is now official. Are the Rockets any better now? Do the Magic have a more "well-rounded" roster?
posted by lilnemo to basketball at 04:23 PM - 18 comments
Thank you, Ufez. (The check (and the CD) is in the mail.) T-Mac kind of had to be the man in Orlando, which was why he was hogging the ball. I get the feeling he'll at least be willing to try out this all-world center for a test drive, and while there may be some growing pains, hopefully he'll see the "next Kobe-Shaq" opportunity he's got on the table. And Van Gundy's no dummy. He's got some serious work ahead of him, but he knows what to do, and Tracy'll listen to him. I hope. My big concern with Orlando (here it comes) is that those two kids are going to learn their values from that little twerp and the almost-as-selfish Cuttino Mobley. I stand by my earlier remarks. Lord God King Franchise's numbers will go up, he'll make the all-star team at least two of the next three years, and the Orlando Magic will have a dispersal draft before the end of the decade.
posted by chicobangs at 05:26 PM on June 29, 2004
I don't know if McGrady will play any better with Yao than Stevie Franchise did... In my eyes, this is the Rocket's main issue. We all know Tracy can score, but can he sublimate his game and defer to Yao? This upcoming season may answer the question of who is better; Tracy or Kobe. As for the Magic, I believe they are a more rounded team now than they were before. I don't think they're done dealing either. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cuttino get shipped out soon.
posted by lilnemo at 05:27 PM on June 29, 2004
I think T-Mac will be fine with Yao. IMO, the key for Houston was finding a player that is effective in the half-court game. Why? Because Yao is a horrendous transition player. He's really slow and his stamina is limited. So he needs to be with guys who will walk it up. Luckily, T-Mac seems to fit the bill perfectly. I actually thought Stevie Franchise was pretty good in the half court offense, but T-Mac is even better. I'm with Chicobangs, this is he next Kobe-Shaq in the making. T-Mac is going to have a monster season. Wait until you see what T-Mac can do when Yao's the guy they're double teaming.
posted by Mike McD at 05:52 PM on June 29, 2004
I won't belabour the point by repeating what everyone else has said, but instead will add this: Francis got most of his shots by dribble, dribble, dribble, jack. McGrady, IMHO, is far more capable of moving without the ball to get shots. I don't think this is about "sublimating his game and deferring to Yao" -- I think it is about putting the ball in someone else's (Yao's) hands to run the offence, which is something McGrady always wanted to do in Orlando (and which Grant Hill was supposed to answer), but couldn't. I agree with Mike McD: I think T-Mac is going to EXPLODE this year.....buy your adidas shares now.
posted by smithers at 09:52 PM on June 29, 2004
All signs point to super silly T-Mac stats - hell, he'd been playing one on three for the last two years and doing pretty well at it. But I'm not so sure he's got the heart - if he wanted to win he would not have left Toronto. Guy's a mercenary. Plus, dream lineups don't always automatically win. I'm not big on the Houston bench.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:41 AM on June 30, 2004
I think getting out of Canada was pretty high on T-mac's list of things to do. I am sure he would have left Toronto even if they had been a much better team. Sure he's a competitor, but surely his terms included "get the hell out of toronto". This move of his sounds like he's leaving a crappy situation for a better one.
posted by gspm at 12:59 AM on June 30, 2004
Weedy: I used tro think that about McGrady, but in retrospect he certainly made the right move. He and Vince essentially played the same position and McGrady *knew* he was the better player, even if the rest of us didn't know it at the time. If the organization insisted on making Vince the centrepiece (which they had to at the time), McGrady HAD to leave....wanting to be a winner has nothing to do with it. Was he a little immature at the time? Yes. Was he right? Yes. He's also only 25 years old and the best scorer in the NBA, and just got paired with the best passing centre in the NBA, who is only 24 years old. Yikes...
posted by smithers at 06:37 AM on June 30, 2004
But I'm not so sure he's got the heart - if he wanted to win he would not have left Toronto I actually reached the opposite conclusion about T-Mac's decision to leave Toronto. I thought it showed that he had to be the alpha dog and that couldn't happen in Toronto. That type of mentality is good to have in your franchise player.
posted by Mike McD at 09:24 AM on June 30, 2004
On the question of whether the Magic have a more well-rounded roster... What if THIS is the season that Grant Hill finally pulls it together? *runs away*
posted by platocave at 10:58 AM on June 30, 2004
platocave, there is no running away in SportsFilter. Just ask JBou and JerseyGirl. You raise a good point, though, that guy has to get healthy at some time.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:29 AM on June 30, 2004
If Grant Hill doesn't make it back this season (at a reasonably high level), he should retire. The Magic are going to suck unless they trade away a few ballhogs. Francis is a well-documented ballhog, Mobley isn't any better and Drew Gooden never passes. Even then, they've got to keep Francis, and with him playing point guard, it's pretty much hopeless.
posted by dusted at 11:56 AM on June 30, 2004
The Magic are going to suck unless the NBA folds before next season. I do feel for Howard and Nelson, though. They're never going to know team play if they haven't picked it up already. Nelson, maybe. Howard? I really don't know.
posted by chicobangs at 01:12 PM on June 30, 2004
Grant says he will retire if he can't get it together this summer.
posted by mbd1 at 03:58 PM on June 30, 2004
Naw that's BS - This whole 'he couldn't be the alpha dog' stuff. So what? Who's the alpha in the Shaq Kobe marriage? Phil. Winning means having teammates - T-Mac decided that he would rather be the alpha dog instead of win (and for my money if he had stayed Vince would be playing second fiddle to him in one year's time). But no, he'd rather rake in points and not win. Cuz if winning was everything, he'd have stayed. I don't see how anyone can say otherwise. T-Mac obviously didn't 'make the right move' 'cuz he's moving again. Kobe actually said as much in a SLAM article. Vince at SG and T-Mac at SF (or vice versa) would have been deadly and he would have expected to see Toronto in the finals those first two championships. I think all he really wanted was to go home. That's the only fair assesment I can give him.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:55 PM on June 30, 2004
Shaq's the alpha dog in the Shaq Kobe marriage but Kobe wants and thinks he should be. That's why you're seeing so much friction. Frankly, I put about zero weight in what Kobe Bryant said in a SLAM magazine article ... but did you see what Herb Williams said in DIME magazine. Herb said that T-Mac left Toronto because he had to be alpha dog. I guess that settles it.
posted by Mike McD at 08:20 AM on July 01, 2004
Yes I understand that T-Mac wanted, nay needed, to be the MAN. And the price of that was a team that wanted him, could afford him, and would win with he and Vince conducting things. So - being the man became more important than winning. One seems to see this a lot in basketball. Lots of guys want to win - but not at the expense of their stats or comfort level. But clearly T-Mac has set his standard - If it doesn't work out well in Houston in a suitable T-Mac time frame, he'll demand a trade. Loyalty, apparently, is for losers.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:44 PM on July 01, 2004
Of course, he was about 21 at the time, so I could cut him some slack. Naw.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:45 PM on July 01, 2004
I don't think either of these moves is going to make a *huge* difference, but we'll see. The Rockets may be some better, and the addition of Tyronn Lue to the deal may help their PG situation (which is now their biggest weakness). That said, I don't know if McGrady will play any better with Yao than Stevie Franchise did. If he can handle sharing the #1 spot (1 and 1/2?) then we'll see. Van Gundy will have to coach his ass off. Also, does T-Mac have any playoff experience? Anything past the first round? The Rockets are sorely lacking in this regard. They are definitely building for the future though. As for Orlando, they seem kind of like 03-04 Rockets Lite now. I figure Drew Gooden and Jim Jackson kind of cancel each other out (yeah, Jim can pop the 3, but Drew's much younger). And no matter what happens, there's no way that Dwight Howard is going to be near as good as Yao. Francis's numbers will probably improve, which will make him happy*, but is Orlando a better team? Not significantly. Maybe healthier, which could lead to more wins, but not substantially. *I'll leave the serious Francis bashing for chico.