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Exactly what I was going to say
Does Tracy McGrady belong in the MVP discussion?
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Exactly what I was going to say
born to be fly
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He should be in the discussion, but I don't think he should win it unless they end up with the #1 seed. IMO Kobe should get it.
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[h1]Rockets' depth is key behind winning streak[/h1]
By Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports 3 hours, 17 minutes ago
HOUSTON - Tracy McGrady stepped to the free-throw line late Sunday afternoon and the chant grew loud, filling the Toyota Center from the floor to the rafters.
M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!
MVP?
Not on Sunday. Not in this season. These Houston Rockets haven't streaked into first place in the Western Conference because of one player or even two, and their 22nd consecutive victory - a 104-92 thumping of the Los Angeles Lakers - provided the most convincing evidence yet.
With Yao Ming watching from home, McGrady might as well have been stretched out on his own couch for the first three quarters. He didn't make his first shot until more than nine minutes into the second half. At halftime, he told an ABC reporter he felt tired.
What happened next said a lot about McGrady's teammates and why it's foolish to dismiss their streak as a fluke. With Kobe Bryant driving for a layup to pull the Lakers within two with less than 10 seconds left in the third quarter, Rafer Alston rushed the ball upcourt, dribbled between his legs, stepped back and coolly drilled his seventh 3-pointer of the game.
Alston would finish with eight 3-pointers and a career-best 31 points. The Rockets' media relations staff sent him to the podium after the game, but they should have also brought a chair for Shane Battier. Or Bobby Jackson.
Jackson, a deadline-day trade pickup from New Orleans, scored 19 points off the bench and drove the two biggest daggers into the Lakers, burying a 3-pointer to push the Rockets' lead to five midway through the fourth quarter and then doubling that advantage four minutes later with another 24-foot rainbow. Battier, meanwhile, hounded Bryant into 11-of-33 shooting, allowing Houston to often get away without doubling the Lakers star.
If anyone deserved to be tired it was Battier. Rockets coach Rick Adelman told him to prepare to be on the court whenever Bryant was in the game.
Said Battier: "I told him, 'Thanks, your Christmas present is in the mail as well.' "
Battier played more than 46 minutes, nearly equaling the 47 Bryant logged. Not surprisingly, he was the last Rocket out the shower, finally slumping into a chair in front of his locker almost 45 minutes after the final horn sounded.
"Chasing that guy around," Battier said, "you want a Budweiser or two after the game because you earned it."
On Sunday, Battier deserved the whole six-pack. Bryant scored 24 points, just five in the fourth quarter when he missed eight of his 10 shots. He also made only four trips to the free-throw line, less than half his average.
Battier, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "kept him off his rhythm all game."
Bryant said his shot felt "flat" and Jackson thought he looked tired for the last five or so minutes of the final quarter. There was a reason for that. Pau Gasol missed the game with a sprained left ankle and Lamar Odom (17 points, 11 rebounds) was one of the few remaining Lakers to provide any type of support.
The Lakers don't think this will be a long-term problem. They might go on to lose the remaining two games of their trip in Dallas and Utah without Gasol, but they hope to have him back by the end of the week. Still, they would be wise to not attribute all of their struggles to their starting center's absence. Just as in their victory over Dallas two weeks earlier, too many of the Lakers seemed too eager to have Bryant rescue them once the pressure built.
The Rockets used to do the same with McGrady. But as he continued to miss games with a balky back and other injuries, and Yao was forced to the sideline for large chunks of the past two seasons, the Rockets learned something: how to play without them.
Houston, coincidentally, started to turn around this season after McGrady went on the inactive list in late December because of a sore knee. McGrady bristled when it was suggested the Rockets were better without him, which was understandable. They weren't. Houston improved because Adelman expanded the roles of Carl Landry, Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks and diminished those of Bonzi Wells and Mike James.
Nor are the Rockets a better team now without Yao. Their only remaining interior offense is McGrady's post-ups, making them prone to long scoring droughts. In Friday's victory over Charlotte they went more than 10 minutes without a point. On Sunday they missed their first 12 shots of the third quarter and went scoreless for more than six minutes, allowing the Lakers to whittle a 15-point deficit down to five.
Alston finally slowed the Lakers' run with a 3-pointer.
"I thought if there was going to be anybody to turn this thing around," Alston said, "it was me."
Alston said the Lakers "stayed glued" to McGrady, and that was partially true: On more than one pick-and-roll they blitzed him with two defenders. But Los Angeles' defense was nothing McGrady hadn't seen before and yet he missed his first nine shots and went into the locker room at halftime with three assists, one rebound and no points.
"I was in awe of (Alston)," McGrady said. "You kind of get caught up in the moment and you kind of get out of your game a little bit because the other guy is playing so well. I was one of those guys tonight."
McGrady played his best when it mattered most, hitting three clutch jump shots in the fourth quarter. But he gave another reason for his early struggles that should concern the Rockets: He was tired. McGrady did play all 48 minutes Friday against the Bobcats, but this is mid-March. What's he going to feel like in May if he actually wins a playoff series?
"I thought Tracy had as poor a game as he's had all season," Phil Jackson said, "and I think that shows how good their team really is."
He's right. Scola, Dikembe Mutombo, Chuck Hayes and Mike Harris bullied the Lakers inside, leading to the afternoon's most impressive stat: Five different Rockets pulled down at least six rebounds.
"There wasn't a time when we wavered from what was successful," Battier said. "It's team basketball."
So Battier chased Bryant. Scola and Hayes banged inside. Alston threw in one 3-pointer after another. Bobby Jackson made his own big shots, and yet the chant grew when McGrady stepped to the foul line.
M-V-P?
On Sunday there were plenty of them.
it was just one game. rafer just got lfreat game and tmacwas just off.. at the end of the day, tmac would still be the one tothe rescue. but yeah, he wont win the mvp.
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NO
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Yes and No
Yes because hes playing his best ball of the season and helping keeping the team afloat and no because everyone else has stepped up as well
Yes because hes playing his best ball of the season and helping keeping the team afloat and no because everyone else has stepped up as well
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yes he belongs in the discussion, your a fool if you think otherwise
he wont win it, but he deserves to be in the discussion
he wont win it, but he deserves to be in the discussion
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If they get the #1 seed then yes, he should win MVP. Sorry Kobe. If they don't end up with the #1, then I think Kobe should get it.
If Dirk and Nash won their MVP's, McGrady is in the discussion of winning one this season.
If Dirk and Nash won their MVP's, McGrady is in the discussion of winning one this season.
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McGrady's numbers are down drastically though. this is pretty much his worst statistical season since he left Toronto. when you win the MVP you'resupposed to elevate your level of play, not lower it.
just the fact that Tmac is having his weakest individual season and the Rockets are still winning, proves that its the other role players stepping up that madethem this good.
just look at the game yesterday. against the #1 team in the league, Tmac did horrible and the Rockets still won. why? because guys like Alston and Battierstepped up tremendously. just because a team is winning doesn't mean you automatically give credit to the superstar.
just the fact that Tmac is having his weakest individual season and the Rockets are still winning, proves that its the other role players stepping up that madethem this good.
just look at the game yesterday. against the #1 team in the league, Tmac did horrible and the Rockets still won. why? because guys like Alston and Battierstepped up tremendously. just because a team is winning doesn't mean you automatically give credit to the superstar.
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nash and dirk never missed 15 games...rafer is more the mvp during the streak.
it was just one game. rafer just got lfreat game and tmac was just off.. at the end of the day, tmac would still be the one to the rescue. but yeah, he wont win the mvp.
nah he has many horrible games during the streak.
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He'll be in the discussion, but he won't even be a top-5 choice (Kobe, KG, CP3, LeBron, B. Diddy).
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B Diddy ahead of T-Mac?
No way.
I'm not saying T-Mac should or is going to win it, but best believe he's ranked above BDiddy in the discussion.
No way.
I'm not saying T-Mac should or is going to win it, but best believe he's ranked above BDiddy in the discussion.
xtapolapacetl
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In the discussion? Yes, I do think so. But not the leading candidate for winner.
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MVP player pool? Heck Yeah
Is he going to get it? Heck No
As of right now Kobe deserves it more.
Is he going to get it? Heck No
As of right now Kobe deserves it more.
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That's what they did with Nash. They basically said he was the engine that made the Suns go. Never mind that he already had a stacked team. T-Mac has aMUCH worse squad right now than Nash ever did. Look at this roster! Deke. Head. Skip. Harris. Landry. Hayes.
Even when Dirty Snake got jerked out of the award in 06, he had a much better roster than T-Mac has right now (minus Yao). And Snake finished fourth in votingthat year! FOURTH!! That's bananas to me.
But that is exactly why T-Mac will NOT win this award. He's only had to carry the Rockets for a handful of games so far. I've always said that Tracyshould get more attention for the job he does in Houston. But to give him MVP this year would be a stretch.
One thing is for sure though... He'll get a lot of votes from sympathetic writers who would love to see him get some sort of recognition.
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Team is lucky i wont give them props untill they beat a good healthy team! they beat dallas (no Dirk) New Orleans (no West) and the lakers (no Gasol) meansnothing to me. And how can the 2nd best player on his team be an MVP they only won 13 without yao!
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he's actually the best player on his team. he's just a humble player right now. he referred to himself as "not an all-star" player andhe's just "one of the guys" last night.
you do know he avg 21, 5, 5.5 WITH yao right? now he's averaging 26, 5, 6 without yao (he's stepping up). name me another duo right now whereone of the duo went down the other steps up big and his team goes undefeated. kobe went just .555 w/o shaq during the laker days. although it's a teameffort, but TMAC PLAYED TWO 48-MINUTE GAMES IN THE LAST WEEK ALONE.
he's not going to win the MVP (unless his team wins the west by like 3-4 games) and the lakers slide, along with the hornets. if the lakers falter to a 5/6seed, kobe is not going to win it. if the hornets falter now without west for a lil bit, paul is NOT going to win it (paul is who i think deserve the most).lebron is not going to win it b/c his team record sucks.
look tmac does not deserve it. but MVPs are not always given to the most deserving player (or else shaq would have more than 1). but again, IF houston ends upw/ the 1st seed, it's hard to think he won't win it. the rockets are getting a lot of love from the media right now. tmac has shown his leadership(though he sucked last night, he still stepped up big in the 4th and din't force shots, which kobe did) and he's extremely humble. plus, he's asympathetic figure for not getting out of the first round.
if i had a vote, i vote for chris paul though so don't flame.
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aepps20
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What kind of backwards logic is this? You won't give a team props when it is beating teams without its own star player (Yao)?
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That's one of the stupidest things I've read. Do you expect his numbers to go up when he goes to a team with Yao Ming as opposed to having nobody in Orlando? Do you expect his numbers to go up when his injuries have got significantly worse since coming to Houston?
Why don't you think before you type.
exactly. i think the injuries really messes up his #s b/c he played 4-5 games where he only played 9-10 minutes and left.
again, i think paul and kobe are more deserving b/c of their high level of play throughout the season. but houston has become such a great story that tmacwill have a great chance if his team wins the west. but kobe would be pissed though
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That's one of the stupidest things I've read. Do you expect his numbers to go up when he goes to a team with Yao Ming as opposed to having nobody in Orlando? Do you expect his numbers to go up when his injuries have got significantly worse since coming to Houston?
Why don't you think before you type.
i won't even respond.
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In the discussion? Yes. Top 5 in my opinion. But is he going to win? Not a chance.
edit: Let me restate that. He'll have a chance but only if they end up #1 seed or they go undefeated for the rest of the season.
edit: Let me restate that. He'll have a chance but only if they end up #1 seed or they go undefeated for the rest of the season.
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Hell be in the discussion for sure im going with kobe though...
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Does he belong in the discussion? Yes.
Should he win it? No.
This 22-game win streak is amazing. However, the reason they're doing so well is because they're playing terrific team basketball. I watched them playthe Lakers yesterday and despite TMac's sub par game, they still pulled out the victory (even without Gasol, the Lakers are a tough team).
Also, TMac hasn't been playing great all year. He started to come alive a little after he came back from injury. Kobe has been playing great all season(that pains me to say it, as I don't even like Kobe) so he should definitely take it.
Should he win it? No.
This 22-game win streak is amazing. However, the reason they're doing so well is because they're playing terrific team basketball. I watched them playthe Lakers yesterday and despite TMac's sub par game, they still pulled out the victory (even without Gasol, the Lakers are a tough team).
Also, TMac hasn't been playing great all year. He started to come alive a little after he came back from injury. Kobe has been playing great all season(that pains me to say it, as I don't even like Kobe) so he should definitely take it.
MVP
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exactly. i think the injuries really messes up his #s b/c he played 4-5 games where he only played 9-10 minutes and left.
again, i think paul and kobe are more deserving b/c of their high level of play throughout the season. but houston has become such a great story that tmac will have a great chance if his team wins the west. but kobe would be pissed though
T-Mac belongs in the discussion, but barely; to me the award is for over an entire season. Kobe, CP3, and LeBron have all done their due for the entireseason. KG has missed 7 or 8 games, while T-Mac has missed 15 games this year. I don't think you can justify giving the award to T-Mac when he's missedalmost 20% of the season. I don't believe it would be fair to what Kobe and CP3 have done all season with their respective squads to snub them because theRockets TEAM is hot right now. T-Mac hasn't exactly been putting up world beater numbers during this streak anyway, averaging 21pts, 6assists, 5reb a game,while CP3 has been avg. 23pts, 12assists, 4reb a game, and Kobe avg. 29pts, 5assists, 6reb a game during the Rockets streak. I think the Rockets success hasmore to do with the TEAM'S chemistry and defensive intensity than it does with T-Mac elevating his teammates to another level like CP3 and Kobe have. Whichis why I believe that either CP3 or Kobe (whichever team finishes higher in the West) should win it. Oh and if Kobe doesn't get it this year and the Lakerswin 53+ games which is very doable then best believe he will have a little extra venom for the playoffs.
