T-MacDo you know how basically every college football team in the country holds up four fingers as the third period comes to a close? If they didn’t already realize that the fourth quarter follows the third quarter, four digits helps to remind them. Perhaps this is something that Rick Adelman should get his Rockets to try. They’ve scored a total of 39 points in the final period of games one and two. 39 points on 5-23 shooting. Adelman needs to try something.
As we noted earlier in Smack, Doug Collins knew that Utah has been running the same play at the end of quarters all season to get an open three for Mehmet Okur. Adelman was clueless. Well Jerry Sloan has also tipped his defensive strategy again and again against Houston. Blitz T-Mac. The Jazz were sending two to three defenders at him all night. He was amazing for the first three quarters, but was gassed by crunch time. McGrady is now 0-7 from the field during the fourth this series.
“I didn’t have anything (in the fourth quarter),” he said. “It’s tough, banging with these guys.”
After game one, Adelman vowed to figure out a way to make Tracy’s life easier. Those words turned out to be totally empty.
“There’s too much attention paid to what Tracy did out there,” Adelman said yesterday. “They basically took him out of the game. We have to find ways to get him easier opportunities. And others have to make plays. We just missed so many shots.”
How could the Rockets make it easier for McGrady? Any pick-and-roll with the ball in his hands will result in an immediate double-team. So while Jerry Sloan looks like Brain for his gameplan to double or triple T-Mac, Adelman continues to look like Pinky. There are a million different moves to make - the key for Houston is to try at least one of them. Move Tracy to the baseline? Run him around twelve screens so he can catch and shoot? Have him be a decoy? Or, they could strand him on an island with Andrei Kirilenko eclipsing his view of the basket for the last 12 minutes. Mostly, helping Tracy is about figuring out a way that Sloan’s army can’t completely hone in on stopping him.
Or maybe, they should all hold up four fingers before the last quarter and hope that gets them ready. It’s more than they’ve done through the first two games of this series.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:08 am
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
Or maybe, they should all hold up four fingers before the last quarter and hope that gets them ready. It’s more than they’ve done through the first two games of this series.
~Ouch! Cut me deep!
That hurwt! True but still so brutal. Anyway honestly the only thing that can really happen is the others have to score come 4th and let Mac play the roll of creator. The thing is they are not knocking down any shots. So you basically left with a false hope.
Rick is a great coach, but he should just admit there is nothing he can do to alter anything until the other players start scoring.
I am glad my squad made the playoffs, but this is some pain lol.
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:24 am
E$ says:
why does Utah never have fans on the road when they travel? it says alot about their team
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 am
yallallreadyknow says:
houston needs to play faster. they have a stagnant half court offense…so they need to get out and run more in transition.
utahs full court defense sucks. in fact, they are SURE to foul or concede a layup. rockets need to gets points on the fast break (which mcgrady seems to have forgotten how to do since he left toronto) and kill utah at the line. jazz foul a lot.
…in addition, take deke out of the starting lineup. he cannot contribute offensively and its play 4 on 5 when houston has the ball; i know he gives you size, but memhet okur has a perimeter game, so you dont need size against him on defensel; okur aint backing nobody down anyway.
start chuck hayes or landry at center. have tmac handle the ball LESS. just have him come off screens or play with his back to the goal on the block.
…as for the rockets defense….
them bums need to foul deron williams hard just once in this series. see if utah is mentally tough to take that. and they should foul kirelinko hard too; just once/twice. bully ball
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:32 am
rangerjohn says:
at E$
ronnie price’s girl was there (sitting with d wills family) and she is all the fan you need at the game! she is frakin HOT!
d wills wife was not to bad but price’s girl blows her out of the stadium.
i had a utah fan sitting behind me at saturdays game, and it was ,well lets just say “entertaining”. the guy would not shut up the whole game (not just about the jazz but he talked the whole damn game) he had fasekas crackin up, tellin him ” hey man i want your shoes, give me your shoes” then fasekas said no (laughing) so he starts telling him “man tell carlos, or TELL MEMO I WANT HIS SHOES!”
we where ROLLING!
April 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 am
YOUNGFED says:
“I didn’t have anything (in the fourth quarter),” he said. “It’s tough, banging with these guys.”
T-Mac needs to MAN THE FUK UP!!! QUIT CRYING LIKE SOME BROAD. Its called playing in the NBA. Betcha MJ, Kobe, AI always had something in the TANK. T-Mac is straight PU$$Y for that comment!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 am
ivey4444 says:
I gotta agree with the bold predictions on thehoopdoctors.com that are sayin’ sweep of the rockets in round 1. Sorry rockets fans but the 22 game string of wins was amazing, but also the highlight of your season. Its all over…
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:15 am
Suciniac says:
Bet Houston could use Bonzi and James about right now.Ironic that all year they seemed to have a logjam at the point and come playoffs that’s where they are hurting.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 am
SWAT says:
Honestly i’m so sick and tired of this flooping shit!! That last call against Scola was plain stupid, ak-47 was a great actor last night. That bullshit ass call is what setup sorry ass Korver’s shot. And Bobby nailed the 3 that would have tied the game!! I’m tired of these refs deciding the outcome of games. A couple of plays earlier Bobby tried to get the call against Daron and fell to the ground and the refs just looked at him. But ak-47 flops like Manu and he gets that damn call. My boys fought but they couldn’t buy a damn bucket or a free throw. Damn yall…do you want this?
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 am
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
Yall - I know you could care less but I agree with your points.
Ranger - I am jealous you live in a state with 3 teams.
Young - How is that a pu$$y comment. Did you see dude’s stat line. He was playing like he was 3 people. Plus like Yall said Deke ain’t no count when he is in, and for him to say he had nothing in the tank, just shows how hard he was playing to keep his goons in the game. How you gone compare what he did, when all the names you brung up had verrrry significant help to where they didn’t have to be three people so they could have something in the tank. NOT TO MENTION, there have been times where all of those names have pulled up lame in the 4th as well.
Saying T-Mac should drive more or run the break I can deal with, saying he aint what he used to be I can deal with, but when a dude done gave his all and you gone play him like he a pu$$y.
I am wondering if you even play ball for real or are you a spectator coming with a comment like that? I know you supposedly (cause I don’t know you fo real) rap and you always talk about women and money, but do you actually ball?
Cause if you ever been on a team that you had to carry, and you had to pratically will your team just to be in, there are times where your tank runs out.
You got me real awake with that.
At least your squad has a full team with a decent bench and great starters and they still loss. So are they pu$$ies too? No I wouldn’t say that, they just miss some key shots and took Philly for granted, but don’t go playing people for pu$$ies.
Can’t even believe you would come like that, you usually better than that playboi.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 am
rangerjohn says:
SWAT “My boys fought but they couldn’t buy a damn bucket or a free throw.”
i dont play ball, i love watching most every team/game.
i come from a fighting background personally, i am a mixed martial arts fighter myself and when we fight, we go for a KO or a SUBMISSION, DONT LET THE REFS STEAL IT FROM YOU!
in other words, the rockets held that game in their own hand, you cant complain the refs stole it from you when you shoot 61% from the FREE throw line. guys like bobby jackson shooting 7-17 (is he the new rafer alson or what?)
tracy shot 9-22, and scola 4-11 (i mean come on he can do better)
tracy and scola shot a combined 11 of 19 from the FREE throw line. and the refs stole this one on a flop? really? and 4 of 19 from three (bobby “im trying to do to much” jackson, you are the point, PASS THE BALL!)
all in all the jazz had a game plan, let tracy try to beat us on his own. take scola (option 2) out of it and we have the game. and it worked.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:36 am
alex says:
again, don’t even comment on people saying TMAC didn’t do enough to help Houston win. He did everything he could possibly do. They simply can’t beat the jazz without Alston and Yao, simple as that.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:36 am
doc says:
Gee we aint tryin to hear that excuse shit.Your boy sound like a homo talking about banging with those guys is hard.We know already MAN UP.You ever hear Mike after getting guarded for real by Detroit say he ran out of gas because they kept banging him?He is a pussy.We know he gave his all BUT it was 100% of pussy he gave with that comment.He aint seeing shit differentthan the rest of the stars out there.No true superstar would never get 1 point in 2 4th quarters.Not even Magic or Stockton who was more dimes than buckets.Him and Vince bloodline just athletic and soft at the same time.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:47 am
Amar says:
yallallreadyknow — speed up the pace? you’re wrong homie. look at the jazz record vs. the suns, vs. the warriors and vs. the nuggets.
re: the scola offensive foul — when a defender is closing out on a three point shooter you can’t grab him and push him out of the way. that’s an offensive foul. yes, andrei made it seem worse than it was, but AK was getting fouled all night long with no calls. you do what you have to do to get the calls. battier and scola flop, but when andrei does it, it’s wrong? the foul happened. it was a legit foul. andrei made it seem worse, but that doesn’t remove the fact that scola was acting like a fullback on that play. (when he wasn’t getting offensive rebounds with a foot out of bounds)
after the foul happened the ref blew the whistle. THEN bobby jax hit a three after the jazz stopped playing defense.
what’s next houston fans? asking for points on guys dunking the ball in the layup line?
how about making your FTs, whiners.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:49 am
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
You ain’t got to hear it playboi it is what it is. So your mind went to guys banging each other in a different way when you read that doc???…pause ok. Um as far as Mike yes Mike has had some bad 4th quarters and he has said that teams were very physical with him. So is Mike a pu$$y.
So we talking about a comment…… a COMMENT?!?! Wow!
Then again why am I even trippin cause lets see Magic a true superstar, Kenny and Charles all even agreed that T-Mac did his thing, and here I am debating with some cats who ain’t even players in the L.
Ok you got me, I am the fool hahaha my bad.
Like I said in another forum.
if that makes T-mac a pu$$y , then he is pu$$y as charged I guess.
Wow I fell for that one. Baited like a mofo!
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:49 am
YOUNGFED says:
@Doc
LMAO (x)2
@Gee Says
“How you gone compare what he did, when all the names you brung up had verrrry significant help to where they didn’t have to be three people so they could have something in the tank. NOT TO MENTION, there have been times where all of those names have pulled up lame in the 4th as well.”
AI or Kobe did their thang with ZERO help and never cried. So your wrong here. Also neither of them ever choke in the fourth in fact they got better. T-Mac is straight Puss after those comments. Face it GEE.
PS I played for Wayne State for 2 yrs. Gee but its a difference between a D3 COLLEGE team and the NBA. If you the STAR you gotta have something in the Tank. PERIOD!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 am
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
Amar you a Jazz homer anyway so of course you gone look at it that way.
That should have been a no call, but you are right can’t trip when you don’t hit free throws.
Of course it’s easier to take when you are on your side of the fence.
It’ rough over here homey, as a fan you fighting for just about every edge your team can get. Horrible call but yea we got to do better at the line.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 am
QQ says:
Didn’t watch the game, but from what I heard, TMac got his groove on and did his thang, but was smothered by defenses in the 4th. But I thought real superstars was SUPPOSED to be smothered by defenses, and even with that, they were SUPPOSED to find ways for their team to win?
Oh I forgot, this bitch ain’t and will never be a real superstar.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 am
Amar says:
alex — houston couldn’t beat utah WITH rafer and yao last season either. why would it be different this year? didn’t utah beat houston in houston with yao playing earlier this season as well?
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:51 am
rangerjohn says:
come on, REALLY? i mean doc, your saying that if jordan was the ONLY player (put him on the rockets today in his prime), he would not run out of gas? your nuts.
i dont care who you are, you are the ONLY player and you are going to get worn out. they used tracy for an average of 45 minutes since yao went down, that leads the league BY 3 MINUTES and he payed something like 4-5 games 48 minutes after yao went down. all so they could get to the playoffs. little rest, a ton of minutes and then have to face a thug line of boozer, harpring, okur and ak47 all beating YOU down because they dont have to worry about anyone else.
i mean really, i dont see kobe or labron or duncan or amare or any other players going 45 minutes average ALONE! take parker and manu off the spurs and make duncan play 45 minutes and what happens, they get blown out because no body has to worry about anyone else. same goes for amare, kobe, labron, ai, who ever you want to name.
i am not a tracy mcgrady fan but really lets think before we call him out like that.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:52 am
YOUNGFED says:
Sorry thats a D2 college team. TYPO
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:56 am
YOUNGFED says:
@Ranger John
Lebron single handedly beat the Pistons and didn’t RUN OUT OF FUKIN’ GAS. T-Mac is copping out. PERIOD!!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
K Dizzle says:
What’s the big deal? We all knew houston really had no chance without Yao and once they lost Rafer and had to start BJax, there was gonna be a sweep. I appreciate TMac’s honesty, but don’t nobody wanna hear that. This is what Kobe been doin for the past 2 years, what KG been doin all his career, what Lebron’s doin right now. You wanna be a superstar, you gotta bring it in the 4th. Great statline, but no one gonna remember that cuz dude was invisible in the 4th. Last year the tears, this year, “he ran outta gas”. Game 2? First round? and he’s only 28. Not good
My question is this: Is it worth it to get into the first round just to get whooped or is it better to get a lottery pick in a draft?
Doc
be careful what you say about vince and t-mac cuz some clown’ll pop up sayin it’s not their fault that the heart pumps kool-aid
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
doc says:
WHen his squad wonn 22 straight they was tough now they bums.Yall man got talent but he is a pussy.I thought you Houston dudes would know the difference.Didnt yall have Hakeem.Stop trying to save yall lazy eyed zero.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Amar says:
check the realgm.com forums, there’s a thread on if that was an offensive foul or not. I will state this, AK made it seem worse than it really was. Easily. Flopping is when you act like you got hit, but you weren’t (like what guys like jarron collins, or harpring, or manu (sometimes) do). If you are actually fouled and you act like it was worse than it was it’s embellishing or acting. AK acted on that play, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t still a foul.
People love blaming tmac for everything. He ran out of gas. The defense is set up to stop him (but they aren’t doubling him, when he drives there are help defenders, the perception is wrong, they are throwing a few different guys at him all game long to throw him off, Brew, Harp, Korver, AK). so far it is working.
The fans should blame yao. yao never gets blamed and that’s just insane, and potentially racist. yao is 7′6, and was getting blocked and stripped by okur last playoffs, and okur is average at best on defense. this season, yao gets on his knees for his government, instead of helping his team (the guys who pay him) win in the playoffs.
Yao shouldn’t get a free pass, and China should get the eff out of Tibet. But whatever, it’s all on Tmac. that’s messed up. Tmac cares about winning, he’s trying out there. Yao cares about mother china. he should go back to shanghai and play there then.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 am
DaPro says:
Ya’ll coming at T-Mac sideways. He played his ass off. The TNT crew who is always hard on Mac said that dude tried to will his team to victory but he was gassed! He needs help, they have to put Mac on the block against AK-47 and have battier or jackson feed him the ball. That way Utah will hesistate to double and if they do then Houston has two shooters to tee off.
The pick and roll ain’t gonna work. We saw in the Memphis/Kansas game how Rose was getting doubled and forced to give it up before he wanted to. Isolate or post Mac and run the offense through him but do not let him bring the ball up the floor every play. The dude needs a break.
P.S For those that said Macs pussy, what about Kobe not shooting an entire 4th qtr just to prove a point against the Suns two years ago.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
This is a situation where those against T are going to find every negative they can to point out his faults and take joy (apparently) in him losing.
That is cool. I am just trippin on dudes that are gone play T to the left cause of a comment or a quarter. Notice they ain’t said nothing about his other numbers or the fact that he carried them the whole way for two straight games now. Lets not bring up that there has probably never been a star in a playoff series with less help that T at this time.
Young for a person always talkin about hating you are realllly getting your hate on right now playboi.
I ain’t pressed. Nit pick all day haters, he (T-Mac) was a star before this day and he will be one after it.
Ask yo self why you mad though fa real lol.
Funny %&# cats.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:15 am
SWAT says:
man i love these forums cuz yall d-bags be actin like yall can really hoop in the leaugue or cuz yall got a lil college ball in ya you think yall some doug collins or somethin. LMAO! YALL KILL ME. Any way ck the stats T-mac steps his ppg up more than any active player in the league rt now, TNT stated that in the first game. Not to mention he had a damn near had a triple double last nite, points, blocks, dimes, boards. Ck your facts haters. True Scola bodied his ass but like i said earlier Bobby tried to flop and refs blew it off, i’m just tired of this shit. I hate watching San an games because of that shit. Yes my boys were flooping too…has this really become the NBA? And also like i said earlier my boys couldn’t buy a bucket so yes that cost us the game, but the refs had a hand in the end. Not TMAC. Scola with his terrible d, terrible shooting, missed free throws-that lost us the game.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:16 am
YOUNGFED says:
Gee
Real talk I ain’t hatin’ but that comment was a bitch move. dude see’s the tornado coming and he’s looking for a cop out real talk 101.
PS aint mad at all but real recognize fake also not just real.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:19 am
girlybballluver says:
I agree with Gee and Ranger. T-Mac gave it all he had. You can’t blame that loss on him. The comment doesn’t make him soft or (that P word I don’t like)…it makes him honest. Utah threw everyone at him, ALL Night Long (like they were supposed to) and he still had the crazy stat line…but no one else did anything to help him. All the stars mentioned have carried their teams at times (as Tracy did most of the season) but they had help! They’ve all run out of gas at some point too. Let’s not idolize them (especially Mike) like they’ve never lost a game. I think you guys are being way harsh on this one.
Triple double, plus blocks, and steals?…with 2-3 big bodies on him all night…and you’re callin’ dude soft? Crazy!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 am
YOUNGFED says:
@post#29
Your name says it all you like girlbball. Which means you like all that soft PU$$Y shit.
Ain’t nobody callin’ him soft we just JOHN WAYNE HIS SHIT. MAN UP. Detroit triple team lebron and he still murdered us.
NUFF SAID!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 am
K Dizzle says:
Can we discuss deshawn stevenson some more? nuthin looks better than a clown makin his can’t see me gesture as he drains a three with his team down twenty. R u serious?
And what is this junk I’m readin with dudes sayin that the Jazz will beat the Lakers. Based on what? You don’t got the matchups and you don’t have the best player. Calm down, It’s Houston. TMac and 4 dudes that can’t even start for the jazz is like a regular season series. At least the nugs will bring some heat before the session’s done
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 am
Dave says:
Did anyone see the crossover move DWill made on BJax in game one….he passed the ball and the shot was missed but he fell flat on his butt.
Jazz are winning because they are better, deal with it Houston, be proud of a good season but be realistic. Nobody on that team could’ve stopped DWill down the stretch so regardless of whether they should have let Scola get away with a foul or not the Jazz win this game.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:38 am
Slutbunwallah says:
All I want to know is did someone find the sniper that shot AK47? Or is Scola is strongest dude in the world?
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Dave says:
hey deShawn, you know it’s bad when you’re an NBA player and EVERYONE is making fun of you (white guy in suburbia here). Nice beard. You should think about shaving your head now to make a statement.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 am
Dave says:
The Jazz will beat the Lakers. No way Kobe can carry them (see TMac games 1, 2…yes I compare them, TMac would have rings if he played with Shaq in his prime too) and Okur and Gasol are a wash. DWill will win this series for them and it won’t even be that close. Jazz in 6 (and only because Kobe is sure to get at least one game on a silver platter by the NBA). And we’ll boo every sorry Laker who steps on the floor, regardless of if he allegedly raped someone in Colorado or lied to get out of his contract, or is an over-rated, self-hyped wannabe intellect poser of a coach.
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 am
chris says:
fun watching lebrawn (steroids?) get away with travelling (3 big steps) in the first quarter against the wiz; if the refs let him do it, nobody can defend him. fun watching utah go all floppy on houston (delay of game, 2 shot foul and the ball, and flopping would be history in the league, and good riddance) when they didn’t even need to; utah went to sleep half the night, on the road, and are still half way to a sweep.
the atheletes are sooo good, that if the refs don’t do their job, it stops being a sport, and becomes….WWF!
maybe it would change if the top refs made a million, too…and david stern rewarded them for making lebrawn et al play by the rules.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 am
rangerjohn says:
are you kidding me dave, OKUR AND GASOL A WASH?
okur and scola are a wash, okur and odom are not even a wash and odom is not even with gasol.
lakers will win, it will not be easy but the lakers pull it out in 6-7 games. d will is going to be a huge factor, but in the end, it is going to come down to the inside game, and gasol and odom over boozer and okur any day or night.
and it is pretty shitty saying fisher LIED about his daughter to get out of his contract, man the little girl has cancer, sure jazz fan is pissed but respect man she is what 5 yrs old!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 am
POW says:
@ post 35
Dave if you would have had your head out of ass the last few weeks you would Kobe does not have to carry the Lakers for them to win asshole!!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:06 am
E$ says:
Rockets still up 2-0 if you want to talk Championships!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Amar says:
e$ — dude, hope that keeps you warm at night, watching those robert horry / kenny smith highlights when the rest of the playoffs are going on. stop living in the early 90’s, you still waiting for the cops to stop OJ in the white bronco too?
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:15 am
Amar says:
jazz are a good team, but the lakers will beat them silly. (this from a guy who used to live in LA, who now lives in Detroit, and has been a jazz homer since 1987)
it’s not going to be a sweep, and it’s probably not going to go to 7 games, but kobe murders the jazz. i’m not a fan of the lakers, but I know that they are playing really well right now.
what is the truth is that if the jazz and lakers advance, their 1st round series’ will not have prepared them for the 2nd round. lakers look like champs playing against the Enver Nuggets. Utah is scrapping out wins on the road to a bad home team. Things will change in the next round.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am
Dave says:
I never said I didn’t respect Fish for what he did while in Utah, and for being a stand-up guy in the community, but he lied to the media and to the Jazz when he said he would be moving closer to where his daughter’s doctor was (New York). If that isn’t a lie I don’t know what is. It was good for both parties no doubt. Are we upset that he is gone, no way, glad to have Brewer in his spot, but the fact of the matter is he didn’t tell the truth.
I golfed with Fisher twice and he’s a super guy, but you better believe I’ll be on my feet booing him and every other Laker in the building.
Ranger, look at Okur’s numbers and Gasol’s numbers the last three weeks….they’re a wash.
Odom and Boozer? Advantage Jazz if Boozer bothers to play defense.
Kobe vs. 5 different defenders….no doubt Kobe will get his and will carry the Lakers for most of the games, and will even win a couple, but he can’t do it alone and the Lakers won’t have an answer for D Will. Should be a great series, so maybe I shouldn’t say it will be easy but still the Jazz have got to be a good bet.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 am
Dave says:
POW. If you haven’t noticed winning during the regular season (see Houston’s 22 game streak) is different than a 7 game series. Denver is a nice warm-up but the Jazz will play more defense in the first 2 minutes of game one than the Lakers will see from the Thuggs in 4 games.
Kobe has never beat the Jazz in a playoff series, and it won’t start now.
I can already hear the all-knowing, self-proclaimed coachguru complaining about the crowd being too loud….nothing better than listening to Jackson whine!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:46 am
Remy Nguyen says:
Tracy McGrady - You are supposed to dig deep and deliver.
However, after your comments, we will now refer you as, Stacey McGrady.
Pack your bags, Stacey!
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:48 am
E$ says:
don’t be mad “flop-style” bball doesn’t produce championships.
The day Ak-47 wins a championship, me & Isiah Rider will be riding down I-10 in a stolen car
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Dave says:
that’s JR to his good friends….better make a call, it could be this year.
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
bsteezy3 says:
I feel like this is 2002-2003 again and TMAC is carrying my Orlando Magic. Don’t fault TMAC for saying he was tired after the game. How is that different from Kobe last year saying “We need help, RIGHT NOW!”?
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:06 pm
girlybballluver says:
Youngfed
My name tells you I’m a girl, and that I love ball.
I don’t like soft/(p***y) players. My argument is that I don’t call what T-Mac did last night soft. Dirk in the playoffs the last two years, and letting D West punk him in game one this year = soft. Last night Mac played his heart out. You’re telling him to “man-up” because of his COMMENT, not the way he played, which is ridiculous.
T-Mac has become fragile over the years due to injuries…but dude’s not soft. Are we forgetting he did all that with a bad shoulder?
April 22nd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
Post 39 I am love it!
Amar that keeps me warm all the time please know it. So is your team always make it close but not getting it done keeping you warm. Ok then. I will take my The Dream and crew years any day over your pick and roll and never win it all years with Stocky and Malone.
I am prepared to discuss how the Jazz did an excellent job and stopping T . But a comment I am through discussing a comment that don’t mean ish. I will discuss how T has struggled with injuries that have hindered dude and he ain’t what he used to be. I will even discuss a good trade for T. I won’t discuss a man that has carried his team the whole way and then you wanna nit pick on a quarter and a comment. As a popular cat on here states “G.T.F.O.H!”
Then again I just discussed it all huh lol?!?!?
I will say this you dudes bring the heat! I am built fo it though.
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Dave says:
T-Mac and Kobe are the same player, the obvious difference is Kobe had Shaq’s coattails to ride and T-Mac hasn’t had anyone to carry the load for him. Kobe airballed shots in the playoffs against the Jazz, at least T-Mac draws iron.
The Lakers will have the same result vs. the Jazz as Houston has, with the exception of they’ll have a chance to win a couple of the games in the series because of the other options they have.
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
rangerjohn says:
@ dave
1st fisher said he wanted to be closer to a doctor who could treat his daughter, NY or LA. i dont see the lie there.
2nd, okur had some decent numbers over the month of april, no arguement there, gasol averaged 1 point more, 3 less rebounds, 2 more assists, 1/2 a block more, and 1/2 a steal less then okur, while shooting 12% better (TWELVE THAT IS A LOT, 61%-49%) and averaging 3 less minutes per game. gasol is WAY more efficient then okur. gasol averaged about the same turnovers (1 1/2 each) but a whole 1 1/2 fouls less.
as for boozer and odom, look at their numbers too, odom, 16 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 64%. boozer had 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, on 49% both over the month of april.
bottom line, i would (as would most) take kobe, gasol, and odom over williams, okur and boozer
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Dave says:
semantics are what we’re arguing with Fisher’s comments being a lie or not, my point wasn’t that Fish was a bad guy, but that the Jazz homecourt and fans will continue to be a factor and we’re not going to lay-off of him because he used to play here. Any Laker gets booed, remember when Karl Malone was a Laker, we booed his ass.
12% is a big difference and no doubt the Jazz will have to adjust to Gasol, but to say he has a decided advantage over Okur I disagree with, especially when he’s hitting 2 or 3 trey’s a game.
The best thing about this arguement is that we’ll get to see it first-hand and none of the talking before will matter. Lakers-Jazz will be an excellent series to watch and I think the winner will be the Western champ.
The other factor I think will favor the Jazz is the bench. If Korver, Milsap, and Harpring come off the bench and keep the pressure on like they have against Houston I don’t think the Lakers can match their depth.
by the way, thanks for the numbers, good info.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 pm
rangerjohn says:
yes i agree we will see it 1st hand for sure, and while i hope it goes all 7 (hell even 7 OT’s, this will help my spurs lol) i dont think it will be as close as expected. the lakers are way ahead of almost every team.
the thing with okur, he is suspect on defense, and he has been relatively uneffective against the rockets. i remember watching him standing on the sidelines for the last 5 minutes of the game on saturday (i remember that because the guy sitting behind me, a jazz fan, was giving him crap about “give me your shoes” lmao)
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
K Dizzle says:
“T-Mac and Kobe are the same player, the obvious difference is Kobe had Shaq’s coattails to ride and T-Mac hasn’t had anyone to carry the load for him. Kobe airballed shots in the playoffs against the Jazz, at least T-Mac draws iron.”
Dude, are you talkin about Kobe’s ROOKIE year?
Your credibility is severely lackin.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Dave says:
K diz, yeah it was his rookie year and his second year in the league, he did it both years, and no doubt he’s a better player now, but he’s still the same player as T-Mac with a little more fire and a teammate who helped him get over the top is all.
I’m not concerned with your judgement of my credibility, just wait until the 2nd round starts and let’s see if what I’ve written is accurate or not. You don’t need to feel so insecure though, I’m sure you have can make good points without making things personal. Good luck.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
DaPro says:
From a talent standpoint T-Mac is up there with Kobe. As for killer instinct Kobe is on a island, shit call him cast away. I’m a big Mac fan and I know he would rather be Pip than Mike. He wants to make players better and he doesn’t have the “rip your heart out” mindset to jack up 30+ to get 40 every night.
He took alot of shit in Orlando and I think it still eats at him. KG will probably get his ring this year but T-Mac is one of those dudes that I gotta see get his. He was honestly about being gassed, he could have blamed everybody on the team but he said I just ran out of steam. Put some shooters around this guy so the Jazz can’t crowd him and send 2 or 3 people at him. Utah can’t guard Kobe like this cause the Lakers have to many weapons.
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
rangerjohn says:
the problem is not his ability, it is in his head, and his heart. think about this, game seven in what 2005 against the mavs, he put up huge numbers and yet they lost by like 40. last season, he put up huge numbers and utah destroyed them in game seven IN HOUSTON. those 2 loses alone with wear on you, no put the yao thing, the minutes he has put up over the last few months, and the 11 points loss in game one (that game was not as close as the score shows) and his head has to be telling him “here we go again” which will make most every person (he is human) tired all by itself. then put in 42 minutes of getting pounded by bigger stronger people and he is done.
a strange stat, tracy puts up better numbers then any player in the league today in the playoffs but he cant win. isnt that odd? nope, cant do it on your own, stop trying to do to much!
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
GEE..What goes up....Must come down..Not me clown! says:
# 56 You said it all! I am done.
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
daquest?on says:
yo do yall work and/or study??/ yall b here all day