Chemistry beats talent: Why Houston Rockets are better without Tracy McGrady
April 10 09
Chemistry beats talent.
After all, improved chemistry helped Houston win 20 of 27 games since losing Tracy McGrady to a season-ending injury. And improved chemistry has boosted their chances of going deep in the playoffs.
Why is Houston better without McGrady?
Less is more. When they lost their All-Star, it created an addition by subtraction situation. Like the post-Allen Iverson Nuggets, the Rockets became a simpler and more functional team, which has produced better results.
Ron Artest and McGrady never clicked. Each needed their share of shots and touches to secure long-term extensions. And, to a certain extent, each likely saw the other as a roadblock to getting that new deal. McGrady’s injury stopped an unhealthy internal competition with ‘Ron-Ron’.
For years, Houston wasn’t taken seriously because their top player and franchise face, McGrady, was perceived as soft. The entire organization was guilty by association. Even during last season’s remarkable winning streak, few expected the club to push deep in the playoffs.
Now they’re blue-collar. Aaron Brooks and Artest control the backcourt, Shane Batter, Yao Ming, and Luis Scola are imposing up-front, and newly acquired Kyle Lowry leads a stacked bench. These Rockets aren’t soft and could win a playoff series.
The McGrady years have been exhausting. His teams have never advanced past the first round and their post-season failures have been especially heartbreaking. The team’s recent success has likely been refreshing for fans.
(After a game seven loss to Utah. This was tough to watch.)
It took an injury to ‘T-Mac’ for the Rockets to learn chemistry beats talent. Hopefully, this translates to playoff success.
Is Houston better without McGrady? Why? Why not? Get at us in the comment box below and come back to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy ofKeith Allison.
18 Comments: Chemistry beats talent: Why Houston Rockets are better without (...)
Posted by Dominic on 08.13.2009
My name Dominic im probably one of the biggest rockets fans ever ive watched the rockets play since i wuz in diapers the rockets play better wen ever they lose a star wether its battier mcgrady yao or whoever it jus how houston plays so u cant go and call mcgrady soft i believe he has tried his hardest and so has yao look @ it this way wen we found out yao wuz out for the rest of the postseason everybody stepped up bigger role playing and everything and jus wen u think it wuz over the next game houston beat l.a. by almost 40-50pts next problem artest wuz a good fit for us as far as defense but offense hes not sometime he would ball hog and yao mcgrady and artest all need the ball artest wuz used 2 carrying the load by himself in sactown but he couldnt do it in houston and if l.a. is smart now that they have "ron ron" they will make him come off the bench for more energy everyone has there own style of play i play basketball myself and i believe its time 4 me 2 step up and carry my team 2 where we need or should be tmac also hurt himself last yr trying 2 bring us 2 the playoffs wen everyone had no chance because we lost yao and he led us 2 a 22game win streak we need both a inside scorer (yao) and a all around scorer (tmac) if we want a chance @ another championship wen yao and mcgrady r both healthy we could b the best team in the league we cant blame mcgrady for everything because yao gets hurt jus as much and we all wanna call mcgrady soft but yao is 7ft 6in he should never get his shot blocked and should make every shot look @ dwight howard or lebron or kg they dunk on ppl taller than dem yao needs to toughen up the league is bringin more talent and get stronger and with the draft ckasses we have had the past 2-3yrs he wont b here playin for long .
Posted by DONNIE on 05.3.2009
Y’ALL CRAZY WITHOUT TRACY THEY HAVE NO CHEMSTRY IS. IT ME OR DID HOUSTON WIN 22 STRIGHT GAAMES WITHOUT YAO MING OR RON ARTEST HOUSTON HAD A BETTER RECORD LAST YEAR RIGHT THEY HAD LESS TALENT BROOKS AND SCOLA WAS ROOKIES YAO MING HURT GONE FOR THE SEASON RAFER ALSTON HURT MS THE FIRST TWO GAMES OF THE PLAYOFFS AND DON’T LET ME FORGET TRACY THE BIG HOMMIE WAS HUERT HIM SELF AND THEY WAS ONE BAD HALF AWAY FROM GOING HOME TO PLAY GAME 7 NOT TO MENTION SHANE WAS HUERT TOO EVERYBODY WAS HURT AND BECAUSE OF TRACY THEY STILL HAD A BETTER RECORD LAST YEAR. PLEASE DON’T GET GAS ABOUT THIS FRIST ROUND WIN THE WEST WAS WEAK THIS YEAR DALLAS WAS WEAKE SAN ANN WAS WEAKER PHONEX DIDN’T EVEN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS UTHAH WON 3 GAMES ON THE ROAD YOU GUYS ARE SO STUPID BETTER WITHOUT TRACY IF HE’S THERE HOUSTON WINS IT ALL YOU PLAY LAKERS NOW YOU PLAY THEM IN WEST FINALS AND PROBLY HAS HOME COURT AND NOW WE BACK TO CHEMISTRY THE STARTING LINE UP WAS INJUED THEY PLAYED TOGETHER A TOTAL OF 5 TIMES HOW CAN YOU GET CHEMSTRY WITH GUYS IN AND OUT THE LINE UP ALL THE TIME HOW CAN YOU PLUG NEW GUYS IN LIKE ARTEST WHEN PEOPLE ARE MISSING ALL THE TIME TRACY CAME BACK TOO EARRLY CAUSE HE WANTED TO MAKE THIS WORK HE SHOULD HAVE WAITED I YEAH HOUSTON MADE IT OUT THE FIRDT ROUND BUT WILL LOOSE IN THE SECOND AND PROABLY WIN 1 GAME I MEAN I THOUGHT WINNING THE CHIP WAS THE GOAL NOT GETTING OUT THE FRIST ROUND. .
Posted by abman on 04.24.2009
The simple answer is no. T-Mac would still have been the only Rocket who could get their own high percentage shot. Ron makes too many bad decisions and the young fellas force too many shots and at times ignore Yao completely. With that said, they are better without an injury plagued T-Mac. A 2003-005 version of T-Mac would have made this team into a finals contender. .
Posted by T-MacFan1 on 04.17.2009
Tracy McGrady is basketball GOD. Rockets are shit. .
Posted by Shae on 04.16.2009
Houston is not better without Tracy. Houston still struggles to score when they can’t get the ball in the post to Yao. Tracy was the Rockets most effective weapon when all else failed in the playbook. Every team needs a guy who can score and create for himself and others, when all else fails. Houston doesn’t have that now. The team is playing well in his absence because without Tracy, they have no choice but to step up and shoulder the load, which is something they’ve failed to do in yrs past. The Rockets were always one healthy Yao + 2 or 3 good bench players away from advancing. Now the have guys who can score and more importantly a healthy Yao Ming. They still need a healthy Tracy to win big in the post season. Tracy’s being out for the yr is propably what his body needed most because he hasnt been completely healthy since 04 . All the bashing and criticism will only make him work harder to get stronger and raise his game. this guy was a superstar just a few yrs ago and has something to prove to not only himself but to the world. He’s still a young guy at 30 and he is still one of the top 20 best players when playing at 75 percent health, let alone a 100 percent. .
Posted by
on 04.13.2009
yes i would agree but tmac is an allstar and feels like it is his team which love him or hate him it is .
Posted by WHATDAHELL on 04.13.2009
TMAC IS DONE. FINISHED. ITS OVER. HE GOT MILLIONS IN THE BANK AND HE’S LAZY WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING OUT SO HE DONT CARE IF WE CALL HIM A SCRUB. IF YOU HAD A MAX CONTRACT & ACCESS TO ANY DOCTOR YOU WANTED, YOU DONT THINK YOU COULD REHAB IF YOU WORKED HARD ENOUGH? HE’S DONE. I MISS THAT ORLANDO TMAC TOO BUT ITS OVER NOW. LETS MOVE ON. LETS TALK ABOUT HOW RICK ADELMAN IS SUCHA GOOD COACH BUT HAS NO CONTROL OF RON ARTEST ON OFFENSE. IM CHANGING MY SLEEPER PICK TO THE TRAILBLAZERS NOW. .
Posted by 40inchleaper on 04.13.2009
Hi 40-inch leaper ... Thanks for commenting. Yes, but T-Mac will be playing for numbers. He is an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year and, when he returns from microfracture surgery, he needs to post big numbers to secure one last massive contract. So I do not know if he would be willing to sacrifice touches, shots etc ... which, of course, complicates things. Thanks for reading and commenting. . - by olyhey oly, you have a good point with that. if T-MAC would do such a thing, isn’t he the next Latrell Sprewell? Alonzo Mourning even had to accept a minimum contract for New Jersey Nets. After winning a championship in Miami, remember the Spurs offered him a $20M contract far from expected. .
Posted by
on 04.12.2009
The Rockets will get past the first round thanks to no T-Mac!!!! .
Posted by TMAC ol d way on 04.12.2009
The Rockets are good but not better without Tmac. it just so happen that he is hurt from the star!!! The Rockets Organization should have just allowed TMAC to rest at the beginning of the season instead they force him to play!!! .
Posted by Misha on 04.11.2009
Rockets are doing the same thing they did before playoffs last year, only this year they still have two All-Stars caliber players on the roster. Their late season surge means very little. Before long, Artests belief that he is "the man" will take over his better senses and he’ll start dribbling around the court aimlessly. Rockets will get bounced from the playoffs. Ron Ron is going to sign a mid-range deal with another team (Rockets won’t pay that much) and next year will be about as good at the free agent shooting guard Rockets can score in the off-season. The moral of the story is - McGrady/Yao are a much better combo than Artest/Yao, but what really matters is that the trio of McGrady/Yao/Artest never materialized, so Rockets made virtually no progress this year. Except maybe in the PG position, and even that is questionable. .
Posted by PepiTheHoneyboy on 04.10.2009
T-MAC should come to europe, We’ve been waiting for him, and for some reason i know that in next 2 or 3 season he will be ballin here,Perhaps, he should come to PARTIZAN Belgrade,SERBIA! It is where REAL AMAZING HAPPENS,and where basketball is not played for stats and money but for F A N S !check it out http://atch?v=QhDZ91hST-whttp://atch?v=TWPzyyld_uMand eddy grant is our fan as you can see http://atch?v=cYhOccEGiSY .
Posted by
on 04.10.2009
im a thru n thru tmac fan, always have been. But in terms of the article, its hard to admit but it is some what true. Selfsishness of tmac isnt what i think the reason y houston isnt as good as they should be, it’s like jk said, the injuries and also heartbreaks. But then again looking at someone like iverson sort of shows tmac up as ’soft’. microfracture surgery, i think, will slow him down in the first season bak, however, wherever he goes, i think once he gets that confidence and swagger bak, he’ll learn from the past, as well as articles like this that critisize him, that being the one and onli guy just isnt the way these days in the nba. I hope he does stay with the rockets, as their bench and all star centre yao all have promising futures. it mite make things worse for both tmac and another team (if he does get moved) to click well. Atleast in Houston he has grown to learn and appreciate the players around him and i think eventually learn to take that 2nd or even 3rd option for the team. .
Posted by O.Sandor on 04.10.2009
Hi 40-inch leaper ... Thanks for commenting. Yes, but T-Mac will be playing for numbers. He is an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year and, when he returns from microfracture surgery, he needs to post big numbers to secure one last massive contract. So I do not know if he would be willing to sacrifice touches, shots etc ... which, of course, complicates things. Thanks for reading and commenting. .
Posted by 40inchleaper on 04.10.2009
Tracy could stay in Houston as long as he’s willing to give up his scoring numbers. Ray Allen was a real ballhog. but look at him now. .
Posted by O.Sandor on 04.10.2009
Hi JK, Thanks for commenting and reading. Some good points. However, I don’t think T-Mac coming back to Houston is a good thing, especailly if Artest is retained. Mcgrady, for whatever reason, is soft. He is not a tough player and refuses to use his athleticism to be that lockdown defender. It has to do with committing to the team goal. And T-Mac has shown over and over again that he isn’t interested in sustaining individual and team excellence over a full season. Sure, he has stretches, but I don’t know if he can do it anymore. Plus, coming back from micrafracture surgery makes him a major question mark. Thanks for commenting. .
Posted by J.K on 04.10.2009
The chemistry beats talents. Yes, this hold true under some conditions. I believe in this situation, Tracy McGrady ws injured for long time. He was playing with never-stopping back pain + knee injury + the fatigue built from over-milage. If the team was healthy for beginning of the seaon til the end, we could of got different results. It is true that T-mac and Ron needs the ball in their hands, but that is because the team needs someone to score 25 pts a game to win the game. With addition of Ron-Ron, the Ming Mac combo don’t need 25 pts per game each to win the game. Now they could play lockdown def, score each points by using team passing, and make opponents confused alternating the shooting player in the team. I believe that IF (its a if because Houston never has healthy superstars all together) Ron, Yao, Tracy stay healthy for next season, they might become the new big 3. .
Posted by
on 04.10.2009
I agree. No mcGrady equals success, he just complictes things and brings a negative mood to things, Good riddance .
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About Oly Sandor
Daily take on NBA
Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More
