All the regurgitation of "heartless" or any variation of it makes me think... How do each of you guys define a person having heart or not having heart? Yao have heart? If so, why? If not, why? Tracy? I know most say no, and I ask why do you say that? Does beating your chest after a win translate to heart? Is flicking your chin showing no heart? Pumping your fist after a miracle comeback no heart? Various photos of a player screaming proof of no heart? A player breaking down after two hard-fought seven game series no heart? If you guys mean something else, then say that. Stop regurgitating what someone else decided to incorrectly label Tracy. I'm not saying McGrady doesn't have shortcomings. I just think the "no heart" one is more or less a ongoing popular moniker to label someone, much like when people would say something is "gay." Anyway, let's keep comments useful to the conversation here. TD
This thread is gay. In my opinion, it's not a lack of heart. Seeing McGrady after playoff losses and Yao during the struggles of this season showed me they have heart. But heart isn't all there is. It's leadership we are missing. Someone needs to step up and be the leader of this team.
Watch videos of Bobby Sura in a rockets uniform, he defines what it means to have 'heart'.. Never give up attitude, hard nosed no holding back letting your emotions apply to your game and overall productivity, Oh I just dislocated two fingers?? Well using the mindset "oh well these punks are about to get schooled by a guy with two dislocated fingers.." Thats heart, bringing your best game in and out
I don't disagree with you. Two negatives for ya there. I'm not saying that the Rockets don't need something. I just think blaming our current lack of success on "no heart" is unfounded. If you always ask me, it's as simple as making open looks.
It ain't a matter of heart. It's a matter of putting the ball in the hoop and playing smart basketball. Neither of which the Rockets seem to be able to do these days.
OK, good example. I agree, Sura played with a lot of fire, and played with it most of the time. Sure miss the guy. So by your post you might fall in the "Tracy has no heart" group, kind of hard to tell. So Tracy is more mild-mannered most of the time. He'll have outbursts of energy and emotion sometimes. He's been in a couple of shoving matches in his time as a player. It seems as Tracy at least this season has attempted to play through injuries just to make them worse. He seems to like to stick it to competition. Does he not, by your definition, have heart then? Perhaps not as much as Sura (which not many do).
I couldn't agree with you more. Duncan is a relatively mild-mannered guy. No one questions his "heart." He's got rings, because he AND his team play smart basketball which leads to buckets.
Heart is Charles Barkley dropping 40+ at age 59 and never giving in against Jordan and his Bulls despite an ugly season and an injured Olajuwon and Drexler. McGrady would have conceded defeat if that was his roster. Barkley fought and fought. He lost that game. But he fought. Heart is Rudy T running towards mid court to challenge a bad call. The way Yao is being reffed, I guarantee you Rudy would have more techs than Rasheed Wallace. Heart is being the 6th seed, people calling your previous run a fluke, coming from behind numerous times, and crushing the opponent. Proving everyone wrong and always believing.
20 million a year should by you somthing. Look at the pros and cons of that and ask yourself what do other players in the league bring with that kind of money and does McGrady bring? Pro-Mcgrady is a great shooter (when he gets 20-25 shots a game) Con-No defense Con-No leadership skills Con-Best shot 25ft leaning jumper (shot selection sucks) Con-Not willing to change game to benifit team still greedy with shots Con-Shoots way too early in the shot clock instead of waiting on offense Con-Needs ball to create not the player for Adelman's offense. Con-Hurt constantly (Knee /back / mangina / feelings/) Half man Half a season Con-Can't finish out games, no cut throat mentallity like Kobi! & Lebron! Nash! So ask yourself what exactly can you get for 20 million a year? Vernon Maxwell is a poor mans McGrady but he played D! Remember Jordan against mad Max?
All the regurgitation of "fire" or any variation of it makes me think... How do each of you guys define a person having fire or not having fire? Yao have fire? If so, why? If not, why? Tracy? I know most say no, and I ask why do you say that? Does beating your chest after a win translate to fire? Is flicking your chin showing no fire? Pumping your fist after a miracle comeback no fire? Various photos of a player screaming proof of no fire? A player breaking down after two hard-fought seven game series no fire? If you guys mean something else, then say that. Stop regurgitating what someone else decided to incorrectly label Tracy. I'm not saying McGrady doesn't have shortcomings. I just think the "no fire" one is more or less a ongoing popular moniker to label someone, much like when people would say something is "gay." Anyway, let's keep comments useful to the conversation here. This thread is gay.
I remember Mac has single handedly secured the win for us many times, yet he is claimed to be 'heartless'. I wonder what people would label the others, useless?
How do you measure heart you ask? Just look at T-Mac NOW picture the exact opposite I.E. see Kobe, Iverson, etc
Duncan has Parker, Ginobolli, Finlay, & a great coach, we have Rafer, Hayes, Battier. Yao is a jump shooter and on occasion takes it hard to the goal but doesn't get the calls which we see day in and day out. Battier won't shoot unless the shot clock runs out, Rafer as of late is starting to shoot better but still, Hayes can't make a layup. The starting five in my opinion needs to be changed, we don't have enough offensively in the starting five.
Heart is measured by inspiration. It's interesting, because in itself basketball can be just a sport, a job, a pastime, or any other myriad of things. However, to Rockets Fans, our basketball is far more than any of these things, it is an integral part of our life. Our basketball represents all of the things we hold most dear. Our measure of heart is coming back from the dead and then having the balls to both want and take the biggest shot of the game. Our measure of heart is to come into the playoffs as a rookie and have no fear. We can't help it here in Houston. The Rockets are the ones who dispelled the idea that we could never get a championship. The Rockets are the ones who resurrected our hopes. The Rockets are the ones who actually reversed the trend to every nervous Houstonian who had been conditioned to lose when the chips were down. Most fans demand that players give the sport their best. Here, we demand that our players give their hearts. The bar by which we measure our players is defined by
ALthough, I typically only speak of the McGrady here at the Rockets, Tracy was two-time scoring champ on a bad Orlando team. You have to fight every night to pull that off, right? I think Tracy tries to play when he can. Perhaps I'm naive, but at least I feel MOST of the time he'll play injured if he can. Sometimes to a fault...or often to a fault as his record has shown in Houston. That's not heart. That's controlling emotion or lack thereof. Tracy bursts out at refs many times about no calls. He doesn't pick up many techs surprisingly. And I think if Tracy can finally get a little more help in the postseason and finally get out of the first round, perhaps people will stop with the "heartless" crap. Winning always changes people's persepctive on things, when nothing has truly changed. If TMac can get out of the first, it won't be because he did anything different. It'll be because his teammates didn't do their jobs. He deserves SOME blame, but he came to play every night during those series. Well, at least that's what I think. Tracy is a lot of things, I won't defend him on everything. I just don't think heartless is one of the adjectives to describe him. Sporatically unmotivated maybe? hahaha
True measure of heart is when the chips are down and everything seems to work against you, you still have a pulse. That's my best effort
KG - tremendous drive/heart - he just shows it by yellin to himself. Sheed - he just got a temper problem, hahaha Francis - he's got it - he does weird dances Kobe - he pumps his chest, or copies MJ's fist pump. Sura - the 2nd coming of the junkyard dog! Elie - the kiss was nice, the skip, not so much. how does it translate to heart tho? Scola - Every day he's husslin' Terry - just yellin LeBron - dude is intense TMac - yells, chin flick, pumps fist, dunks and yells...so why is he heartless and these others have heart?
Tracy and Yao are not a good fit together unless on of them comes off the bench when the other is resting. Look at the offense when they are not in the line up at the same time. My opinion you trade McGrady for who and for what I am not sure but I believe you package McGrady and James together and see what you can bring.
