<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually, we have a few perimeter threats: Jackson, Mobley and Pike can all hit the three consistently. What we actually need is a consistent scorer on a team filled with inconsistent players.</div> From what I have seen, none of these guys can carry the offence if Yao struggles or gets injured.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Eclipse:</div><div class="quote_post">From what I have seen, none of these guys can carry the offence if Yao struggles or gets injured.</div> I'm not so sure about Piatkowski, but Jackson and Mobley are surely not scrubs. This season, Jackson was the only consistent player on the team. In games where Yao struggled, Jackson was often the guy that played above expectations. He carried the Rockets to a victory last season <font size="-2">(I'm not sure against who)</font> once, scoring 28 points along the way. Mobley, on the other hand, is not bad either. Although he is somewhat a streaky and inconsistent shooter, he put the team on his shoulders in 2002-2003 when Francis went down. Mobley averaged 21.7 points that season. I can see what you are trying to get at, but to say that we lack perimeter threats when we have these players draining threes is a bit of a stretch.
I don't think t.mac would be good on that team, because then you got two role player francis and t-mac. brand would be better, because he would move cato out of the starting line-up, and t-mac would move cat out, so i think this will be the best lineup: 1. Wink 2. Cat 3. jim jax 4. e-brand 5. YAO.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting BronxTeeRex:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't think t.mac would be good on that team, because then you got two role player francis and t-mac. brand would be better, because he would move cato out of the starting line-up, and t-mac would move cat out, so i think this will be the best lineup: 1. Wink 2. Cat 3. jim jax 4. e-brand 5. YAO.</div> Rest assured that would not happen. If McGrady or Brand comes, Francis would most likely not be here.
Alright fine, ya'll made me do this. The reasons why I would take Brand over Tmac: 1. Massive Offensive boards. Take a look at the rebounds Elton gets. Almost half of them are o-boards. What does this tell you? He's a proven workhorse that will give you 100% every single game. 2. Correlating from #1, his o-boards numbers should tell you that he gives you alot of putbacks, which means he doesn't need to have many touches to be a successful 20-10 guy. Something Tmac might not want to do: not get alot of touches. 3. Defense/Blocks. Elton can guard some of the best big men out there. Sure he can't guard Tim or Shaq 1on1, but who can anyways? His defense is very good and I would even go as far as saying that he's the best defensive PF in the West short of Tim Duncan and KG. 4. Elton is not the type of a go-to franchise player that you see from JO, Shaq, Tmac, etc. If you look at him play, he's more of a clean up kind of player in the sense that he doesn't need to get the ball every single time to get his. He put up good numbers silently and effectively. Yao is the designated go-through-him-every-single-possession kind of guy that should, in my opinion, be averaging 4-5 assists per game in his prime while scoring 20+ points and around 10rpg - a KG-esque numbers. But for now, Elton can be the guy that cleans up for Yao when he misses and get the boards while on defense, a team of Yao + Brand will give you a team that's really hard to be penetrated into. While Tmac / Yao can be the next Kobe /Shaq, a team of Elton /Yao can be the first dominating PF / C team kinda like Duncan/Robinson except better.
Tmac will not go to Houston no matter what. The rockets has nothing to offer the magic. The only way I see them getting him is if they can have enough to cap to sign him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Einitials:</div><div class="quote_post">Tmac will not go to Houston no matter what. The rockets has nothing to offer the magic. The only way I see them getting him is if they can have enough to cap to sign him.</div> Steve Francis. T-Mac has already expressed interest in playing in Houston and would dictate the trade if he is going to be traded. I think Brand would be the better fit in Houston. T-Mac would demand the ball, and take a lot of shots and the Rockets are already trying to center the offense around Yao. T-Mac and Yao together in Houston just wouldn't work. T-Mac wouldn't let Yao be the first option on offense if he was there. He would make Yao far less valuable, and if he was having a bad shooting day the Rockets would struggle. Cuttino Mobley is a capable starter also. As for Brand, he and Yao would create big mismatches for the opposing big men. He would not demand the ball on offense, but will get you 20 and 10 each night. The Rockets would really control the boards, and would have better offensive and defensive big men. Yao and Brand together would block a lot of shots, and give the opposing big men nightmares.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not so sure about Piatkowski, but Jackson and Mobley are surely not scrubs. This season, Jackson was the only consistent player on the team. In games where Yao struggled, Jackson was often the guy that played above expectations. He carried the Rockets to a victory last season <font size="-2">(I'm not sure against who)</font> once, scoring 28 points along the way. Mobley, on the other hand, is not bad either. Although he is somewhat a streaky and inconsistent shooter, he put the team on his shoulders in 2002-2003 when Francis went down. Mobley averaged 21.7 points that season. I can see what you are trying to get at, but to say that we lack perimeter threats when we have these players draining threes is a bit of a stretch.</div> I totally agree with trip on this subject of the rockets having few perimeter threats. I believe they have enough guys in those three and maybe a few free agent aquisition or guys from this trade for Brand that could happen. I just dont believe Tracy McGrady could compliment the Rockets future in Yao Ming as Elton Brand could and heres why. I believe Brand would be a better fit for the rockets because I think Yao could could really shine if a little pressure was taking off of him in the post which i believe Brand could bring to the Rockets team. I mean I think Yao is a more of a score off of other players type of guy, more than he is a guy that score's while a whole teams defense is focused upon him. I mean I understand yao's so tall and has so much postential ( which I could be wrong about Yao) but thats just the type of player that i truly believe Yao is. I think if Brand was a rocket he could gobble up rebounds from Yao and other teamates that would be on the rockets roster, and i believe they would both truly compliment each other in the post. With Brands workhouse ethic I believe he could really help Ming out in the post by relieving pressure off of yao that he has to be an offensive and defensive threat that he has to be for the Rockets. I believe with the pressure that Brand could relieve from Yao that in return Yao could gain more confidence and he would be more relaxed which would also allow him to dominate in the post as a 7 foot 5 3 point shooting center should be. Lastly I bleieve in the near future if Brand were to go to the Rockets that he and Yao could be a great tandom down in the post. Probally the best I have ever seen while I have watched the NBA. JBB's Treelest So once again I believe the Rockets should go after Brand instead of T.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SupraJames:</div><div class="quote_post">Alright fine, ya'll made me do this. The reasons why I would take Brand over Tmac: 1. Massive Offensive boards. Take a look at the rebounds Elton gets. Almost half of them are o-boards. What does this tell you? He's a proven workhorse that will give you 100% every single game. 2. Correlating from #1, his o-boards numbers should tell you that he gives you alot of putbacks, which means he doesn't need to have many touches to be a successful 20-10 guy. Something Tmac might not want to do: not get alot of touches. 3. Defense/Blocks. Elton can guard some of the best big men out there. Sure he can't guard Tim or Shaq 1on1, but who can anyways? His defense is very good and I would even go as far as saying that he's the best defensive PF in the West short of Tim Duncan and KG. 4. Elton is not the type of a go-to franchise player that you see from JO, Shaq, Tmac, etc. If you look at him play, he's more of a clean up kind of player in the sense that he doesn't need to get the ball every single time to get his. He put up good numbers silently and effectively. Yao is the designated go-through-him-every-single-possession kind of guy that should, in my opinion, be averaging 4-5 assists per game in his prime while scoring 20+ points and around 10rpg - a KG-esque numbers. But for now, Elton can be the guy that cleans up for Yao when he misses and get the boards while on defense, a team of Yao + Brand will give you a team that's really hard to be penetrated into. While Tmac / Yao can be the next Kobe /Shaq, a team of Elton /Yao can be the first dominating PF / C team kinda like Duncan/Robinson except better.</div> Very nice post suprajames. I can totally imagine when yao misses a "fade away" jumpshot and Brand clears it up for Yao. I watch Brand play on TV couple times. He doesnt demand the ball to him that much. The Rockets should trade Francis, Taylor, Mobley for Brand, Quentin and a PG.
Steve Francis PPG 16.6 RPG 5.5 APG 6.2 SPG 1.76 BPG .44 FG% .403 FT% .775 3P% .292 MPG 40.4 Tracy Mcgrady PPG 28.0 RPG 6.0 APG 5.5 SPG 1.39 BPG .63 FG% .417 FT% .796 3P% .339 MPG 39.9 Tmac is far more superior than Steve FRancis is now or will ever be.Trading him straight up is just plain dumb. Just because Tmac wants to go to Houston doesn't mean the magic will be dumb enough to trade him to a team that is not capable to offer an equal trade.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Einitials:</div><div class="quote_post"> Tmac is far more superior than Steve FRancis is now or will ever be.Trading him straight up is just plain dumb. Just because Tmac wants to go to Houston doesn't mean the magic will be dumb enough to trade him to a team that is not capable to offer an equal trade.</div> McGrady is one of the most talented players in the league, that's why he can put up those numbers, but he is also one of the least impactful players in the league, that's why a team "led" by him could lose 19 in a row and end up behind a team like the Hawks. Who cares if he's more talented, the guy doesn't care about winning, he cares about looking good first and if his team wins fine, if it doesn't at least he scored 35. All the guy had to do last season was play some defense and his team would of done the same because thier offense was more than enough to win, but alas the guy isn't a leader.
If I had both Yao and T-Mac on my team, call me crazy, but I would build my team around T-Mac and not Yao. T-Mac has much more talent than Yao IMO and Yao has not shown me any more desire to win than Tracy has. I think Tracy just needs another decent player to complement him and carry the team when he's struggling (like what Grant could've have done).
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Eclipse:</div><div class="quote_post">If I had both Yao and T-Mac on my team, call me crazy, but I would build my team around T-Mac and not Yao. T-Mac has much more talent than Yao IMO and Yao has not shown me any more desire to win than Tracy has. I think Tracy just needs another decent player to complement him and carry the team when he's struggling (like what Grant could've have done).</div> He does have more talent than Yao, that's fine, but talent isn't take you that far... Yao wants to win, evident in the fact that if he isn't producing on offense he'll play great defense, or set picks, or get some offensive rebounds, with McGrady if he isn't giving you points you aren't getting anything from him. Juwon Howard is decent, Drew Gooden is decent, Deshawn Stevenson is decent...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Einitials:</div><div class="quote_post">Steve Francis PPG 16.6 RPG 5.5 APG 6.2 SPG 1.76 BPG .44 FG% .403 FT% .775 3P% .292 MPG 40.4 Tracy Mcgrady PPG 28.0 RPG 6.0 APG 5.5 SPG 1.39 BPG .63 FG% .417 FT% .796 3P% .339 MPG 39.9 Tmac is far more superior than Steve FRancis is now or will ever be.Trading him straight up is just plain dumb. Just because Tmac wants to go to Houston doesn't mean the magic will be dumb enough to trade him to a team that is not capable to offer an equal trade.</div> If you are a true NBA follower, you should know that trades do not have to be equal talent-wise to be completed. When Rasheed Wallace to traded to the Hawks, did anyone think it was worth Theo Ratliff and Shareef Abdur-Rahim? In this case, McGrady is a pretty unloyal player. He can bolt for free agency if he wants to anytime, and that scares the Magic. After all, losing your star player with nothing in return is not very feasible. Francis, on the other hand, has a long-term contract, which certainly favors the Magic. If a few more picks or a role player can be thrown in from Houston's side, I don't see why this can't happen.
If the magic are going to trade away one of the best Sg in the league they need more than an above average point guard. I am sure there are many teams who can come up with a better offer. Rocketlaunch- Tmac does way more than just score. If you ever see a magic game you will know that Tmac is not selfish like everyone claims he is. The problem is that he is surrounded with garbage players. IF tmac had players who could help him out he would average at least 7 or 8 assists. You claim Tmac is terrible on defense, but actually the whole team is terrible at defense. No superstar would be able to help this team out
Francis is more than just above average. He is a three-time All-Star, and a starter in all of those three appearances. The only reason people think he sucks now is because of Yao and Jeff Van Gundy. If he goes to a team like Orlando, he might even get better stats that T-Mac is getting right now.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Francis is more than just above average. He is a three-time All-Star, and a starter in all of those three appearances. The only reason people think he sucks now is because of Yao and Jeff Van Gundy. If he goes to a team like Orlando, he might even get better stats that T-Mac is getting right now.</div> change is good!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Eclipse:</div><div class="quote_post">If I had both Yao and T-Mac on my team, call me crazy, but I would build my team around T-Mac and not Yao. T-Mac has much more talent than Yao IMO and Yao has not shown me any more desire to win than Tracy has. I think Tracy just needs another decent player to complement him and carry the team when he's struggling (like what Grant could've have done).</div> Eclipse, you're crazy man.. Tmac might have more talent than Yao, but even then, Yao has the potential to be the best big man in the NBA. I would still build around Yao. Why? Because championship teams revolve around great big men, not guards. Unless your name is Michael Jordan, not even the best guards like Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, not ANY guards can have a championship team that's built around them. Big men make dynasties. Remember that.
