Tracy McGrady's defining moment?
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by user Itsinhowyouinflect
The sports writers are saying it, the talking heads are saying it, McGrady himself has said it: This is Tracy McGrady's moment. They'll go as far as he'll take them. Will he finally get out of the first round?
Slight problem for the Rockets; McGrady and Yao, outside of Game Four, have really played pretty well for the entire series. You can nitpick that Yao has had a few high turnover games (when was the last time they called offensive three seconds twice in the same game?), and that McGrady has taken some poor shots, but my theory is simply that McGrady has to take poor shots. The rest of the team is that poor offensively. To put it bluntly, asides from Shane Battier, they can't shoot.
Battier, acquired from the Grizzlies during the draft for the rights to Rudy Gay, has been everything the Rockets could have asked for in this series. He's shot a respectable percentage, has been a shut down perimeter defender, and generally has looked like the third-best-player on the floor at all times. Battier's main problems have revolved around how he simply is too content with his role player status; I've seen him drive to the hoop and finish, I've seen him carry an offense. If he was more utilized, perhaps this post wouldn't have even had to have been made.
However, instead the third-leading scorer and shot attempter has been Rafer Alston. Skip to my Poo has been atrocious from the day that the Rockets acquired him for the vastly superior Mike James. He broke the Rockets franchise record for three-pointers made this year, shooting 36.3% from behind the arc after an even more disappointing 2005-2006 campaign. However, thats all he can shoot. He's shot 37.9 and 37.6% overall for the last two seasons. He isn't a gifted distributor. He can't defend simple pick-and-rolls, leading to routine burn marks on the opposing net at the hands of a wide open Deron Williams. What he can do is not turn the ball over as much as John Lucas III, or at least thats nominally his ability; I doubt that he's even much better at that.
Alston's struggles could be expected, given his lack of ability to do anything positive anyway. The two Rockets who have the most to do with the current struggles have been Luther Head and Juwan Howard. Head, who finished fourth in the NBA in three-point percentage, is shooting a robust 23.8% behind the arc in this series. He also can't guard anyone, nor can he drive to the basket with any authority; a problem that is replicated by Howard, except Howard shoots from eighteen feet instead of twenty-three feet. Howard's shot this series, asides from Game Five, was last seen on a milk carton.
The defining moment of Tracy McGrady's career, right now, looks much like the defining moment of Kevin Garnett's. Wonderful career, no supporting cast. Let me present the field goal percentages and free throw attempts of all non-McGrady/Yao/Battier players on the team, in each game of this series.
Game One: 23 shots, 9 made, (39%), 6 free throws, 5 made.
Game Two: 23 shots, 9 made, (39%), 13 free throws, 11 made.
Game Three: 17 shots, 2 made (12%), 2 free throws, 0 made.
Game Four: 36 shots, 14 made (38%), 10 free throws, 6 made.
Game Five: 24 shots, 13 made (54%), 4 free throws, 3 made
Game Six: 23 shots, 11 made (47%), 2 free throws, 1 made.
Totals: 146 shots, 58 made (39%), 26 points from the stripe.
What the Rockets basically have, unlike the Jazz, is a team of jump shooters who can't shoot. Given the fact that a good 80% of these shots are wide-open, I'd pose that it's not McGrady losing this series; it's the supporting cast.
This is to take nothing away from the Jazz, who have played a phenomenal series. They have shot well, gotten timely rebounds, limited turnovers, and smartly dared the non-McGrady/Yao players to beat them. In fact, it's amazing that the Rockets are even in this series given the fact that they haven't outplayed the Jazz since Game Two. Should they reach the second round, these problems will only be magnified by Golden State's small ball lineup. The Rockets have two perimeter defenders: McGrady and Battier. Ask the Mavericks how well that played out. The Jazz match up much better with the Warriors; guys like Matt Harpring, Derek Fisher, and Gordon Giricek can provide ample support.
Even as a Rockets fan, I find myself rooting for the Jazz to win Game Seven.
At least they can shoot.
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