Release McGrady and stick with V. Wafer

[nextnba]

Wafer can play! Give him the minutes and he'll put up better numbers than McGrady!

[Calamaro]

I don't think that's going to happen.
Wafer had a pretty good game tonight against the Cavs, 19 points and 4 - 6 from beyond the three point line.

[Hoyasaxa]

That's a slightly bad move for a GM.

[NovU]

Wafer can't create his own shots as well as T-Mac, but I think he suits Houston's style pretty well. However, I think replacing T-Mac with whatever Houston can get seem like a solid idea at the moment. They have been a better team without him this year, and with Ron Artest mingling well with the team, T-Mac isn't much needed in Houston anymore.

[benji]

I like it. The league needs more ballsy moves.

[kevC]

Well, what would be the point of releasing McGrady? He's very valuable for the pure fact that he's a 20 mil expiring next season, the season before the 2010 sweepstakes.

[Clueminati017]

I like it. The league needs more ballsy moves.

Amen.

[Andrew]

I don't know about Von Wafer being able to post better numbers than a healthy Tracy McGrady but looking at a less drastic option, T-Mac's value as an expiring contract could prove useful to the Rockets when they're exploring trade possibilities.

[Modifly]

Seriously, it would be a bad move. Wafer might be playing well and above all expectations, but at the moment he is not as good as McGrady is. Not yet. Wafer have excellent potential, but he still needs to learn many things. Most importantly, T-MAC is more valuable to the team more than Wafer is at the moment.

If this move was going to happen then I'm pretty confident that the Rockets will wait and see how T-MAC recovers from that microfracture surgery first before making any move. If he recovers well around 70% then the team will keep him. If he doesn't however, then be ready to see this move in action.

[Andrew]

Supposedly he'll be out at least 6-12 months which could well mean that he misses the entire 2009/2010 season, which is the final year of his contract, so it wouldn't be altogether surprising if the Rockets at least considered moving him before the deadline next year to take advantage of his expiring deal. I still think he's being given up on a bit too early but I understand it all the same.

[nextnba]

McGrady is a supper star and Wafer is not and McGrady will draw more fans and tickets...but if you compare the numbers they put up with the minutes given, Wafer's number is much better. Also don't forget that we're talking about the highest paid player on the team vs the lowest paid player, 21k vs .8k. McGrady is great when he's great but he's just that great that often anymore. Most of us pass him during the fantsy draft becuase we knew his number wasn't going to be that good.

[Modifly]

You guys haven't realised how valuable McGrady is in the playoffs. No matter how good Wafer's numbers are, he's not capable of doing what T-MAC does in the playoffs yet. Down the stretch, when a game is on the line, can you count on Wafer to take that big shot? It's not that he cant make it, but would it be safer to put the ball in McGrady's hand?

From NBA.com

Are the Rockets better off without Tracy McGrady?

From now until April, absolutely.

In the playoffs? Not a chance.

In the regular season, the Rockets can force feed Yao Ming most nights and get away with it. While there are a few teams with the coaching bona fides and personnel to slow the big man some nights, there are too many Memphises and Sacramentos on the schedule for Houston to have too much problem getting Yao the ball, and the Rockets can win most nights with their defense, anyway.

But in the playoffs, when defenses are better and teams can zero in on one opponent, the Rockets look exceedingly vulnerable without T-Mac. They don't have anyone with his ability to rise and shoot over defenders, to create offense where there is nothing happening, to average a neat 28 per postseason game as McGrady did last year.

McGrady's season-ending microfracture surgery leaves the Rockets in a quandary. For now, there's no doubt that a cloud has been lifted from Toyota Center. As I wrote several weeks ago, McGrady's teammates weren't frustrated by him personally; they respect his game and know how much pain he's been in, taking injections and dragging one leg up and down the floor for almost a year. But they were nonetheless getting tired of not knowing when or if he was going to play on a given night, tired of not knowing who would play and who would not as a result, tired of waiting for McGrady to decide whether to play in pain or shut it down for the rest of the season.

(With T-Mac now sidelined six to 12 months, who knows what his future in Houston will be? The Rockets would have had any number of suitors next season for a healthy McGrady in the last year of his contract, with $22 million available to luxury tax-threatened teams potentially coming off their books in time for the summer of 2010. But tax reliever or no, no team will take a flier on McGrady until they see him back on the court and healthy, and the likelihood of that happening before next year's trade deadline is slim.)

Houston now has a clear identity. It knows that Ron Artest will start at the two. It knows that Shane Battier is almost back to full speed after offseason foot surgery. It knows the way to win games is to sic Artest and Battier on the opponent's best perimeter guy, as the Rockets did to near perfection against LeBron James last week, then get Yao 20-30 touches a game on the offensive end.

"They know who's going to play," coach Rick Adelman said. "They know what the rotation's going to be."

Artest came off the bench while McGrady started. He didn't complain. Mostly. But it's probably better for Houston that that's no longer an issue as the regular season winds down.

"Obviously, I've been a starter since I've been in the NBA," Artest said. "I could be a starter on any team. You put LeBron and Kobe on the same team, I would make the argument that I should start."

Artest's energy can take a team in multiple directions, but when he's channeled and focused, he still is an opponent-wrecking presence. Against Cleveland, Artest used his 260 pounds effectively against James's 270; he didn't try to muscle James around, a sure invitation to three quick first-half fouls; he became more of a wall, absorbing James's contact without giving ground, his still-excellent footwork keeping him squared up and not reaching. Twice, he turned James into Battier, who drew two charges.

That's great for now. But in the playoffs, who'll get that key bucket?

GM Daryl Morey believes in second-year point guard Aaron Brooks, as evidenced by the Rockets' trading starting point Rafer Alston to Orlando in a three-team deal with Memphis that brought Kyle Lowry from the Grizzlies. Brooks and Lowry have ridiculous quickness, with the ability to break down defenses, get to the rim and kick the ball out to shooters. And Brooks is a better perimeter shooter than Skip.

But Brooks and Lowry are both small, and they're both susceptible to pounding the ball too much. At the end of the first half against Cleveland, Brooks dribbled, and dribbled, and dribbled, as the clock ran out without the Rockets getting off a quality shot -- drawing an on-court rebuke from Batier.

As ever, Yao puts adjusting to a new point guard on his big shoulders, even though Brooks has a penchant for entry passes on the bounce, something a 7-foot-6 fella shouldn't have to deal with.

"Aaron's been on this team two years already," Yao said. "We have a kind of chemistry. Passing the ball, it's about timing, it's about position. I can't just point to them. What do you need to do? I think I just need to catch those balls."

Rolling of late, the Rockets look like they could still become a factor in the Western Conference, as long as Battier and Yao stay healthy. ("At times, he made Dwight Howard look very small," Artest said of Yao. "He made Superman look like Mini-Me.") But what will happen when the temperatures rise and the defenses contract and the refs put their whistles away?

Even a one-legged T-Mac would probably be welcome.

Source : http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/d ... index.html

[Fcuk Orlando]

You guys haven't realised how valuable McGrady is in the playoffs. No matter how good Wafer's numbers are, he's not capable of doing what T-MAC does in the playoffs yet. Down the stretch, when a game is on the line, can you count on Wafer to take that big shot? It's not that he cant make it, but would it be safer to put the ball in McGrady's hand?

He's never been able to get out of the first round when healthy, what makes you think he'll be able to get them far in the playoffs unhealthy?

[Hoyasaxa]

I like how this is being discussed by avid NBA fans. I thought this was just a sarcastic poster...

[Andrew]

That doesn't mean the topic can't evolve into something else, in this case McGrady's value and future.

McGrady's record in the Playoffs isn't stellar by any means but consider he's not the only player to suffer through such a stumbling block. Kevin Garnett's Timberwolves didn't advance past the first round until 2004 and the Celtics' run to the championship last year was the first time KG had been out of the first round (or indeed in the postseason) since that year. I believe Houston would've had a good shot at getting to the second round this year were McGrady healthy along with Yao and Artest.

[NovU]

Indeed, healthy McGrady has been a valuble player for the Rockets and as you've seen in the past, the Rockets always went to McGrady whenever the basket was needed. But I think he's been really streaky when it counted the most, deserving to earn the reputation of first round superstar. I know it's not fair to put all blames on him, but he always was a leader. Somewhere along the way, the torch was passed to Yao, and I am glad that happenned. While he's an entertaining player to watch, I don't think it's healthy for the Rockets for him to dominate possessions and lead the offense through him this year. Other players like Artest and Scola are great team players who also can create their own shots time to time, and they now can get into groove early since touches are rather shared throughout the players. Besides, I think it's great to see players like Brooks and Wafer developing in absence of McGrady. I do think some factors like these rather helped the Houston and they now have a legit shot at getting to the second round. They just took over Denver's 3rd seed, and if they can keep that spot, I think they will surely make it. IMO, Utha could be the worst opponent for the Rockets. Otherwise, I really do favor their chances over other teams. Yes, I do in some ways think the Rockets is a better team without McGrady at the moment. He clearly was nothing close to superstar caliber player early in the season and he stated that he was healthy. It seemed to me, even healthy McGrady is a mere shadow of his old-self now.

[Prev]

Are you kidding people ????????????????????????????????????????? Im very sorry for rocket's fans when it will come to the playoffs... good luck making most important shot in the game wafer ! Hehe... people comparing young perpective player with one of best scorrers like last season (when tmac is healthy) the only person in rockets who can make big shots and who can even be a play maker? No really you gotta be kidding me... you gotta agree that tmac has all these abilities which i said... of course he cant play when he is injured.But comparing these 2players is just a joke from you guys.
And NO im arent rocket's or tmac's fan .
P.S i see nobody remembers the legendary game vs spurs... ye right it was luck...

[benji]

A good team doesn't have a "most important shot in the game."

i see nobody remembers the legendary game vs spurs... ye right it was luck...

If it wasn't, why doesn't he do it in every single game?

[NovU]

Utha just won against Houston. Exactly, why I said Utha should be avoided in the first round of playoffs if Houston wants to make it to next round. I just don't like chance against them. However, I think teams like Denver, Portland, or Dallas should be little bit more comfortable opponents for the Rockets.

[benji]

The Utha Jzza? The best offense in the league last year when healthy? They're a tough team for ones that can't score regularly.

[Andrew]

Yes, I do in some ways think the Rockets is a better team without McGrady at the moment. He clearly was nothing close to superstar caliber player early in the season and he stated that he was healthy. It seemed to me, even healthy McGrady is a mere shadow of his old-self now.

I'm not sure he was all that healthy despite what he said, his knee has obviously been continuing to bother him so it's likely been a lingering issue throughout the year that he's been trying to grin and bear with little success. The Rockets have to be better without an injured, less effective McGrady out there so right now they are riding a wave of being able to move on and work with what they've got instead of worrying about him for the moment. It remains to be seen how much he's got left if and when he is recovered to the point where he won't be hampered so much by his knee problems but right now I'd hazard a guess and say they could be better with him healthy than without him.

[Prev]

A good team doesn't have a "most important shot in the game."

i see nobody remembers the legendary game vs spurs... ye right it was luck...

If it wasn't, why doesn't he do it in every single game?

Why kobe is not scoring 81ppg ? Or you mean that was luck too?

[benji]

Ja.

[nextnba]

Have you guys seen Wafer play? Put him in for the same amount of min. and he'll put up better numbers. I didn't think much about him until I saw him play in a couple of games.

[NovU]

r u serious?