Rising to a tension?

[TMU]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/spo ... 52449.html

With the contention that the Rockets are doing too much talking, guard Tracy McGrady said Ron Artest was not necessarily wrong in his assertion that improving the Rockets’ defense has to begin with McGrady, but that Artest was wrong to say it.

“We’re doing too much talking,” McGrady said Saturday. “We have to play some basketball and get some wins. This is not the time to point a finger here and there on what somebody needs to do. No, we all need to step it up.”

“It starts with everybody,” McGrady said. “I understand what he was saying and I think if he had a chance to word it again he would have said it in a different way. It starts with Rafer (Alston), myself, Yao (Ming). It starts with all of us. You don’t just call one guy out. I understand what he was saying, though.

“When things are not going well, everybody wants to say things they normally don’t say and that’s what’s happening now. We have to win and stop doing too much damn talking.”

[iamworthy]

Sounds like Artest recognizes that T-Mac is the leader/best player on the team (or was) so he was just saying that our defensive intensity has to come from our leader. I have no problem with what Artest said.

[Baller 24]

Well, Artest calls out T-Mac, and McGrady plays the best defense he's played all season. Keep it up Ron! now if you could please tell him to attack the rim more, it'd workout better.

[Iggyemu]

Artest has gotta watch what he says but at the same time...as long as McGrady takes it in a positive light and turns it into a good thing we'll be fine. And there won't be any tension. IMO both guys aren't safe to begin with so if they could fire each other up in some way then thats a good thing.

[YaoZaii]

i hope it doesn't get too hot in the locker.
like the saying, don't play with fire.
maybe if it gets too hot, deke might bring a couple of pails of water and splash it over their heads...
a bigger pail for artest and a smaller pail for mcgrady lest deke puts out any remaining flame in mcgrady. hhehe.

[jzmagik]

A potential precursor to lockerroom issues. Adelman needs to sort this out.

[HTown_TMac]

Whats wrong with what was said by both players? What they both were saying is true. If they take this serious, they have mental issues. Plus, even though Artest has been playing horrible, he is still looking for that contract.

[TMU]

Whats wrong with what was said by both players? What they both were saying is true. If they take this serious, they have mental issues. Plus, even though Artest has been playing horrible, he is still looking for that contract.

There was nothing wrong with what Artest said about McGrady and vice versa. However, McGrady did respond to Artest's comment in a negative manner. This is potentially bad for the team as a whole.

Both players have been yapping too much in front of the media. If these two have a problem, they should keep their comments inside the lockerroom rather than relaying criticism to a 3rd party.

[HTown_TMac]

I dont see it as a negative manner with t-mac. Well, it seems he takes it too hard. But if he keeps up the D he played against the wolves.. It worked.

[HTown_TMac]

Rockets coach Rick Adelman has been around long enough to know when a team is on the verge of falling apart, and he's worried about his team.

"I see things," Adelman said. "I've been doing this a long time. There's not too much that slides past me: body language, comments, whatever. Once you've seen it over and over and over again, you get a pretty good sense right off the bat. That’s why it's important as coaches we keep trying to talk to them about it. I think it's important as a team that individually they talk to each other about it.

"You're going to have times throughout the year you're going to have guys irritated or whatever. It's important it does not carry over and stay and fester. That's what I keep trying to tell them."

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... cker_room/

[Iggyemu]

Even further the problem with McGrady his entire career other than injuries is his inability to accept and relish the role of leader. On any great team...your best player is your best leader. We would perennial contenders even with the injury issues if McGrady simply realized that his teammates want him to lead. I dunno how this Artest/McGrady thing will end but I don't blame Artest for what he said. Defense starts with McGrady's effort. This game is played by humans and naturally they will respond when they see their best player going hard on both ends of the floor.