I saw this quote in Fran Blinebury's article on NBA.com today about the Rox, from Mike D'Antoni: “We’re all on the same page, from the owner to the general manager on down. But none of that matters without James. He has taken on every role I’ve asked of him -- teammate, leader, scorer, passer.” So basically, Harden has done what Tracy McGrady refused to do: When asked to become a true leader, fight past his natural aloofness to dig down and do so. Compare that T-Mac, who was asked the same by Adelman and Morey and said he'd rather not. From an article by Bill Simmons: Here's the TL;DR version: Summer, 2007 Rox: We need you to be a team leader. T-Mac: Nah, I'm good. Summer, 2016 Rox: We need you to be a team leader. Beard: OK, I'm in.
No, you need to do some more research on this. Harden is too ball dominant and needs to learn how to play off the ball and become a spot up shooter. The Rockets need another play maker to handle the ball and until they get one its going to be one and done in the playoffs again. There are some moves out there that need to be made, the problem is that Morey won't make them because Harden pretty much runs the team and refuses to change his mentality on this. Look, everything I said is true and you guys just refuse to see it so keep living in your little bubble of ignorance.
Sorry. But you're an idiot. There was absolutely no reason to add that snippet about McGrady in your post. To suggest that McGrady didn't take on the leadership role and do everything he could to better this team is downright stupid. I didn't think there were any others apart from tinmac who had this delusion that McGrady didn't give his all when he was healthy. Now if you're going to put your basis for that comment on after he was injured then fine. But still you appear idiotic to ignore those years he was healthy and was TAKING LUTHER FREAKING HEAD TO THE PLAYOFFS AS A MEMBER OF THE STARTING 5
That wasn't dude. BBholic hacked my account. Spoiler NM, I got the dude reference. Your sarcasm detector is good now.
Yet at the end of the day . . . . he never got further in the playoffs than Steve Francis Fricking Artest did better than him in leading the team to the second round. Rocket River
I can never tell if someone is serious when they say "you're being very un-dude". It might be in reference to the film, but it could also be used in a more serious way where duder has to question their intentions and all. But, I got you and much love for you T for 3.
People forget that alot. He had a broken body and admittedly was not the best leader but he wasn't putrid at it either. I think Harden might be more skilled as a PG and small ball but the most important thing is he is durable as hell. Durability will win out. But there is no doubt that McGrady's talent display at Orlando has been near MJ like in the regular season and part of the 1st round. They are very different but it is best for the franchise to go to the Finals first. Anyway, he should not be mentioned like people are sour. I think Yao and Mac are among the first ones to congratulate Harden on an MVP title or Finals MVP if that should be the case.
Sure that will always be the narrative. But there were lesser players to overcome the first round. I think of a Gilbert Arenas.......and so on and also Baron Davis. Objectively, they were not better than Tmac, at least Mac in prime.
This game last season Harden would have shot the ball 30 plus times to match Westi's output. This season he is willing to defer to Gordon. Just the way plays within control and gets his teammates amazing looks is what now has elevated him from other great scorers. He has now become an true elite and complete offensive player.
Lol. Ppl here really hate Tmac. Tmac played great here and only downfall was his injuries. His departure was a little rocky but overall I thought Tmac pretty much brought it every night. Him and Yao's injury issues contributed to that team's demise
it was a basis of comparison. no more, no less. JVG has gone on record for how T-Mac refused to put in the work and simply relied on his God given talent. If you don't think that type of mentality has an impact on your ability to be considered a leader you are delusional. There is a difference between being the most talented player on a team, and the guy everyone looks to to lead.
When Tracy first got here, I loved rooting for him. He was dynamic and could score with ease. His 13 in 35 game and his dunk on Shawn Bradley ("he just sucked the gravity right out of the building!") are a couple of my favorite Rocket's moments in my memory. Even though Harden is by far the better player, T-Mac was undoubtedly more physically talented. And yes, then the injuries happened. I hated seeing it because I was rooting for him and the Rockets so much. And unfortunately the injuries happened to both him and Yao so frequently. But over time we started to see a difference between him and Yao. Yao struggled with injuries just as much as T-Mac did but you don't see people on this board complain about him. Even though he was injured, Yao constantly strived to get healthy and get better and give everything he could to our team. How could anyone forget the game in the playoffs vs LA when Yao fractured his foot, the trainers were begging him to go into the locker room, but he refused and came out and played more? T-Mac, however, eventually got to the point where he stopped trying. He looked lazy. Whether this was actually true or not, sometimes it seemed like injuries were "phantom injuries" and he was instead just taking time off. Maybe it was because it was so easy to compare him to Yao's competitiveness and hunger to get back onto the court, but Tracy eventually became disinterested. Here you go if you need a refresher: http://www.clutchfans.net/news/1545/the_day_t-mac_lost_houston/
