FreeDarko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Tracy McGrady excerpt

The Heart of a Non-Champion

 

^^ dont ever, overestimate...

 

Im tired of people blaming one guy. If Lebron or Kobe played on the same teams Mcgrady has in the playoffs, nothing different would have happened. He has been nothing short of spectacular during the playoffs. Against Detroit he was the best player in the league, yet his team was garbage and he overacheived by winning as many games as they did. Against Dallas in 05 their was arguably no player better during the 1st round, same result. And that could go for the first and second Utah series as well. If Mcgrady and Yao played together last year in the playoffs, they would have made the WCF for sure. Some people like to blame on the individual even though they cant do much better when this game is a team game in the first place. That is my stance on Mcgrady and his playoffs failures.

 

I blame Grant Hill for being injury prone as well.

 

As far as Orlando goes I agree about Kobe, but I'm not so sure that Lebron couldn't get one of those teams out the 1st Round.

As far as Houston I think both of them would have gotten out the 1st round by now.

Not blaming the failure on T-mac though, it's just how great those two are.

 

How great they are? I am saying right now that Mcgrady in the playoffs when somewhat healthy(03,05,07)has been if not the best the second best player in the league through the first round. Jeff Van Gundy has said numerous times that Mcgrady is the best wingman passing wise in the league. Now its hard to discredit what that guy has to say because he is very knowledgeable. Lebron is still no where near the scorer Mcgrady was in 03. Im not even trying to be a homer either, I have faith that Lebron will be the best player to ever play the game, but no one was more offensively talented than Mcgrady was in 03 and arguably 05. Of course Tracy is going to get the blame because the great ones have a lot of responsibility to do well in the playoffs. Have you ever just sat back on your computer and typed in Tracy Mcgrady vs Detroit, Dallas, or Utah. It is very entertaining. People take for granted the kind of player Tracy is.

 

Kinda off topic but this book was actually a pretty entertaining read and had really good illustrations too. With that said, I just wish McGrady would finally straighten up and pair his inherent natural talent along side with a stronger mentality. We've seen him on his best nights where he willed his way to a win, and also those other nights were he just mailed it in. It's funny hearing comparisons with Kobe and LeBron because those guys are usually consistent (maybe not in terms of their scoring and other tangible statistics, but rather in terms of their determination) every night. Who knows if those two would have won with the same team the McGrady had, but I'm pretty sure they would have left it all on the court. I can't say that's always been the case with McGrady.

As far as this injury thing is concerned, I'm really gonna try to give him the benefit of a doubt - though he does make that rather difficult with the way he handled everything thus far. This even tops his usual lackadaisical demeanor. Makes you really wonder what the hell motivates this guy...

 

You would think after all those 40 point games and bringing the team back from the dead you wouldnt have to question his want to win. But I agree with you when you describe him as lackadaisical, its his personality, a very chill guy. I dont doubt Tracy's effort to win. The grown man was crying after his game 7 loss vs Utah. And yes he may not try as hard as he can every night during the regular season, but during the playoffs you cant say that with a straight face.

 

There is no way anybody can blame McGrady come playoff time. You can blame him for his injuries, being soft, having no heart, lack of motivation and anything else.

But the last thing you can say about McGrady is he is a choker in the playoffs. During the series, I remember he tried to do everything he could to win that series. I remember he was so pumped up last season that once he dunked on one of their players, he started playing defense and blocked Matt Harpring's shot.

T-Mac has performed and produced in the playoffs, in his Orlando days and in his Houston days. You guys can blame him in the regular season, but in the playoff time never point your finger at him.

 

It is how it is. If Mcgrady came back for the playoffs and played well, their would be alot of people forgeting about times like now.

 

no one ever questions tracy's heart/effort in the playoffs (or should anyways). if he does come back and play, i expect him to suck it up and perform in the playoffs (but i don't think he should unless he's healthy, which he's not so he's not going to help the team). the team is better without him this year.

it's his inconsistency in the reg. season (and the drama this year anyways) that drives fans nuts.

 

Your only as good as your next game. Thats a saying that 95% of the people on this board live by.

 

I don't like that kind of mentality. But then again this is clutchfans...

 

Clutchfans is easily a life-saver for me, nothing to do on a Saturday night, well hey theres always Clutchfans. Im kidding but its fun to interract with a bunch of Rocket fans that share the same passion about the team as I do.

 

If Tmac lived by that mentality, he'd be a lot better for it. It's pretty much what separates him from the Kobes and Lebrons of the league.

 

What seperates Tracy from the Kobe and Lebrons is the ability to stay healthy. When healthy Tracy has proven for years he is as good as anyone.

 

This is pretty much the whole story for tmac. Mentally, he hasnt changed much from his Raptor days. I have a lot of respect for JVG now . He was a master psychologist.

 

I blame Tmac because he left Toronto to be "the man"... if he didnt he would have been out of the first round already...

Against Detroit he spouted his mouth off got complacent and lazy and in the end he got scared to lose...

In Dallas I seem to remember Tmac almost single handed winning game 6
but then coming out and laying a big goose egg shooting the team out of game 7

 

Tracy never made his teammates better and he deserves to be blamed. The year before he joined Orlando, they won 41 games. Tracy joins the magic the next year, and with the same roster, they increase their wins to 43. Wow, the addition of Tracy gave them 2 extra wins.

The last year that Tracy played for Orlando the team won 21 games. The following year, after Tracy's departure, Orlando has 36 wins. The Magic were a better team after the departure of their so called superstar. Tracy should be blamed for what happened in Orlando and Tracy should be blamed for the Rockets not passing the first round either.

T-Mac fans really need to start investigating why he has not accomplished anything. Its not that hard, all you have to do is dissociate yourselves from the unconditional love you have for Tracy. This will give you an unbiased opinion that is the foundation of rational thought. Once you take Tracy off the pedestal you will reach an epiphany.

What you will find is that Tracy is a very talented basketball player that will not do the little things that it take to win a playoff series. He does not focus on the team concept in critical times, which makes him look like a superstar, while the rest of the team is in disarray. He has the ability to be one of the better defenders in the league, but is too lazy to play defense. He does not follow the offensive game plan all the time. He dominates the ball. Out of laziness he will jack up shots instead of driving to the basket. You're not going to win a playoff series when your star player plays like this. It's on Tracy.