T-Mac eyes next season This year likely over for ailing star unless Rockets in playoff hunt late By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle For the first time since he was helped off the Toyota Center floor, Rockets forward and leading scorer Tracy McGrady was there again Thursday. It was, he said, the last time he expects to be on that court this season. McGrady said the prognosis that he would be out "up to five weeks" was actually firm doctor's orders. Speaking at the Rockets' annual Tux & Tennies dinner, McGrady repeatedly referred to coming back "next season." He was confident he would fully recover from his injury, a strained lower back. But he could only hope he would not suffer through another season of back spasms. "I can't do anything physical until five weeks (from last week's diagnosis)," McGrady said. "That leaves me with four or five games left. It all depends on where we are after those five weeks. I'm definitely not ruling myself out right now. But if we're not in the running for the playoffs and we only have four or five games left, it really doesn't make sense for me to come back. Just prepare myself and get ready for next year. "That's what my doctor advised me. The five weeks is definitely something I've got to abide by. That's not doing anything physical for five weeks." Owner feels frustration The Rockets have had 13 players miss a combined 219 games with injuries or illness. They have gone 2-17 in games McGrady has missed. "It's the most frustrating season for me since I've owned the club," Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, who bought the Rockets on July 30, 1993, said. "We had such high hopes, with such great players. To see Yao (Ming) emerge as one of the best players in the NBA, if we had a healthy Tracy right now with a healthy Yao, who knows where we could go. "We've still got a chance to make the playoffs. That's obviously a slim chance. But we still have a chance. We salvage it by looking forward to what's coming up in the future." McGrady, who averaged 24.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists, said he could do little else. "It's a real difficult situation knowing I'm dealing with the back issue again," McGrady said. "Thank God it's not what I was dealing with in the beginning of the season. But right now, I'm in a five-week process of not doing anything. After those five weeks, I can see how I feel and I can get back to my training regimen and get ready for next season. "For this to set me back throughout this whole season was not just frustrating but very disappointing as well. But I will bounce back. My team will bounce back. And I will be ready to go next year." While the treatment, including an anti-inflammatory injection Wednesday, is designed to heal his strained back, the condition that caused the muscles to spasm is considered separate from his current injury. McGrady suffered back spasms on three occasions this season, starting Nov. 4, missing 13 games before his March 5 injury. "I'm praying I don't have the awkward landings I've been having," McGrady said. "That does trigger things. Because my disc is bulging I'm not going to wake up one morning and my back will be in spasms. It all comes from awkward landings or coming down wrong. "That's just how I play. It doesn't concern me. I'm not going to go out and tone down my game because it is a possibility I might come down wrong. If I think about that, I would be miserable out there and I won't be helping my team, I won't be helping myself." Yao worth watching For now, however, he is watching games on television and waiting for next season. "My big fella is giving me something to watch," McGrady said. "I've been loving the way Yao has been coming around and taking over, doing the things he's been doing since the All-Star break. That is fun to watch to me. And I'm laying in my bed every night just cringing, wishing I could be out there with him and helping my teammates out. But with all the bad coming out of this as far as me being out and my team struggling right now, there is a lot of good with Yao emerging into the kind of player he has become of the past couple weeks. "I'm real confident about moving forward because I was fine up until that awkward landing. That all triggered it, just landing on my tailbone. ... I'm in good spirits. I'm walking. I'm frustrated and disappointed, but OK." jonathan.feigen@chron.com ROCKETS SUMMARY Lending a helping hand The Rockets held their 10th Tux & Tennies Charity Gala, benefiting Kashmere High School in the Fifth Ward. The Rockets have been working with Kashmere throughout the season, from motivational programs at the school and Rockets games to building a learning center at McDade Elementary, hoping to raise the school's TAKS scores. "I'm of the opinion that school systems in the United States are not funded properly," Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said. "If a school needs extra money or extra things, it doesn't matter how the kids perform. I think these schools need a lot more money and a lot more effort put into them." Money raised Thursday will be used for college scholarships. In 10 years, Clutch City Foundation has donated $6.5 million locally, $3.5 million raised at Tux & Tennies dinners. "We have raised mucho dinero for the city of Houston," Alexander said. "(Thursday night) it is for the Kashmere school system where we're going to (provide) computers in rooms for the kids to give them a chance to compete in society. "Every year we look for a new charity. I try to look for groups that don't have a lobby and really need the money, and that's how we chose Kashmere. People from our organization go into the school and try to help the kids learn so they can learn the subject matter so they can move on and be proficient in society." Marathon session The Rockets held a 3 1/2 -hour video and practice session, one of their longest of the season on Thursday, in the wake of their three-game losing streak. "I can tell you after the San Antonio game (Saturday)," Rockets center Yao Ming said of the potential benefit of the extra work. "If it ends good, we can say (Thursday) is a turning, bounce-back day. If not, it's just a normal day." JONATHAN FEIGEN
"I'm praying I don't have the awkward landings I've been having," McGrady said. "That does trigger things. Because my disc is bulging I'm not going to wake up one morning and my back will be in spasms. It all comes from awkward landings or coming down wrong. Great. Now everytime Tmac goes up for a shot (next season), the fans will hold their breath - not to see if the shot goes in, but to see if he will land awkwardly or not.
That should send a chilling shrill down the collective spine of TMac Only Fans who don't want a trade no matter what happens to their idol.
Yeah it's r****ded that this a Rockets fan board and the fans themselves hate on each other...OOP, i just did the very same thing, hahaah.
Umm...I think most people here won't have a problem with him being traded if his health problems continue. If the team feels like they can't gamble on his future health and seek to trade him accordingly, I doubt many here will be too upset about it. I love T-Mac as a player, he's a phenomenal out-of-this-world type talent when he's healthy, but I am also realistic and recognize that injuries have in the past (and will continue to) derail some potentially great careers...I think most NBA fans are well-aware of that. The problem is going to be this: whom do we/can we get in return? Will he/they be decent enough to at least keep this team competitive? I still think he's a very tradeable commodity as long as he's not in a wheelchair. Trades are a part of NBA life, so all players must be prepared for it.
Do you mean "Fans who don't want a trade no matter what happens to their idol" should be called "Houston Rocket fans"? Those who wear YOF on their sleeves should not be eligible for such a comment.
This use to be a Houston Rocket fan board. The fact is if Yao Ming were traded, the board would lose half it's membership, and not be the worse for it.
Get over it. Clutch obviously has no problem with Yao fans visiting and posting on this board. If you disagree with his decision, send him an email and challenge his decision. You think YOFs are annoying? You are the same if not more. It seems your every single post wont be finished w/o b****ing about your discontent with Yao fans. You think your b****ing posts are more enjoyable than those worshipping Yao? The answer is both are annoying as hell. And this board wont get much better as long as you keep b****ing in every other post.
Until a year later, when they would starting talking about his huge "heart" and how they miss the "good ole days." People on this board have been calling for the return of the Cat Cato and Francis show.
The YOFs are a small minority of regular posters. There could be a very large amount of YOF lurkers who rarely, if ever, post. If you could somehow isolate all of those who joined Clutchfans after Yao was drafted, I think a very high % of them are YOFs. In fact, it would be interesting to see the monthly sign up rate going back to say, 2001. The surge after Yao was drafted was probably huge. This is when a lot of YOFs who had never heard of the Houston Rockets joined.
Yao Ming and Mcgrady can both be traded for all I give a damn. And here's the deal with that, the next player that is in for them I won't hold a grudge against. You know what I'm saying, right, right, right???
