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All-Star weekend coinciding with T-Mac's personal crisis

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Pizza_Da_Hut, Feb 18, 2006.

  1. Pizza_Da_Hut

    Pizza_Da_Hut I put on pants for this?

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    already posted?
    By CHRIS DUNCAN, AP Sports Writer
    February 17, 2006

    HOUSTON (AP) -- All-Star weekend has come to Houston during one of the worst times of Tracy McGrady's life.

    The 26-year-old Rockets star, who'll play in his sixth All-Star game Sunday, won't divulge what's bothering him, but said his personal crisis is as trying as anything he's ever faced.

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    "I'm human, I'm going through some things in my life, things I've got to deal with, and I'm just trying to handle it the best way I can," McGrady said. "It's wearing and tearing at me. This weight has gotten heavy for me and it's taking a toll."

    McGrady has missed 13 games this season with back spasms and left another game in late December to see his fiancee, Clerenda Harris, give birth to their second child, a son.

    But McGrady wouldn't say whether the issues were health-related or who they involve.

    "I've dealt with family members passing away, best friends getting killed," McGrady said. "This is a lot worse than that because it's a combination of things in different areas.

    "I'm in a tough stage of my life right now."

    Whatever is bothering him, it's affected his play.

    In his last 12 games, McGrady has shot worse than 32 percent from the field six times, including a 4-for-15 night in Houston's 109-75 loss to Phoenix on Thursday. He went 3-for-20 against New York last Sunday and refused to speak to reporters afterward.

    "At times, I don't even want to be in the arena or a uniform," McGrady said. "It's just been so frustrating. In the past, I've usually done a great job of keeping things to myself and really not letting things affect me.

    "I am going through some things and it does affect my professional life. I try not to let it, but I can't really control it."

    McGrady had planned to skip Friday's media availability. Friends convinced him to go and McGrady said he hopes the weekend festivities in his backyard will take his mind off the personal problems.

    "It really took a lot for me to come down here with the things that are going on," McGrady said. "They told me it was the best thing for me and I realize this is in the city I perform in every night."

    Even Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy is concerned, making a recent unscheduled visit to McGrady's house to talk to him about his issues. McGrady told Van Gundy he was considering taking some games off and disappearing from public life.

    "I told my coach that's how I felt -- that I really felt like leaving and not tell people where I was going, just getting away for a few days and just clearing my mind," McGrady said. "I need peace of mind right now. It's all just piled up on me and broken me down."

    McGrady said friends are helping him work through the issues, and he feels better than he did a few days ago.

    "There, for a while, I wasn't really myself in games, after games, and everybody noticed it," he said. "I just felt like sharing with people what I was going through -- things that wear and tear on me physically and emotionally."

    Across the room, McGrady's All-Star teammate, Yao Ming, was answering less personal questions -- most of them in Chinese. A swarm of Asian media mobbed the 7-foot-6 Yao, the top vote-getter for the All-Star game, as soon as he ducked under a black curtain and appeared in a hotel ballroom.

    Yao will play in his fourth All-Star game and compared his experiences since he was drafted in 2002 to earning a college education.

    "The NBA life has made me grow up a lot," Yao said. "I have not just grown up in my basketball skills, it's made me stronger and tougher."

    For one thing, he's become more confident in his English, doing interviews without a translator for the first time this season.

    "It's getting a lot easier," Yao said. "I'm getting used to it."

    Updated on Friday, Feb 17, 2006 6:50 pm EST

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...F?slug=ap-all-stars-rockets&prov=ap&type=lgns

    What's going on?? :mad:
     
  2. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    I wish he would just shut up and play, and quit making excuses.

    Hey Tmac...everyone has issues...deal with them and get to work.

    If you need some time off to fix things, take it, but stop whining in the press.

    And start LEADING your team.......they follow you...when you quit...like in Phoenix...they quit.

    If you want to win....prove it.

    DD
     
  3. Pizza_Da_Hut

    Pizza_Da_Hut I put on pants for this?

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    harsh, harsh,
     
  4. geeimsobored

    geeimsobored Contributing Member

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    Well I'm glad you're not a psychologist.
     
  5. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Too much Dr. Phil, I guess.

    :D
     
  6. Air Langhi

    Air Langhi Contributing Member

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    I agree with DaDakota, I mean everyone has issues at some point of their lives. Either they take time off to take care of them or just work through it. If he has issues he doesn't need to be complaining about it; he just needs to take care of it and do his job. I mean he gets paid a lot of money and in return a lot should be expected of him.
     
  7. mogrod

    mogrod Contributing Member

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    You can be harsh, and maybe he deserves it, but no one knows what is really going.

    To bash him when we don't know the facts and how extreme these issues may or may not be is really premature.

    And, I'm sure the media is just leaving all this alone so I don't know why he would comment about it. :rolleyes:
     
  8. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Mo - Then he should quit whining about it in the press, it is almost like he is doing it on purpose so the other party that is bothering him can read it.

    If he has problems....DEAL WITH THEM.....and if he needs time off...take it....

    Stop whining in the press, grow up, everyone has problems.

    DD
     
  9. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

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    tmac wasn't the only one who quit in phoenix. they all did, even the coach. and it's not like they followd his lead as you are trying to make it. there have been so many games this season when the rockets just don't play hard and focused. we NEED to make changes right now, and starting by getting a new coach.

    i wish tracy the best. the truth is we don't know exactly what he is going through, i've said it sounds like depression, but i could be wrong. everyone needs to let him work things out in his own way.

    to me tracy has been a man about all of this. he is still going out and playing despite all of his problems.

    to some of ya'll tracy will never be able to please you. if he simply said nothing about what is going on, you would simply say that he doesn't care or is tanking the season due to his performance. but now that he does say something, he's complaining or whining. make up your minds.....
     
  10. bigboymumu

    bigboymumu Member

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    What's wrong with him?
     
  11. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    He needs to pull his panties out of his vagina and get back to work.

    ;)
     
  12. geeimsobored

    geeimsobored Contributing Member

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    If mentioning it to the media makes him feel better then fine by all means do so. Whatever it takes to get over this. Psychology is much more complicated than the Dr. Phil approach of "suck it up and move on." (which is warranted in some cases, but until we know more it's not applicable here)

    Most of us have no idea what really is going on or what is the cause of this "depression" of sorts but it would be wise for us to refrain at least for now from making judgements about what he should and shouldnt be doing and how he should be acting.

    Depression is a really serious thing that most Americans fail to understand the totality of. For the few that have a personal connection to it on this bbs, they've been really outspoken about the need to empathize and to refrain from the natural response of "suck it up." Depression affects millions in ways that most of us can't imagine.

    So until we hear more, lets all just take a step back. I hope things work out and hopefully everything will go back to normal.
     
  13. halfbreed

    halfbreed Contributing Member

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    Does anyone think this may have something to do with his child and that's why he doesn't want to talk about it? I have no inside information whatsoever so I don't want a rumor to start. I just wondered.

    Perhaps we should just wish the best for TMac and hope everything works itself out rather than bashing him.
     
  14. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

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    you would hope some people would try to give the man a break, because we DON'T know what is going on. but like i said tracy will never be able to please some of these people either way. they will still find a way to bash him.
     
  15. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    No one is bashing him, he just needs to take care of his business in private, and not splash it as an excuse all over the newspapers and internet.

    DD
     
  16. GrapeJuices

    GrapeJuices Contributing Member

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    I know that your all mad b/c the team that used to entertain you is no longer doing it's job but jesus christ try not to be so selfish. Do any of you know what it's like to have a wife that you dearly love go through Postpartum depression? If that is what that is bothering him, I will be completely content with McGrady taking the season off to clean things up. Yea you all say he's making millions so he should suck it up, but to some people.. making thousands is A LOT so you all should shut up and keep punching in numbers at work.
     
  17. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Well...yes, I do.......and I agree, and I said as much...if he needs time...take it off....QUIT WHINING IN THE PRESS !!

    DD
     
    #17 DaDakota, Feb 18, 2006
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2006
  18. Hakeem06

    Hakeem06 Member

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    i don't see him making "excuses" all over. i've seen the same quotes in all the articles written about him. someone asked him what was going on and he gave an answer, ONE TIME. if you think it's all over the place, blame the media for blowing it up, not tracy.

    and what if he didn't say anything, you might assume that he is just quiting out there and tanking the season. to me he just is trying to explain the situation without giving up any real personal details, but that's complaining all over the place. despite the fact that what he said came from questioning at just ONE point in time. he isn't giving interviews to all these newstations, papers and internet sites. the media is blowing it up, not tracy, so why is he to blame for it?
     
  19. Aceshigh7

    Aceshigh7 Contributing Member

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    When Kobe was going through personal problems. He played even better because he said playing basketball was a release and he could focus on something other than his problems.

    T-Mac needs to do the same thing. This is an important stretch and he's letting the team down. Either take time off and don't play at all, or put that crap aside and play like your capable of. The T-Mac of the last few games has sucked pretty bad.
     
  20. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    If it is just a rehash of the same report, then you are correct. It still sounds like excuses for poor play.

    Everyone has problems, and yes, I don't think it is a coincidence that it comes right after his baby is born, and to an unmarried mother as well.

    Tmac is just going to have to suck it up and grow up and play. The problem with Tmac has always been that he folds under pressure, and he loses focus and looks for excuses, this sure sounds a whole lot like the Tmac that quit on Orlando.

    If Tracy wants to be an all time great he needs to just do it, and quit making excuses. I rarely recall the greats like Jordan, Bird, Magic, etc..etc..etc.. making excuses for poor play, but they clearly went through tough times too.

    Tmac, IMHO, needs to toughen up.

    DD
     

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