About McGrady The Player

As many of you know, i live in Toronto, nad since the emergence of the Raptors have been a fan of that team as well. As more of you know, Tracy mcGrady was originally drafted by the Raptors, and was my favorite player up till the time of his departure. Unpopular as it was at the time, I was one of the few who said that McGrady would be a better all around player than Vince Carter.

Due to this, and due to my continued interest in my former favorite Raptors player, I have probalby watched him play many more games than most Rockets fans, and moreover have seen him play at different stags of development, and in different roles. There are a few things about him as a player I have wanted to share, but waited until our acquisition of him seemed official. Doc Rocket's stamp is good enough for me, so here goes;


McGrady the Scorer

Despite the numbers, Mcgrady is a less natural dominant scorer than a Vince Carter. He doesn't have the shot or the attack moes of Air Canada, but is more of an all around volume streak scorer. This is not to say he isn't a dmininat scorer, as he obviously is, but he doesn't possess reductionistic qualities that by themsleves make him unstoppable. He isn't as quick as Iverson, as explosive as Carter, etc. What he does have is exceptional offensive endurance, a very diversified arsenal lacking a knock out weapon, and his overall basketball insitics are so highly developed that he scores by attrition and opportunism more than by domination. For his size he has a great 1st step, is as explosive as any below the very top, and often accomplishes a lot with a minimal amount of wasted motion. His outside shot is not that reliable; more of a hot and cold thing, but his medium range shot is pretty damn sweet, and inside he's a natural.

McGrady the Defender


this is one of two areas where he is, IMO, least understood. While in Toronto the comparison most evoked was to pippen, and this was due to his versatility and defense. He was an exceptional defender for a young player. Repeat, excpetional. Could lock down and shot down. Guarded every position, 1 through 5. Combination of length, quickness, athleticism and instincts were hard to match.

In Orlando, with Hill out and Duncan not coming, he was aksed to take on the role of dominant scorer, and it is a credit to his overall game that he did so with such success, but as is the case with many solo stars, it came at a cost. There has almost never been a player able to dominate as a perim player on offense without any real support, and sustain consistent effort on the defensive end. Carrying the load as a 2 or 3 on offense means having to beat 2 or 3 men, night in and night out, or work your way to getting it off to a teammmate, and those being inferior, often doing so for no gain. McGrady's defense predicably suffered as his offense garnered headlines. But make no mistake; this isn't a diamond in the rough defender who JVG might be able to mine...it's already there. He could do it today, if he needed to. Assuming the scoring titles haven't gone to his head, which is possible, he is a more natural fit as a dominant support player than as a lead option. A Pippen rather than a Jordan.

McGrady the All Around Player

The single reason I initially had McGrady over Carter, in the future, was that despite not having Carter's more deomnstrative athleticism and explosivness ( who does?) he had something even more important, and he had it in a physical package which trailed few other than his cousin: the feel. There are several other terms for it...instincts...basketball IQ...awareness, etc. Whatever you call it, he has it in spades. Listen to me on this: it is his greatest strength. The quality that Steve Francis lacked, that kept him from being a true superstar, Tracy McGrady has plenty. Even as a kid out of HS, physically unready for the rigours of the NBA game, and overmatched night after night when his coach did let him touch the floor, it was clear. He just seemed to be in the right place at the right time, again and again. You couldn;t draw up plays around it, you couldn't coach it, but you could count on it.

I predict that this, and not his athleticism, scoring, dunks, etc. will be the aspect that most real Rockets fans will find the most compelling, surprising, and refeshing. In this respect alone he's better than Dream, better than Clyde...better than most I;ve ever seen. They had better physical tools, but he has a better feel, is a more natural basketball player. You'll see.

McGrady the Teammate


In some ways he's very mature, in others not at all. He probalby had the makings of a mature kid if left to himself, but the (very) early exposure to the star life have also left him with a bit of a prima dona attitude. Not a problem player if things are going well, but not one to put them right if they're going wrong, either, and likely to look to himself if/when the going gets tough. Somewhat like his cousin, he has the talent of a team leader but not the personality. He's not going to be the cause of many issues, and his teammates usually like him pretty well. He is not a natural leader.

On the court he plays smart and pretty unselfishly if things are going well and the team is winning. He wants to win, and thankfully is one of those semi-rare young stars whose ego is as much wrapped up in team success as individual accomplishment, but if the team falters, his 1st instinct, possibly with some justification, might be to point fingers rather than look in the mirror. Of course, he's still very young, and this could change. And since leaving the Raptors he's had to carry more weight than he ever anticipated, and it's somewhat to his credit that in addition to personal agrandisment, every time he's wanted to move, it's been to places he thought he'd be with other great players rather than having the stage all to himself.

 

Sadly I am not the man to ask about computer video stuff, but I'm sure there will be plenty of links in here in the coming days.

 

Yeah, that fits. He likes the spotlight in spurts, but generally is more comfortable out of it. And he is not a leader, and probably never will be. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and is well spoken for a pro athlete. He likes to hang out and relax, and tellingly Pippen was his favorite player as a kd, not Jordan. But, agreed, we will need an Elie type if you feel that a team needs a strong locker room leader.

 

Well, I've met him, knew his ex, etc. and have several friends who either work for the Raptors or are Toronto basketball reporters.