The Magic organization did not do its part for T-Mac. They had some okay teams from 2001-2003, with hustle guys like Armstrong, Outlaw and Mike Miller, but Orlando did not have those guys last season. This is the same organization that brought in Lue to start? Lue is not even close to starting material and is barely an NBA player. If Lue starts for the Rockets, we will be in trouble. You have to question their knowledge when they replace Armstrong with Lue. That's a downgrade. This is the same organization that signed Howard when they already had Gooden. As result, Orlando had two PFs in their starting lineup. And had to play 3s that dont belong in the NBA.
I don't know much about hte coach firing or the blaming, but ican comment on his so-called defnsive problem. He was a KNOWN defensive player before he went to the magic. People KNOW he has the ability to play lockdown defense. Playing defense WEARS YOU DOWN. He's expected to score for his team, and if he played defense, how much would that have affected his stamina on the offensive end? The only solid scorers was howard and mcgrady. Everyone else were scrubs. He even said in his interview that he had to take care of the scoring, and playing defense wore him down. He still had his share of steals and blocks, even without playing defense. Continually bashing the magic organization? THey asked him to give them an answer way before the end of the season, and he gave them a list of teams of who to play for. He gave the magic options and didn't wnat to screw them over. After he got traded, how did the orlando press and organizations react? they said, "oh finally we got rid of that cancer"; "oh he's not our problem no more", etc.
pgarbiel...please stop "fabricating" things. McGrady did not get Doc Rivers fired. Doc Rivers has said it plenty of times that it was a decision that came down from the frontoffice. Please find me a article that says that McGrady got Doc Rivers fired. Doc and Tracy have always had a good relationship. Doc even had this to say about 'Mac this summer: Rivers said a better team could cure some of McGrady's problems. "You can get on Tracy," Rivers said. "What you can't do is get on him every day. It's very difficult to lose five games in a row and get on Tracy McGrady, and you know he scored 40 points the night before. A lot of times I would push Tracy to do something, and he would be like, 'What do you want me to do? I'm carrying the team.' To have to carry the offense and be the team's best defensive player is a load. I feel like if we would have had better talent, you would have seen a better Tracy McGrady." Rivers recalled a time in 2002, when Grant Hill looked healthy and performed well, and McGrady played his best. This makes him believe that putting McGrady with another star, preferably a big man, will help. "I've seen him when he plays with great intensity and energy in practice and games," Rivers said. "As good as we've seen in the NBA, you can count that times two. He's that good." Yes - McGrady did downgrade his teammates to a certain degree, and slightly went over a few bounderies when describing his help, but he never said "they suck" or "i have to carry their asses" like you suggest. McGrady downgraded them to the point that he kept bringing up the fact that some guys aren't doing their jobs. Comments in the AP like: "If you rebound, rebound. If you shoot, shoot. Some guys in there don't even remember plays. Some guys are whining about minutes. Just do what you have to do to help us win ball games." "Y'all think I'm happy about this? I came here to win. I never wanted to be a 30 point per game scorer. But I've been put in a position where I have to take 22-23 shots per game. That's why I don't understand this label of me being selfish. If I don't take it on myself to score, we don't win." A lot of people make it seem like McGrady isn't vocal. For a 23 year old, McGrady took more burden on himself than I have ever seen a player at his age. McGrady has the "tell it like it is" leadership quality - the problem is that McGrady was still just 23,24 years old getting on inexperienced players who were around his same age. Snippet of an article: Now, McGrady demands more of himself and thus can ask the same of his teammates. During a game against New York on Jan. 6, Tracy McGrady, The Leader, appeared. Throughout the season, he quietly had gained more authority for his effort in practice and determination. He no longer was leaning on skill. Then, on that night, he would play intense defense, only to watch the Knicks score because teammates were uninterested. During a timeout, McGrady exploded. "I'm not gonna be busting my [expletive] on the defensive end while you let guys duck in and get easy baskets on the other side!" he yelled. The Magic played better and won the game. McGrady left them no choice. After the game, guard Darrell Armstrong called McGrady over to his locker for a chat. Armstrong, so long the soul of this franchise, finally could declare McGrady the team's leader. "What you did tonight was unbelievable," Armstrong told him. Now, McGrady can win games without just scoring points. "Our team rides his spirit," Rivers said. "His cape can cover a lot of people." Over the years, these are some of the collected quotes from OrlandoSentinel Articles: When asked who to get the ball to when the game is on the line: "Me. I want the ball. I need the ball. I'll get the ball. They know who and where to pass to." "I don't feel pressure at all. Does this look like a face that feels pressure? Why would I fear something that hasn't even happened yet? Pressure is nothing but another oppurtunity to me." The biggest beef people have with McGrady is that he's cocky as hell. When you put comments down like that, it's only going to bring more of the criticizers out.
4shoposite, wow! Now that's a post! And a new guy, too. TMac isn't perfect, but he is close. He is going to put on a outside shooting display like hasn't been seen around here for some time, maybe never. Doubling and triple-teaming Ming will no longer work. Teams that do will get torched.
This same feeling is what I got after hearing TMAC on Funk Master Flex' TV show on Spike TV (see my signature ). If you heard him yourself you will know for sure that we are blessed to have him and that he will shine like a million stars come 2004/2005 season. I have always admired TMAC albeit from afar but now I can't wait for train camp to begin. Talking about selfishness, anyone whose idol and inspiration is Magic Johnson is not and cannot be selfish (see Lebron). QED. We are blessed.
Everyone needs to remember that if it weren't for the awful season for the Magic last year, we couldnt even dream about getting TMac. All these questions and supposed baggage just come with the territory of trading for a disgruntled player.
Exactly. Like I wrote in another thread, I actually think T-Mac is a better fit for Yao. I think when an offense is focused on a center, the better second option on a team is shooting guard. So actually think the offense has a chance to be a lot more fluid. But totally ignoring this guy's shortcomings is silly. Houston fans always set themselves up for big dissappointments. Just look at what's going on with the Astros. So while, we definitely got the better player in the trade, let's not forget why a team was willing to trade an obvious top 5 talent for a top 20 talent.
Not to mention, he's still playing with 3 of the guys he's had to carry for so long so that should be interesting to watch next season. I find it interesting that he was so ready to assign blame in Orlando everywhere but on himself when things went bad. This is key because he's moved to a team with an organization headed by another GM (CD) who has a checkered history of putting together a good team. It makes one wonder what his reaction here will be if the Rockets fall short in finding the right mix of complementary players to augment him and Yao. Do I believe that he quit on the Magic last year? Oh yes, he quit on that situation. I think the constant losing finally got to him and his ego couldn't stand the lack of success any longer. I saw the same thing happen up here with Alex (Pay-Rod) Rodriguez. It was killing him year after year to watch his good buddy Derek Jeter playing in the playoffs while he (Alex) was stuck on a team going nowhere. I think McGrady felt the same way watching Kobe in the playoffs while his Magic teams were stuck in the mud going nowhere. It's only natural for someone like McGrady to become disenchanted with what he faced in Orlando. Does all this make him a quitter? No, because he's far too driven to win to be considered a quitter.
litte doubt that he quit last year. kudos to the few posters willing to take off the Rocket colored blinders and say it like it is.
Calm down! I wasn't trying to be offensive. I was simply bringing up a fact that most likely will never effect us. (I think Sacremento is better without Webber).
