McGrady:'When did wanting to play become a problem?' Here's the answer [Chron:Feigen]

He needs to get atleast some of it back, and conditioning and more stuff will help.

He'll be fine as long as he isn't in any pain and can move well.

 

Some positive news

1) ariza says tmac can return to his "old self."

do you think he can? at least to 07-08 when he was all-nba 3rd team (on 2 injuries). i think he can be better than that.

(Getting back to that level would be an accomplishment. I would not rule it out, at all. That would take awhile and he does not have to be back at thatr level to play. -- Jonathan)


2) (I'm not sure what you are asking. I do think he will play again for the Rockets. I think he will play pretty well, too. The funny thing is that if he was not impatient, no one would question why he was not yet back. -- Jonathan)

3) When they checked the MRI results and said "no change", what does that mean? His knee still pretty bad?

(Nah, it's OK. It swells after workouts. McGrady's doctors told him to expect that. I'm under the impression that will improve in time. -- Jonathan)

4) (They don't give it a lot of thought. When he's back, he's back. That might seem to be something players claim, but don't really do, but the Rockets have become very conditioned over the years to ignore issues and just get ready to play. The evaluation of the team seems to be that he is not ready. I don't think that has changed in the past few hours. The statement from the doctor seems to indicate McGrady won't be back for weeks. -- Jonathan)

5) (I think Adelman gets tried of the topic. The Rockets don't consider McGrady to be a cancer. -- Jonathan)

6) "He looked good," Ariza said. "He looked better than what he did earlier in training camp. He's shooting the ball well. He's going to the basket. It's a little different (than going against McGrady in the past.) Once he gets a couple games under his belt, in game situations, he'll be good. He'll be back to what he used to be."

 

I really hope/wish this was the case. But we have some insiders on this board, and pretty much all of them have hinted at the organization/teammates growing increasingly tired of McGrady's act. I don't see what incentive they would have to paint a more negative picture that what is actually happening. On the other hand, its very clear why the Rockets would want to downplay any tension that might exist behind closed doors (and why Feigen, dutifully, would spread such a message).

It seems to me that the Rockets want to get rid of him because they consider his attitude and the drama that constantly surrounds him too much of an annoying distraction, and they don't think he's a reliable performer. They'll play him eventually if they can't find a trade partner, but are not in a rush to do so at this stage. In order to keep the trade prospects open and not create a more damaging situation, they are trying to put a somewhat positive spin on things.

 

Agreed...

 

FWIW (and apparently not much anymore), I asked Feigen what the odds are of T-Mac ever playing a game this season in a Rockets' uniform, and he said pretty much 100%.

 

But what motive do the Rockets have to talk down McGrady? If they want to trade him, they should say he's awesome. If they want him to be happy and stop the drama, they should say he's awesome. People seem to suspect that the Rockets are just nasty and T-Mac is nice or something. I think the truth is out there: T-Mac is right--he wants to play and he can play, but not at top form--and the Rockets are right--T-Mac is not all the way back yet. The soap opera drama is in everyone's head.

This is like General Hospital for dudes.

 

of course wanting to play, and badly, is not a problem per se. but there are certain rules you deal with things and deal with the people around you in this world.

i robbed that bank because i am poor and want to get rich. since when wanting to get rich becomes a problem, a bad thing?

 

But still point me to where I said he would return to old form?

You didn't directly but you saw fit to jump into an exchange between me and someone who did say that. Back-peddling now I see. I can't blame you for that.

Explain to me how disagreeing is whining. Thanks.

 

Not answering the question either I see.

Regarding Ariza, what was I wrong about. His 39% shooting percentage or his inability to handle the ball in traffic?

 

That he wasn't a good signing. He was. Worth the money, and getting T-Mac back will make his ball-handling duties disappear. You looked bad on this, especially early when he couldn't miss.

 

They are pros. Even if they got a problem with each other, they would try to solve it behind bars first.

 

we all know he can't do that. but you claimed ariza would be another shane battier (if i remember correctly, he woudln't be as good as shane). ariza is already on his way to be much better than shane ever was for a rocket.

 

The funny thing about of this is that, the fans who most likely will never meet the man are more worried about him than the players who have played with him. And please don't tell me that the players are saying that just to being saying that because that would make them liars. Scola today said complimentary things about what Tracy when healthy can bring to the team, the coach/GM have too before this crazy stuff. I don't care for implications, I focus on the statements made from trusted sources with support to draw my conclusions. If you tell me that they are just saying this, then what you are really meaning is that you as a fan accept being lied to. And I don't...

Funny how people choose to see things in way to serve their own purposes. And for all the people who like to use stats here, stats (quantitative data) can be manipulated too.

WE all need to relax some here. I'm glad that there is this much passion around our team but let's devote the negativity for non-Rockets for a change. And please don't become a blindly devoted fan either.

We need more talent/skill!!! Go Rockets!!! :grin:

 

see my signature. Bertrand Russell nails it big time .

 

Be honest. How old are you? 12?

 

Ooops, should've had an "s" on way. And I do like your sig!!

 

Hey mom, is that you?!!

 

Would it be possible that despite TMac in his contract year, the Rockets organisation may not prefer to play McGrady because his play in practice has been suboptimal to the point that his trade value would decrease dramatically?

Would it also seem that given the Rockets hadn't traded McGrady ever since his decline, they should probably be hoping to ride McGrady's contract out to the end of the year, since I suspect most other organisations would not give anything substantive for McGrady in Return?

 

The article also said that if Tmac returns healthy and plays hard, chemistry shouldn't be an issue at all. If that is indeed the stance of Rox management then Tmac playing on the team is a "when" not an "if"

 

I still think the money should have been used to acquire a big. Ariza and Battier ARE redundant just like I said they would be.

Is Ariza a better player than I thought? Yes, slightly. He is averaging 18ppg. I figured he would average around 12ppg but his efficiency is much worse than I expected also.
Is he a better shooter than I thought? No.
Is he a better ball-handler than I thought? No.

I said all along the guy was a good value but he didn't fill a major void this team had. I stand by that.

Why won't any of the McGrady fans out there answer my question about older players who returned from microfracture? Hmmmmmmm