Does anyone remember what T-Mac looked like when he was still a superstar? It's kind of hard for us Rockets fans because we've watched every game of his gradual progression into his new body. Sure, T-Mac looks like he did last year, maybe slightly thicker, but if you really want to see what superstar T-Mac used to look like go back to those Magic highlight reels on Youtube or watch his playoff series against Dallas in his first year with us. He was a LOT skinnier! Since then, he's gotten more buff, but also slower. Honestly, if he looks just like he did last year, that's not enough, does anyone really want the T-Mac of last year back on this team? Whatever trainer he's with now had better tell him that he needs to lose some of that muscle so that he can get back the agility he's lost. T-Mac lost me as a fan with the Toronto game last year, and at this point I am only rooting for him to do well so that we can get value for him in a deal. But I still am rooting for him and would never root against him during his time on the court as a Rocket. Watching those videos...he's still not ready. He looks like Steve Slaton did in the preseason. Good job putting on muscle only to lose the one thing that got you to the league, your speed.
compare last years missed dunk to the this video from the 2008 season (during streak) 2/24/08 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KQk0QjTNII&feature=related 2/9/09 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Q7osjCQfw that alone should tell you that he was nowhere close to 100%...looked more like 60% of his former self. The crazy thing is, these 2 duinks were less than a year apart from each other...no way a player ages that bad in one year, from age 28 to 29...he wasn't healthy at all last year, yet he played 35 games on 1 leg, and still gave us a few good games in which we won.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycaZtejW4KE This was also during the streak, I believe. Very reminiscent of his Orlando days - I don't know why people are claiming it's impossible for him to be back. He's training with Tim Grover, the man who helped Dwayne Wade go from superstar to leading scorer. Even if I didn't have faith in McGrady, I'd have faith in Tim Grover, because he knows what he is doing.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4bGGlpkQi_w&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4bGGlpkQi_w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> this was also during the streak just a year apart from last year. look how high he jumped (his elbows were at the rim). he was hurt last yr. there's ZERO question about that. he played on ONE LEG. it wasn't a 100% decline in skills at all. if he can hold up and play, he will do fine. the ONLY way he'll suck as bad as last yr is if his knee can't take the pressure and he only has one leg to play on. other than that, expect a pretty good tracy next year.
TMac seriously need to loose some weight. In this video he looks almost as thin as the 04-05 season. I wish he could cut his body fat percentage down a few point and lose maybe another 10-15 pounds in the next few months or so. Right now he still looks clumsy and he really need to get his speed and jumping ability back to be effective. I almost don't want him to join the team at the beginning of the training camp, maybe it's more beneficial from him to train with Tim Grover than running drills with the team. He's been with this team long enough. Right now it's more about regaining his athletic ability other than getting familiar with his teammates.
I don't know if you have see the latest photos of him, but he damn is thin now. I'd even say he is thiner than in 2007/08 for sure.
A little off topic, but I'm not sure 360's are nearly as hard as they might appear. I'm only 5'9" and I can dunk, but not by some huge margin. Yet, if I can get a good enough grip on the ball, I can throw down a decent 360. Point is, I don't know if it's saying much that a 6'8" NBA player with large hands was able to pull one off after the whistle like that. Just an observation.
i will admit, he has got a lil thicker, but has being thin ever made him durable, i think this added muscle can make him stronger, and as long as he has the strength in his legs i think he will be fine. Although i would like to see him get rid of that gut he still has. What yall should do is compare t-mac now to how he looked when he chose louisville to win it all.
Durability is a moot point if your game when healthy isn't even worthy of being in the league. *cough* Steve Slaton *cough*.
the shape he came in the 07-08 season was his best EVER. the way he started the season was the best he started in his career until he had 2 freakish injuries (the laker game w/ the elbow, and then the bumped knees that caused his knee troubles till today). he wasn't too think nor too thick to start 07-08. i think he'll come into training camp in similar shape.
well, Jon Barry seemed really impressed by how easy Tmac made it look. But you at 5'9 being able to a do a decent 360 or even a 180 is impressive. I think Tmac just makes things look effortless at his height and length, similar to Julius and Drexler. But considering your point, how does a 6'8 player get hung on the rim on a break away dunk?? His left leg had no strength, no elevation at all. That should be proof...he had a 42-43 inch vertical in his prime. no probably had 1/2 of that last year...maybe even less.
He was obviously thinking about off which leg he should jump. Insecurity was a factor. He was not mentally stable to play good basketball.
everyone gets thicker as you get older...use john travolta as a example 20 years old: 30 years old: 40 years old: haha Tmac looks to be in great shape for a 30 year old. Lets hope he comes back strong and leads the team to the playoffs.........playoffs????.......again this year...GO ROCKETS!!!
No he didn't. He barely got off the ground and used his length to jam it home before Thomas got there to block it. That dunk might be one of the most overrated pieces of NBA video I have ever seen. It was lucky timing that got him that dunk.
He jumped off his right leg...the same right leg he jumped off of all season until the Bucks game. Most people dont get the same lift when they try to jump off their off leg. If you notice, you don't see many videos of Tmac jumping off his right foot and finishing left...this dunk was one of the few. Usually he would leap off both feet if he went left. But when he went right, he could really elevate off the left leg when he was healthy, and his length made it even harder to block. But vs. Milwakee, he had absolutely zero lift on the left leg, and thus the reason why he almost never jumped off it during the season...notice how often he drove left and barely got off the ground, and if he drove right, he was basically grounded.
I can agree with that. Sure, when you were watching the game live, it may have appeared amazing but in real life it was not. I can say it was one of the worst dunks I have ever seen. It was on a legit shot blocker and he posterized him, but as you mentioned he barely got off the gound. Btw, he didn't jump all year long. I am talking about last season.
