To be honest with you all I did not know Tmac well when he was traded to Houston. I just saw him in one of those Adidas ads and he was athletic as one can be. And I re-watched some of his highlights in Orlando. Slowly did I learn about his offensive repertoire and I was stunned at that time. I can say I had moderate expectations because I did not fully know his game back then. I only knew he was more talented than Francis. I was following Yao. He did surprise me and then I got disappointed yet felt that he was a tragic character like those from Ancient Greek plays. He wanted to be like Grant Hill, ironically he went out with an injury as well.
I knew McGrady was a great talent and was happy we got him in trade, you can search my posts, i'm a 99er. He won me fantasy basketball. however, the failure was epic. Being a Hakeem era fan and seeing failure after high expectations over and over again, I woke up. I first wondered why the Orlando fans booed the living crap out of him, I didn't get it. But we got it, we understand. We understand when he goes on interviews and says he'd rather play with this player or that player. Tmac played for himself, he played well and hard until he checked out the last few seasons. Harden is healthy and plays for himself, but he's dependable meaning he's there and his offense is elite when on and we don't know how this story ends yet. I have some hope left. Barkley played for a ring, he was old and played his ass off against Shawn Kemp and Karl Malone
Yup sadly there are no stars or superstars that really wanted to play here because it is Houston and they live here. Like Old Camby (post Olajuwon era that is) Everyone is playing for the next big contract. Understandable and frustrating.
McGrady got a lot of cheers whenever he came back to Houston. He still comes to Rockets games because he loves this team. If Harden had half his toughness and character (for example, his gutsy performance in the 08 playoffs while very injured) we wouldn't be a .500 team right now.
Tinman, I respect you as a poster but this argument that Tracy was a bad guy because fans booed him makes no sense, many former & current players got/get booed when they play their former teams. Dwight gets booed almost unanimously when he plays in LA or ORL, its the nature of fandom, it doesn't mean the player is ALWAYS at fault. I know that T-mac most certainly went out in a disappointing way and didn't accomplish what we Rockets fans hoped he could and there's arguments that the roster was thin & we were jobbed in 04' against the Mavs etc. but I can certainly see both sides of the debate, but I have a hard time believing Tracy was a selfish player because up until his body gave due to injuries he competed on both sides of the ball on most nights, you can point to the Toronto game but don't forget about the game 6 against Utah in 08 when he was playing on a bad knee, shoulder, ankle and still dropped 40 pts 10 rebs although we lost due to Yao being injured and the Jazz having a deeper roster.
You have to criticize McGrady for his questionable interviews. Dude wanted to stay cool with this teammates and then saying he never played with a second superstar like Shaq or Duncan (that is true but not for him to say at that point) However, I do not think Tracy was an extrovert, he is thinking something else but trash comes out of his mouth. He was a trash talker. Harden does not talk... he is talking into his beard Both are not vocal on the court.
T-mac was booed because he was toying with the organization and being dishonest about his health. His fans here choose to absolutely ignore this fact. http://www.clutchfans.net/news/1545/the_day_t-mac_lost_houston/
I thought Tracy was a talker on the court and said what needed to be done. But when he quit his body gave up. Harden quits before he properly even peaked.
Man this is tough, but I'd have to say McLazy in this instance. Harden is the laziest turd I've seen on this team since Stromile Swift.
If I remember correctly he was getting second opinions whether or not to get surgery or continue getting alternative treatment so he can stay on the court, although I agree he could've communicated it much better with the team, he felt outcasted by Adleman at the time because even though he was participating in full practices, he was still not getting more than 10 mins of playing time. I distinctly remember against the Kings T-mac looked disgusted & kept his head down with a towel on it because he wanted more playing time, and when he felt he wasn't going to get mins he said screw it I might as well get surgery. I agree he was injury prone but I can't say that he was selfish, because any true competitor would want to be out on the court.
He wanted power over the coach and organization. They decided mutually that this wouldn't work out. I trust Clutch's articles because he watches every game for over 20 plus years.
You got it wrong... he was called McLady or Stacy more.. diva attitude sometimes. McLazy Eyes perhaps, first time I hear about McLazy
He is not Pinky and the Brain.... he does not want to control the whole world and the coach What you meant is he fought for his minutes, wanted control over playing time although his body was not ready.
http://espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4772672 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tracy McGrady left the Houston Rockets and returned home Saturday after being told by coach Rick Adelman that despite McGrady's wishes, his playing time would not increase.
To be fair, the first time I mentioned in the post but I was spying on Utah Forums where there was no Jazz you know Guess who named him that and they wanted to trade Matt Harpring or some guys for Tracy.... double lol
You are right this time, breh. Mac showed more heart, he was misunderstood. I think Harden will bounce back but it will take him couple of years or will die trying.
I could see Harden becoming Carmelo Anthony. Both made the WCF one year, but were not the leaders of the team. They were simply the best player on a team that made the WCF. After a few years of disappointment, both players force their way back home (Melo to NY, Harden will go to LA)
No matter how you breaks this down Tinman will never see it this way or some what agree to this either. I never in my life seen so much hate on one particular player by one individual fan. Things didn't workout as planned and the relationship between the Organization and McGrady was sour. But both parties have moved on and they're getting along tremendously well. I don't know why some fans can't do the same.
