I have seen T-Mac portrayed as a great defender and also as a player who plays little or no D. Which is it?
T Mac plays DEFENSE??? Wow, that's news to me. In fact, he publicly whined this past season about his inability to overcome the zone defenses that were thrown at him. In his defense, he had little or no help in Orlando last season so it was very easy for teams to concentrate their defenses on stopping him and hence, the Magic but he is not known to be a great defensive player.
I read that Larry Brown wanted him on the Olympic team so he could put him on the opponent's best offensive player. So, yes, he is a pretty good defender.
t-mac doesnt play defense 90% of the time. however, when he does play defense, hes really really good.
Yes he does. When he was with Toronto and Vince was the primary option, McGrady was always the defensive stopper who was assingned to the opposing teams best scoring threat. As Tonaaayyyy said, "he did lead them in blocks".
It's tough to be a great defender when you have to lead your team in basically every statistical category, but when he really locks down McGrady's a very good defender. He's long, quick, and has great instincts. The Magic, however, needed him to save his energy (and fouls) for the other end of the floor.
We're talking about his defense, not what he said about his offense. He has all the tools to be a great, not good, defender. I think JVG could really get the best out of him.
6'8, quick enough to defend guards, can block and rebound. the problem is he is forced to put so much energy into his offense because of orlando's lack of skilled players that he has nothing left on defense. its like how cat played great defense on kobe in the playoffs, but he had no energy left to score with. i think playing with yao might ease the pain of having to score 28ppg. JVG likes to slow things down, so guys can catch their breath after excerting a lot on defense. if tmac comes here he will be a very good defender. look at what jeff did with steve, mo, and boki in just one year.
If I remember correctly, he was also among the top ten in blocks in the entire NBA when he was with Toronto. Incredible for a shooting guard.
Van Gundy would have absolutely no interest in an athletic 6'8" SF/SG with long arms who can't/doesn't/won't play D. If a trade is ever made, bet your last buck McGrady will be playing lock down D. There was a recent article about him where he is quoted on the importance of D. Commitment is the first step.
Yep! McGrady would be transformed if he came here. Hey, Mobley was! While it's true that McGrady's ppg might drop a bit (26ppg?) but that would be at the benifit of a 6'8" defensive lock-down master! JVG would demand it!
Whenever Tmac would play the Knicks , he would abuse Allan Houston. He would block his shots without bearly jumping. when he wants to play D, he can be a force.
Tmac can play D if he want to. But the main reason if he will be brought to Htown is his offense in order to help Yao
