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[Florida Today]Davis upset by McGrady's lack of effort comments

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Yaowaming, Jan 9, 2005.

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  1. Yaowaming

    Yaowaming Contributing Member

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    [Orlando Sentinel]Me-Mac confirms to SI what we already suspected

    http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...n10,1,238038.column?coll=orl-sports-headlines

    Me-Mac confirms to SI what we already suspected
    Published January 10, 2005



    It wasn't really a revelation, and worse, it will come with regret.

    Tracy McGrady said publicly what we all knew: He didn't always try his hardest last season when he played for the Magic.

    McGrady will now be remembered as a dynamic player -- and quitter. It's a stain on his career that maybe only can be erased by winning a title.

    McGrady told Sports Illustrated that he was so defeated mentally by the losing that "some nights I did slack off."

    He added, "I'm not going to sit here and say I played my hardest every night."

    T-Mac also said he wanted to lead the league in scoring so his image wouldn't "collapse."

    It's already taken a considerable hit.

    Tracy, Tracy, Tracy.

    All he did was confirm Magic General Manager John Weisbrod's reasons for trading him to the Houston Rockets. When his SI comments were relayed to Weisbrod, Weisbrod feigned surprise and said, "Really?"

    Said Magic Coach Johnny Davis: "It saddens me to hear those kind of comments."

    I like McGrady. He's one of the most gifted and intriguing athletes I've ever covered. He's a writer's dream and a public-relations nightmare.

    It's one thing to know the truth deep in your soul, but why not keep it there and work to exorcise it? Hasn't Tracy or any other athletes learned from, say, the public foot-in-mouth pratfalls of Randy Moss and Latrell Sprewell?

    I'm not about to sit here and say I tried my hardest every time to talk Tracy out of saying something silly or injurious. At times, it just didn't matter, the drama junkie that he is.

    Besides, there's a Charles Barkley speak-your-mind bad-boy side to T-Mac. For the most part, as Weisbrod said, "He's a good kid." Listen, and you can hear that kid.

    "Some nights I did slack off -- and I knew that was a terrible thing to do -- and I still was slacking off," McGrady told SI. "That feels so bad. And I'm the leader, these guys are following my lead, so the whole team suffers even worse. That was wrong. Now I would do it differently. I learned. I have to bust my butt no matter what. Last year was the worst experience of my life. And I learned. And believe me, I'm grateful for this opportunity here [in Houston]."

    Fans play rough

    Magic center Mario Kasun just shrugs when talking about the Pistons-Pacers brawl. "That happens all the time overseas," he said. "They're crazy."

    A native of Croatia, Kasun played the last two seasons in Germany. He says he has been hit by coins, car keys, cell phones and other debris thrown by fans onto the court.

    "I was in-bounding the ball and a guy hit me with a flag he was waving, right in the head with the stick," he said. "It almost knocked me out."

    Caught on tape

    Speaking of basketbrawls, a civil suit is being filed against former Magic forward Don Reid, according to David Oliver of Greenberg Traurig, P.A. Reid was charged with second-degree assault by the Seminole County State attorney.

    Reid, 6-feet-8 and 250 pounds, allegedly slammed his 5-10, 160-pound business partner on a concrete floor and punched and kicked him. Oliver said the incident was caught on tape, a security camera recording the incident in Longwood two months ago.

    Steve-O's home-court

    Scoop Dog: Magic guard Steve Francis has purchased a home in Orlando, but it's largely unfurnished. "I got a bed, that's about it," he said. . . .

    Scoop Dog II: Magic assistant coach Clifford Ray will look into coaching in the European Championships this summer.

    And Magic assistant Paul Westhead's wife attended her first Magic game at home last week since having a heart attack just before Christmas.

    Missing crutches

    After hobbling on crutches for most of the first four seasons, you'd think Magic forward Grant Hill could open a used medical supply store out of his home.

    There were all kinds and sizes of crutches at various times. But Hill said they have all mysteriously disappeared.

    "I really don't know where they all went," he said. "I didn't throw them out, but they aren't around anymore. Probably just as well."

    Hmmm. Sounds like the work of Hill's wife.

    Popcorn and a video

    Davis and Magic assistant coach Ron Ekker have eaten a lot of pregame popcorn together while studying defensive videotape. Ekker, 62, said it was Davis' intervention that has made a difference recently.

    "Johnny took a stronger lead with it," Ekker said. "When the head coach puts a stamp on it, that makes a big difference to the players. It isn't like football where you have such defined lines. The same guys that play defense are playing offense in basketball."

    Davis has known Ekker since he was a high school senior in Detroit. Ekker tried to recruit him when he was head coach at West Texas State.

    They got next


    Wednesday -- Magic at Minnesota Timberwolves. The T-Wolves are a mess. And Latrell Sprewell has a family to feed.


    Friday -- Magic at Detroit Pistons. Grant Hill said he'd return to his old stomping grounds. He just never thought it'd take five years.


    Saturday -- Magic at Indiana Pacers. The first time the Magic beat the Pacers they had an assist from the commissioner. (Three Pacers were suspended for brawling.) David Stern can't help the Magic stop Jermaine O'Neal now.

    The last word

    "That's what comes with this package. If they don't like it, I can't really do anything to change that. That's the personality of Steve-O." -- Francis, after picking up a technical recently for protesting a call.

    Brian Schmitz can be reached at bschmitz@orlandosentinel.com. He can be heard each Wednesday night on AM 740 The Team with Jerry O'Neill and The Shot Doctor. Join him this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights on the Magic's television pregame shows on WRBW, UPN-65.
    Copyright © 2005, Orlando Sentinel | Get home delivery - up to 50% off
     
    #1 Yaowaming, Jan 9, 2005
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2005
  2. Man

    Man Member

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    Hmm..I don't think Steve and Cat..I don't think a lot of players try hard all the time.
     
    #2 Man, Jan 9, 2005
  3. smoothie

    smoothie Jabari Jungle

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    he wants to win and the losing got to him. if you show up to a game and you KNOW you have no chance to win, then you go down by 10 early, and you already have seen this 60 times before in the same season...would anyone here really be diving for a lose ball?
     
    #3 smoothie, Jan 9, 2005
  4. Davidoff

    Davidoff Member

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    HAHAA, I love how Weisbrod acts as if he isnt partly to blame... He could have made trades, cut people, sign people from the CBA.. DONE SOMETHING to make it better there...



    And if it was sooooo apparent that T-mac was a slacker and didnt work hard why wasnt he ever benched??? Other people get the bench for lesser things... I hate when people cant take part in the blame when they are IN CONTROL of a situation ( I AM LOOKING THE WAY OF THE GM IN ORLANDO)

    I wonder how Weisbrod would act if we had talked bad about Steve after the trade and how he just doesnt have the baketball IQ to lead a team, all the heart in the world wont makeup for that... And what if we talked about how Cat liked to party way too much and came to pratice late...:rolleyes: I think Weisbrod thinks he is on a soap opera and needs to spin the fact he had to trade a better player for a lesser one... I know he wasnt the GM when Shaq was there, but Shaq did the samething in wanting to leave... It could have something to do with the management there, not just players getting hurt...
     
    #4 Davidoff, Jan 9, 2005
  5. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    I absolutely hate the fact that that b*stard Weisbrod keeps knocking down T-Mac when he should be kneeling down and kissing his feet for being as gracious as he was with him.

    Why do I say that? Because T-Mac went out of his way to accomodate the Magic in letting them know he was leaving for good, because he wanted to win and the MAgic were clearly making no efforts to improve the team around him after knowing Hill would likely never play again (he is now, but that was a reasonable assumption). Simply put, they were satisfied with using T-Mac as the vehicle of ticket sales and other marketing purposes. T-Mac recognized that, and soooo many people forget that the years before "the tanking" of the Magic, T-Mac led a crappy team three times into the playoffs, Doc Rivers got coach of the year honors because he took a bad team to a pretty decent record, not once but THREE times. And the Magic forgot that. Read this Doc Rivers bio to see how those teams were described:

    http://www.nba.com/coachfile/doc_rivers/

    Instead of thanking T-Mac for not pulling a "Shaq" on them and ruining their franchise for years to come, this is how "weisass" responds by showing his gratitude.

    T-Mac is a good guy, if he wasn't and he hated his team soooo much, he would have been bitter and just gone through the last year in Orlando and opted-out of his contract and bolted elsewhere.

    That freakin' idiot apparently does not get that. If T-Mac was not giving his all to the team, then how the hell did the crappy Magic make it to the playoffs consistently with a guy who had no heart, no commitment, and no care in the world? I think the facts directly contradict that BS being spread by Weisbrod.

    But again, usually if you get so much hate from someone, then you know how good you were and how much they wanted you to stay. I think the death threat Weisass got was a testament to that, you didn't see the Rockets fans sending death threats to CD or Les over the trade that they pulled, did you? In fact, you saw nearly 3000 fans show up and cheer like hell for the guy, almost bringing him to tears.

    It is time Weisass got over himself and his ego and stopped firing shots at T-Mac, if he really did not care that much about him, then why does he bring him up in every conversation and comment he makes? It certainly reeks of bitterness and a sense of loss that he feels. I can tell he is "ecstatic" about his new team! :rolleyes:

    --Tiger
     
    #5 tigermission1, Jan 9, 2005
  6. JumpMan

    JumpMan Member
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    IIRC Weisbrod got there in March 2004 or February 2004 before him it was John Gabriel, the season was a lost cause before Christmas. He didn't trade Francis for McGrady.
     
    #6 JumpMan, Jan 9, 2005
  7. gotoloveit2

    gotoloveit2 Member

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    Wow, we are DOOMED! Both of our superstars are actually girly man. ;)
     
    #7 gotoloveit2, Jan 9, 2005
  8. Gummi Clutch

    Gummi Clutch Member

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    they are still sour???

    I cant remeber the last time our paper dissed Stevie.

    I guess there aint a whole lot to talk about in Orlando.
     
    #8 Gummi Clutch, Jan 9, 2005
  9. steddinotayto

    steddinotayto Member

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    If you couldn't see that TMac basically mailed it in when the season was lost last year, you're absolutely blind. Davis should hold onto his comments until he sees what Francis and Mobley can do without Hill and Cato.
     
    #9 steddinotayto, Jan 9, 2005
  10. MLittle577

    MLittle577 Member

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    *shrugs*

    A coach should always disappointed to hear a player not giving full effort, even if you do know it, so I can't blame Davis for being upset.

    It's not like Davis came out and said okay, we're playing the Lakers and we have no chance so lets run this one play all night long because it's useless to try anything else because we're gonna lose anyway.

    Tracy is a Rocket and I will cheer for him regardless, in fact I spent a good amount of my own hard earned money to be able to get good seats at the Mavs game Wednesday night, BUT hearing that as a coach would be disappointing.
     
    #10 MLittle577, Jan 9, 2005
  11. Just B

    Just B Member

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    That's because Steve left on good terms and hasn't talked bad about the Rockets franchise
     
    #11 Just B, Jan 9, 2005
  12. pippendagimp

    pippendagimp Member

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    even a half asleep tmac has twice the court awareness of a wide awake francis :)
     
    #12 pippendagimp, Jan 9, 2005
  13. JumpMan

    JumpMan Member
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    A wide awake Francis wins more than a half asleep T-Mac. :)

    Hopefully T-Mac leaves that attitude behind him, he's too good to be a quitter his whole career.
     
    #13 JumpMan, Jan 9, 2005
  14. francis 4 prez

    francis 4 prez Member

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    well judging by their history, they'll at least play as hard as possible.


    and i agree with MLittle577, he has a right to be disappointed. it sucks if someone isn't giving it their all for the team.

    but i also agree with smoothie that it wears on you and would be hard to go completely all out when it's already hopeless and all you're playing for is the #1 pick, which requires more losses anyway.
     
    #14 francis 4 prez, Jan 9, 2005
  15. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    esp considering . . . .T-mac's money and job were gauranteed
    but Davis could have lost his job behind T-mac's lack of effort

    Davis may feel T-mac sandbagged him
    Hamstrung him. . .

    That is not the kind of thing u want from someone
    u thought u was cool with

    Rocket River
     
    #15 Rocket River, Jan 9, 2005
  16. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    Anytime Tracy does something questionable, just mention Steve's name and it will magically go away.
     
    #16 pgabriel, Jan 9, 2005
  17. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    always

    Rocket River
     
    #17 Rocket River, Jan 9, 2005
  18. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    Yes, What is that quitter T-Mac doing to our team right now is just sickening! 45 points against Denver?!! What a F****** quitter :p

    --Tiger
     
    #18 tigermission1, Jan 10, 2005
  19. Hippieloser

    Hippieloser Member

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    So... it took only a fraction of TMac's effort to win the scoring title? :confused: Gaww DAMN!!

    The Magic should just be glad that TMac was putting asses in seats in Orlando last year. If your "team" has no chance of meaningful success, than a scoring title is about the very, very best you can hope for.
     
    #19 Hippieloser, Jan 10, 2005
  20. Davidoff

    Davidoff Member

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    I think its safe to say T-Mac will be the first player to go over 20 a game for a season under JVG... I think YAO will also after next year as well..
     
    #20 Davidoff, Jan 10, 2005
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