{YAHOO}McGrady has to shed loser label McGrady has to shed loser label McGrady has to shed loser label (SportsTicker) May 8, 2005 By Chris Bernucca SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - Throughout the first round of the NBA playoffs, Tracy McGrady would make an O with his index finger and thumb and extend his other three fingers whenever he made a 3-pointer. It was hard to tell whether McGrady was signifying the number of points he had just scored - three - or the number of playoff series he has won in his career - zero. Here's another hand signal that applies to McGrady: Make a fist, then extend the index finger upward and the thumb outward, creating an L. Loser. That's what Tracy McGrady has shown himself to be in the biggest games of his career. Whether it be with Toronto, Orlando or Houston - and you have to wonder about a player that good who already is on his third team - McGrady has come up woefully short in the only area that really, truly matters. "I am disgusted and I'm angry and all of that stuff, but at the same time, I'm not going to hang my head," said McGrady, now 0-5 in first-round series. "I'm 25 years old and I've got a lot more years in this league, and I will be back next year. I will be back next year." Getting back to this point isn't anywhere near good enough. McGrady has to get past this stage - perhaps a couple of times - to be considered something more than a 21st-century version of Dominique Wilkins. Yes, McGrady wins over the streetballers with his pass-off-the-backboard jams. In the grand scheme of things, they mean nothing and reveal that for McGrady, punking may be more important than winning. Yes, McGrady has won two scoring titles. Again, in the overall picture, what do those points mean if they are not being scored when it mattered most? Yes, McGrady is a top-five talent. But that is not anywhere near the same as a top-five player, which McGrady clearly is not. "In the basketball world, winning should - and does - hold merit over skill," said Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who is trying to teach Carmelo Anthony that valuable lesson. If you believe this is being a bit harsh on McGrady, let's examine his last three seasons: - In 2003, he won his first scoring title but was the leader of an Orlando Magic team that blew a 3-1 series lead and lost to Detroit in the first round. The collapse came after McGrady pronounced that he was "finally in the second round." - In 2004, he won a second straight scoring title, which was about all he won as the Magic were a league-worst 21-61. After forcing a trade to the Rockets, McGrady later admitted there were games with the Magic where he didn't give his all. - In 2005, he was the leader of a Rockets team that somehow lost a first-round series despite winning the first two games on the road, becoming just the third team in NBA history to squander that advantage. The clinching 116-76 loss was the worst Game Seven setback in NBA history. Does that sound like a winner to you? McGrady has been in two Game Sevens, losing both and playing well in neither. In Detroit in 2003, he shot 7-of-24. In Dallas in 2005, he shot 10-of-26. Saturday's setback was particularly galling. In his haste to grab control of the game, it squeezed through his fingers like wet clay, becoming messier and messier the harder he tried to hold on. McGrady missed seven of his first eight shots, putting the Rockets in an early hole that just kept getting bigger. For the rest of the game, coach Jeff Van Gundy was forced to use scorers who could not stop the Mavericks or defenders who could not dent the deficit. There was one point where McGrady could have tilted the game back his team's way. Houston had cut a 24-point deficit to 61-48 early in the third quarter and here was McGrady in the open floor with a chance to make the Mavericks nervous. But instead of going to the basket, he pulled up for a 3-pointer that clanged off the rim and sent momentum streaking the other way - for good. The Rockets trailed, 92-64, entering the fourth quarter, which McGrady watched from the bench, towel over his head, marking time until another concession speech. "I don't think any of us saw a picture like this," McGrady said. "I definitely didn't see that picture." It is not a pretty picture, and McGrady is not alone in it. Kevin Garnett used to be prominently featured. Grant Hill, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Pau Gasol and LeBron James are all in it, and Rockets teammate Yao Ming is working his way into it as well. When you are the unquestioned star and leader, you get virtually all the credit for your team's success. You also must accept virtually all of the blame for your team's shortcomings. It can be cruel but it is only fair, especially when you are raking in eight figures a year and don't know how many bathrooms are in your house. After Saturday's loss, McGrady even conceded that he knew he would be called a loser. However, he refuses to be called a quitter. "All of this that I'm going through, is only going to make me tougher," he said. "I will never fold, regardless of being bounced out of the first round for four or five years. I won't fold and I will be back." Until McGrady wins one of these, the extended index finger and thumb will be waiting for him. ________________________________________ The author of this article is a moron.
Well I didn't read the whole article, but I agree about this part: "There was one point where McGrady could have tilted the game back his team's way. Houston had cut a 24-point deficit to 61-48 early in the third quarter and here was McGrady in the open floor with a chance to make the Mavericks nervous. But instead of going to the basket, he pulled up for a 3-pointer that clanged off the rim and sent momentum streaking the other way - for good." I remember that sequence...I cringed when he took the 3 because I knew that all we had to do was keep taking it to the basket and keep chipping away, but Tracy decided to go for broke instead and it killed the momentum.
The most important part of the article? Neither McGrady, Van Gundy, Yao nor Carroll Dawson believes a word of it. The Mavs weren't better than the Rockets by 40 points. More like 2 feet. But then, to know that you'd have to actually do some critical analysis instead of just being critical.
wow this guy is a moron. clearly not a top five player? are you f@#King kidding me. these playoffs CLEARLY proved that he is. i don't think we got beat by a team we couldn't handle. it went seven games and for the majority of the series, we outplayed them.
I certainly hope that sports journalists make crappy money. Or maybe John Weisbrod wrote that under a penname.
HERE'S ANOTHER GEM FROM THE ORLANDO SENTINEL-- I'm a Floridian and everyone here agrees Mike Bianchi is a pompous ass. I think he forgot the Magic choked away their playoff spot , they were as high as the # 3 seed in the East for a little while.... http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...?coll=orl-sports-headlines&ctrack=2&cset=true Same Me-Mac goes meekly when it counts Published May 11, 2005 Mike Bianchi Now that Tracy McGrady is back at the familiar place where he always is in early May -- out of the playoffs -- Orlando Magic fans should take this time to thank General Manager John Weisbrod for sparing them an offseason filled with misery and malaise. Yes, thank him. Can you imagine where this franchise would be right now if Weisbrod hadn't traded Me-Mac after last season? The Magic would be out of the playoffs, Grant Hill would have ended a sixth straight season out with an injury and, worst of all, McGrady would be walking out of here as a free agent with the Magic receiving no compensation for him. The Magic may not have received equal value for a player of McGrady's status, but at least they got something decent. Steve Francis may be erratic, but he has value. He's a borderline all-star who plays hard, plays hurt and doesn't quit on his team a la Me-Mac. And, please, all you Me-Mac apologists, don't try to make the argument that a disgruntled McGrady could have been appeased if he'd only been allowed to stay this season and the Magic had made a run in the playoffs. Anybody who would gamble the long-term future of the franchise on a McGrady-led team making a playoff run probably also would wager his kid's college fund on UCF going to the Rose Bowl. In the biggest moments, Me-Mac comes up small. Tiger wears red on Sunday. If Me-Mac were a golfer, he'd wear yellow. How else do you explain his new team, the Houston Rockets, going on the road and taking a 2-0 lead against the Dallas Mavericks in their first-round series, then not only blowing the lead, but losing in Game 7 by, um, 40 POINTS! It's a good thing Al Davis doesn't own the Rockets. If he did, he'd have to change his motto to: "Just don't lose by 50, baby!" Of course, we've seen it all before. Remember when the Magic took a 3-1 series lead against the Pistons in 2003? McGrady then guaranteed victory, and the Magic proceeded to gag away the series. In Game 7, McGrady missed 17 of 24 shots and the Magic were annihilated 108-93. Certainly, McGrady is a great scorer, but he doesn't have that certain something the greatest players have -- the ability to elevate their teams to another level. McGrady is Peyton Manning. He puts up phenomenal numbers, but when the defining moment comes, he shrinks. If he were truly great, he wouldn't have an 0-5 playoff record. If he were truly great, he wouldn't have allowed his team to finish with a league-worst record as the Magic did last season. The last time the league's leading scorer was on the NBA's worst team was Neil Johnston in 1952. Yes, that Neil Johnston. McGrady has admitted publicly that he dogged it last year when he played for the Magic. He admitted publicly that he told Weisbrod he wanted out of Orlando. But, still, there are those who insist Weisbrod was wrong for trading him. Then again, these same people would be outraged right now if McGrady were a free agent. Can't you just hear 'em "Why didn't Weisbrod trade him while he still could?" The Magic couldn't afford to let McGrady bolt the organization as Shaq did in 1996. As a Magic official confirmed earlier this week, management would have looked like complete morons if team officials learned nothing from Shaq and allowed Me-Mac to also walk out of here without recouping anything. The fact is, the Magic and McGrady are in the same familiar place right now: At home, haplessly watching the playoffs forge ahead. But at least the Magic aren't also hopelessly watching their superstar leave them behind. Mike Bianchi can be reached at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Copyright © 2005, Orlando Sentinel | Get home delivery - up to 50% off
The only Florida sports article i'm going to read next is the one where they talk about Orlando losing their next superstar to another team.
I swear, sportswriters shouldn't be considered full-fledged human beings. They're more like some kind of devolved sub-species, closer to Neanderthals but with less brain power. Ook! Ook! The thing is, you know the second McGrady starts leading the Rockets to championships, all these writers that slammed him are going be like "Oh, yeah, we believed in you all the time, T-Mac! We were just, uh, trying to, like, motivate you 'cuz we knew how much better you could be. Yeah, that's right! Exactly!"
I see that clown Bianchi is still keeping the Orlando Media Propaganda machine rolling along. I think Weis-ass has some incriminating photos of Bianchi or something. Talk about denial!
Man, i feel for T-Mac. I know that he's earned a reputation in the past, so he's paying for it still...he'll always be labeled as a good scorer/player, but not winner until he goes further in the playoffs. But hey, at least he has love here in houston. I think as long as we show him love, he'll play hard for us. He gets love a lot of other places too...hence the jersey sales. Francis doesn't get hated on like that by the Houston media. Shows the class that the FLorida media has. First it was, aw man, we lost another great when we were up 2-0. Now they change their tune. Stupid...
I feel sorry for sports journalists who were too busy to watch a series but then write articles about it anyway.
Here was my email to Mr. Bianchi: "Can you imagine where this franchise would be right now if Weisbrod hadn't traded Me-Mac after last season? The Magic would be IN THE PLAYOFFS, POSSIBLY IN THE SECOND ROUND, AND BEGINNING TO ERASE MEMORIES OF PAST FAILURES." If you had any sort of professionalism or objectivity about you, this might have been how your article should have read. Of course, after the umpteenth Me-Mac reference you've used over the past year, I chose not to read the rest of the article. Face it- your GM stinks- that's the problem with the Magic. Him being an a-hole is the main reason McGrady called openly for a trade last year. He made the trade, which was downright stupid considering what he got back, he traded away the best player from that trade (Cuttino is, in the long run, better than Francis), he botched the Doug Christie situation, etc, etc. You implied this yourself in an earlier article- the Orlando Magic doesn't retain talent. Shaq, McGrady, Hardaway, Mike Miller, Cuttino Mobley- for every trade or lost free agent opportunity, you've gotten the worse end of the deal. So here's an idea- how about pointing the finger at the party who's truly responsible for the plight of the Magic? The people who RUN THE TEAM!!!!!!! Oh, by the way, continual cheap shots in the press have downgraded your status from a very good to a hack, 2nd grade writer. Sad. Regards,
Mike Flip Flop Bianchi/Orlando Sentinel I live in Orlando and last night I emailed that weasel Mike Bianchi and he returned my email this morning. It went like this: ME: "How can you live with yourself? Just six days ago you were lamenting the fact that the Magic let another great player get away and today you're writing that it was a great move????????? You have got to be the biggest hypocrite and flip flopping writer I have ever seen. I am embarrased to read your articles in our hometown newspaper. What happened to ethical journalism? Take a stand and stick with it." HIM: "That was another columnist David Whitley who wrote the T-Mac article a few days ago. Thank you for reading." His response was a complete lie. Him and Whitley both wrote that letting T-Mac go was a huge mistake. Here's the article http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...i27042705apr27,1,872813.column?coll=orl-magic THIS MORNING ON TALK RADIO (740 THE TEAM) HE WAS BLASTED BY CALLERS. It was so much fun listening to people calling in and saying what a joke he was. He had to defend himself from callers he were just insulting him. Even his cohost criticized him. It was awesome
The guy is an idiot. How can he call T-Mac, Me-Mac when Tracy averages like 7 assists a game, and loses game 7 when he doesn't get help from his teammates. It wasn't T-Mac missing open shots, or letting Dallas' supporting cast drive down the lane for easy buckets. All throughout the year, Tracy has praised his teammates and didn't even blame them after game 7. He is just jealous for what T-Mac is and mad that he didn't have faith in his teammates in Orlando.
judging by the other boards and chat services, most of the Magic fans are over the T-mac deal. Some even took up for the Rockets in the Mavs forums. This guy (and that lone ref that wants JVG fired) need to turn the page (everyone else has) !
This being the FIRST year with Tmac and the current Rockets team together, I'm happy with the results so far. Tmac was basically a part time point guard, arguably the best ball handler, and point guard on the team. All he did was handle the ball, make plays with the best of them, score for the team, and defend well. That's all, nothing special. Imagine if Tmac were not on this team. We'd royally suck. If Dirk was out with injury for Dallas, and Tmac was out for Houston, then Dallas would have swept us in 4. Our supporting cast is good, but not diverse enough. These critical writers need to let us get some pieces together for our team, and then we'll see what they have to say.
btw - I have a message for Yahoo - how about doing a story called "Steve Kerr has to shed douchebag label" !
It is OK guys, let hm call McGrady what they may, they are payed to "hate" and be controversial, that is why they are all such idiots. You saw what happened when JVG got into this mess, you heard/read how much poisoneous thoughts were thrown out there about the guy, who was considered before that to be one of the "model" coaches in the league (not a whiner, rarely complains to refs, takes a tech, or disrespects other coaches/players). From Walton and Bayless and others calling for his head to others, this is sadly the nature of the sports business now, writers/analysts are falling over one another trying to see who can be the most "sensational" in his remarks. It is amazing that the 3rd biggest recepient of MVP votes has been thoroughly DOMINATED (you can't be dominated/humiliated more than Dirk has been) and his team carries his ass to the 2nd round, not the other way around. Yet, McGrady was by far the best player in the series, doing it on ALL aspects of the game, not just scoring; in fact, his scoring was the third best thing he did this series, after his superb defense and his Kidd-like sharp passes that won games for us. T-Mac will keep going through this treatment from the media because, like it or not, he is just not liked by the sports media. They don't see him as the "lovable loser" Garnett is (KG won an MVP last season, and deservingly so), T-Mac is not "loved" or a media favorite like KG is. So when KG accomplishes the unthinkable (being the best in the West and going all the way to the WCFinals, only to come back the next year as one of the favorites to win it all, with the same exact core of players, and no even come close to making the playoffs), you don't read about him being a "perennial loser" or a guy who has accomplished so little with so much talent, etc. I am not saying KG deserves the blame, I don't think ANY single player deserves the blame unless he is doggin' it (not putting his best effort forth, win or lose). So KG didn't quit this year, he played his heart out, but his teammates didn't, so it dragged him down. McGrady and Yao played SUPERB in the series (averaging something like 53-55 ppg in the series, by far the best combo in the playoffs) but their teammates cracked in the 7th game, putting forth little/no effort or fight against a team that was ALREADY favored to beat us, so it leads to a 40 point blowout. Well, I will tell you this: I would rather make the playoffs and go to 7 games to the last end of the series and see my team at least putting up a fight against the best in the league, than seeing my team losing and losing and not EVEN being in the post-season (T-Wolves and Magic-like if you will). So bottomline: let the haters hate, there is nothing you can do about that, that is their job to be "sensationalist" azzholes, hoping to may be strike luck and be signed to ESPN and have their own show like Steven Azz Smith Seriously guys, we must be in the Dark Ages of sports journalism.
