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[ProBasketballNews] McGrady hopeful, yet back pain will always linger

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Omer, Aug 9, 2006.

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  1. Omer

    Omer Member

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    Saw this article on ProBasketballNews.com. Good to see that people are starting to talk about McGrady once again. There seems to be a slightly more optimistic view at least.

    ---------------------------------

    McGrady hopeful, yet back pain will always linger

    By Dennis L. Silva
    Aug. 8, 2006

    It was just a mere two years ago when Houston Rockets fans relished and relied upon the explosiveness of Tracy McGrady.

    After Houston had acquired the 6-foot-8 superman from Orlando, he infused a sense of purpose and energy into the franchise that had been missing since the days of Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley.

    He soared around and above defenders, utilizing such
    elegant grace with each and every move. He made
    long, ridiculous jump shots that grazed the tips of
    helpless foes but always seemed to find the comfort
    of the twine.

    He was the “Batman” to Yao Ming’s “Robin” in the 2005
    playoffs against Dallas, heroically sinking shot after
    shot but never receiving the consistent support from
    teammates -- support that would allow him to advance
    past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his
    career.

    And, now, it appears the days of a swooping, slinging
    McGrady are long gone, as he falls closer and closer
    to the demise of other potential greats such as
    Anfernee Hardaway and Grant Hill -- both supreme
    talents interrupted by the bitter plague known as chronic
    injury.

    For Hill, it was his ankle. For Hardaway, it was his knees that would hinder a prosperous career. For McGrady, it is the back that appears to have derailed him. McGrady missed 35 games last season, mostly because of his back troubles.

    He was missed eight games in the first half of the season following chronic back spasms. For the year, he tallied the worst shooting numbers of his career and averaged the least amount of points (24.4) since the 1999-2000 season, his third and final year as a Toronto Raptor.

    The more telling numbers lie within the basic statistics. Seventy-nine percent of McGrady’s shot attempts last season were jump shots. No longer was McGrady comfortable gliding to the basket, abandoning each and every defender in his path for a ferocious dunk. Instead, he was careful and less assertive, knowing that any wrong turn, any wrong fall would land him back on the injured reserve list.

    The back problems have lingered with McGrady since his days with the Magic. As far as the chronic aspect of his injury is concerned, Rockets trainer Keith Jones noted that it was more of a compression injury and not a structural issue. It was a bruise of the spine.

    The real concern is that, now, McGrady feels fine and healthy. After three months off, McGrady has been training and has stated that his back is “pain-free.”

    "Man the back was what, March?" McGrady said during an interview with a local Houston radio station in late July. "I am done with the back problems, officially over. I am healthy. I am proud to say that because it was a rough season last year, but yeah I'm healthy and ready to go. Thank God for another year."

    McGrady has returned to exercises that he aborted last season; exercises that were the reason for his being relatively injury-free during previous years. The fact remains, however, that chronic injuries do not go away, and Rockets players, coaches and fans will flinch whenever McGrady lands awkwardly.

    What frustrates the matter even more is the Rockets have done nothing to shore up depth behind McGrady. They’ve added unproven youth to the backcourt but have done nothing to upgrade the swingman position. Shane Battier will be rotating between the small and power forward positions and will be relied upon for defense, not scoring.

    At this point, McGrady’s backup seems to be 6-6 Kirk Snyder, an able athlete who has been an inconsistent shooter.

    Either way, the sooner Rockets fans realize that the days of McGrady leading the league in scoring are over, the better. Once upon a time, McGrady was an athletic jumping jack, never settling for jump shots and always on a mission to drive to the basket -- and either score or get to the free-throw line.Today, McGrady seems content to shoot jump shots from all angles, which means that his length and height, while still a valuable asset defensively, becomes a mute point offensively.

    Now more than ever, this is Yao’s team. McGrady, by default, has been relegated to the secondary scorer, as he can no longer take the bruising and pounding of drives into the paint.

    He can no longer exhort fans with his explosiveness.

    Dennis L. Silva is a regular contributor to probasketballnews.com. He can be reached at dens043@yahoo.com.
     
    #1 Omer, Aug 9, 2006
  2. Rox_fan_here

    Rox_fan_here Member

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    Good find Omer,

    However I have to disagree with your "optimistic view." That article appeared to be one of the most pessimistic views of T-Mac I have ever read.
     
    #2 Rox_fan_here, Aug 9, 2006
  3. DonkeyMagic

    DonkeyMagic Member
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    yeah, the writer makes a few jabs.

    what i find funny is that, yes tmac has sat out games before in orlandowith back spasms. But, wasnt he still logging over 40 min a game and 70+ games ?(i may be a bit off, but i dont feel like going to look it up now). Wasnt he completely fine the year before last season?

    I do agree that anything dealing with the back is a sensitive situation (esp. after the sura experiment) but has there really been any proof that tmac has a degenerative back problem? or that he has structural damage?

    Its hard to tell what is a legitimate medical concern or what is just fan and media over exaggeration of the situation
     
    #3 DonkeyMagic, Aug 9, 2006
  4. MR. MEOWGI

    MR. MEOWGI Contributing Member

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    This was posted already. I know.. no search...
     
    #4 MR. MEOWGI, Aug 9, 2006
  5. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    I think McGrady watched Dwayne Wade and all the calls he gets and is ready to take advantage of the new NBA and the lack of hand checking.

    DD
     
    #5 DaDakota, Aug 9, 2006
  6. JeopardE

    JeopardE Member

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    Bleh. He can't even spell "moot" correctly. And optimism? There's more FUD packed into this thing than an Al Gore graduation speech.
     
    #6 JeopardE, Aug 9, 2006
  7. DaGlide

    DaGlide Member

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    Dennis Silva, what you've just written is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent article were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this message board is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
     
    #7 DaGlide, Aug 9, 2006
  8. Rocketball

    Rocketball Member
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    You gotta love the Billy Madison quotes.......granted that could actually be used on a majority of posters in this bbs.......outside of myself, of course.
     
    #8 Rocketball, Aug 9, 2006
  9. rrj_gamz

    rrj_gamz Member

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    Yeah, what's up with the no search nowadays...

    btw, I'm confident T-Mac will have a great year, as will Yao...We beat Dallas and then win the title... :)
     
    #9 rrj_gamz, Aug 9, 2006
  10. Jeff

    Jeff Clutch Crew

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    Where do I know that name? Dennis Silva? That sounds ridiculously familiar.

    On the article, what a piece of crap. He takes one quote from T-Mac saying his back is 100% healthy and then writes an entire article telling us why it won't stay that way. Thanks for your commentary, Dr. Silva.
     
    #10 Jeff, Aug 9, 2006
  11. Guru

    Guru Member

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    That's not enough...hopefully we'll beat dallas in the final game by atleast 41 points...
     
    #11 Guru, Aug 9, 2006
  12. JamesC

    JamesC Member

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    I've never heard a consistant story about McGrady's back other than he has pain. .
     
    #12 JamesC, Aug 9, 2006
  13. TxTchRT41

    TxTchRT41 Member

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    Look through the members, he's a member of this community.
     
    #13 TxTchRT41, Aug 9, 2006
  14. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    He posts here, IIRC, so I'm sure he'll retort.

    Actually now that I think of it he wrote game recap articles and would post them every so often, I forgot his moniker but it was Rocket___ something, I think. If I had search I'd dig em up.
     
    #14 SamFisher, Aug 9, 2006
  15. Rasselas

    Rasselas Member

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    If Silva's insight is on par with his copy, I'm not worried.
     
    #15 Rasselas, Aug 9, 2006
  16. OddsOn

    OddsOn Member

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    This is a classic "its the offseason and we have nothing else to write about" type of story. Its like brining up the lack of black players in baseball, its been played out and not really a legitimate issue but it always seems to muster a response...
     
    #16 OddsOn, Aug 9, 2006
  17. yaoza ming

    yaoza ming Rookie

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    What are the chances of us winning the title before Dallas does?
     
    #17 yaoza ming, Aug 9, 2006
  18. thewaterox

    thewaterox Member

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    I agree. You never hear any concrete medical diagnosis of what T-Mac's real back problem is. I'm sure the organization is tight lipped about it because they know T-Mac's trade value could be zero if he has major issues and it got out around the league.
     
    #18 thewaterox, Aug 9, 2006
  19. tmac

    tmac Member

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    The headline is so conclusory and very well may be right, but it is unsubstantiated by the rest of the article. This article reads like it was written, then the quote from McGrady was plugged in at the end without adjusting all the text around it. That's why that quote sticks out like a sore thumb. A sore thumb pointing at the author's laziness.
     
    #19 tmac, Aug 9, 2006
  20. BigM

    BigM Member

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    agree with jeff, terrible article.

    right now, no one knows exactly what t-mac is capable of. looking at his entire career, last year was an abnormality not the norm, and there was more going on with tracy then just the back. i'm not going to look at just that small sample and say t-mac is strictly a jump-shooter now.

    he's still a very young man and a little over a year ago he was as athletic and explosive as he ever was. if he continues his rehab and stays pain free, his attacking ability is still very much present.
     
    #20 BigM, Aug 9, 2006
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