How do you know anything about McGrady's work ethic? Do you live with him? Do you have one on one access to his personal trainer? How do you know he didn't work hard enough to get his knee in shape for the season? History has shown us he's a slow healer. Could it be he just rushed back because he was so excited to play with this fantastic squad? Could it be his eagerness to contribute F-ed up his knee even more? Just because adidas doesn't advertise TMac's training like Kobe's, doesn't mean he doesn't work hard. If McGrady trained like Kobe, his body would've probably broken down 4 years ago. The guy knows what he's doing and I know he's going to come back strong next year for our championship push. Till then, don't act like you know TMac. I know he wants to come back strong and I'm sure his rehab will pay dividends next year.
Yes the lord did bless him with amazing athletic ability, but you don't got from avg. 7 points a game to over 30 without hard work I just don't see it. We all know as of right now Tracy can't play with the best of them but there was a time where he could. And just because you have amazing athletic ability doesn't mean you will turn into a great player like Tracy once was. Just look at players that have all the talent in the world but still aren't able to become great players, now thats what you would call not working hard.
When Tracy McGrady comes back next season (I'm assuming here) I wonder what type of reaction he will get if he plays near his pre-injury form. How many here will quickly change their tune about his heart and work ethic? Just wondering. I think alot of times our perception about the intangibles of a player (work ethic, heart, leadership, etc.) are based more on how well they play, rather then first hand observations of these traits. We can't get out of the first round so obviously he has no <heart, soul, etc.>. I have no idea what T-Mac is like in the Rockets locker room, or how hard he works at practice, etc. I'm willing to give the man a chance to come back.
Although quite a few NBA players had similar surgery before, but each of them are different, hence you hear players came back within a couple months & still play at the high level, you also hear players who came back, but never be the same. Of course, there are a few cases, the players never made it back. So, no one knows this for sure but TMac, and the doctors to a less degree.
That actually is true in many cases, as doctors tell you that each individual is different, and react differently to the same injury, same surgery. Only the patient himself knows how it feels.
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Amazing what injury and a contract year can do to motivate people. I hope he gets healthy and the Rockets trade him for some talented pieces that fit into a team game better. DD
or maybe he just came up with the conclusion that the trainer he had at the moment was not the best option for him and moved on to a more highly-recommended trainer?
^ that's wade working out with grover this past offseason...i notice Grover [ays a lot of attention to muscle balance, not just doing the reps but also doing it evenly, and working each side individually from the other, etc. a lot of the general population has issues with muscle imbalances and they dont even know and athletes are no different.
I guess after 11+ years he finally got a good one? Maybe now he can learn how to be an efficient scorer.......nah that is asking too much... DD
tracy didnt have injuries for 11+ years. and you dont know the how he will perform in the future, so you just have to sit and wait. i am confident tho if you put tracy in this current roster we would see better numbers for him because he and yao would not have a lot of the weight on their shoulders ince our role players have stepped up tremendously over time
Your easily becoming the ignorant Tmac hater who now also sounds like an idiot...its not like he's diagnosing himself with diabetes or something. He simply said that the pain in his knee was unbearable, which was probably the truth. If you told me you had a headache or your knee hurt, how would I question that? I don't have your body, I don't have your health history. Any doctor would not question it. They would try to find a reason for what was causing your pain, but they wouldn't say, "you're lying about your headache or your knee pain". To respond to your comment about Barkley, He came in the league at 270 lbs. In his prime, he was a lean 250 lbs. He also averaged a high # of rebounds per game at 6'4, he also averaged 20+ ppg throughout his career. You don't do that without hard work. Being around Moses Malone and Julius Erving made him understand what it took to be hard worker. He was notoriously known for gambling, talking his a** off to the media, messing with mascots, and having a great time on and off the court. That doesn't mean he didn't work hard. You are assuming he didn't work hard. Kinda like Rush Hour when Chris Tucker assumed Jackie Chan didn't speak english, just because he came from a foreign country, but he didn't know that for a fact. I believe God can bless you with certain gifts, but nothing in life comes easy. You still gotta do your part. Your favorite player Corey Maggette was gifted with plenty of talent, but apparently, he hasn't amounted to much in the NBA. I can give you a list of players who have severely underachieved in the NBA. To be a super star in this league, it takes hard work. There are no shortcuts. Even steroids or other performance enhancing drugs wouldn't do you much good in the NBA, as it would in the NFL or MLB. To perfect skill, it takes hard work. Steve Francis was a talented player, but he was only talented for about 5 years, but he was still talented. Bernard King was as rare a talent as you would find, but he was only able to put together a handful of seasons together that were great because of knee injuries. Tmac had 7 years as a top 10 player in the NBA, Top 3 wing player. Until proven otherwise, his career still isn't over. If we were comparing durability, it would be no contest...Kobe has Tmac beat by a mile. Does that mean Jordan was THAT much better than Dream, because Dream had a long history of injuries. He was very talented, but he just couldn't stay healthy the way Jordan did. I know Jordan is more talented, but if we used your logic, it would be an insult to compare Dream to Jordan in terms of talent. All I'm saying is, whether you like Tmac or not, you cannot deny that he was a damn good talent on the court. He did things with a basketball that most people could only dream of. Why did every sports writer in the nation compare Tmac and Kobe back in 2000 to 2003? Before Lebron and Wade, it was Tmac and Kobe who were the class of NBA wing players. Nobody ever said Tmac is more talented than Kobe, Lebron, and Dwade...that wouldn't be true. Maybe his 2002-2003 season could be comparable to Kobe's 2006 season, or Lebron's 2006 season, or Wade's 2009 season. But Tmac is not more talented than them, he was on the same level with them for a few years. Even after injuries took away a lot of his athleticism in 2007, he averaged 24 ppg, 7 rpg, and 6apg. While Yao was out he averaged 28 ppg during those 32 games. Lets not mention he still has the 4th highest playoff average of all time. That my friends, takes talent. He has become a volume scorer, you are right about that, but its not like he doesn't impact the game without scoring (just look at the 22 game win streak). He isn't A.I., he's just a less efficient and less explosive version of Kobe, Lebron, and Dwade now. But back in 2005, he was still on their level, there is no denying that.
20ppg on 45+% shooting? That is pretty darned efficient...way better than Tmac. I will give you that he was a top 10 player, but not a top 10 winner, and his faults cause him to fail in the playoffs, because he does not trust his teamates at crucial times...it is a character flaw in his game. Did you bother looking this up, or are you just talking from memory, because Jordan missed nearly an entire season with a broken foot, Hakeem had some minor stuff, like a broken orbital bone, and some small knee stuff, along with some questionable anemia, but I think you missed the boat on this one entirely... That was over 6 years ago.....all I care about is THIS Rocket's team...I could give a rats butt for what he did in Orlando. Here, he was happy dominating the ball, but as soon as the team around him got better, he whined about his touches....unless he has a change of heart and comes out as MR Team, instead of Mr. Tmac...then I don't want him here in Houston. The fib that Tmac raised his game in the playoffs has been debunked far too often, basically he played more minutes and took more shots...but his efficiency went down. Conversly someone like Dream got BETTER in the playoffs in all areas.....efficiency is what I look at, not PPG. I just hope some sucker will fall in love with what he used to be and take him off our hands for draft picks and some good NBA talent that is willing to work within the team concept. DD
uhhh not to sure what this thread is about anymore, but what ever his recovery time is make sure he completes it all! No coming back early "to help the team". Because Tmac with a chip on his shoulder and playing for a contract is dangerous. If you exclude this year Tmac has always been dangerous. So hate while you can (and there are plenty of reasons to hate him this season) because I have a feeling we wont have much to complain about next year.
You still defending your boy Corey Maggette...wow. I agree efficiency is important, but ultimately talent>>>efficiency. How many all star games and winning seasons has Corey Maggette had? After that 2nd season, how many games did Jordan miss? Hakeem didn't have major injuries, but he was hurt more frequently, even to a point where the Rockets crossed the line, and questioned the credibility of his injury. How did I miss the boat on this, when you question Jordan's durability, even though he was one of the most durable even at age 35. He doesn't trust his teammates?? I wouldn't trust Luther Head, Rafer, Ryan Bowen, Weatherspoon, Deke, etc. The only guys I would trust on the Rockets would be Yao, Scola, Battier, and Artest to take a clutch shot. When your teammates have failed you as much as Tmac, how could you not blame him. 2007 game 7 Yao+ Tmac= 60 points, rest of the team=16 points. 2007 Game 3 Yao+Tmac=51 points, Rafer+Battier=16 points, rest of the team=ZERO points. Michael Jordan averaged 49 ppg, including a 63 point performance vs. a superior Boston team. His team got swept, would you say he was not a top 10 winner at the time? There is only so much ONE player can do...it takes 5. (5 quality players). He dominated the ball because JVG demanded him or Yao to dominate the ball! What the hell was he supposed to do, "Coach, I don't like your game plan of giving me the ball so much."?? Come on DD, make some sense. He gladly welcomed any help he got here. How can you say he didn't embrace the help? How do you go on a 22 game winning streak without help?? As good as he is, he aint that good. Nobody was that good to do it by themselves. He can't help it if they give him the ball and stand around and watch. If you want pure teamball, go watch NCAA, cuz in the NBA, you need a guy you can "go to" late in the game. It might stop the ball, but that "go to" guy is what will win you games along with some clutch shooting, defense, and rebounding. When was he Mr. Tmac?? I think you got him mistaken for Kobe, the guy who ran Shaq and Phil out of town, the guy who wanted to win without Shaq's help, the guy who drove Phil Jackson to write a book about how much he dislikes Kobe, thats who you must be thinking of. As far as his playoff #'s, every superstar plays more minutes in the playoffs. However, not everybody's #'s go up. I never said Tmac was more talented than Dream, so I'm not going to compare them...plus being a big man, you better be more efficient. Tmac, is still able to raise his game in the playoffs. Everybody cannot say that. Ask anybody in the NBA, ask his former coaches, other players, GM's, whoever, they will all tell you his teams didn't lose series because of him. Just like Dallas...they aren't going to lose because of Dirk. There is only so much one guy can do. Also, try being a very efficient when an entire defense can focus on you, knowing that your teammates won't make them pay for doubling you. Not an easy task. Kobe wasn't very efficient vs. Detroit and Boston when he lost in the finals, and he even had help vs. them. You may keep being ignorant if you want, but I am stating the facts, apparently many people here agree with what I say...you seem to be in your own little Tmac hating world...he must be pretty good to have a guy dedicate his entire afternoon and life to bashing a guy you don't even know...
Actually he is 16.3 ppg on 45.1% for his career, while McGrady is 22.1ppg on 43.6%. If you will note, prior to his back injury, McGrady was closer to 25+ ppg on 45+% shooting. The back injury started the decline in efficiency since he does not drive the basket as frequently, which Maggetti still does. Actually, his assist number have come up in last couple of years, which is a function of sharing the ball, right?? BTW, the offences he has played in during the last few seasons have been, by design, McGrady centric. Hence an appearance of dominating the ball. Even JVG said as much.... Actuually, if you look at the stats, his career playoff shooting efficiency is only .006 lower than his career season totlas, so not sure your assessment is completely accruate. Especially considering you are forgetting the other aspects of the game, where if you will note, his rebounds go up by almost 1 a game, his assists go up by 1.5 per game, his steals go up slightly as well. To be fair, his TOs also go up by about 1 per game, but in terms of measuring efficiency, you need to consider all aspects of the game. He is actually very efficient, all things considered.
