Well considering how long it's been since he's played substantial minutes in the NBA.....it should take him quite a few games to get completely back into game shape and in routine.... Soooo "coast a little" should be a given. Test that knee. I'll give him like 10 games before I saw put a fork in him.
For those saying that his current knee issues are about bumping knees or needing to play himself into shape, I strongly feel that is not the case. In the recovery process, you always feel okay before you actually are okay. You start walking without pain or a limp on your twisted ankle...but if you try and go for a run on it, you'll be given notice quickly that it is not 100% yet. In pro sports, athletes almost always jump the gun with their returns. If there is a "story" with microfracture returns, it's been this: Guys keep trying to play again after 10-12 months, and discover that they really need 18. Hops and defense all but go away (Amare the lone exception with jumping) McGrady pushed the issue and was declaring himself ready to play mid-November. With his big NYK debut, he showed his knee was well enough for him to put up numbers. Everything after has suggested that his knee isn't really ready for an NBA schedule. I could get up and run a half marathon tomorrow with no real trouble, but if I tried to do 13 miles 5 times in 8 days? Different story. It constantly blows my mind how stupid NBA coaches are with players coming back after major injuries. Part of it is caving to the mega-egos, but a lot of it is a complete lack of common sense. Besides the injury, the team and player have to gel again. When you start a player, you're putting more pressure on him to perform before he's ready, which can kill his confidence. Start them off the bench for 5 to 10 games, depending on the severity and the on-court progress you see. Play only the second night of back to backs (gives you at least one set of fresh legs) Focus on good matchups - put him in a position to succeed. Throwing these guys into the deep end is nothing short of stupid.
Even in those games where he put up triple doubles, I haven't seen McGrady moving right in years. I didn't once see normal movement out of him last season, even in his most statistically-productive games. He was a step slow every last split-second I saw him play, both with and without the ball. He'll always be immensely talented but, physically, he's done. Mentally, he never had it, before or after the physical decline. His skill set was as good as any perimeter player I've ever seen in this league. His body just wasn't built to last with the crooked spine and what not. Throw in the soft mentality and inconsistent work ethic, and it's not surprising how his career shaped up in the end: One of the best talents ever held back by an injury-prone body as well as a weak heart and a weak mind. Basically, a waste of talent, due to things both in and out of his control.
whatever happened, tmac was going to get traded this year. if DM didnt trade away tmac, he'd be left with 7-8m for free agents. what will he do with that? if he traded away tmac, he'd have 23mil worth of assets (and now, he also has picks to go with it) he could use in a SnT. that was DM's plan all along since last year. that's why he was going for the trade for either vince carter or amare. both had contracts he could use for SnT during 2010 free agency. so no matter what happened, tmac was gone this year, that's why they never wanted to play him anyway. and when they were forced to, they only played him 7mins a game.
On the contrary, it makes perfect sense from the coach's standpoint. You can say coaches are self-serving, but you can't say they lack common sense. If a star player comes back declares that he's ready, and then fails, a coach can just chalk that up as bad luck/nagging injuries/whatever. The blame falls on the player for not being up to snuff. If a coach keeps that star player out of the lineup, then all the blame falls on him. The next time his team loses by 2, the inevitable "if so-and-so were playing they'd have won" talk would appear everywhere. It sucks, but coaches have families to feed too. If it means sacrificing the well-being of players, who can blame them?
just so you remember, he took corticosteroid shots before that phoenix games, which took away the inflammation and thus the soreness, allowing him to play well. let's be real, if tracy feels "ok" that day, he's going to play well. his skills/game is still very freakin' good. it's the days where he doesn't feel well that he struggles "physically." and that's the ups and downs he'll feel battling back from this surgery. his knee is fine. it's just that the soreness that will occur here and there as his knee gets back into game shape. tracy basically limped in every game except 2 or 3 last year. he didn't limp in the other games b/c he took corticosteroid shots. so far this year, he hasn't limped at all. the only time he looked bad physically was when he bumped knees in the thunder game. so i think he'll be fine. like i said, the rest of the season is for him to get that knee back into playing shape for the rigorous schedule of the NBA. your knees get sore... throughout the NBA season even if you didn't have surgery. and he had the toughest one.
It's not outside the realm of possibility that McGrady decides to hang 'em up after this season. As of now, he probably hasn't seriously entertained that possibility but that could change, esp. for a person with a fickle personality like McGrady. Remember, he was thinking about retiring early in the McGrady-Yao era. Things have turned decidedly worse for him since then. I'm not saying it'll happen but I don't think it should be ruled out. It might even be the best thing for him and his reputation. What if no contending team offers him even chump change to play for them? What if the only teams that offer him contracts this offseason are bad teams with no chance of winning a championship? Do you think he'll want to play for a bad team for few dollars? Will it be worth it for him to put his body and his ego through that kind of situation? Do you think it's an absolute guarantee that a good team will want him next season?
I've maintained that McGrady isn't going to be worth anything to anyone this season. I doubt very much he ever rounds into shape by April like you think. But whatever, I'm just glad his audition for next season is happening on another team. Next October when the games mean something, whoever he's with isn't going to gracefully put up with his yo yo act with the full season ahead of them. McGrady should enjoy this meaningless stuff while he can.
lol....if Stephon Marbury could ride the Celtics pine last season i'm sure Mcgrady can do the same. He's going to play next year.
Superstar T-mac's role model is now Marbury lololol That means Tracy is going to play for a CBA team in a future not so far away Go you little leech You can only hitch Acting like a b**** Gonna fall in ditch
Before this season started I thought Tmac could still play and wonder why they didnt gave him more playing time, and I thought the trade was only because he didnt have team chemistry with the coach and the players. But now, I see he cant play anymore, at least like he played his firsts seasons with the rockets. Maybe like every 2 or 3 times in a month, he would get 20+ points, but nothing more. and I hope the knicks re-sign him next year, and keep playing him, so the rockets have a good pick, in the 2011 draft. :grin:
After Grover... its now Arn Tellem promoting T-Mac. well why not? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arn-tellem/the-knick-of-time_b_480233.html
is it hard for some of you fans here to believe that some people are loyal to players instead of teams?
most of the guys hir only want to bash tmac dis should'nt be a tittle for t-mac thread as a knick it should be T-mac as a knick bashing thread coz most of you guys only want to post to bash mcgrady if you were in the same situation for mcgrady what would you do?! i bet you will not able to play basketball again ^_^
Is tmac gonna play against the cavs? That would be a great tmac coming out party against lebron if tmac can dominate. offcourse i am putting my money on lebron to abosolutely distroy tmac (not hating on tmac by the way, just feel that lebron is so much better now).
No, it's very easy to believe. But fans loyal to T-Mac should not really be posting here, since it's not really their board anymore. They can worship Tmac on the Knicks boards. OTOH, fans loyal to Rockets player(s) not named T-Mac have no reason to kiss up to T-Mac.
