his downfall was putting on way too much muscle. young lean tmac used to fly around the court, finish, and rise up for a shot over anyone..
Tmac has the length, skills, and athleticism that made him extremely successful. But he relies too much on his athleticism which is the cause of his downfall. Harden doesn't have the length like Tmac and he doesn't possess the athleticism like Tracy, but Harden has different skill set and doesn't rely as much on his athleticism as Tmac. When Tmac was young, he was on another world with his athleticism and skills set. Harden right now is extremely talented and also a master at his own unique skill. But hopefully Harden will continue to improve at his own skills and improve every aspects of his game as his career goes on.
Snottie and Stacy are stains on the beautiful Houston Rocket carpet that the Dude once owned and used, the one that really tied the room together. Harden practices basketball, he also lifts weights like a real man. Just wait, Harden owns this thread in 10 years...
for perimeter players? tmac, in his prime, top 10 all-time most lethal scorers ever. he was unstoppable.
It's about adapting your game. If u rely solely on athleticism and never develop those other parts the you're a one trick pony. Tracy never got the arch on his shot. He could get hot as much as anyone. But consistency was an issue. Harden has a game that seems to help longevity. He drives to the basket with the best of them and doesn't jump as high so he will always drive to the basket regarless of whether he loses some athleticism. If you are talking about explosive players, harden is not top 10. But if you're talking efficient scorers he is top of the league.
This is so cliche'd. You don't know how much TMac practiced. Some bodies are prone to break down more than others. I get tired of people talking about TMac and Francis and making injuries out to be a personal flaw. Gimme a break.
Can't really compare the two unless you compare specific parts of their games. Kevin Durant and Tracy McGrady have more similar games and are more similar in the sense that they are both very tall for their positions and can score at will. If you compare Harden and Tmac at this stage of their careers it's not even a question on who wins that because Tmac went to the Magic by that time. If he stayed and played for the Raptors I bet you would have seen a different career out of V.Carter and Tmac. Give Harden a season more or two and we can definitely see how he can progress as a player. Harden may not be able to score in bunches or at will like Tmac did BUT he doesn't have concerning back problems, so at least Harden wins in that comparison.
houston didn't do anything to mcgrady, except let him play with Yao Ming, get coached by JVG and Rick Adelman, have an organization that actually won championships and had mvps tmac got his scoring titles in the Leastern Conference, that same conference that Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley mopped up like slime on the floor and don't pretend he didn't play well, he did. that's why the Rockets were falsely labeled the "Next Kobe/Shaq" by the media it's on him
sometimes you just got to rue the bad luck of Tmac, when he is physically able, his easily one of the best if not the best player on the court. And in his prime, he have Grant Hill and Yao ( and the rest of the rockets) injured. Then, just when rox is starting to get healty, he started to have all kinds of injuries which later on effect his mental status as well as his game.
I think so much anger is coming from Yao and McGrady not being able to win anything for the Rockets with their injury ridden careers in Houston. They were excellent players but we choose to blame McGrady because he could have been the best ever but his body started to break down. I'm just blind firing right here: but adding muscle in Houston could have caused excess weight on both the high flying Tmac and the extremely tall Yao which may have hampered their careers.
