Who’s ‘The Man’ in Houston? McGrady Says, ‘Who Cares?’ By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer Posted Aug 30 2007 9:22PM Link It ruined the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant pairing in Los Angeles, but Tracy McGrady won't let it derail Houston's title hopes. With McGrady and Yao Ming, the Rockets resemble the Shaq-Kobe Lakers - one team, two superstars. One player has to be "the man,'' and O'Neal and Bryant both demanded that role. McGrady doesn't care. "I never did,'' he said. "I had no choice (in Orlando) but to go out and carry the team, because I didn't have Grant Hill. When I came here, I've got a big guy that I can go throw the ball to and he gets 25 shots a night and I could defer to him.'' When McGrady joined Orlando from Toronto, it was thought he would be Hill's sidekick, but Hill never stayed healthy. McGrady turned into one of the league's most explosive scorers while playing for some bad teams, but he's never advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs. He said he believes the way to make it happen is by riding on the back of his 7-foot-6 center, who McGrady says is playing at an "MVP-caliber level.'' "I'm all about winning. I'm a very unselfish player,'' he said. "For me, it's all about getting Ws. I've won scoring championships. I don't care about none of that stuff no more. I'm at a point in my career where I just want to win ballgames. So if that's going out averaging 12, 15 points and we're winning ballgames, so be it.'' Not everyone agrees that a player who won two scoring titles and is one of league's most talented offensive players is best served being a No. 2 option. "For (Houston) to go to the next level, Tracy McGrady cannot be the second man on the team,'' announcer Doug Collins said during TNT's telecast of the Rockets' game against the Bulls last Thursday. "He has to be the dominant guy on this team and not run away from the responsibility of being their best player.'' McGrady's way is working now. Yao has dominated, and the Rockets, who struggled last season when both players frequently were hurt, look like a contender in the tough Southwest Division. "I think it's death with either one, because they're both capable of winning the basketball game,'' Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "It's a matter of pick your poison.'' ---
The Chron recycling quotes, what an uninteresting read that ultimately gives no new insight about the rockets as this post.
In Houston Neither demanded the role. They were too busy Deferring This Year YAO will stand Tall Rocket River
T-mac is unselfish to a point. during the clutch part of games he just becomes far to unselfish. when he says i dont care who the man is, he genuinely means it.
e need the pre-injury MVP candidate yao to compete with the spurs over a 7 game series. he healthy yao can combat duncan dominance. the key to the spurs is duncan. yao is the only player in the league who can score on duncan regulary . that will make duncan work on the defensive end, hence less energy on offense.
Considering their coverage of the Rocks, Jeff, it's a miracle we're getting any stories in The Chronic at all. Great nickname for the rag, by the way, that I've seen used around here the last few months. And to think I worked part-time for them, as I did with the lamented Post, with none of us ever thinking of using that moniker for the Chronicle! Who deserves credit for that, I wonder? I get a kick out of it. Feigan, who I used to not have a high opinion of, does an excellent job with the space they give the guy. Past time for that to change. Guess it will take a serious run in the post-season to make a difference.
This whole article seems like it was written prior to the playoffs but after Yao came back. Why is it just now making the rounds?
I take it back - the only time McGrady & Yao have ever played the Bulls on a Thursday was November '06.
John Feigen once said that the Astros should not, if offered a trade for A-Rod, accept it. Why? Because he's a locker room menace. I will never ever respect Feigen again.
Yao Ming is very good player but I agree with Doug Collins. McGrady has to be the top guy, the top scorer. He is really really good, he knows how to play that game. Last season, he was a playmaker, scorer, etc...It was all about him but this won't happen again. Now we have Adelman who changes the strategy but we also have several playmakers who will make McGrady think just to "score". This season will be completly different. Adelman wants to play to Tracy more cause he knows his potential Again: Yao is a great guy and he can have 22-23 PPG but T-Mac is "The man"
tracy can't have that mentality. that mentality cost us last yr in some games where tmac basically sucked and stayed outside and depended on yao WAYYY too much at times (ala that stretch in april). it's not who's the man, but tracy has to look to attack every time. he can't play "i can relax and let yao do the scoring or let francis/james pick up the slack." that mentality can make u relax and thus get u out of his rhythm. adelman needs to tell him that.
i can't agree with that, until tracy can get out of the 1st round of the playoffs, i will never consider him "the man."
that is not good. in 04-05, when yao wasn't this good yet, he never had that question and was clutch as hell. now he sees yao's growth and believes he can relax and coast in certain parts of the game. that is not gonna work. tmac is too unselfish, esp. for a perimeter player.
then we have nobody that can take "the man" role b/c yao has not dominated a single playoff game, mostly as a 2nd option. francis has played well the one yr he made the playoffs v. the lakers but that was during his prime. tracy mcgrady has actually dominated most of his playoff games. so he's still the most capable guy. and w/ adelman decreasing his workload, look for him to have more energy to finish.
Well it looks like and I really really hope that T-Mac will finnaly get out of the 1st round this season...
