tracy is 2nd/3rd, but no way is he more talented than dream. i've always stated that dream is arguably the best 2-way player in the history of the game and that's not just hard work. talent-wise, he's that good. you know those dream shake moves kobe does repeatedly on his fadeaways and we're in awe of those moves, well, dream did that on the regular. you know we're in awe of these new perimeter big man with no post moves, well dream had BOTH. and dream was of the best thieves in history you can argue tracy is the most talented perimeter player to wear a rockets jersey though.
the media LOVES comeback stories. LOVES THEM. like i said, it depends on his situation also. if he plays well and plays for us, there's a great chance he'll make 3rd team b/c we'll have a great record (and no, tracy does make us better when healthy). if he comes back pain-free, he can put up 21-22, 5, 6 pretty easily. and he used to do that with LITTLE motivation. i expect him to be motivated all year long next year.
I agree if hes healthy and ready to play Tracy is still a top 10 player. The problem is will he be able to over come the two injuries? Will his body hold up for a full season? People seen to think just because its a contact year that he'll play well, but he can't if his body won't hold up for 82 games.
I will argue with you to nauseum that Tracy is probably one of top ten talents to ever play the game. Dream was insanely talented, but Tracy's skill set was pretty much second to none. I think he has more pure talent than Kobe (not talking about heart though).
Remember Tracy McGrady is naturally a SF but over the past years has been playing SG. Another thing is if he somehow someway plays to his old self the media can lend him a hand. The media also can turn on a player when he is playing bad and all of a sudden if the player is playing great the media loves that person again. So McGrady has a chance. I have to agree with you on the 1st team now that I think about it. LeBron and Kobe are locks for the 1st team. But 2nd and 3rd it is a toss up.
that's a big IF. but i think that microfracture surgery is so non-invasive, it's not career-threatening. his back is not an issue anymore. and i think after this surgery, his knee won't be an issue anymore. unless he starts getting foot problems, i expect him to play about 70 games. i'm sure he'll miss 10 games here or there, but i think 70 games is a great marker for a player like him with injury problems. remember that first year after the back sidelined him for basically half a year, he came back and played 71 games.
You can't compare guards to centers. Big men are just different. Hakeem was probably the most "talented" big man to every play the game. Pound for pound, no one was better. He dominated every stat line for a big man except assists and ft shooting - and he was far better than par on those two. I mean, he's in the top ten all-time in steals for god's sake! Tracy is a very talented player - perhaps more talent than Drexler. But unfortunately for him, he has never been able to live up to it for both physical and mental reasons. But I still am happy he is trying his best. If anything shows heart and toughness, it's being able to take all the criticism, live with all his failures, and instead of getting down about it, to be working his ass to get it back and prove people wrong. I am totally rooting for the guy.
Oh man, no way is Tmac the most talented Rocket player ever. Hustle and competitiveness are as important as physical talent. His mental weakness brings him down several notches. 1. Hakeem 2. Ralph 3. Moses 4. Calvin 5. Clyde 6. Elvin Hayes So many players more talented than Tracy have played for this franchise.... DD
DD, Im talking about pure talent, not hustle ect. Tracy is hands down more talented than those guys. It's my opinion.
If he plays well and were winning I can see him making the 3rd NBA team. But I also think which I believe he will be one of the main reasons were winning. Hes going need a lot of motivation which he have, but I want him to have more he need as much as he can get to become a great player again.
I think this whole distractions thing is overblown. Our team played well when Mcgrady decided to have surgery because Mcgrady was playing awful. He was limping on one leg, not attacking and was generally a detriment to the team. If Mcgrady comes back healthy and actually plays well he is exactly what this team needs. We need someone who can create offense for himself and others at any point in a game. We have the defense, we have the role players, we have the big man...a perimeter playmaker is all we need. The dilemma, from a basketball standpoint, is that you would be trading exactly what you need for lesser more reliable parts. That decision seems easy now, after watching Tracy's awful play this season but if he comes back and we seem like legitimate contenders before the trade deadline...is that decision still easy for Morey?
If he comes back and make the 2nd team that mean he will have to out play Wade which right now seen like a dream. But some dreams do come true I just wouldn't bet on it right now. I do know one thing if he does play up to that level Rockets will be the champs next year for sure. No one would be able to get in our way.
All that matters is what goes down on the court, pure talent includes competitiveness. Competitive fire absolutely figures into the talent equation. Tmac has physical tools but his emotional weakness lessons his stature by a whole lot. All that matters is what happens on the court....nothing else.... DD
We're talking about talent, not how good of a basketball player the guy is. I don't think T-mac is the mentally toughest player there is for sure. But sometimes guys like T-mac need to fall to a really low point before they realize what it is to be tough. Let's see how he responds.
No, let's not. Let's trade him to another team and get players we know already that will respond and play hard along with the rest of our team. If you keep Tmac, you need to get rid of Battier or Artest, we do not need 3 wing players. If you keep Tmac, then you should trade Ron, IMO......but our D gets much weaker. The problem is that we have no room for Ron, Battier & Tmac.....and then Wafer and Barry. Either Ron or Tmac have to go.....and I vote Tmac. DD
I love the Battier/Artest wing combo. I think the two different aggresive defensive styles really gets into opposing players heads. Wouldn't trading Tmac for Maggette not solve that "too many wings" problem
I find it annoying when people demagogue about something they could not possibly know anything about. You are talking conclusively about something that cannot be measured. I think you are coloring McGrady's entire career with his performance in 2008-9 and acting like it is the norm for him. Use your own advice...look what happened on the court when he's been on the team over the course of his career. It is a documented fact that McGrady carried the team over huge stretches during his time with the Rockets. Likewise, it is indisputable that he elevated his numbers across the board during the playoffs. This is presumably the time when mental weakness would arise, right? Mo Williams anyone? There are plenty of reasons for trading McGrady, but I am dubious that "emotional weakness" is one of them.
DD, Im talking about physical tools only. Forget the emotional and mental crap. Im talking about god given pure talent. Tracy was in front of the line when god was dishing out talent. He can play every position on the court if he wanted to, PG to Center. He's got the perfect build at 6"8 for a basketball player. His ballhandling, passing, shotmaking, defense when he wants to play it (ask Dirk Nowitki), BBIQ and athletism in my eyes is just second to none. I'm strictly talking about talent here. If I were going to be reincarnated into a basketball player I would want to come back with the same exact skills Tracy has and 6"8 athletic body.
