[GRANTLAND] Bill Simmons: The Unfortunate Tale of T-Mac

Was just getting ready to submit this thread, but checked to see if anyone had beat me to it.

Really enjoyed the piece, really makes you think about the what ifs. I know that's all they will ever be is what ifs and some will never forgive him for that game he quit, but I still enjoyed the good times with McGrady.

No Rockets player has ever disappointed me the way he did in that Toronto game, but looking back I think the excitement he brought far outweighed the negatives in his career.

 

I love Simmons but this comment

is his typical fanboy drivel. Players playing past their prime does not diminish their legacy, just look at Magic.

 

yeah. tmac almost won a championship on the Spurs if not for Ray Allens 3 pointer

 

The penultimate piece on Tracy McGrady, in my opinion.

Every bit of the controversial ground possible is covered in this article, so it's inevitable to be just as polarizing as McGrady's career was itself.

But this does an immense job of covering the points made by those on the favorable side of the fence. And I think this will represent the feelings of people who haven't made it personal.

I read every last word, and enjoyed it.

 

Hey Tmac fans,

this is the memory that you lost because you sold it at Total Recall it to buy tickets to the Insane Clown Posse show

 

His teammates didn't suck.

 

Ryan Bowen started for our playoff team. The end!

 

2004-05 was one of T-Mac's best chance at advance to the 2nd round when he was healthy in a Rockets' uniform.

I suggest you take a look at this hilarious box score and tell us that his teammates (outside of Yao obviously) "didn't suck".

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=250507006

 

Bill Simmons makes a very convincing argument for T-mac being in the Hall of Fame but I still don't think the Rockets will or should retire his number.

 

That Shawn Bradley poster is one of my all time favorites. The dunk that retired Shawn Bradley.

 

NBA robbed the Rockets of that series (cue michaelfinleyoutofbounds.gif).

Really I think the Jazz series was our best chance, and had we had Sura instead of Rafer, or any kind of alpha dog, we'd have won that series, and had a shot at winning the title that year. (We matched up very well against the Spurs, and Lebron wasn't yet Lebron).

 

Strange comment. If this article is the penultimate, then I presume that you have in mind the one article that is the ultimate T-Mac article, above the penultimate?

Which article relegates this one to only being penultimate?

 

please. 1 year does not take away from 2000-2007 of good play.

The memory is still there but actually the fact that people are still pulling for this guy tells especially you that he has done good things

He is not Royce White. Coming into the league with bargage, promising talent and likely exit the league after no played game
Damaging his image without even playing.

 

*baggage

 

A really good read. A lot of good quotes in there, from credible sources, saying he wasn't a leader. I can't fault a guy for not being good at leading, but it just feels like Tmac didn't even want to try, that's what bugs me.

Still, he should be a hall of fame player.


That late 90s/early 00s era was really weird. Simmons did a good job of explaining what went on. A must read for Eddie Winslow.

 

No it isn't. Tmac fans don't have memories of where it's Tmac's fault.

 

Just about to say this. Maybe he just meant ultimate.

 

I think if you're putting him in the HOF you should retire his number. He was a Rocket long enough that he's part of our history.

I enjoyed the piece though I felt Simmons over-dramatized McGrady on the Spurs as being a horrible curtain-call. I thought it was a great place for him to end his NBA career and I was really happy when I heard he was signed there.

 

I've been turned off by anything and everything T-Mac over the last few years, but this article was really a great read.