Superstar is rarefied air for me, Harden is there, Yao never got there, and neither did Tmac or Francis... DD
[youtube]kt5pOPn_0Ik[/youtube] if this was really our best player since Hakeem then I have no hope for these current core guys on ever winning a championship
Sorry, but Aaron Brooks was undoubtedly the best player on our team during the playoff run that went to the 2nd round
Mostly agree! Yao and Francis were never superstars but TMac was VERY close to being one. Harden is definitely a superstar now that he is playing both ends of the floor.
Yao was definitely not the best since Dream. Yao was good but never really close to being a superstar even if he could have stayed healthy which he could not. I would rank them like this: 1) Harden 2) TMac 3) Yao 4) Francis
Has to play great in the post season to be considered greater than the rest. Tmac put everything he had in those two Utah series and alone almost willed there win of the series. Until he does that which I believe he will, he is still behind Mac.
actually I take that back. I forgot how dominate he was in the portland game. AB just got us to 7 game vs lakers after yao went down
Which is why Tmac never got there, IMO, he didn't play defense much either, and the fact that he down right quit at one point...yeah, he was never a superstar for me. DD
Until he wins a first round, he's no better than tmac, and Yao has a playoff win, so he's still above him in that regard. I'd say they're all second tier super stars compared to Hakeem and will be until they win at least 2.
It's almost cringe worthy / mind-blowing to see how a player's time ended here can really tarnish his image. I guess I can understand it, but it's almost troubling to see the continuous hate or indifference McGrady gets on this forum almost 4 years after he left. I just can't believe some people don't consider T-Mac to ever being a superstar. To me, there should be no doubt he was a superstar. From 2002 to 2007, he was one of the five best players in the NBA, in my opinion. From 2000 to 2007 he put up averages of 27ppg, 6.5rpg, 5.4apg, 1.5spg and almost 1bpg. Those are insane numbers for such a period of time! Is it McGrady's fault that the team around him generally sucked? We all know how bad the Magic teams he was on that featured players like Darrel Armstrong, (old and fat) Shawn Kemp and Keith Bogans. Juwan Howard was probably the 2nd best player on those teams. In Houston, we could never surround him (or Yao) with any real help until 2008 when Morey became GM. Even then, players like Luther Head, Mike Harris and Chuck Hayes were getting major minutes for us in games and in the playoffs. All of Harden's teams in Houston had way more talent than any of McGrady's teams. Regarding playoffs, the only playoff series the Rockets had no excuse to lose was 2007; home court, healthy Yao, okay role players. In 2005, the Rockets were without Howard for the whole series and Sura for the last couple of games. Plain and simple, McGrady had to do everything for that team. He was the only player that could consistently create shots for himself and others. He even had to guard Dirk. He averaged 31ppg, 7apg, 7rpg, 2spg, 1.5bpg on 46/37/82 shooting, playing 43mpg - just godly numbers. In 2008, same deal but no Yao. T-Mac had to do everything for that team just be competitive against a very good Jazz team that went to the WCF if I'm not mistaken. Averages of 27ppg, 8rpg, 7apg, 1.5spg, 1bpg. He didn't shoot well, but he was the only one that could do anything on the floor. Simply put, T-Mac was a superstar that never quite had the full team around him to help him succeed. Regarding Yao. He was a star up until 2008. 2008 to 2009, he was on the verge of being a superstar. In 2008, he averaged 25 and 10, and looked to be the best center in the game until he got injured. In 2009, he was the best center in the game but, again, injuries killed it before he could be a real superstar. Harden has surpassed Yao and is very close to McGrady. If he can sustain this level of play for the season and do well in the playoffs, then I will have no qualms about people putting him greater than McGrady.
Prime Healthy Yao was a force in this league. Think LaMarcus A but bigger and better defensively. He just didnt get to do it enough times for it to matter just like t-mac. 25ppg 10rpg 86%ft 50%shooting Those are superstar numbers to me, esp if you consider that he would have gotten alot less foul calls on him with the stand up straight rules in todays game also.
Really? Is that because nostalgia is clouding your vision? McGrady was a very good player, but he's no Harden. McGrady doesn't actually beat Harden statistically, and it's really quite evident that Harden is a far superior 'closer'. The 13 in 33 aside, McGrady wasn't fantastic at late 4th quarter scoring when it counted.
Technical point, but Yao never manage 25 and 10 in a season. He was 22 and 10 twice, and 25 and 9 once. Those were his prime years - nice numbers, but being a superstar is as much about durability and winning as anything else. Being shut down by Cliff Robinson fronting you might just put superstar status out of reach.
People who keep making excuses for McGrady need to wake up and smell reality. He only played 20 freaking playoff games for the Rockets. That's nothing for a supposed franchise player. His tenure is not Kobe in LA, or Duncan in San Antonio, or Dirk in Dallas. Oh he bad teammates right? Like Vince Carter and Yao Ming? What about when he went to Atlanta? That the first time in a few years they failed to pass the first round. the most glaring one, is that he couldn't even lead a team in CHINA to the playoffs, in fact, he was BENCHED. We get it, Tracy Only fans, he was talented and he had some good seasons. That means nothing if you can't lead a team anywhere. His teammates didn't suck, his fans suck.
Tracy McGrady never cared about his team, he only cared about himself. He just mentioned a week ago he wished he never left Toronto. Same thing when he goes to Orlando, he says he never left Orlando. In a recent article he says he's better than half of the NBA now and was frustrated that coaches won't let me be 'himself'. I'm tired of these idiots exaggerating his tenure with the Rockets, he was disappointing . There's a reason they never traded Yao.
