Ive watched almost all of the Rox games this year short of a few. And I understand that McGrady was hurt and out for a large portion of the season, but has anyone else noticed that McGrady almost seems to want to influence games from the perimeter? He rarely attacks the rim and (this is the most noticable difference in him I see) when he does his raise up and throw it down attributes seem lessened. I DO understand injury, but it almost seems as if he is uncappable of single handidly owning the pace of the game like he could just Last year. That he would rather fire off long range perimeter shots, or threes then take it to the rack. He looks unable to break doubles or find holes in the D for the most part. I think as long as the Rox have McGrady we should at least be competitve with good a good game plan and the other players we have. Has McGrady already lost a step? Is he the monster he used to be? He looks almost asleep out there on some nights.
Yes he has a lost a step and quite a bit of his athleticism Remember guys, this is his 9th year in the league T-Mac has taken a LOT of wear and tear even though he's like what, 26? By age he's considered fairly young for the NBA, but the gap on his prime will be closing soon
he is hurt...he has been hurt...he is not going to be 100% by playing thru his back pain. this is another reason why we are lotto bound. i wish t-mas was healthy but he isn't and he can't do the things he normally does.
I really hope we don't ride McGrady for 48+ minutes every night until Yao comes back. It would be nice to make the playoffs this year, but I wouldn't want to do it at the expense of injurying our franchise player.
T-Mac already said in a post game interview that he's fine with 48 minutes a game. McGrady can talk in third person also.
I think it's only injuries that're holding him back this season, and the sad fact is they will persist of worsen as long as he keeps playing, which is inevitable. However, I do strongly believe that his athleticism is still there, and will return to form once he settles down and rests in the off-season instead of working himself to death (by all account he didn't even take any time off following last season, which I think we're seeing the fruits of this season). His back and knees are holding him back and he's probably playing with that subconsciously in the back of his mind, so he tries to avoid too much contact and banging inside in order to not aggrevate his injuries. With that being said, a hobbled McGrady is still damn good enough to win games when everyone else gets back...hopefully it won't be too late by then.
tmac won't play another 10 years. that's for sure. he is an old 26. at this stage of his career he is more like a 29 y/o. he has been in his peak for about 3 years, another 2 years of dominant tmac is left before he starts to decline. that's not as bad as is sounds. yao is going to take his place as the leader. if they can reverse roles then yao will score 24 a night and tmac can score 18. we would still have a great team.
We don't need him to play another 10 years, we are banking on 5-6 more seasons from him at the current level. I think McGrady still has a good 5 years left in him unless a major career-ending injury takes place. He might be injury-prone the past two seasons, but his body seems to be the type that will enable him to be durable despite the nagging back and knee injuries. I still say he has a good 5 year in him at the current level, and even when he declines he will still be one of the top 3-4 players in his position, which given his current talent level is still darn good. Even with the current version of a hobbled McGrady, we're still good enough when everyone is healthy to storm through 2/3 of the teams in this league. As long as Yao and everyone else is healthy, MCGrady can cruise through games and then explode to put teams away in the fourth; that's what Kobe used to do with LA when they won those three rings. His killer instinct in close games alone makes his presence (no matter what shape he's in) invaluable every night.
His back problem is chronic, he has to struggle for his rest of career. I am still looking for 2-3 good years from him. He is as good as Kobe after James now, if he declines, this team won't be able to compete for Champ.
Ya'll wrong. T-mac doesn't play seriously unless it's playoff games. Right now hes just taking it ez. He's just as good as Kobe when in playoffs. remember last season? 30 points per game in playoffs? 20 assists to Yao per game in playoffs? But the problem is we may not gonna make it
uhm. .. i hope this is not true too many 1st round exits to be at his best then I think the nagging injuries are a concern Rocket River
I think the Great MacGrady is hurting. He looked like he was in pain during the last game, when he played, and when he sat. Did anyone else think that Mac was hurting in the Toromto game?
Can someone who watched t-mac in orlando tell if he took the ball to the basket more or is his game more or less the same. I've always thought of him as more of a jumpshooter.
He used to explode past the double teams when they trapped him, now he just gets turned back the other direction. He's either injured or lost a step.
sit him out till Yao comes back...the team he has around him wouldn't even last in a hoop it up tourney. Les has to learn from this season and let all these old players go. Then SPEND money to get quality players forget the luxury tax. We will make the money back in our championship years.
yea that too ...our scouts suck. Eddie Griffin was an exception ...everyone else was HORRIBLE....everyone else in not even in the league
