I hate Tracy as a rocket just as much as probably anybody else and I would be happy to never see him in a Rockets jersey again. However, I think it is ridiculous to say that a healthy Tmac wouldn't be good for this team. The man really isn't a selfish player ON the court. He is a great facilitator and creates a lot of shots for his teammates when he is healthy or at least something close to healthy. The man led this team to the 2nd longest winning streak in NBA history just last year. He is far from a cancer. If you have a problem with Tracy at least hate him for the right reasons which are being soft, not having enough drive, and selling out his team with the way he has dealt with being hurt. If you polled people in the NBA I'd be surprised if you could get even 5 percent to say that the Rockets would be worse off with a healthy Tmac. So I'll agree that I want an unhealthy Tmac nowhere near this team, but I would LOVEEEEEEEE to have a healthy one. PS - I really don't like Tmac
I agree ... a healthy (both mentally and physically) TMac helps the team ... I just don't expect it this season. If he insists on coming back before he's 100% ready to contribute with high energy on both ends of the floor, then I say don't play him or only play at the end of blowouts with Brian Cook.
-Complaining about your touches and jacking up 15+ shots while shooting less than 40% is selfish in my book. Having no willingness to set a pick or play hard on defense because you're saving yourself for scoring is also selfish. He gets assists when he looks to pass, but (much more often) he ices out the entire team when he decides that he wants to start shooting. -He used to be a great facilitator, but I can't remember the last time the team was feeding off of him; the last time he made the offense click. When he calls for the ball outside and never advances the ball even to the free throw line extended, he creates nothing. And he started doing this 90% of the time as far back as last April (when it became painfully evident to me). -That McGrady carried us across the 22-streak is one of the biggest myths on the board. Yao was around for 8 games of it (McGrady missing games), and McGrady had more below average games during it than he had 30-point games. Check the game log. The TEAM stepped up - Scolandry and Rafer in particular. I'm not trying to say we could have done it without McGrady, but his role in it has been absurdly overblown. -When the team looks happy and energetic when you're out and dour and sluggish with you around...you just might be a cancer. When multiple teammates call you out in the press and reports come out that almost every teammate, coach, and organization member has sat you down to talk about your effort....you just might be a malcontent. Maybe "healthy" McGrady means 2002-2005 era McGrady. A McGrady that drives most of the time instead of camping out at the 3-pt line. I can buy that guy would help this team - but is he really showing up again? Weren't the Wizards always hoping to see Jordan relive his Bulls days with them? And more and more I wonder - did McGrady NEED to be on depleted times completely dependent on him to shine? Is he a taller version of Allen Iverson? A phenomenal offensive talent that has to dominate the ball and play with a roster of defensive role player to succeed? Evan
I think with Tmac we are a contender only in appearance or on paper, but not in substance. With the Rockets, Tmac is a chemistry killer. If team chemistry was Superman, Tmac is Kryptonite. I am really enjoying how they are playing right now. So much unselfishness, and beautiful ball movement. Just the thought of him coming back and bringing a halt to our ball movement gives me a sinking feeling.
He gets assists because he always has the ball!... And if we have a guy being the Offense, he has to shoot Better than average FG%, and get to the foul line and shoot a high percentage there - or the team will live and die by that guys' 3-pt shooting and jumpshots - somethine we've seen since Tmac has been here. 'Tmac isn't walking thru that door'!...
You guys that look at Tracy and think, hey he is talented, he could really help. Are right and wrong. 1. He is talented - that is correct. 2. He could really help - that is incorrect. Tracy McGrady coming back this year is the worst thing that could happen to this organization. He announced he was out, he needs to be OUT....no coming back, the team had the Tmac cloud lifted, let it move on and grow in a direction of winning. Tracy needs to sit out, get the operation, or rehab the knee and watch, he needs some tough love, because he is the biggest reason he has failed in the playoffs so often.... Just because you get a decent amount of assists does not make you a good team player, and Tracy is not a good team player. He is lazy on Defense, complains about his touches on offense and wants the entire thing to revolve around him having the ball, which BTW makes the team easy to defend. This team is soooooo much better without Tracy, it might not have been true in the past, but it is now.... And all we should concern ourselves with is the now. Tracy needs to sit out for his own good - to grow up some, and for the good of the team. His drama has cost this team about 6 extra wins this year.....just make him sit, and trade him to a team that needs a marquee name in the offseason so he can get his numbers and get another contract and sucker the next organization into believing that he can lead them. Because this organizition SHOULD know by now, that the guy is a flat out.....LOSER !! DD
If people in this thread think that McGrady, by himself, can make the Rockets become contenders then what happened to his teams in the past 10 or so years? How many more years will people make excuses for him? Don't you guys/gals see how good the current Rockets are playing as a team? As an old commercial used to say "Get real".
Are you like seriously the biggest McGrady hater on here?? If a proven guy who can give you 20-25 points a game when healthy along with 5 rebounds and assist a game can come back your telling me you wouldn't go for it?? Wow that's something. Matter fact is it just because its McGrady that you don't want him back. If it was Yao or Artest would you feel the same way. If Yao did the same thing who cares he is a proven scorer and you know what your going to get out of him. Same goes for Artest. I really hope your not saying these things just because its McGrady.
since T-mac is out, why don't we just offer Bonzi Wells or Steve Francis a 10 days contract? Can we do that?
you know damn well we can not contend for a ring without a healthy tmac, but if he isn't healthy there he only hurts us
LOL What teams?? This is the deepest team he has ever been on. In his Toronto days he was shadowed by Vince Carter and basically Toronto didn't really have a team. Orlando he was the man. Grant Hill was suppose to be with him but the ankle injuries kept him out the whole time. McGrady carried that team even though he had no one on there besides Mike Miller and Darrell Armstrong. Mike Miller left and Armstrong was aging. McGrady carried that team throughout the whole season and basically when the playoffs came he took over again. Its just that no one else decided to step up. Let me see you or anyone else on here name 1 person who can basically beat one team. Someone not named LeBron because I've seen him basically beat the Pistons single handed.
If they didnt get any playing timem then, why would they play now? Head would get in before they did.
Horse DUNG ! Last year with a healthy Yao the team was a contender for the title, maybe not a favorite but a contender. Fast forward to this year, you replace Tmac with Artest (better defense and close to the same offensive efficiency) you replace Rafer with Brooks/Lowry (better offense by a MILE)...and you have a healthy Yao and a 2nd year Scola. This team is better than the one that won 22 in a row, even without Tracy. They may not be the favorites again, but they are contenders for sure....if everyone stays healthy and TMac stays away. DD
Yep, I don't want his prima donna arse on this team. IMO, he is a cancer, and an impediment to the rest of the team growing and becomming a real contender. Of course it is because of McGrady, he is the one that has been whining for 2 years about wanting the ball more and not liking the system, and not playing defense, and not playing defense. Tracy made this mess, I don't know why it is so shocking that some of us fans have realized that he has become a major problem THIS year. DD
cmon man a blind man can see t-mac hurts this team's offense and chemistry. i dont care if he gets 25/6/7 it'll be at the team's expense and we'd probably lose the game. im saying at this point, if t-mac has a good game where he almost has a triple double. it's a good game for him, but the game will most likely come down to the 4th quarter and a 50/50 chance of winning and losing. on the contrary, when we have a collective team effort, we can blow out teams like last night.
Having a 'big 3' is overrated anyways. What is the purpose of having them? are all 3 going to score 30 points each every night? of course not. I think the point to having a big 3, is to have 2 go off, when 1 is having a bad game. Yes, that is something to fear, but what happens when you have 2 1st nba defensive players on the team that can neutralize the other team's trio? And if you still want a big 3, just past the ball 4 more times to scola, so he can average 16.7 points a game. I just confused myself. anyhoo, what i was trying to say is this: A group of determined individuals> any big 3.
Riddle me this: why is that Allen Iverson, a career 26-6-4 guy has had little success winning this league? When the teams were built around him (Phi) and when he joined playoff-caliber rosters (Denver, Detroit)? The guy's #5 all time in ppg! Why is that Gilbert Arenas, one of the most dominant scorers out there, can't seem to ever get anywhere in the playoffs? Why couldn't Kobe Bryant go anywhere when Shaq left and his numbers leaped to 35-5-5? Jordan had to give himself up to the team approach before he could win. Tracy isn't willing to play that kind of game. Evan
i just can't agree that lowry was much of an upgrade for this team, he shoots significantly worse from 3pt than rafer, which with yao always kicking out for the wide open 3 will just kill us again, yah he can finish at the rim stronger, but we can't always get good looks inside with the giant clogging up the lane. but with a healthy tmac this team has no limits, you can't say that is a false statement, tmac gives it his all in the playoffs every year, he makes big plays, plays big defense, the rest of his team just can never make shots when it counts. how can you put it all on that one guy for that? because he said it was on him? give the guy a break, he handled his injury situation poorly, but we still could use him down the stretch if we want to win now...
