The reason McGrady was so injury-prone this year is because he worked his ass off last post season and got bigger. His body wasn't used to carrying the extra weight and muscle and it wound up backfiring. McGrady is dedicated to this team and I think its about time some of us showed him some love back. Have some faith.
His last injury resulted from his fall durring a three pointer at the closing of the half. The doctors said it was a seperate injury from his chronic back problems and could posibly be corrected with surgery, but that wont help his reoccuring back problem.
I think he may not have worked out properly I think the gradually increase like Yao was better Tracy cannot go from 0-60 putting on 30 lbs over night and not pay the price I think the team should have . .or should monitor it a bit more Rocket River
just as a matter of interest , can anyone tell me who the guy in the background behind Pimp daddy Bush is?
You are right about his days in Toronto, he was a good player kind of like a Shawn Marion but you can not say that was his best season. I remember at the end of his last year in Toronto he was probably the most valuable player for the Raps even more than Vince. I thought it was because people were so worried about Vince that Tmac blindsided the league and won Most Improved Player because of it. But to say that his great half season in Toronto was better than his Orlando days when he singlehandedly took them to the playoffs a couple of years . Oh, and most people on this board remember last season and that is their basis. I still think he was better last year than he was in Orlando. It could have been his best all around year and he was still a "scorer". A "scorer" who got his team way more involved in Orlando and Houston than he ever did in Toronto. He saw double and triple teams and still torched the league in Orlando so I am not sure what you are talking about. Maybe you prefer a Scottie Pippen over a Jordan or a Marion over a NAsh, but I would prefer the scorer who makes his teammates better over the all around player.
I shouldnt even respond to something crazy like this but i will. When you lose McGrady, you lose one of the best defenders in the league along with a closer/run stopper. Those other guys like hinrich and chandler are nice, but they're guardable players. The only person that can stop T-Mac is T-mac. His back is a issue, but if rehab goes like i should, he can play at a high level for another 6 or 7 yrs. Barkley did it. Ming was having a career yr, yet without Tracy they couldnt win games. I think the Rox needs to get guys who can play instead of these one diminsional guys. They need all around talents to go with Ming and McGrady.
Here is my analysis....even when healthy t-mac has lost a lot from his first year in Orlando in jumping ability, explosiveness, and overall athleticism. Remember when t-mac used to be able to go over people on his drives (over 2 people and dunk in traffic)? Now he can only put up a left hand off the glass shot that is not near as effective in traffic, or get fouled. He did play exceptional defense against Dirk (in playoffs) but he is part of the reason Yao was in foul trouble, as he does just enough on defense to stay out of jvg`s doghouse. In game 7 against the mavs Yao played great, tracy jacked up all these low percentage bombs wen it was obviuos that he was off, and could have kept the game close if he fed yao in the paint. But ultimately he has to be the man, and that ego problem hurts his play, as he knows how to play smart, and make his team-mates better, but he could average 8+ assists a game if his ego didn`t cloud his BB IQ. He will set up opponents, but he will always take those low percentage pull up shots, that are purely ego driven like kobe. I don`t know how good t-mac takes care of his body during the off-season, but I don`t think he works as hard as Stockton, Malone and kobi. He supposedly was in the best shape of his life, and frankly, he didn`t look ripped like a dr j, who had that vein popping out on his bicep b/c he was so shredded to the bone! He looked a little soft, and that should never be the case for a 6 foot 8 guy who is 26, and play`s basketball for a living. Softball doesn`t count as off-season training...he needs to do eight training and plyo-metrics (sp) like the football players do, just to regain half of his explosiveness from the past. Yes, he is one pressure shooter, who can hit tough shots on the road, but he has to shoot even better than his low 42% since he no longer can dunk over 2 guys in traffic, and it looks to be getting less likely that he will return to that aformentioned form. Kobi, Garnett, both came in the league before him, and his athleticism has decayed the most of the three, so its not all wear and tear from playing so much basketball, i haven`t seen kobi breaking down athletically like t-mac. I would love to see t-mac hae a comeback season regardless if he is with the rockets, but if I could get heinrich, the 2nd pick, duhon, melcioni,(sp) and sweeny...for stro and t-mac and no draft pics on the rocket`s side. I THINK LONG TERM THIS WOULD BE BETTER FOR THE FRANCHISE. just an opinion, or a trade straight up for garnett would also peak my interest. Nobody is saying t-mac isn`t a top 10 (depending if he is hot from outside..he`s so streaky) player when healthy even with his reduced altheticism, but we would be getting good players in return who are healthier and younger than t-mac. You have to give something of value to get something of value in return in most cases.
you typed a lot but a lot of it is flat out wrong. I wont get into game 7 last year....that was just a bad game. But the loss of athleticism as compared to Garnett & Kobe isn't nearly as bad you think. Kobe's 1st step isn't as explosive as it was...its still better than Tracy's but its always been better. Its sorta like Vince Carter...they can still get to the hoop whenever they fell but it doesn't come nearly as easy. And Garnett isn't nearly as agile and athletic as he was in his early years. This is due to age and the added weight....he played SF as a rookie, he cant possibly do that now. I dont think Tracy has lost any of his hops....its his quickness that has left him. Mind you....Tracy wasn't blessed with breakneck quickness anyway. Due to his size/length it would be impossible for him to as quick as guys who are smaller than him. Being 6'9 with a 7'1 wingspan makes it extremely difficult for him to work his way through traffic (the long arms make it difficult to handle the ball).....when he drives its cause he see's a path to the hoop. Tracy McGrady is an athletic jumpshooter. Thats the natural evalution of a perimeter player. Iverson/Pierce/Kobe/Ray Allen/Vince they all take more jumpers today than they did 5 years ago....thats what you do when you get older. So everyone who thinks tracy's gonna all of sudden revert back to 2000 and become this slasher then they're gonna be disappointed. He slashed cause he had younger legs and couldn't shoot.
