Although this may have been briefly discussed in other threads, I never really understood what happened to McGrady during last year's offseason after he had minor knee surgery. 1) Did he get lazy after the surgery and didn't put in as much effort as required to be in tip top shape for the upcoming season. or 2) If it is true that he has been playing in pain all season, does this mean that he needed micro-fracture surgery all along? Or did the pain arise because he did rehab as hard?
In before the lock. Really, HOW MANY T-MAC THREADS DO WE NEED? As for the surgery, no he really didn't need it. He just talked to Amare and he said microfracture is fun and he should try it. That's what tmac did. I am sure he had a lot of fun.
McGrady came back early and out of shape after off season surgery (two surgeries I believe?), because Battier was injured. Some argue he didnt put effort into rehabbing, others believe it was the fault of his trainer Wayne Hall, and even others argued he couldn't get into shape due to the limitations set forth by his procedures. What the truth is, who knows? I tend to give him the benefit of the doubt, while others do not. He kept playing because the team doctors said there was nothing wrong and he couldnt hurt it any further. Despite playing in a great deal of pain, he was labeled as a player with no heart and "on the decline", because he was very inconsistant and was unwilling to play aggressive. He was on again off again until finally he could barely even move. Unfortunatley, since the state of his injury was unknown while he was playing, his trouble dealing with the pain appeared as a lack of effort or as him being a quitter. The emotions fans had toward the apparent "quitter" stuck with them, probably due to the high expectations of the team with the addition of Artest, despite the obvious physical challenges he was encountering. The team had moderate success without him, by capitalizing on favorable playoff matchups, furthering the notion that "we were a better team with him gone". So here we stand today, divided on our thoughts of him.
this time he has to put in 100%.... contract year. he needs to prove he is worth the $$$$. he wants that $$$$. REDEMPTION year for TMAC
1. He did not stay in shape during the offseason. 2. There were varying degrees of treatments. 4 doctors recommended that he strengthen the knee and the pain would go away, Tmac went with microfracture, it was his choice, not all doctors agree on a treatment of injuries. I believe he played last year because the team knows he has terrible work out habits and figured that he would get in worse shape and it was better for him to play. I also think mistakes were made on both sides.....either way....Tmac is working hard now.......(contract year, cough cough).....but I would be money he goes back to his lazy ways after a new contract. Whatever the organization decides to do with him, I am fine with...however, I personally hope they trade him. DD
that was basically what happened. had tracy handled the situation more graciously, he would have been jocked by some. but too bad his mouth yapped too much.
The times when he could toy with the media are over. Last year he could not back up his words with sound execution. Period. This year we will have to wait and see. Leave it all out on the court, Mac.
he had knee AND shoulder surgery. sure he could have come in better shape. knee -> little cardio; shoulder -> little weights. look at how big yao's face right now (though his surgery on his foot is more severe). i'm sure some posters would come in saying these guys should be able to be in a strict diet. and the microfracture surgery might end up saving his career. the doctors most likely said that b/c that was a less extensive injury, and most doctors always recommend the least extensive kind. if tracy's knee would get better, it would have gotten better at least 3-4 months down the line b/c he "kept" playing on it (according to the doctors). yet, he had more pain/soreness. tracy came back b/c of him and him ONLY. he said to start the season he wasn't ready (from his own mouth); he played only b/c shane battier was out another month or so (when the team expected battier to be ready for training camp). he didn't want the team to be off to a bad start. i think anyone can pull the vids from training camp of last yr and see those interviews themselves. he said he felt great or whatever, but whoever saw the kings preseason game could have seen for themselves if his knee was in game-shape or not. the problem with tracy is his mouth. he doesn't know when to shut up, what to say to make himself look good (like some can), how to handle himself better... he's just terrible PR-wise. people think tracy is working hard now more than ever b/c whoopee doo, there are VIDEOS. it's another PR campaign obviously from mcgrady's camp. imagine if there are no videos and he kept working hard like he is, and struggles when he does play, you know the drill again DD from the fans: oops, probably didn't work hard to get back.
all athletes talk. amare said he will be back the first year after his surgery, and failed miserably. then fans said if he could ever be back. gilbert arenas talked for 2 years, esp. last year saying he'll be back. he had to sit out another year. tracy was a dumbass last year, period. some of the things, even a child, could handled the situation so much better. i'm sure the frustration of sucking so bad pissed him off and he did some dumb things. but whatever's done is done. i just wish tracy can come back and play well and contribute to the rockets in some way. if we keep him, i wish him to have a great season. if we trade him, i wish he plays well enough for us to net a great player/pick. regardless of the situation, him playing well is a great thing for us.
Agreed with your previous points but I could not bet my money on this. Tmac as much of a diva is a person, who I believe, is able to learn from his mistakes. Heck, he wants to prove himself and win a ring. How can he return to his lazy ways?? When was the time he was lazy? He was out of shape, injury-ridden, mentally dejected but not lazy. The only things on him which seems to be lazy are his eyes. BUT I can understand your intense feelings towards him. The guy must have disappointed you to the core. You must have been a big supporter of his once, otherwise I cannot figure why you cannot let go of his past mistakes.
Some people can agree with it, some cannot. It is pretty difficult to be in a game shape when you have your sholer and knee to rehab at the same time. Whan it comes to health issues nobody should EVER listen to the Houston Rockets' doctors. That's my opinion, though. It was not like he said 'I am doing microfracture'. The doctors kept saying that is gonna get better while playing and Tracy was stupid enough to belive them. As we all saw, it did not get better. What's more it got worse, much worse. Sure, when he decided to take few weeks off he came back playing really well but it only lasted few games. When things are not working well, you have to do something and find different way to fix it. Remember the results of his MRI? The team said there was nothing new/wrong with his knee. And few days later we were reading an article which said he had been missing cartilage. Is that normal? I guess that is why people do MRI. I don't think a normal arthroscopic can fix a lack of cartilage. I am not a doctor, though.
Yao had foot surgery and can't do cardio, do you expect him to get that far out of shape? No, because he is a professional....and a hard worker. DD
Yao stands for 1 percent of all NBA players who trains when actually sitting in a wheel chair. So what. Everybody works hard once in their life. Yao does it every off season injured or healthy.
A good number of NBA players stay in shape when injured, it is a matter of respecting your body and your craft. DD
Right on. This is year one of The Great Grover Saga. Wait and see. He was out of shape one year in his career. I can turn a blind eye to that one.
