Not our business, but...WHAT ARE MCGRADY'S PROBLEMS????

you know what, I don't like mcgrady, I am hard on him on here. I don't like the fact that he admits to quitting. I don't like the fact that he came in here and talked all about how he was going to get along with the coach and I going to love playing with yao, (meaning, I'm not that knucklehead you just traded for me) I don't like the fact he is always talkin about what he's going to do. I don't like the fact that people basically rejoiced that francis was booted like he was the worst thing to ever happen to this franchise, and people, and this thread is an example, act like mcgrady is above criticism.


listening to talk radio yesterday, the talking heads in this town are starting to agree with me. mcgrady could do no wrong when he got here with them also, and now they are getting tired of this stuff. charlie was all over him friday. and the fact that he said he is alright after speaking to the all wise barkley was basically a joke on the shows yesterday. you guys who think people like me are unfair to him are basically the last group with your heads in the clouds.

I was a mcgrady fan until after his losses in the playoffs in orlando, he basically came out and said his teamates weren't good enough. the guy is spoiled prima donna. he can't handle criticism, he can't handle losing, he's weak.

 

didn't someone say "with greatness comes great responsibility"? the truth hurts but fans are more interested in a player's performance than his personal life. fans see their favorite player as a role model, especially for the young fans growing up. the player cannot show signs of weakness.

 

and as someone else mentioned, contrast this to kobe. he played through a rape investigation, the whole time the national media was burying him for his selfishness, his ratting on shaq, his home life.

 

McGrady just seems physically and mentally fragile in a way that Kobe, Jordan, and the rest of the true legends were/are not.

It doesn't take a lot to get him down, and when it does he visibly seems to pack it in sometimes. Not always, but it happens.

 

Will you people please stop this crap.

Im not understanding alone how 8 deaths in 8 years doesnt account for mental strength without going nuts. Anyone else would probably go to a mental ward on that experience alone.

Some people open their mouths withouth knowing what they're talking about.

Dont give me any crap about Kobe being strong when he ratted out a guy miles away because he was under pressure,

And MJ retired when his pops was killed. Please just stop it

 

All right - I apologize - McGrady is an awesome untouchable leader whose fire and determination will pull us through, and if it doesn't it's not his fault and never will be.

 

Exactly. We're talking a few games here. Some people are acting like he's not averaging over 25 ppg this season.

McGrady's going through some hard times and his play has reflected that for a few games. Then people have the balls to compare him to a guy who ass-****ed a girl in Colorado when he was married and have the audacity to say that's the same thing? Please.

I'd rather have my head in the clouds than up my ass like some of you.

 

News Flash:

Bird: "We don't have the players on this team who have their hearts in the right places."

Jordan: "After a while, you get tired when you have to carry an entire team."

Others who have criticized their team and teammates for not doing enough:

+ Kobe Bryant
+ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
+ Elvin Hayes
+ Rick Barry
+ Allen Iverson
+ Shaquille O'Neal

And I could probably list 100s of others. McGrady's a prima-donna? Sure, along with practically every other great player past and present, with few exceptions. Again, McGrady's only problem is that he does not know how to use the media properly. Steve Francis was criticized for results. Tracy McGrady is not criticized for results. Like it or not, that's the bottom line. As I said, I'll take a morose, clinically depressed, selfish (even though he's not on the basketball court), prima donna, spoiled McGrady over Francis 8 days a week.

I think our problem sometimes is that we spend too much listening to the media. Listen to the garbage that's been spewing from the media heads these days:

"Van Gundy and Dawson not on speaking terms"- Vecsey
"Rockets shopping for a new point guard" - Aldridge

Blah, blah, blah. Who the heck cares? All I know is this: I watch the Rockets to see them win games, or at least compete. When McGrady doesn't compete and produce at the level he's paid, he deserves criticism. When he produces 25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, etc., I could care less what the media says about him or what he says to the media. That's not why I watch basketball, and I'm sure many of us feel the same.

And for anyone accusing McGrady of being a drama queen, well, if you came to that conclusion by relying on media accounts, then that makes you a drama princess, because you're sharing the same source of information to make a judgment. I'd rather let the man up there do all the judgin'

"You never really know a man until you've crawled inside his skin and walked around for a few days in it." - Atticus Finch

 

Well, at least I am glad you finally admitted that you're bitter about the Francis trade and that's why you dislike McGrady and seem to rejoice anytime he's struggling.

He's definitely not in the class of Jordan or Bird or Isiah when it comes to mental toughness, he's more mentally fragile than any of the "legends". However, to say he's mentally "weak" after all he's gone through in his personal life, and still insisting on playing through it, is far from the truth. This is the same guy that played in the Bulls game last season and kicked ass when he had just learned that a very close friend/relative was dead, he didn't bail out on the team and he didn't run away, he only came out and crushed the Bulls.

No player is perfect, NO ONE, I don't care who you root for or dislike. You learn to take the whole package with all the good and the bad. In the case of McGrady, we have never as a franchise had a player of his talent or caliber in the backcourt for as far back as I can remember. You don't have a shot in hell of winning a championship with the likes of Francis and Marbury, but you do have a chance (even if it isn't much, it's still a better chance) of winning with McGrady and Yao provided that you surround them with the right players.

If we trade away or lose T-Mac, this franchise will enter the dark ages and it will ruin us for at least a decade or more.

He's NOT above criticism, that's justifiable, any and every player has been criticized at one point or another -- remember how the greatest player in history of our franchise was treated by the fans and the media before he won those two championships for us?

What I have a problem with is the overzealous haters like yourself, who just admitted that you dislike the guy period, and nothing will change about that. In that regard, your views of T-Mac hold about as much weight as edc's utter dislike of all things Jeff Van Gundy.

I don't like blind T-Mac haters, I don't like blind Kobe haters, and I don't like haters in general.

So again I ask you: if not McGrady, who's available in the league today as we speak that could help the Rockets more? Who can take McGrady's place on this team?

May be if you think about it that way instead of from your perspective as a Francis-lover, you'll finally get the point.

I miss Mobley because he would be great in our current system playing at the two-guard position. Francis, on the other hand, doesn't provide what we need on this team.

 

NEWS FLASH

those guys have earned the right to criticize their teamates, if anyone has ever. that's the other thing about mcgrady, you automatically drop him into these guys' category when he hasn't even come close to iverson's accomplishments.

 

I actually don't rejoice everytime he's struggling, I point out when a) bull crap is being posted as excuses for this guy or b) bull crap is coming out of his mouth.

 

Oh, yeah, and at the Hurricane Katrina event, when he was talking to the kid who was upset because he lost everything, and he gave the kid his own shoes, he waved the Channel 11 camera off when they tried to film him after he gave his obligatory interview. I was right there when he talked to the kid's mom and him for about 10-15 minutes- and that's not B.S.- some of the other players just walked through and said "Hi" without taking time to talk one-on-one with anyone. Only ones who did were Wesley, Mike James, and McGrady. In the midst of all this McGrady bashing, I'd like to point out this and tell Charlie, Rich, etc. to take their opinions and stick them. I would have expected someone like Tracy to make a big show of coming down to help, but he didn't, unlike others.

Memo to Tracy: True Rockets fans are behind you 100%!

 

A few games?

This is not the first time McGrady has been slacking this season, or in his career, whether it is due to off court problems or not. The fact is he is having a mediocre season by his standards - not just because the team around him sucks, but because he does not look as mentally or physically ready to play on a lot of nights this year as he did last year. He went through some doldrums again back in December and JVG called him out over it. And I don't feel like bringing up Orlando.

He's still a great player, but like I said a few months ago - he has yet to take the leap to legend status precisely because he seems to have trouble when confronted with adversity. There is of course stil time, but it's something he will have to fix if he wants to be an NBA legend.

Nobody is saying that McGrady is the reason for the sorry state of the Rockets this season - but with the responsibility of being the MAN comes the responsibilty of being not entirely blameless for lackluster performances by yourself or by your team. That goes for McGrady, Francis, Hakeem, Moses, Elvin Hayes - whoever.

 

I don't see how you guys can sit here and still say he's going through tough times when none of us know what those "issues" are he's talking about it and he has said that charles barkley of all people has helped him through it.

 

Which is worse? Us believing our star player when he says he's going through the toughest time of his life or you calling him a liar?

 

i can tell you what's more pathetic. a grown man still acting like players on the team he roots for are perfect. grow up.

 

I say we trade tmac for Ben Gorden.. man that kid is the real deal.. tough, strong and not a quitter or a whinner or having a bad back, and unlike ceratin people, hes willing to take the ball to the hole.

 

Nanny nanny boo boo. I am rubber you are glue.

Now I remember why I don't visit the GARM. You seriously need to get a grip.

I never claimed he was perfect. However, if I had the level of hate for a player like you clearly do for McGrady, I wouldn't even bother rooting for the Rockets.

 

Oh, Bird has the right to criticize Kevin McHale and Robert Parish? Jordan can put down Pippen (which he admitted) and that's OK? Oh, and Iverson certainly has accomplished a great deal, hasn't he?

At what point is it acceptable to criticized your teammates in public? Well, here's the system I propose based on your logic:

1. Championship: You are allowed a Level 5 criticism which includes all teammates, including all-stars, and the coach, as well as the owner.
2. NBA/Conference Final: If you've reached the conference or NBA final, you can criticize all players except the all-stars; you are not allowed to criticize the owner or coach, but assistant coaches are fair game.
3. Semifinal Appearance: You can only put down the non-starters, and you are not allowed to criticize any member of the coaching staff, except for the trainer. Front-office employees may endure slight criticism, but only once a month.
4. First Round Appearance: You are only allowed to criticize the non-playing non-starters. All coaching and office staff are off-limits. Media members can be subject to criticism as long as they do not reside in one of top 10 major media markets in the U.S. (e.g. New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago media are especially off-limits for critical attacks).
5. No Playoff Appearances: You must keep your mouth closed at all times.

I feel this is a very reasonable fair set of guidelines for players to follow in their use of criticism. Under this criteria, McGrady must unfortunately be limited to verbal attacks on Lampjie (sic) and media from cities that include Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and Portland.

 

you know I understand your response but that's the way I feel about a lot of the mcgrady kool aid sipping that goes on in here, not just you.