Man, I completely forgot about Kobe’s high praise for McGrady. Kobe on T-Mac: “Dude was unbelievable. He can do everything. I told him one time, bro, you can do everything I can do, but you were 6’9. No weaknesses, offensively or defensively. Nightmare to guard” Kobe has gone on record saying T-Mac was the hardest person he ever had to guard. And he played against LeBron and D Wade. That’s why I truly think this debate is closer than people think.
I love Yao, but I’m taking Prime T-Mac / Dwight. Yao was never as dominant as MVP dwight that carried his team to the finals.
Lol that's a helluva find, but not sure how much it has to do with my argument. I didn't say we weren't frustrated watching him as fans sometimes. I'm just saying he got comfortable with a play style that no longer suited his physical abilities by the last few years of his career in Houston, and, for whatever reason, he struggled to adjust. Maybe it was just stubbornness, but I think he had the capabilities to play a lot better than he did if he was healthy or if someone like Morey got to him at a different time.
HTF is anybody going to say Tracy is a better passer than James. Harden routinely gets better assists with better passing.
I will add this: T-Mac was far, far more clutch than James. In that category, it's not even close. T-Mac is remembered fondly because of how often he hit big shots, especially in the playoffs. T-Mac's tenure here ended badly, but that is because his body failed him. His knee issues gave out, and even the year we went on that crazy win streak, I felt the wear on his knees and the effect on his play was visible.
It’s easily Harden. Anybody who pick differently is either letting hate get to them or they are McGrady stans.
With all due respect to T-Mac, how big could those shots have been if they never won him a series? Honest question. I remember the game winner in G1 of the 2005 Mavs series, which was awesome, but the Rockets then came home and blew a 2-0 lead, and lost by like 40+ in game 7. So, he had a spectacular moment in a game 1. Great. I don't know if that makes him "far, far more clutch."
LOL, Tracy McGrady played 1728 minutes in 50 career playoff games (12 of which came after he was washed) - Harden, the same age as TMac when he retired - has played in 128 for 4500+ minutes
TMac only had one great season as a Rocket: 04-05. The rest of his tenure in Houston was filled with injuries and major disappointments. At least with Harden, the Rockets were routinely a contender even if they never won a championship and he got a MVP.
What does that have to do with being clutch? Do you have a single memory of James making a big basket in a crucial playoff moment? James's worst games came when we were playing series deciding games. As strange as it is to say, Harden's block of Dort last year is probably the biggest late game play of his Rockets playoff career in a crucial game.
We didn't lose because of him. He was amazing all series. He scored like 50% of the team's points in game 7 when we got blown out. He was clutch because in tight games in the playoffs he didn't turn the ball over ten times, didn't go 2-13 from 3-point range while the team misses 27-straight three's in a game 7, didn't score 10 points and foul out while playing lethargic and giving up in a series clinching game, etc. T-Mac stepped up in those moments, even when the rest of the team didn't, and late in the game scored big shots while double teamed and the focus of the opponents defense.
Do you have a single memory of T-Mac winning a playoff series? Yes, James had a handful of bad games among his 85 playoff games over the last 8 years, during conference semifinals and conference finals series. How many big games did T-Mac have in the semis or finals? Oh right. T-Mac's "great performances" came in losing efforts in the first round. I don't recall James having many bad first round playoff games, either. Harden's Rocket teams often easily defeated their first round opponents, as they were expected to, so nobody even cares about those games. Harden gets scrutiny about a few bad games in later rounds, because they were more important games against better opponents. T-Mac never even had the chance to play games with those stakes, because he always lost in the first round.
How about a memory of TMac going up in a series, thinking that it was over, only to see the other team come back and beat him? There's a few of those
