[ProBasketballNews] McGrady hopeful, yet back pain will always linger

Well, technically, his knees and a bad fall were what kept him out the beginning of the season. I don't consider a bad fall to be expected every year. He had spasms in January that definitely is part of his chronic issue...something he deals with every season.

The problem is that you can't use his most injury riddled season and say that this is suddenly the norm. It is too early to tell. Sure, he doesn't drive the lane and dunk with furious anger as much any more, but he hasn't for a while and led the league in scoring twice while he was moving away from that style.

 

+1

 

reminds me of that jackazz (Orlando )sports writer that hammered McGrady all last season--taking pleasure in McGrady's pain(fan's pain too) and relishing the notion that he was done and his team would not make the playoffs. I hate that guy

 

Relevant stats from 82games:

Code:

[COLOR=Navy]	%dunks	%jumpers	%drewfoul[/COLOR]
2003	5%	74%		14.9%
2004	4%	80%		12.0%
2005	4%	77%		12.2%
2006	3%	79%		12.7%

 

Usually i agree with everything you say ROCKETS111, but this time i cant agree. as someone said earlier, tracy had been avge 75 games prior till season. mind you, he supposedly did that with the same chronic back problem. as long as he dosent take another freak fall, he should still be a reliable 75+ player. plus he did state that this is the best he has felt since his toronto days.

 

Thank you for these stats. I was wondering if anyone would bring up the point that he has not taken it to the rack very much for a while now. Let's hope the jumpers he does take this year are less contested so he will hit a higher percentage. This year, Tmac will do what he has to do to get us a win. If it means defer to Yao one night then he will. If he has to score 35 the next night he will try. He will still be capable of putting up big numbers but shouldn't have to with the emergence of Yao.

 

what a jew, this thread makes me emo.

 

I've been a long time reader, rare poster on this site, and I'm starting to wonder about many of the posters. First off, interesting article Den, and it does remind Rockets fans that we can't go into future seasons without some worry of T-Mac's back. Next, I don't understand what the need is for posters to come into thread's with one-liners or third grade insults as responses to any thread on this board. If you're going to take the time to respond, why not do it in an intelligent and insightful manner that will spark more discussion and thought from other community members.
I'm just as much a die-hard Rox fan as any other member on this board, so don't think I'm a "jew" or "t-mac hatin doubter," but everyone on this board needs to stop with the emotions. If someone says something you don't agree with, then tell them in an intelligent way, not like its recess back in elementary. Take the heart off your sleeve and remember that people are merely expressing opinions and there's no need to make it personal when at no time the thread starter directly attacked anyone.

 

Thanks for your input, Mel.

 

I just have never heard of chronic injuries ever getting better. They get worse. I think last year was a preview of what's to come. Certainly T-mac will have a better year then last year, but I would think his best year is behind him - unless they find some miraculous cure for what ails him.

 

To make a statement like that could you at least tell us what qualifies you to make a comment on this at all?

 

I think you're "emo" because you're mother won't sleep with you again until the 15th when you have money to pay her.

Please leave the Jew bashing at your klan meeting.

 

Besides the fact that you don't have to be a doctor to know that chronic injuries never go away? Once an injury or ailment is labeled as "chronic", you will have it for the rest of your life. To what degree, who knows, but the fact is that you WILL be hindered someway, somehow by it.

 

i didnt know Rockets111 was the author of this article in that case this one flipflops more than a dying fish running for political office!!!

 

I know the definition of chronic.

My point was that labelling McGrady's chronic back problems as career limiting is either baseless or premature. The poster I was quoting said that his best years were behind him because of this chronic injury. He suffered from the same chronic back problem during the very same years to which he was referring.

This is one bad season. If the problem continues a case could be made that this problem will seriously impact his career. Unless that happens, there is no reason whatsoever to believe that he won't be in perfect form next season.

I suppose this critique would apply to your blog as well.

 

he's always gonna have back problems from now on...so get over it. or should i say....get used to it!

 

Yeah, the "moot" thing got me too. How is a person who writes for a living able to make a mistake like that?

 

No player in any sport has ever returned to pure form after struggling with a chronic injury. The list transcends basketball. Ken Griffey Jr, Bo Jackson, Alzono Mourning....it's one thing to recover from an injury - but not chronic ones which by nature get worse by the activity that originally caused them.

McGrady isn't going to get younger, and the toll of NBA seasons isn't going to wear less. His condition can not improve - it can only worsen. He may be able to manage it for a few years, but after that it will be downhill. The window for this team is certainly limited. Let's hope that McGrady can manage his back issues for a few years.

 

Ya, I really think the problem with Tmac's back has been greatly exaggerated. My understanding is last year he had two seperate back injuries. One was the chronic back spasm thing(that could be stress - my wife gets them all the time...Tmac said he had a rough year personally last year) and the other was a physical injury he had during a fall in a game. Now he did miss 35 games, but in reality he probably would have came back and played at the end of the season if the Rockets had any real playoff aspirations. So let's just say that he probably would have played more than 50 games last year if the situation had been different.

A 27 yr old playing 75+ games for a career and having one 50 game season isn't really that bad considering how long the NBA season is. Also, we shouldn't be worried because he averaged a bucket less this year than the year before - 2 points is nothing considering how much Yao has grown over that period of time. The fact is Tmac is becoming a more mature player and learning there are many ways to beat a team outside of scoring. His numbers will change just like every great scorer's numbers change when they mature as players.

All those people who see the glass as half empty just remind me of how we aren't particuarly known as loyal sportsfans in Houston(not compared to other cities at least)....

 

The athletes you mention obviously don't apply to this discussion. Mourning's kidney? Jackson's hip? Bla bla bla. Totally different than chronic back pain. Shocking that you would see a connection actually.

Your entire contention is that he won't be able to return to the form he had in Orlando. He had this same back problem in those days. In fact, one of the big stories surrounding his back has been that he will be receiving the treatment he used to get in his Magic days.

This problem is not new to McGrady. I don't care what they say at the ESPN School of Medicine.