Ric Bucher: I dont see a Tmac-led team winning a chip, EVER

According to whom? He played in 71 games last year and has been working out ever day in the offseason with trainers.

I really think the record should be set straight on TMac not playing.

In his 10 years in the league, he has only played fewer than 70 games four times. His rookie season, he only played 64 games but didn't miss due to significant injury. That was a horrible season for the Raptors and McGrady only got 17 MPG.

His second season, he played in 49 games out of a possible 60 due to the lockout playing only 22 minutes a night. He had no significant injuries that year.

His last season in Orlando, he played in 67 games and shut himself down with 10 games to go. He has said he could've played if it were a playoff race.

Two seasons ago was his worst year due to injury. He only played in 47 games and missed most due to back spasms. In the other two years in Houston, he has played in 78 and 71 games. In his other seasons, he never played fewer than 75 games.

 

That said, Bucher's smoking crack if he thinks TMac can't learn from his mistakes.[/QUOTE]


you cant learn from your mistakes... if you dont think you make any...

 

screw him. they don't have a problem naming the mavericks as favorites. and you can't tell me mcgrady is softer than dirk.

 

I rated it 5 satrs.

Now someone please let it known to Tmac somehow.

 

He's played one close to full season ever (2 if you count the lockout). That doens't exactly make him an iron horse - missing 1/8th of a season due to injury can make a pretty big difference in the playoff race when you are a top team.

For a max salary, I don't want 7/8 of a season, I want the whole thing.

The other problem is that injuries have obviously affected the way he plays, now that he is content to bomb from the outside (at a not very high percentage) instead of drive.

 

Just because he has a more realistic opinion of your god than you do, and he stated it in a undiplomatic manner, doesn't make him a fool.

He's probably the best basketball columnist at ESPN (I'm not counting Simmons b/c his stuff is different in nature). He stuck by Yao when it looked bad, and now has been vindicated on that.

 

the ONLY reason YOU agree with him is because he is 'friends' with Yao...

 

Thats why we have have Steve Francis!

 

Um, no? I've read plenty of his columns (which usually end up in ESPN the Magazine) and they're fine columns. Better than the crap that Marc Stein, Walton, or Greg Anthony put out. The stuff that they put out are usually complete fluff pieces which offer little information. Bucher does far better than that.

I never said I agreed with him. I said I'm willing to ignore the fact that he was undiplomatic about his opinion because he has done good for Yao in the past. McGrady-only fans are about ready to chop his head off.

 

Kobe and Wade had Shaq and Lebron didn't actually win the championship. Tracy in my opinion has even more ability than Lebron James. T-Mac is the guy who lead the league in scoring twice. T-Mac is the guy who averaged over 6 assists last year. T-Mac once averaged 8 boards a game.

The one thing I will agree with is that unlike Lebron, Kobe and Wade. T-Mac doesn't have the killer instinct that those guys have especially Kobe. Tracy has a lot more talent this year so he should go further in the playoffs this time.

 

ANother T-Mac hater? I don't care what he said...

 

I hate to use this label but you and that Ric "the fool" Bucher are as much a YOF as anyone can get.

 

yao is not the leader of this team. he still makes rookie mistakes. and t-mac's not a great leader either.

 

I think Bucher is right to an extent. T-mac is arguabaly the best player on the team but doesn't mean he has to be the leader per se. We need a Derek Fisher; Robert Horry type of player (also brings good luck) who is not only a leader in the locker room but also on the court.

 

Honestly, can you blame Bucher for making that statement? Tmac has been in the league for 10 years and counting, and what exactly has he done to shut up his critics? Reality is that Tmac has never advanced past the first round, and during the last playoffs during the closing minutes he refused to take the ball inside when it counts.

I have always been a huge Tmac fan and he won me over during the his playoff appearance against the Bucks, but Tmac has plenty of shortcomings. Being as gifted as he is he should easily be the best player in the league. At 6-9/6-10 I don't think there has ever been another player besides Magic Johnson that could do the things Tmac could. However, with all that talent Tmac has never maximize his potential, and I think that is pretty sad.

 

I never pay attention to bucher. Marc Stein is legit to me,(even though he's based in dallas and best buds w/ dirk).

 

I bet he's all over Lechoke and the cav's piece

 

I don't see Yao do it because of his (lack of) stamina. But I kind of agree with Ric. It seems that T-mac does NOT have the killer instinct. The game 6 and 7 against the Utah Jazz showed somewhat. When the score was tied, T-mac bailed Jazz out with his jump shot. He daren't penetrate. That's like the last 5 minutes of the game, T-mac has to either make the shots or generate foul shots, but he couldn't do it.

 

That's so true, two games, game 6 and 7, nobody on the Jazz team can take over in the last 5 minutes, T-mac let the opportunity slip. At the minimum, you can say T-mac still does not have the killer instinct.

I don't think Steve can do it either. Physically, he is not the same player. Mentally, he is not that good anyway.

What fans can hope is that during playoffs next year Rox can build up a very large lead in the deciding game and there is no need for T-mac to take the ball inside in the last 4-5 minutes.

 

I think it's kinda true...since most teams that end up in finals or usually win the championship is usually on the shoulders of great big men or great all-round...

Shaq or Kareem - the Lakers
Duncan - the Spurs
Olajuwon - The Rockets

exceptions
Jordan - The Bulls
The Pistons (80s)
The Pistons (00s)


I would like T-Mac chances better in the East, but since we are in the west and conference is whole lot tougher from head to toe and there are many other great SGs and high-scoring power fowards with a number defensive specialists and above average defenders.

I doubt T-Mac led (totally) team could make it to the finals.

The real X-Factor is Yao: what player in the west could slow stop Yao offensively or match him point for point in an entire serious with roster with roster we have now.


With T-mac, He can be cancelled out against a team with really good sf/sg defender or another high point scorer like Kobe, Melo, or etc.