http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/ian_thomsen/11/09/mcgrady.inside.nba/ Diminishing returns McGrady says he's lost a step ... at ripe old age of 27 Posted: Friday November 10, 2006 12:11AM; Updated: Friday November 10, 2006 12:11AM The enigma of Tracy McGrady continues. "I'm young,'' he says. "But I'm old.'' McGrady is 27, yet he's entering his 10th season with a sensitive back that sidelined him for 34 games last season. He feels much older than he looks. "My first year here,'' he says, referring to his 2004-05 debut with Houston after being traded by Orlando, "I felt like I was that same type of guy that was in the Magic uniform, that I could go out and get 30 or 40 every night. At this point right now, I don't feel that way. I feel like the last few years my game has diminished a little bit. I don't know if it's because I'm older, because of the injuries or what, but I feel that I'm a step slower.'' McGrady is an interesting test case for the NBA. Personnel people are studying him, Kevin Garnett and other teenaged draft picks in hope of recalibrating the standard graph for NBA longevity. The traditional thinking has been that NBA players reach their peak at 28 into their early 30s, but that traditional model was based on rookies who used to enter the league in their early 20s after three or more years of college. McGrady was drafted as a 17-year-old in 1997. When Larry Bird had played as many NBA games as McGrady -- 617 -- Bird was a 30-year-old whose body was already starting to break down, leading to his retirement five years later. "The last six years I've been playing a lot of minutes,'' McGrady says. "In Orlando I was playing 40-plus, and what I had to do for them -- guarding the best players and scoring the ball -- really took a toll on my body. I don't feel 27. It's not so much the years that you play in this league, it's more so the mileage and the minutes and everything that you do that takes a toll on you. It's definitely done that to me. "I had a very quick first step, and I've lost a little bit of that. I've put on some weight, but hey man, as you get older you slow down a little bit and that's what's happened to me. I look at Kobe Bryant. He's still a great player, but he had to sort of change his game a little bit because we're getting older. He's breaking down as well with the surgeries. I saw him [Friday] night and he doesn't look the same. He doesn't look the same at all. He looks heavier and he looks slower.'' Bryant, by the way, is 28. Is McGrady ready to cash out? On the contrary. He compares himself to the pitchers who lose something off their fastball yet compensate with a better understanding of how to work the plate. "Roger Clemens doesn't throw as hard as he used to throw, but he's very smart, he knows how to mix his pitches up and keep the batters off balance,'' McGrady says. "Obviously I'm not 40-something years old, but just the whole mentality of knowing that you don't have that overpowering [presence] that you would normally have when you were younger. As you get older you don't have that, so you got to find another way -- and that's got to be by smarts.'' McGrady's career seemed to be at risk last year when Rockets owner Leslie Alexander personally decided to hold him out for the final month in order to get to the bottom of his back injury. McGrady spent the summer getting leaner and now swears that he doesn't worry about reinjuring his back. "My back was so jacked up, I was healthy -- this is no lie -- for one game last year, and that was the first game of the season,'' he says. "I kind of lost my passion for the game, but I worked my ass off to get into tip-top shape just to bounce back and come into training camp more focused than ever. "I think I'll be healthy to play out this contract,'' says McGrady, who is signed through 2009-10, when he'll be making $23.2 million as a 30-year-old. "But after that it's a big question mark.'' By acquiring Shane Battier and Bonzi Wells, the Rockets have assembled a contending roster around Yao Ming and McGrady, whom coach Jeff Van Gundy routinely refers to as "one of the great decision-makers in the league.'' "A lot of guys would have trouble accepting me saying to the team that Yao is our No. 1 option in the halfcourt, but Tracy's fine with that,'' Van Gundy says. "I hear all this 'Me-Mac' stuff from down in Orlando. I don't know what happened, but if he was that way there, he hasn't been that way from Day One here. This guy has been all about the team.'' McGrady is the best player in the league to not have won a playoff series, but Van Gundy objects to the category. "We were up 2-0 two years ago and we should have won,'' says Van Gundy, referring to the Rockets' seven-game loss to Dallas. "Or I don't know if we should have won; we lost to a team that played better than us during the regular season, but we had the ability to win. I don't think he could have possibly done more in that series. That's what bothers me about 'McGrady has never won a first-round series.' I know there were reasons we lost in that series, and not one of them had to do with McGrady.'' He has made the playoffs five times but never on a team with homecourt advantage. "I've always been the underdog,'' says McGrady, who averaged 30-plus points in each of his four series with Orlando and Houston. "But I can honestly say this is the first time in my 10 years that I came into training camp and I felt like I'm finally going to get out of the first round. "When I was younger I was extremely happy and excited to win a scoring title and accomplish all of these individual accolades, but now I don't even care about all this stuff. I watched Dwyane Wade [win the championship] and LeBron -- he's in his third year and he's advancing to the second round -- that's motivation. That's where I want to be because I see how much fun those guys are having out there. And that's what I want to do.'' It's as if McGrady has been abandoned by the new Wade/LeBron/Carmelo era. "It's like everybody's forgotten him all of a sudden,'' Rockets GM Carroll Dawson says of McGrady. "He used to be one of the stalwarts, but you never see his name anymore.'' What does that mean to McGrady? "Nothing,'' he says. "I know what I'm capable of, and you ask those guys -- they respect me.'' Before breaking out with a 32-point performance on 11-of-19 shooting in Houston's win at Milwaukee on Wednesday, McGrady had started slowly in averaging 16.5 points and hitting a career-low 35.8 percent from the field. But he was more concerned with the 3-2 Rockets up-and-down start, though he recognizes that all the newcomers will need time to learn Van Gundy's complicated system. "I'm in a situation where I don't have to score like that anymore,'' says McGrady, referring to his not-so-distant past. "If I was put in the situation where I had to do that, I think I'm still capable of doing it. But I'm playing with the best center in the league so I don't have to go out and be that guy anymore. And that will prolong my career.''
I liken McGrady's game evolving just like Hakeem's did in the early 90's. Hakeem stopped being the whril-wind dunking, aggressive, powerhouse he was early in his career... and started letting the game come to him, worked on his jump shot, and became a much better passer/game manager. Ironically, the Hakeem in his 30's won MVP's, while the young pup that had all the energy of Amare+Shaq never got that sort of respect. I'm not worried about McGrady... his court vision is better than ever, and his jump shot (while streaky) is still within him. Once the adrenaline of the playoffs hits, he'll be laying it all out there on the line again. He may not do it for 82+ games, but I'll take his current game + an amped up one for the playoffs any day of the week.
Tmac confirms what a lot of people have posted, he has lost a step and his days of dominating athletically are done. Tmac and Kobe show the NBA is a tough grind and its not the age of car but the number of miles on it. The Rox have to ride Yao's peak years rather than Tmac's now, last year Yao proved he has talent, this year he has to prove he can win.
I appreciate what he said. He's being realistic. That shows maturity and intelligence. And he has played far too many minutes for far too long. I'm looking forward to McGrady playing fewer minutes this season, and then cranking it up when he needs to... in the playoffs. I think he can, and I think he will. A good read. Maybe not what we'd like to read about the guy, but honest. I like that.
it's kinda sad to think about really. that we'll only have him till 2010. at least yao will still be here... though I think he'll be past his prime by 2011. we need to start preping for the future come 2008-2009.
McGrady definitely sounds mature and hungry for victory. Let's hope the Rockets make some noise in the postseason. Tmac deserves it.
I like his honesty. It could have been easier for McGrady to just be in denial and say "Oh well it was my back that was hurting my game. I'll pick up right where I left off 2 seasons ago when I was on a Shawn Bradley Head Hunt". I hope that he does refine his game (if that's even possible since he's pretty much a complete player) more so with his experience in the league. He can't dunk over people on a game-to-game basis anymore, but he can most likely still kill them from the perimeter. I'd be ecstatic if he can get through all of this season with 22/5/5 and Yao getting 20/10.
as yao takes over as the most dominant inside presence in the game it doesn't matter so much if tracy is as good as he was. if he hits his jumper, makes smart decisions, and keeps defenses honest, he's going to do everything we need from him.
No player keeps his athleticism. MJ started losing his around the age of 27/28 as a matter of fact. Changed his game and developed that deadly turnaround noone could stop. Kobe will wear down as well as the years go by as well. He's missed a ton of games over the last 5 years, and now with no Shaq taking the beating, he had to carry the load for a year. What it got him was a 1st round exit and knee surgery. The type of season he had last year, Tmac had to do with much less for years. Now we see all the years of playing with nobodies and having to carry them alone catchup. ORL used Tmac for the most part and milked him, then kicked him out. At this stage, Tmac has the same braintype as MJ ISTP, he's a very smart player. He can still be effective and devestating in spurts. They should seriously consider not playing him 40+ minutes per game ever again. No player can do that forever. This isthe time you'll have to start appreciate seeing guys like him kobe AI and KG play, because they'll all be retiring soon. They're past their first decade in the league.
Man.. this isn't something I really wanna hear from TMac... admitting he's old and FEELING older than he really IS??? daym man.. so discouraging for us fans. I hope this is just a publicity thing to fool his enemies so they'll take it easy on him on the court. I hate it when TMac speaks his honest mind. First he admits he quit on his team in Orlando. Then he admits that he wants to retires. and Now he admits he sucks? I think he's the youngest player to ever admit to losing a step or two. Whatever. This article makes me sad.
The dude has played 9 seasons and he's only 27 so of course he's going to be breaking down. I rather have him come forward and say "Look, I can't play above the rim like I used to when I was 21 anymore. I can't throw alley oops to myself like when I was the NBA scoring champion. What you're going to get is a less athletic but smarter player." Which is basically what he's saying. Be a fan and appreciate that he sees his shortcomings and is willing to accept it because, if his back holds up, I am pretty sure the Tracy McGrady Experience* v. 2.0 is going to be just as great. *-no relation to the Michael Vick Experience ride.
It is a good thing that he realises he is not the athletic freak he used to be, and that he is working on it to make his game more effective. His court vision and passing right now is just amazing, and he can still get hot at anytime in the game, so that he still demands heavy attention from the other team. This season it is best to use him as the biggest decoy in the league like last season's Shaq, destroying the opponent every few games and let his teammate do things. Then with all the saved energy when playoff time comes he will be killing again.
Its not like Orlando didnt try and build something down there....they brought in McGrady and Grant Hill at the same time....if Hill had been able to stay healthy who knows how good that team would have been. Orlando had a lot of salary tied up in those two guys, remember. And as I recall McGrady was rather vocal about wanting out of Orlando after several straight losing seasons. He wasnt just kicked out....he wanted out.
Yeah Kobe had a creer high 36 points last season... 81 pointers and 2 60+ games... dude blows by everyone in 81 pointer game against Raptor.. single handedly took on Mavs in regular season.... i dont see he gets old, he is strong and fast... i am just so sick of Tmac's complaint
Something that article said made me rethink the NBA's view on T-Mac. That seriously made me think for once in quite a long time. Nowadays, fair weathered fans disregard T-Mac, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce for quite some time now, simply because they play on teams that have (in the 05-06 season)mediocre seasons. Even now, putting myself in the shoes of fans not of the Rockets, I would think T-Mac is a goner, somebody who's old and can hobble off the court any time. Preception is a great thing. T-Mac can be underestimated all he wants, in light of the new, glamours, exciting trio of Lebron, Wade, Anthony, but all I want him to do now is to step up, and show that he can still be the T-Mac of old (stats wise) and bring the Rockets to the championship.
So I take it that the shoulder operations and the knee operations never happened? And that 7'2", 300+ lb behemoth of a center he played with for 5+ seasons didn't help him either.
