[SportingNews]Talkin' with T-Mac

vlaurelio · Apr 27, 2007

please lock if already posted

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y....8vLYF?slug=talkinwithtmac&prov=tsn&type=lgns

Talkin' with T-Mac
Talkin' with T-Mac

By Sean Deveney - SportingNews

There may be no player under more scrutiny in the first round of the NBA playoffs than Rockets small forward Tracy McGrady, who is making his sixth postseason appearance in 10 seasons in the league. McGrady has been a terrific playoff performer:He comes into this postseason with averages of 29.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists, but his springs have routinely been cut short -- he has never won a playoff series.

That could change in the coming days. McGrady is, for a change, playing on a team with home-court advantage in the first round, and the Rockets are favored against the Jazz. In the series opener, McGrady scored 22 of his 23 points in the second half as Houston overcame a 9-point halftime deficit. SN's Sean Deveney caught up with McGrady to talk about trophies, magical back spasm cures and why the scouting report on the Jazz really doesn't matter.

SN: I imagine the topic of getting to the second round has come up a lot. Do you get tired of being asked about it?

McGrady: It really hasn't come up that much. I kind of expected it would, but it's not like people are always asking me about it. I don't really need anyone to tell me that. It's a disappointment that I haven't been out of the first round--trust me.

SN: Most times, it seems like you have gone into the playoffs as a low seed. Those lower seeds don't win a lot in the playoffs.

McGrady: If you go back and look, you see every time I've been on a team that lost, the other team was just better. No one player on one side is going to beat a better team. People that know basketball, who are real basketball fans, know that in most of those situations you could look at some of those teams and wonder how we even got to the playoffs in the first place.

SN: Those were mostly teams in Orlando. There was one in Toronto and one in Houston.

McGrady: Not having Grant Hill for all those times with the Magic really took away from those basketball teams. We got Orlando back into the playoffs, at least. They hadn't been there in a long time, and we got them back. I am happy with that.

SN: Do you talk to Grant much? Have you ever looked back with him and talked about what might have been?

McGrady: I really don't speak to him much. There hasn't been the opportunity to talk with him, and I don't know that now would be the time to wonder what could have been.

SN: The team you have now, it sounds like you have higher expectations than just being in the playoffs.

McGrady: This is the first time I have been to the playoffs and have been excited about what the team can do. We can accomplish something. We have a great core of players. Not just Yao (Ming) and me, but Shane Battier has been a great addition, Luther Head has been a great shooter, Rafer Alston. We can be dangerous because we have that inside-outside combo.

SN: Everybody talks about how the playoffs are different. But for the guys who haven't been through it before, how do you explain to them what's expected?

McGrady: I voice my opinion. I am going to make sure they know, especially with the team we have. Listen, we cannot be happy about making the playoffs. I have to make them understand that we have to advance here.

SN: How's your health and, specifically, your back? Have you gotten better at managing your back over 82 games?

McGrady: It's not a matter of that. When I came back in late December, I was fine. In the beginning of the season, I was not healthy. It was hurting, and I was having trouble walking at times. But I went to see this doctor down in Waco, and he completely healed it.

SN: He healed your back? Who's the doctor?

McGrady: Dr. John Patterson. He had worked on (Rockets assistant coach) Charlie Ward, and Charlie told me I should go see him. He is the one who worked on Terrell Owens' leg. Andy Roddick saw him. I called Andy, and he said he was great.

SN: Must be nice to pick up the phone and get a doctor's recommendation from Andy Roddick. But what did the doctor do?

McGrady: It was weird. It's some kind of biochemistry thing. I was like, "This is not going to work." He told me I would feel better the second I got up. So, I'm thinking, "OK, let's see." I get down on this table, and I am lying there for almost three hours. There are three doctors there, chiropractors and all, and they're all just touching different spots. There was this woman who was wearing gloves, and she had a spray bottle. And she sprayed water on my back and rubbed it in, you know, poking around. I had no idea what she was doing.

SN: So now, you're healthy and you're in the playoffs. How does that change your routine?

McGrady: Me, I am the kind of guy who has no big routine. I get into the arena, lie down on the training table and watch TV.

SN: How about scouting reports? Here you guys are with the Jazz--how much time do you spend looking at those?

McGrady: I don't spend a minute with scouting reports. Really. I know these guys. They might put in some wrinkles here and there, but I think most players don't read the scouting reports. You don't need a scouting report to know what Utah is going to do from game to game. You know their plays. They're going to pick-and-roll, pick-and-roll and pick-and-roll.

SN: At least it's easy to remember.

McGrady: Exactly.

Painful exits
Tracy McGrady was 20 when he lost his first playoff series with the Raptors. For T-Mac, now 27, each defeat has been a little tougher to accept.
Year Series results stats
2000 Knicks 3, Raptors 0 16.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.7 apg
"We learned from our mistakes, and definitely, hopefully, we'll be back." -- Associated Press
2001 Bucks 3, Magic 1 33.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 8.3 apg
"I'm very disappointed for all of us, but it's not the end of the world. I think we showed a lot of character, and this was a great year for the franchise." -- Florida Today
2002 Hornets 3, Magic 1 30.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 5.5 apg
"I don't want to be one of those guys who takes six or seven times to get to the next level." -- Chicago Daily Herald
2003 Pistons 4, Magic 3 31.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.7 apg
After losing a 3-1 series lead:"It's tough. This was a winnable series for us. It's tough to swallow." -- Detroit News
2005 Mavericks 4, Rockets 3 30.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 6.7 apg
"I'm disgusted. I'm real mad. I'm angry. All that stuff. At the same time, I won't hang my head. I will be back next year. This is all going to make me tougher. I never will fold." -- Houston Chronicle
Click to expand...

AstroRocket · Apr 27, 2007

I can't find the thread, but this was posted here a while ago.

Luffy1 · Apr 27, 2007

Tmac so far hasn't done much to back up his big talk. Tmac needs to learn to stop talking so much and start producing.

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