http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/basketball/11483578.htm Posted on Mon, Apr. 25, 2005 STAR-TELEGRAM/RON JENKINS McGrady is out to prove a point By Dwain Price Star-Telegram Staff Writer DALLAS - This season has been all about redemption for Tracy McGrady. McGrady's star was tarnished last season when he and the Orlando Magic finished with the worst record in the NBA at 21-61. Then last summer McGrady got involved in a he-said, he-said war of words with Magic general manager John Weisbrod, and subsequently was traded to the Houston Rockets in a package that included Steve Francis going to Orlando. While Francis and the Magic floundered and missed the playoffs this season, McGrady is flourishing in Houston -- and loving the struggles the Magic experienced. "Obviously it was a big loss on Orlando's part," McGrady said of the controversial trade. "[Taking over games] is what I was doing my whole career when I was there. "But things didn't go right with us, so I had to make a change." Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy heard the whispers about McGrady not being a team player. But to his credit, Van Gundy did his homework and wouldn't let those comments affect the way he felt about McGrady. "I think the real Tracy has come out this year," Van Gundy said. "I think he was beaten down a little bit by losing [in Orlando], particularly in his hometown. "I think if he had a do-over he would have done a couple of things different last year. But I think he is around better and more professional players on this team, and I think it's maybe enjoyable for him." Indeed it is. McGrady is enjoying his stay with the Rockets so well that he has purchased a 34,000-square-foot mansion in Houston. And he's not only talking about finally being on a team that wins a playoff series, but he feels the Rockets are equipped to win an NBA title. "I'm 0-4 in the first round, but this is the first time I've felt that I can be a contender," McGrady said. "Not only just get to playoffs, but be a team that advances. "In the past I believed that I was always a first-round team, and if I advanced to the second round, then we overachieved. But with this team I feel like we're contenders." The Rockers are contenders, mainly because of McGrady's extraordinary talents. For instance, the eight-year veteran small forward had 34 points and also helped hold Dirk Nowitzki to 21 points as the Rockets emerged from Saturday's playoff opener against the Mavericks with a 98-86 victory. Game 2 is at 8:30 tonight at American Airlines Center, where McGrady again is expected to be a problem for the Mavs. Van Gundy has watched all of the behind-the-scenes work McGrady has done to polish his image and all his selfless acts to have his teammates involved in the offense. Van Gundy also watched McGrady average 25.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game this season and scratches his head wondering why McGray isn't mentioned in the race for the Most Valuable Player award. "I read a lot about MVP candidates and I read a lot about all-NBA, and I would put him up there with anybody you talk about as far as the year he's had and the impact he's had on our team," Van Gundy said. "I think he's more well-rounded than most outside observers would have thought. "He can be what he wants to be defensively, and there's nobody with better vision in the league. And I think he strikes the right balance most nights between offensive aggression and distributing the ball so all of the players can be affected." Despite averaging 28 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 asists last season, McGrady was blamed for all that went wrong with the Magic. But when asked if he thought his trade to the Rockets was a one-sided deal that blew up in the Magic's face, McGrady laughed and said: 'I don't know. I know, but I don't know." What Van Gundy knows is he watched film of several Magic games last season and noticed McGrady taking shots with the shot clock running out. Then he noticed early this season that McGrady deferred too much to his teammates. That's changed. "There was a struggle early on coming into a new situation for him on how to fit in," Van Gundy said. "What we decided was we didn't want him to fit in. We wanted him to be him." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ONLINE:www.rockets.com Dwain Price, (817) 390-7760 dprice@star-telegram.com
Wow, that's weird. A really good article about a Houston player in a Dallas paper? I guess they need to make sure they have a proper excuse to lose, and hyping McGrady can accomplish that.
