Tracy McGrady: Making Most of Minimal Minutes, Aiming to Prove Worth

I am like Shrek the ogre, many layers.

Let me explain it for people to understand.

1. Yes, I want him traded because I think it is best for the franchise going forward.

2. While he is here though and while he is wearing the colors, I want him to help the team.

1 and 2 work well together with understanding.

As for Chase, I never hated the pick, I hated that we didn't trade Tmac and get into the first round....

And once I saw Chase play...I loved the pick.....not so much on Taylor, I think he is not that good, but Chase..yes.

See, all consistent.....just like an ogre......or an onion....many layers.

DD

 

It won't hurt to think before talking.

 

I understand where you come from and why you come to the judgments you do. At the end of the day our views of people and the world are based on our experiences.

When I looked at the T-mac situation and the progression of his career, I was pretty sure he was going to come back and make an effort to fit in. I know at the time you questioned that - saying he would ruin the chemistry and all that.

You must admit that he has made the effort to fit in - and that his attitude has been right. No?

Why did I think this would happen? Because I can tell that T-mac is a good person, and that there are probably some very decent people talking some sense into him and helping him grow. Who is that? I don't know. Maybe it's Les, maybe his wife, maybe his agent. But someone is getting through to the guy. You can tell he's learning and growing not just as a basketball player but as a person - and it's a nice thing to watch.

I find T-mac's story to be very intriguing. He walked into Houston as the hero, our Kobe Bryant - destined to bring glory back to Houston - and how far he fell all the way to the bottom. Can the guy make it back? Can he win back the fans, his team-mates and shake off his bad rep?

I don't know if he can. And I don't know about how you feel, but I sure am rooting for the guy to do just that.

 

You aren't consistent. It's not that hard to admit you flip and flop just as much as McGrady. You did comment on how you saw nothing much of Chase when he first arrived (not your exact words), whether you admit it or not.

Bottomline is, you want McGrady to be traded, yet at the same time you want nothing of him in this team. You don't want him to help the team with the exception of being on the trading block. You don't want this guy to improve the team, you want this guy off the team.

 

Yao, playing too much to cash in on the China money
McGrady, playing too little to cash in on the insurance money

At least the owners can get the intangible benefits...one of these days the fans will see some basketball benefits from it.

Cant totally say it doesnt help the team. Cuz thats whats allowed them to buy draft picks like Chase Budinger and such. Just as long as they use that money competitively instead of it being their extra Christmas bonus.

 

I dont think you understood what I was getting at.. It was mostly pinpointed to the people who want McGrady benched.. Their only sufficient reason is that T-Mac isn't explosive enough or his stats arent good enough in the 8 mins a game he's playing...

Im not saying T-Mac should be playing 30mins a night.. I am saying that he deserves a shot to prove he has gotten better and stuff, and its hard to get into rythmn with only 8mins, so don't go off of stats... That's all

 

DD is Bi-Polar...... that's all it is

 

how old are you again?

 

Who cares what number he is putting up in this last 4 games. Right now, his stats are not a factor. He had not played in so long. Rick Adelman did not throw him out there for him to put up numbers. Rick's goal is for Tmac to get back into playing shape and just get used to the way the new system and the players.

Do you expect Tmac to go out there and play 6-8 minutes and put up big numbers? I rather have him get used to the new style and gain his rhythm back other than going out there and throwing up shots just for stats.

Like you said, you want him to do what he can to help the team win. And by trying to fill out the stat sheet, I rather have him just run plays with the team and play defense. I mean what do you want him to do in that 6-8 mins span?

I mean why are you expecting him to put up numbers when all he is trying to do is get used to the new system and get his rhythm back. He had not played in so long. He is rusted. Rick Adelmen is slowly easing him back into the lineup. And when he is fully ready, then he is ready.

You cannot expect him to just all of a sudden get back from a microfracture knee surgery (haven't played basketball in so long, only playing limited minutes to get a feel for the game, trying to fit into the system and not take over the ball); and put up big numbers in the first month he played. It would take some time for him to get back. But right now, all he is trying to do is get the feel for the game and get his rhythm back.

Comon DD, do you really expect him to put up numbers in the limited minutes and his first few games back after a long hard rehab from a notorious surgery?

 

Do you just look at the playoff loses and just assume that it was him that made us lose? Yea he is injured prone, but so is Yao. Yao is actually worst than Tmac because he is by far way more injured prone than Tmac.

So I'm guessing you think its Tmac's fault for the loses in the playoffs. But do you not look at our team during the playoffs before? Tmac is actually the only person that did something during his years with the Rockets in the playoffs. He was the only one that's effective.

During those years, our team sucked...BAD. We had a horrible group of role players. We lost in the playoffs is because Dallas and the Jazz are simply a far better team than we were. We were actually a pretty bad team. We just looked good is because Tmac made us looked good. We won above 50 games is because we had Tmac. Without Tmac, we would be a lottery team.

The reason why many of ya think that we should beat the Jazz or Mavs is because everyone thought we were a great team, but when we end up losing the series, most people pointed at Tmac and said that he cannot lead us out of the first round and because of him, we lost.

But you have to look at the big picture. We wouldn't even be in the playoffs if it weren't for Tmac. Without Tmac and only Yao playing, we are actually way below .500. During those playoff series, Tmac did all he can to help us win, but he just didn't have anyone to help him, while Dirk had a deep team and they just lit us up. The Jazz were deeper than we were and Boozer was just destroying Yao and we couldn't do anything about it. Tmac was the only guy that did something for this team during the playoffs. He was the ONLY effective person that the other team had to search for different ways just to slow him down. They didn't care much about the whole Rockets team, not even much about yao that they were worry. They focused mainly on Tmac simply because he was the only and main threat to them. He was the only guy that can possibly dismantle them single-handed; but they were just too deep for Tmac to do it alone.

If you really paid attention to the overall picture and said that Tmac didn't do anything in the season, you need to look at it again. Before Tmac came to the Rockets, we had Steve Francis, Yao, and Mobley. Three good players that can barely make the playoffs. We were standing in 7th spot. Before that, we never see the light of the playoffs with Francis. It took him a while and so did Yao just to finally get that 8th spot in the playoffs. But when Tmac came over, we won over 50 games.


2004-05 Houston 51 31 .622 (Tmac, Yao)
2003-04 Houston 45 37 .549 (Steve Francis, Mobley, Yao)

With Tmac, the Rockets went from a mediocre team to a contending team.

 

I disagree, the Rockets can afford to wait on him to get healthy. This team has played the most difficult schedule and have a 16-11 record. In the long run, a healthy T-Mac could really lead to a greater reward, either playing for this team or getting better value in a trade. One stat that you conveniently left out is the Rockets are 3-1 with McGrady, including their first win over Dallas.

Most healthy players would have very inconsistent stats playing 7-8 minutes per game. Very hard to get in any kind of rhythm and we need to remember he didn't get to go through training camp. This team is playing a different style of ball, so give him a little time to mesh.

 

Great post.

Why should Adelman be in a rush to expand McGrady's minutes? The Rockets are playing well as a team, and McGrady will not help unless he can do so within the parameters of the team concept that Adelman has implemented here. I love the Rocket's offensive and defensive systems. Granted the Rockets have room for improvement in the execution of these systems, but they know that quite well, and they appear to be working hard to improve their implementation as best they can.

McGrady will be ready when he is ready. Adelman is doing a great job, and if the Rockets continue to improve even moderately over the remainder of the season, he should probably earn coach of the year honors.

 

You guys are funny.

So we should ignore what McGrady can do and HOPE he can do better.

MMMMkay.

DD

 

Agree.
It seems to me that TMac will certainly be traded. The question is just when.
Whatever the rockets is doing now is for that purpose.
As for the minutes, you can explain it many ways. One of them is like, the rockets is showcasing him, but does not want other teams to know completely what TMac is still able to do. What if TMac only average 10 points or so after logging in 30 minutes? What if TMac only average 6 points with 15 minutes? The minutes must have been decided by both the GM and the coach. The trade of TMac will decide how successful this team will be in coming seasons, thus it is the most important task of this season.

 

I'm glad he's doing what he's doing and accepting it. Coming off the bench little by little (unlike A.I.), actually going through the plays in Adelman's system rather than doing his own thing reminds me of the respect I have of this guy.

 

He is doing it the right way, but if he doesn't start performing an contributing in a meaningful way, he will go back to the bench.

The Rockets are trying to win, and if he can't do better than he is, he should sit.

DD

 

While I agree with much of what you said, there is just one thing that concerns me. When Tracy does come back close to/near form, should the system embrace his positive attributes? That appears to be the plan for Yao.

Another question that I have is not that simple. Is a healthy T-Mac a role player? I've never seem him as a selfish player so what I mean by this question is him continuing on this path of team while getting his game back. In doing those things, does he remain relegated to a role player status on the court for this team. I am not talking money just what he can bring to the team on the court.

I guess that I am stuck with this, in part, because, while I like our players, I wonder if the system makes them excel or do they make the system? And if they do trade Mac for a star type player, do we really think that this system won't change to accommodate him? I don't envy Adelman and what he has to juggle.

I'm glad that T-Mac is "saying and doing the right things" as many have judged him incapable of doing. And I'm even more pleased that Adelman is providing more detail behind his rationale.

Go Rockets!!

 

Hard to get in rhythm when you only play 8 minutes a game. I will wait until he gets more minutes before I post judgment on this 09-10 T-Mac.

 

Wild guess here, you are a Tmac fan and only a Tmac fan? Anyways, I'm not sure if you will understand this because of your bias for Tmac, but there's a difference between being injury prone because of your rough playing style and being injury prone because your soft. T-Mac is injury prone because he is soft, he has bones that are made out of peanut brittle. Yao is injury prone because he plays over a 100% when he's out there on the court and he plays almost a 100 games a year, he doesn't just play in the NBA, he has to play for China too.

I doubt you'll understand this, or you'll probably say Tmac is tough or something, when he's probably the softest player in the league. Actually there is no probably about it, he's easily the softest player in the NBA.

 

You make some very good points. People do tend to forget what a great player McGrady has been, especially in light of his bad behavior last year. The team does need him if they hope to make some noise in the playoffs. Maybe they can trade him and get someone else who can help the team, but that hasn't happened yet. The reality is that right now the Rockets have McGrady. I like the approach Adelman's taking. Hopefully McGrady will take the right attitude, continue getting his legs under him, and be a difference-maker when it counts.