[Tracy McGrady] No matter how hard you try and how great you are, you need pieces to elevate you.

It’s hilarious how Tmac fans can’t predict Tmac cause his behavior is easy to spot

He quits when the going gets tough
Toronto
Orlando
If he waited he could have rode Dwight to the finals in the crap eastern conference
He quit Houston
The it was a blur of teams like the knicks , pistons, hawks etc

All the teams except for knicks usually passed the first round until he showed up

It’s not luck dumbos
It’s choice

Luck is if you make a bunch of three pointers in one game in the last minute

Work is if you win the mvp

 

Yes and no. Orlando days he was carrying a bunch of scrubs bc Grant Hill got hurt and they barely played together but he did blow a 3-1 series lead. In Houston, he and Yao could never stay healthy at the same time. The year (2004-05?) they were up 2-0 after winning the first two games in Dallas and then came and blew both games in Houston and lost in 7 was the only season I remember him and Yao both being healthy together in the playoffs but the supporting cast was average (an injured Bob Sura, and aging role players D. Welsey and John Barry). The year with Ron Artest (2008?) where the Rockets won 22 straight was probably the most talented team T-Mac had but he was injured in the playoffs. To T-Mac's credit, he gave 110% and elevated his game to another level in the playoffs, just couldn't have a healthy Yao next to him consistently.

 

An 8 seed lost to a 1 seed? Shocking.
The Mavs series was rigged under $tern's orders.
Its hard to win game 7s when your best teammate is getting clamped up by guys 6-8 inches shorter than himself, and only two other teammates SCORE.

McGrady is a HOFer for the same reason Ralph Samson and Yao Ming are HOFers, too talented for their knees' sake.

 

McGrady's list of 6th men throughout his career is LOL worthy. The dude quit towards the end of his tenure in Houston, but was surrounded with TRASH casts of support. Orlando was basically a wash since they used all their cap space on Hill and got like 20 games over 4 years out of him.

 

It's only the fans with ESPN feeble minds that hate on T-Mac, as if he owed you his ability to walk post retirement. No one wants to look like Kevin McHale or Kenny Smith when they walk with 2 left knees.

Only the fickle fans booed T-Mac. His coaches respected him and still speak well of him and all sided with him that he deserved to be a first ballot HOFer. Go ahead and grab some quote of a former coach or teammate taking a shot at T-Mac. I'll find one of a former coach or teammate taking a shot at any one of the greatest of all time.

Replace Ariza with 18/19 year old T-Mac on this Rockets team with Harden and CP3 and T-Mac would be blamed for the loss if we lost in the 1st round even though CP3 **** the bed in the first game, and Harden **** the bed in the 2nd.

I take this 18 year old prospect over ANYONE in the current NBA not named LeBron, Harden, Durant, Curry or AD(Kawhi if he's alright physically and mentally).


Speaking of Kawhi, what he's doing to Spurs fans is far worse than anything T-Mac did and you don't see that kind of hate for Kawhi. "T-Mac quit on us! Why couldn't he carry more scrubs on a bum knee and back for me!!! I matter more than his health!!!"

 

Yao was at his best when he had both the run and finish slash shoot from the mid-range game in contrast to his slower post games. At this point in time, nearly 9 years after his most meaningful game, the NBA defense is too creative and fast for him to even post up given his size and speed in the post. He wouldn't make a roster with this style of play.

 

kevin McHale disagrees

 

lolwut?

When you say fickle fans, are you referring to the fanbase of THREE different franchises?

Multiple players have called him out for being soft and lazy. Orlando FO called him out for quitting on the Magic, something he admitted to. JVG specifically called him out on not even trying to be a leader to the team.

T-Mac was blamed because of how he carried himself when we lost. He threw his team under the bus when **** got tough for him. He quit on the team when **** got hard on him. He got micro fracture surgery to throw off a trade when multiple doctors told him he had to play through the pain to make it go away. He threw a hissy fit when we wouldn't play him, because he wasn't ready and accused Les of trying to collect insurance money.

That is laughable, because T-Mac was precisely being compared to the level of guys you are naming when he came into the league, only they all got way further in the playoffs than he did while he was stuck wondering what it felt to play in the 2nd round (well, except for AD). The difference between him and those real superstars? They don't shy away from adversity, T-Mac did.

Kawhi is worse? Really? T-Mac got micro fracture surgery without letting his team now to throw off a trade and then told everyone who was willing to listen that he was ready to go only to prove to the rest of the world he wasn't. Kawhi on the other hand, everyone knew he was rehabbing, came back to early, got hurt again, and now is trying to fully heal up. What Kawhi is doing is infinitely better than how T-Mac handled his situation.

 

Being up 3-1 is a choke job...Being up 2-0 and then going home...with game 7 they promptly get destroyed by 40(while laughing about it on the bench)... McGrady let Andre Kiralenko, Harping, etc... body him up against the Jazz...Yao gets a crap ton of blame as well, but the guy never takes a dump on our city. Part of Mac's problem is that he has NEVER taken accountability for being the best player. Period. Now as he reflect on a what couldve been career...Isnt if freaking rich that he left his cousin to make a 'name' for himself only then to say that he needed more help. Tracy sways more than a palm tree in Miami beach... He shouldve stuck it out in Toronto with Vince, and they wouldve had a real shot. No one has ever questioned his talent, it was always about his heart.

NO one questions Samson, or Ming's heart on this board...

 

Yao was one of the last really towering big men. He was skilled but still not mobile enough. Okur and Boozer used that to their advantage.

I agree Yao would have problems against the ADs of this world. Evolution passed those by.

 

With T-mac you absolutely have to take into account his supporting cast throughout his playoff career. Mcgrady was a superstar no doubt, but he isn't Lebron who could carry trash to a finals. He was a superstar, not the GOAT. Also you have to add injuries to the list. Him and Yao were basically never healthy together in the playoffs and when they were, they were hardly favored.

The one year they were both healthy, they got screwed out of that Mav series. Just ask Tim Donaghy. T-mac might have been the unluckiest star to ever lace 'em up.

Also, he elevated his game in the playoffs. All of his averages went up in the playoffs.

His last TRUE healthy playoffs was in 2008 against Utah, and even then he wasn't really 100%. He was dealing with a knee and shoulder issue and would receive shots throughout that playoff series. Meanwhile, precious Kawhi has been cleared for weeks yet he's nowhere to be seen for his team in the playoffs. Hmmmmm. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

Lets look at that last game in the first round in 2008 against Utah. Game 6.

Mcgrady had 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. He also shot 50% from the field.

The next highest scorer? Luis Scola with 15 points. After that? Rafer Alston had 8. Steve Novak had 8. Bobby Jackson had 6 while shooting 2-12 from from the field. Battier had 5 and Mutombo had 2.

The man was playing injured, played 42 minutes, and put up 40/10/5. No one is gonna sit here and tell me Mcgrady didn't have heart or didn't fight his ass off to win in the playoffs. Things just never worked out for him unfortunately. But you know what? He's in the Hall of Fame now. People who understand basketball recognize this. People who don't, or people who have some sort of misplaced hatred towards Mcgrady will never get it.

 

In today's NBA, the Rockets wouldve never made Yao gain all that weight... He wouldve been used on the perimeter as a pick and pop threat. Yao's career wouldve greatly been prolonged playing in today's soft era of basketball. Imagine Harden Yao Pick and Roll..instead of having Yao dive to the basket, he wouldve been a 7'6 shooting big(ala Kristaps).

 

It's funny you say that because there's a bunch of towering Lithuanians and Serbians/Croatians that play old school pretty good by any basketball standards. Portland and Toronto have 2 of the best in my opinion.

 

Valanciunas and Nurkic? I hardly think they will become No 1 options real soon.

They are more mobile and skilled than the old models. There used to be tons of stiffs.

 

Tmac couldn’t pass the first round in China
Must be those crappy Chinese role players that they surrounded him with

Not

 

It's okay to acknowledge TMAC was a great player. Doesn't make him the caliber of Jordan, Kobe or Lebron... But that's a tall order to be compared to them. He did his best but couldn't get it done. He gave his all until the Toronto game. When your body and mind don't feel right you're DONE. Unfortunate that he quit but up until that season he carried everybody on his back. Not to mention it was always entertaining to watch the guy play if you love basketball. He doesn't deserve love like Hakeem or Harden but he definitely shouldn't be associated with the likes of Quitten. The reason he didn't have good results after he left us is directly related to his body giving out on him. Too many players we've missed out on due to injuries they can't get over.

Now I would take him and his heart over Kawhi anytime. People tend to associate quitter with people who produce results that come short of expectations. Kawhi is the definition of a Quitter. I really hope people will stop the BS comparisons about Kawhi and Harden now. I understand its a business and he wants to protect his money but it still is quitting.

 

The real fans will always give more love to Steve Francis than Tmac.
He always played hard and loved the fans and the city.
Tmac only loved himself and this thread exposes the Tmac only fans from the real Rockets fans
Like you

 

Kobe was way better than Tmac
He got two jerseys retired
While Tmac is forced to talk about it on ESPN on that show with lower ratings

 

Toronto won a playoff series the year after he left

Tmac excuses are lies

Tmac never advanced in the playoffs when he was a starter

For any team