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

Tmac's success in the NBA is definitely measured more with individual awards/accolades than his team's success. I voted no because he did have Yao on his team the entire time he was in Houston and even when we were healthy as a team we were always at a disadvantage against the Jazz/Lakers. The NBA wasn't as soft when it came to calls when we played the Jazz but we would have definitely pushed through one of those series if they couldn't rough up our team as much as they did.

Tmac's perspective is interesting because if you want to win it all in the team game of basketball, it's ideal to have someone on your team that helps elevate your team mates, not the other way around.

 

Who said Toyota Center fans weren't loud

 

I don't think anyone has ever associated him with the likes of Quitten. Quitten is universally hated by all Rockets fans, to the point where there are never any debates about him. With T-Mac, you at least have arguments. It's just cricket noises and looks of disgust when it comes to Quitten. We all just agree he's as close to the anti-Christ as a basketball player can be for us.

 

I think if Yao was in this era, he wouldn't have had to pack on the extra muscle/weight to bang down low like he did with that generation of bigs. He had enough skill and was mobile enough to be an all star player in this era of basketball.(not implying you don't think he wouldn't have made it in this era)

 

@tinman the poll results

 

Who would win a title first, Harden with the 22-win streak rockets, or Tracy with Chris Paul and this year's team?

My heart says Harden, my head says mac.

 

Let’s poll who’s better

 

Truth
However the basketball gods put him and Scottie as ESPN analyst

But this is 2018 and we got people hanging onto Max Kellermans every word
A boxing analyst who is paid to say the opposite of the other analyst

 

Credit to you in believing him, tricky but not impossible.

 

PREACH

there might be couple of games he had an off night but everybody does. he was giving it all and i hate reading comments he didn't have a heart. those rosters were so badly constructed they make 2018 pelicans look like good composition

 

Yes. Those 09 Rockets were very good and deep.

 

It's only Hakeem and someone else who won a title without a future hall of famer on their team. I think individual greatness gets over hyped in the NBA.

 

We aren't even talking about winning titles here.

Just getting out of first round.

Baby steps please...lol.

 

Maybe you aren't, but I'm making a larger overall point.

 

I have always been somewhat sympathetic towards McGrady with regards to the "he can't get out of the first round" narrative. From 2001 to 2008, his Orlando and Houston years as a playoff participant, his playoff statistics were elite. He lost in the first round as a young player without much help, and with HCA in I believe just 1 series (against an evenly matched team). In Houston, he lost two tough series against very good Mavs and Jazz teams with Yao and not much else. The next year, he again faced the Jazz and he was broken down and his team was clearly out-talented. And that was it for him.

McGrady's problem was his lack of health and bad luck with star teammates being injured (Grant Hill, then Yao). The way he essentially quit on the team towards the end of his career as a Rocket was indefensible for a supposed leader, but by that point he was a hobbled player who was past his prime anyway.

At least 25 playoff games played from 2001-2008; box score stats are per 36 minutes:

Code:

Rk              Player    G     MP    PER   WS/48  BPM   PTS  TRB AST STL BLK TOV eFG%  TS%
1           Tim Duncan  129   5096   26.6    .211  7.3  21.5 12.0 3.4 0.6 2.5 2.8 .499 .549
2        Tracy McGrady   35   1492   25.4    .144  7.2  24.9  5.8 5.5 1.2 0.9 2.7 .464 .519
3     Amare Stoudemire   36   1351   25.0    .194  2.0  24.1  9.9 0.9 1.1 1.9 2.6 .527 .588
4      Shaquille ONeal  114   4311   24.8    .184  4.8  22.1 11.4 2.3 0.4 2.1 3.0 .560 .562
5        Kevin Garnett   57   2330   24.2    .180  6.4  19.9 11.4 3.7 1.2 1.4 2.6 .483 .531
6        Dirk Nowitzki   87   3674   24.0    .197  4.7  21.6  9.5 2.2 1.1 0.9 1.8 .480 .569
7         LeBron James   46   2049   23.8    .177  8.9  22.3  6.5 5.9 1.3 0.6 3.3 .464 .531
8          Dwyane Wade   54   2202   23.2    .171  5.8  22.3  4.7 5.3 1.6 0.8 3.7 .488 .563
9          Kobe Bryant  102   4423   22.5    .163  4.7  23.5  4.7 4.4 1.3 0.4 2.7 .480 .541
10         Baron Davis   42   1697   22.5    .193  7.6  18.8  4.3 6.2 2.3 0.5 2.4 .508 .548
11       Allen Iverson   53   2401   21.9    .117  3.6  24.3  3.0 5.1 1.7 0.2 2.5 .436 .493
12        Vince Carter   39   1655   21.6    .144  5.2  22.4  5.9 4.4 1.3 0.7 2.3 .463 .519
13       Manu Ginobili  107   3299   20.4    .186  5.8  18.7  5.6 4.1 1.6 0.3 2.7 .513 .587
14           Pau Gasol   33   1261   20.3    .125  3.9  17.0  7.8 3.3 0.5 1.7 1.9 .514 .555
15         Paul Pierce   63   2546   20.1    .156  4.7  20.1  6.3 4.2 1.3 0.7 3.3 .469 .556
16      Deron Williams   29   1170   20.1    .141  4.0  18.0  3.6 8.2 1.0 0.2 3.2 .520 .566
17       Carlos Boozer   29   1095   20.0    .120  2.2  19.5 11.6 2.8 0.8 0.2 2.9 .491 .533
18      David Robinson   40   1029   20.0    .197  4.4  14.5 11.5 1.7 1.3 2.3 1.9 .500 .554
19           Ray Allen   55   2191   19.7    .182  5.3  18.9  3.6 3.6 1.0 0.4 1.9 .542 .596
20          Steve Nash   94   3623   19.7    .131  2.5  17.2  3.5 8.8 0.6 0.1 3.1 .528 .579

 

Only one player on that list has a lower True Shooting percentage(Iverson). McGrady took too many shots at a very low efficiency which is the reason he failed in the playoffs.

 

Being reminded of Hakeem's Rockets and then seeing the post TMac rockets really made me feel bad about hating on Tmac. The amount of garbage he played with was unbelievable, Rafer couldn't hit an open 3 if his life depended on it, I remember looking up the stats and he had the worst shooting percentage of any NBA starter in the entire NBA that year!!! Juwan howard give me a break, he was the cancer that they traded to us in exchange for TMAC. He played with so much nontalent and still made us relevant it was amazing, real appreciation for what he did with no help. I mean ryan bowen, juwan howard, rafer, luther head, these guys are beyond trash

 

There’s no excuses for Tmac
He’s not a special player
He’s only special to his fans and himself

Failure is failure

20 playoff games total for the Rockets