Tracy this is FRUSTRATING. If you want 3 Weeks, USE THEM.

Good. We all know McGrady. If he is not feeling well HE IS NOT PLAYING, he is not even practicing. So to see him at practice means he feels a lot better.

They said it is still bothering him a little bit, but Yao said he was making shots and Adelman added he WAS NOT LIMPING.

He may not be 100%, but he's improves A LOT, even Feigen said he has improved. Doctors said he could play. So the knee has to feel stronger now, he just has to get into game shape. That's that. And he will be 100...

As I said, he is not limping, looks like the rest helped him. But as I said, if he is gonna play he needs to pla HARD. He has to be the scorer, 'the guy' especially with Ron out. More posts up, etc.

But the main thing is to attack the rim. I want him to attack the basket. He could do that when his knee was hurting so he can do that now, with knee feeling better. So he needs to be agressive, play his best. I don't want to see him just standing....

I am listening to Bullard. He said he had talked to Rockets' coach and he said Tracy had been rehhabing really HARD, really really HARD.

 

All of the stuff you bring up are symptoms of valid complaints about McGrady. You already admitted that he has problems with focus/intensity/desire--the smiling after losses is just one sign of that. The camera closed in on Scola's face after the Indianapolis loss. He looked like his guts had been cut out.

So far as chemistry goes that was a legitimate issue a year ago. Woody Paige on "Around the Horn" talked about how a Chronicle writer told him that the other Rockets weren't happy with McGrady because he refused to pass.

And look at emjohn's post in this thread. The guy likes to take games off. JvG publicly called him out about that when he was still coaching in Houston, and the problem goes back to Orlando.

 

Yep. Tracy isnt the best jump shooter. He is most effective when driving to the basket. Hes got great ball handling skills for his size, so he needs to use that and his speed and take it to the rim. He cant be stopped when he drives, the most defenders can do is foul him. He needs his knee to get better so he can be explosive.

 

a lot of players smile after losses as a way to hide frustration my friend. play sports and you'll know. some people express anger differently. i remember kobe smiled in disbelief when iverson was going off on them in game 1 of the finals near the end (did that mean he was not frustrated?). tracy smiled in disbelief when he missed the 3 v. dallas earlier without yao that might have brought us closer?

heard of that? smile/laugh in disbelief?

this team has NEVER had chemistry problems since tracy has been here. this team has always had one of the best chemistry in the L and tracy is a major part of that. why? he's unselfish. he gets guys like HAYES and ryan bowen and dikembe shots. when you give guys like that shots, chemistry will never be a problem. why do you think during the winning streak last yr, deke was the first one to come to congratulate tracy EVERY SINGLE TIME? deke was our emotional leader last yr and he always seemed to congratulate tmac after every game

again, on your last point, i didn't say i disagree. tracy's effort tends to varies depending on the opponent. he paces himself throughout the reg. season. it's a bad habit i hope he would change, but unlikely now.

but none of the other points have any validity. NOBODY on this team has ever said tracy was a bad teammate or said he is messing up with the team's chemistry.

i mean, even yao said earlier this year he has to "pay tracy back" for what he did last yr. really? that's a guy that is cancerous?

 

I think the main thing The Rockets are going to do is play him 20-30 minutes for about 4-5 games to get back into game shape. Adelman said he looked great and wasn't limping, but was a little tired. Game's are different then practice, so probably after a week Tracy will be back to normal. Great to hear that he was rehabbing hard. He knows what to do

 

1) I personally don't think the smiling issue is a big deal. But it doesn't exist in a vacuum. Lots of people have legitimate concerns with T-Mac's desire and intensity, and in that context the smiling thing doesn't look good.

2) If Woody Paige was telling the truth, and I've got no reason to think that he was lying, there were plenty of Rockets who were unhappy with McGrady and his refusal to pass the ball.

 

name me one person close to the rockets who has even hinted at that. i would pay somebody a million bucks, even if you name me an anonymous source within the organization.

this is a guy that we always yell, "stop passing to hayes, or deke, or ryan bowen." and we're saying he's refusing to pass the ball at times? let's be real.

people just like to criticize tracy for whatever he does.

1) smiling after a loss
2) not cheering on the bench

i mean, SERIOUSLY?

 

Again, this comes down to whether or not you'd believe that Woody Paige would go on national tv and just make stuff up. It doesn't make a lot of sense. It's credible to me because a) he basically sourced his story when he explained that he got it from a Chronicle writer sent to cover the bowl games and b) McGrady was bogging down the offense by refusing to pass.

 

I'd say 30-32 mins a game in the first few games

 

he got demoted from his job on ESPN on the 1st and 10 show and back to the denver post. he rarely goes on ESPN anymore to talk about sports by himself other than ATH. that should tell you something. and ask most fans who watch woody why they watch him: he's a clown.

the point is he NEVER followed the rockets. he simply spoke of that the time when tracy trade rumors were prevalent and that was a good reason to use.

fran blinebury is a huge tracy critic right here in houston and he has never said tracy refuses to pass (and you know he would say it if it happens).

tracy has been out for 7 games. our offense still looks vastly inconsistent and looks TERRIBLE the past few games. so no, it's not just tracy. it's a collective group effort and everybody is not taking in the offense. so stop singling out tracy please.

our assists numbers continue to be around 20 since tracy's been out. shooting % is actually WORSE. so how is the offense better? so again, people blowing things out of proportion and placing those blame on tracy again.

 

Attacking the messenger because you can't attack the message doesn't work. I don't know what Paige is up to these days other than that he's still on "Around the Horn", but do you seriously think he'd go on national tv and just make stuff up? That's the issue. Either he was lying or he wasn't.

 

well, sam smith's simple article has now been announced as trade rumors. you get my point?

woody paige is an editorial writer. he writes articles based on his OWN OPINIONS. he is not a beat reporter where he reports facts with people's actual quotes. (it's like stephen A smith going on ESPN saying plaxico's arrest is another example of blacks being stupid? is it a FACT? no, that's his opinion. can i say he's lying? NO. b/c that's his opinion).

see peter vecsey? he always says, i got this from an anonymous source that a trade is going down. and 99% of the time it doesn't go down.

so that was paige's "opinion." i can't say someone opinion's a lie. can I?

 

Look, Paige said that he talked to a reporter from the Houston Chronicle who told him that the other Rockets were unhappy with T-Mac. There's no "opinion" about that. He's either lying or he isn't no matter how you want to wiggle out from underneath the question.

 

again, peter vecsey always says an anonymous source close to the team says a trade is going down. when has that happened?

what's your response to that? you should know who peter vecsey is.

if that houston chronicle reporter stated that, WHY DIDN'T HE WRITE ABOUT IT? it's not like they love tracy right? my god.

if i believe whatever person says, "i got this from a really close source, trust me on this." i'd trust every person that goes on TV.

 

So you're claiming that Paige is lying?

 

yes. reasons?

1) the houston chronicle has never been a tracy supporter. outside of jon feign, everyone has criticized tracy since he's been here. so if the "reporter" woody talked to felt the rockets were unhappy with tracy's refusal to pass, that would have made the chronicle. controversy sells more papers no?

2) woody paige is not a reporter. get that straight. he's now an editorial writers that writes and says what he believes. watch around the horn to see some of his ABSURD claims in sports. he doesn't base his claims on facts 99% of the time.

3) once again, i have not heard one person within the rockets organization say something about tracy's selfishness or passing. they all say he's one of the most unselfish, if not the most unselfish, player they know. JVG said the same thing (and we all know JVG called tracy out before)

so yes, woody lied.

 

I agree with alot of what your saying but disagree about what was said with him refusing to pass. He's a very unselfish player and when he drives to the basket the rockets become extremely dangerous with T-Macs high FG% around the hoop and his incredible passing ability. If your open T-Mac will find you. T-Mac and Lebron are two of the best playmakers in the game.

 

So Woody Paige went on national TV, made up some story, made up enough details about his story so that if he was called on it his original source could be tracked down, and basically jeopardized his entire career as a journalist? For what? Because he has some insane vendetta against T-Mac or something?

 

wow you have a lot to learn my friend. he made that claim on around the horn. do you know what that show is about: OPINIONS.

no he doesn't have a vendetta against tracy. but tracy was a hot topic at the time with trade rumors floating around. so whatever negative thing you say, nobody is gonna care.

that's why woody didn't name names. there's a reason you say "anonymous source" most of the time so if you lie, you can't track the source.

there's a reason peter vecsey always had a job at the NY post.

remember ric bucher said he talked to someone close to kobe (when kobe demanded a trade) and said kobe won't play for the lakers if he's not traded. guess what happened? KOBE DID PLAY.

so yea, woody "talked to someone." WHO? every reporter says they talked to "someone," 99% of the time, that's THEIR opinion anyways.

 

Paige didn't talk to "someone". He said that when he was covering the college bowl games for the Post he talked to the reporter the Chronicle sent to cover those same games. In other words, he gave away enough details that it was pretty simple for me to figure out exactly who he was talking about.

Again, Paige is a journalist. He doesn't write editorials. You're saying he jeopardized his entire career as a journalist by going on national TV and lying? And not only did he lie, he gave away enough details so that tracking down his source would be easy.