Was T-Mac the best player in the NBA when he was with the Magic?

Yeah I remember that big showdown the Magics had with the Lakers one weekend and it was televised on NBC. Tmac was defending Kobe in that game too. They both went off for some insane numbers and I remember at the time thinking to myself that McGrady was the better player.

 

With a chronic back problem, its impossible for him to be fully healthy. And then we add knee problems...

i think this rest during the break will be huge for tmac. look for an explosive 2nd half. [/QUOTE]

Don't fool yourself. He's missed 15 games. Given the amount of time he's already missed and his current health, I dont think an extra 6 days will have the impact you're hoping for.

 

He was the best scorer, but best player? naaa....

His first year in Houston was his best year IMO. He was unstoppable.

 

Don't fool yourself. He's missed 15 games. Given the amount of time he's already missed and his current health, I dont think an extra 6 days will have the impact you're hoping for.[/QUOTE]

his back has not been a problem for over a year now. we can put that to rest. it's the stupid injuries like the knee and elbow. he admitted these are "freak injuries." and he also said these "freak injuries" play mind games with him when the elbow injury occurred.

trust me, watching how he played to start the season and how he ended last yr, as long as tmac's mind is straight, he will be explosive.

tmac is all about confidence. as long as he feels rested, he will play well.

 

i totally agree. but i'm saying his individual greatness marvelled everyone. kobe hasn't gotten out of the first round WITHOUT shaq, and the last 3 years he has been considered arguably the best player.

tmac was like that in orlando. everyone knows none of his players were starter materials on any other team. and what he did with the defenses he faced, how efficient he was, the overall stats he put up, and how easy he made it look, it was hard to overlook.

the way people talk about tmac back then (when i watch him on national TV since i didn't follow him that closely in orlando) is the SAME way people talk about lebron right now. they're in awe and expect him to do something freakish every time he touches the ball.

 

I guess failing to get out of the first round is easy to overlook.

 

lemme ask u a question, who do u think has been the best player in the L the past 3 yrs? or ask any coach, player, GM.

i would say it's a guy who hasn't gotten out of the first round in those 3 yrs - kobe bean bryant.

 

Do you realize what a chronic injury is? Its something that cant be put to rest. Dont forget that last year, when he injured it, all he did was land after a jump shot. And he was untouched. And before that, everyone thought his back was healthy.

The elbow was a freak injury. The knee was not. I consider freak injuries to be injuries that have a distinct & direct cause (like when yao had a broken leg). His back and knee have no reason to be weak other than wear and tear. And those arent freak injuries.

The problem is, during those periods, it was arguably Tmac's team. Its not anymore.

It has nothing to do with rest. He's missed 15 games. He's had plenty of rest. Its all in his head.

 

If we had kobe instead of tmac, we'd easily have made the wcf.

by the way, i'm pretty sure some coaches, players, and GMs would say its been steve nash.

 

Someone taht can averages 30+ PER is the best player? I wonder why Tmac didnt get MVP of that year.

Top 5, maybe. Best, hell no.

 

wow you're so logical. that's the same logic people used: if orlando had kobe that year, they wouldn't blow a 3-1 lead. nobody of kobe's stature would blow a 3-1 lead."

WRONG. he then went on to blow a 3-1 lead himself in the playoffs.

it's fine to make facts. but when you put up "WHAT IFs" in circumstances like this, it makes you a tmac hater.

how would u know we would have advanced? are u gonna say his "intensity, willingness to drive" woudl put us there?

what if i said "what if we had tim duncan?"

 

I agree. Tmac can post gigantic and historic numbers all he wants, but until he atleast gets out of the first round, NO ONE will ever remember those numbers, unfortunately. In sports, wins and playoff success are usually the things that will stick with people; on the other hand, NOT having success in the playoffs, especially in the case of Tmac, who had out of this world talent and potential, despite expectations will also stick in people's memory.
Although its not ALL Tmac's fault (particulary during the latter years) during those playoff losses, the general media only remember the good-winning-or the bad-losing.
No way he's in the league of those great legends(no one is), but his stats are starting to rack up. But like I said, all thats for naught if he doesn't atleast get past the damn 1st round.

 

Its a pretty safe assumption that if he had the rockets team behind him, his team would've advanced.

Last year's rockets team excluding tmac is far better than last year's lakers team excluding kobe.

Sorry, it just makes me realistic. These past few years, kobe was much better than tmac. i doubt anyone would argue that.

Pretty much. As well as his competitive spirit. At the end of game 7 against utah last year, tmac played very passive and unnecessarily deferred to his teammates many times down the stretch. This is something kobe wouldnt do.

Then we would have also advanced.

 

This is the dumbest hypothetical I have ever read! There is no way that T-Mac was the best player in the NBA at any point in his career. If he was, he would have won a playoff series.

LeBron has done it without much help.

I'm not taking away from T-Mac, he was AMAZING in Orlando.

If he would've knocked off the #1 seed Detroit from the #8 spot then this question could be considered but, since his team blew a 3-1 series lead he cannot be considered ever being the best player in the NBA any season he has ever played. PERIOD

Thurogood Rocketfan

Give the orange ball to the yellow man and he will produce gold.

Young
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Olajuwon

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No he was not the best player in the league. In fact, he was quite overrated considering he is just as good of a player now (when healthy).

He is NOT the athlete he once was, and for whatever reason he has lost some of the touch at the FT line and 3pt line he once had. On the other hand he has become a better midrange jumpshooter, and unlike his time with the Magic he is now equipped to carry a team with his passing as much as his scoring. He is also, IMO, the better defender (with the Magic he was beat off the dribble easier and took more risk at playing the passing lanes and whatnot...JVG really toned down his game defensively).

People really do forget the 28/6/5 on 45% shooting he was averaging last year without Yao.

 

3 championships > never getting out of the first round

seriously, i understand the Tmac homerism. but in 20 years, will anyone besides about you and 2 other people in the world remember Tmac in Orlando?

he'll go down as a failure in Orlando. hopefully his legacy with the Rockets will be different. i'm sure Tmac will trade all those stats that you guys love chatting about for being known as a champion and not a choker.

here's an example. Nobody remembers what Robert Horry's stats were on any of his teams. all they remember is what he did for them..

 

There's no way he's a better defender now-he's might be more experienced but he's not as fast laterally as he once was. He was actually a very good defender back in Toront-except no one knew about him (its Toronto after all). I read an article back a couple of years ago that showed who GMs thougt was the most versatile defender in the league......Tmac came in second I think-AHEAD of Kobe Bryant. But when he got to Orlando.....lets just say he didn't care much about defense-I'll give you that.

 

He has ALWAYS had the ability to be a top tier defender. But in orlando he wasn't...simple as that. JVG helped fixd some of his flaws defensively, and while he still doesn't really try his hardest on defense he is not as much of a weak link as he was in Orlando.

 

I think he could still score that way now, and he showed it at the very beginning of the season when he was leading the league in scoring..

But see how bad they sucked with one guy doing everything