If you want to say mj had a better work ethic, compared to tmac, fine. As a whole he did. Hell, he had a better work ethic than 99% of the NBA players, so that's not much of a knock on Tmac. I think you're just using it to hate and it's a bad example. Injuries couldnt be any more different. One is sure to have lingering effects, the other not likely. One heals more than twice as fast than the other. And Mj's came at a much younger age, and the younger you are, the fast you heal. And the knee joint is a much more sensitive than the foot. At least use a better example.
I kind of feel the same way. Did he need that type of surgery??? What happens if he shut it down when Yao shut it down? Would he need it then?
Wasn't T-Mac told by one doctor to get the Microfracture? He went to a lot of other doctors who told him that he couldn't hurt the knee he just had to get more strength. He went hunting for a diagnosis that he felt he deserved.. from what I remember he didn't need this surgery.
Barkley had the SAME lack of offseason dedication as McGrady. He similarly talked the most and worked the least on the team. Just that Barkley was more the the guy you "wanted to have beer with". And he handled all the other aspects than McGrady. That doesnt excuse Pippen for his comments about Barkley, cuz by that time you knew what you were getting with Barkley. But Barkley stirred the pot as much as anyone then, with McGrady later doing it worse. McGrady should have plain just worked harder in his conditioning. Injuries are part of the game. Its how you approach the injuries that determines the resulting effectiveness. If you dont fully recover from some 2005 injury, itll still help wear you down in 2010. And makes it tougher to recover from later piled-on injuries. McGrady is like never going to the dentist when you have a small cavity, then the cavity keeps getting bigger while you eat the same sweets. You'll tell everyone you're "toughing it through", but really you're being irresponsible.
At some point rehab isnt enough..it's like a door. It's hinge is meant to be flexed and extended, like the knee. But what happens if you force the door up and down over years and years? Eventually that hinge is going to break or get bent out of shape. That's a different type of wear and tear than you'd get from normal use. That's what happened to tmac. Rehab would be like trying to fix that bent up hinge, it just wont be the same, even if you're able to use the door.
I'd have to look that up to give you an honest answer...but again, as someone who's dealt with docs and injuries i can tell you the majority of them will opt for the safer and more conservative treatment to begin with even if you've done with another doc and it didnt work. It's like a list of steps they each go through. You can go through steps 1 through 3 with one doc, see it's not working, then go to another doc and he'll make you go through steps 1-3 too anyway. I guess it's a mix of trying to cover everything to cover themeselves and also believing the other doc didnt do it properly. So you could look it at two ways, you can believe tmac went hunting for a specific diagnosis/recommendation, or you can believe he looked for the doc who considered everything he'd done and realized it was time to go to step 4 immediately. I believe the second option because a high profile doc isn't going to throw his rep out the door by just giving tmac a blank check and letting him fill it out. The doc needed to be sure of what he was recommending and have proof to back it up to show it was the most reasonable solution at that point. As for tmac not being able to hurt it anymore, that's true, and if he was still playing at a good level you could say he should have gone for rehab and worst case scenario would be he'd stay the same, but he was playing like crap, staying the same wouldnt have been a good thing. It's good to know he couldnt regress, but that's good if you're at 80%, but that's a bad risk to take when you're at 40 or 50%.
ding ding ding ding. That is why I laugh when people make it seem like he has never worked hard to even get to the NBA.
then we he finally goes to the dentist he gets blasted for not being able to tough it out and taking the easy way out....he's damned regardless of what he does. it all comes down to winning in sports. if kobe played selfishly and didnt win a ring, he'd get blasted for his play. If he switched to a team player and still didnt win, he'd get blasted for it too. He'd be in the same position as tmac, damned if he does, damn if he doesnt...but as long as the lakers win kobe can play however he wants and it will be justified by saying "oh kobe needed to be selfish then " or " kobe had to pass in that situation"....it's all about winning.
certainly his athleticism has declined, but that comes with getting older. we won't know till next year if he has any game left, he needs more time to build strength and repair his psyche. he won't be the same, but he can still be a good player in this league, IF his body allows him
Well his knee obviously. I would say work ethic/etc. but he's never really had that good a work ethic yet he somehow made it to the upper echelon of the NBA so I think that if his knee/rest of his body was healthy even with the same work ethic he would still be good.
I don't ever think he can be that 40 mpg guy ever again given his body. BUT the problem is, he does not realize it. I think his decline is due to him not being able to recognize his abilities. Being deluded into thinking he is still a superstar.
If he is able to recognize what he is capable of (being a guy who can make some shots, play some D), then he can be a solid role player in this league. I think his athleticism is close to gone and he cannot be that guy he once was. If he can realize that, his decline will not be as bad.
But do you think he's better off now after having the surgery vs rehab? He was getting near the end of his career. Personally I'd rather use the door with the bent hinge after some work than the "new" door I'm stuck with now. I'm not trying to be anti-McGrady but I think if he would have listened to Rocket doctors and not just picked the one with the answer he was looking for, I think rehabing throughout the rest of his career would have still left him heading to the HOF.
Even with the loss of athleticism - to be expected sooner or later anyway - his inability to hit a jump shot has baffled me for some time. He would still be an excellent player if he could just manage that. MJ prolonged his career that way. His passing is still there. He needs a shooting coach.
