Having an injured T-mac is frustrating enough, but hearing all these people b**** is beyond stupidity. How many times has someone explained how painful back spasms can be? We should be lucky he is even going on the road trips and trying to suit up.
all i know is, i've had back spasms, and i can't even shoot the ball properly when i get em. all i wanna do is lie down and wait for the pain to go away
exactly. Hopefully our D will shut down other teams like tonight till we get him back. I'm not mad that he didn't play tonight. He's injured with very painful back spasms. Hopefully he can get well soon.
I certainly understand the frustration...heck, I am frustrated as hell with his back injury, I truly feel like it's the single biggest obstacle for the Rockets' future, it's very concerning to me as a Rox fan. All I am saying is this: I can't blame the injuries on him, it's not like he caused it or asked for it or gave in to it. If he doesn't play, it means it's bad enough that the team physicians wouldn't let him play. Look, if the Rockets can honestly convince me that there is a better option out there in the league than a Tracy McGrady to pair with Yao Ming, then I am all for it. I just think that with all his faults, no matter what you say about him, I don't see an alternative for this team that would improve us or even match what Tracy can give this team, EVEN when he's not 100% (which he hasn't been certainly this season but also late last season as well). I want what's best for the Rockets, and next to prying Lebron James out of Cleveland I feel like T-Mac is the best thing we can get. With Yao coming into his own, if McGrady could just be a Drexler to Yao's Hakeem, we will be in great shape; that's not asking for too much, IMO, and is a realistic outcome.
That's exactly what I am saying. I am not saying T-Mac is the greatest player in history of the world, I am just saying there simply is NOT another option out there that I am aware of which would help us as much or more. It's just hard to find an equivelant talent out there that a team would be willing to part with, unless that player is forcing a trade to the Rockets much like McGrady did with Orlando, which is a scenario that has less than a 1% chance of happening.
Our very own mattj thinks T-Mac should suck it up and play. "a 60 percent T-Mac is better than none."
Boy that's a tough one. Personally I still continue to give him a pass. I'm trusting that there's a good medical assessment involved in all this from the Rockets' perspective. All else outside of that is simply conjecture.
Well, I guess that settles it then. Everyone knows that talk show hosts know more about injuries than team coaches and doctors. As much as JVG digs calling out his players lack of toughness in the media, why hasn't he done it to T-Mac?
T-mac should rest if he felt he needed to. We signed him up for a 7 year long contract, not a 2 year contract. He need to produce at least for 5 years of the 7 year contract. Sura, on the other hand, should just suck it up and play the game. It's not like he has too much a career left in the future. Just play through the pain and retire after the season.
Most likely, his last 2 years will be good for expiring contract. Many Max. players end their careers that way.
Its not really the injury why people complain about Tmac, its his intensity and performace lately that has fans dissapointed. I have not seen a single game this season where Tmac has shown passion, considering he the leader of this team! If Tmac showed intensity and leadership this season and got injured, no one would have complained about him.
I don't hate TMac at all, but I can somehow understand people's frustration with him. No one knew Yao has such a bad toe until he had to rest, and he never made any excuse for the 0-8 loss without TMac publicly. The difference between their attitudes might be the only reason I can come up with for the bashing TMac around (if any). Most funs would wish TMac the best, and hope the Rockets could still make playoff with 80% healthy Tracy "Impossible is Nothing" Macgrady.
I think this entire thread is a kneejerk reaction to ridiculous overreaction to injuries. But thus far no one's talking about the elephant in the room here. JVG, Yao nor T-Mac ever uses injuries as an excuse. T-Mac didn't even to bother to make an excuse when he was, well as JVG put it "not really been mentally present the last month". Instead he explained he was "going through some stuff" and was having trouble concentrating. Having a mother-in-law dying of Parkinson's is terrible, and having your spouse with a newborn at the same time makes for most days likely seem like a living hell. Even if you're rich and try to afford every need (financial and emotional), you really can't if you have to perform professionally: It's too much to handle. Believe me, I get that. But T-Mac would have been a hell of a lot better off by just saying "I suck right now. And hell no, my body isn't going to feel great when I'm performing like ***t and yours wouldn't either". The most recent back flare-up I have no doubt is legit but I also believe that the remainder of this season is not "critical" for the future. Last year's team had a hell of a better chance to make noise than this one does even with a healthy T-Mac and a Yao that really looks like he wants to chew through concrete. Strange days, indeed.
If you read all the Chinese reports on Rockets, you will find that in almost every report since Yao's return from the injury, he talked about getting into the playoff. He's so determined that you have to believe him. It's almost like his vow of "Bring the Chinese national team to the 8th spot in the Olympic or I will not shave" at year 2004. I guess he blamed himself really hard for the 0-16 without T-mac and followed up with a looong toe operation. That mentality released the beast out of him.
I get the point of your post, but... When he wasn't injured, he had his "personal problems" to deal with. Whether we as fans think that is bad or not (I sure think it's tough) has nothing to do with how he feels with it. After the death, T-Mac seems to be driving it in more, playing with more passion, therefore he's shooting much better and playing better. He strung a couple good games together before going down, and that's with Yao playing so well. Tracy McGrady rarely shows emotion. His face is always in the same blank stare, unless he's got that determined look on his face when he's playing. When he plays, it's so smooth, you look at the move on the instant replay and say "Damn, that's so easy I could do that." But, you go out and try it and fail miserably, so you just stop right there . The only reason people didn't question his heart/passion last season is because he was relatively healthy and we were winning. Everyone knows this season is a trainwreck for every player on this team, apart from Yao's awakening. If you want to be stubborn and judge anyone on this team by this season, then it's your right (not talking to you thesaint, just in general) to and you could make your points that way.
