Wednesday, November 25, 2009

T-Mac Shmee-Shmac

There's a controversy a brewin' in Houston; Tracy McGrady says he is ready and willing to play (again), but Rockets brass aren't allowing it--this time!  According to T-Mac, he's feeling ready to go whenever the Rockets are ready to put him in.  Last week McGrady even put on his uniform and did pre-game warm-ups because he was so excited to get back into action.  However, Houston staff is saying that they aren't going to put him into a game until they feel confident he will be able to play game in and game out.  They site their reasons as being that the Rockets have good chemistry between players right now, and they don't want to mess that up by having McGrady in and out of the lineup.

It seems the Rockets finally have it right in regards to T-Mac.  We all remember last year, Tracy was constantly in and out of the lineup with no one ever knowing when he would be playing or not.  There comes a time when a pro athlete needs to ask themselves, "what's best for the team?"  Unfortunately, I'm not sure McGrady has ever asked himself that question, as it seems to many outsiders that it's always been me, me, me with McGrady.  Did you know that over his 12 year career, T-Mac has averaged a measly 65 games per year?  That's not even including this year where he's already missed 14 games, and counting.  

Let's get one thing straight, we all know how good McGrady's stats have been over his career.  His averages of 22.1 points, 1.3 threes, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1 block per game are astounding.  Not to mention the 02/03 season with Orlando where he averaged 32.1 points.  But, things have been going downhill ever since McGrady's first year in Houston where he played in a remarkable (for him) 78 games, second most in his career next to the 99/00 season with Toronto--which was his last season with the Raptors.  

Not to say that most pro athlete's careers don't eventually go downhill after a certain amount of time in their respective sports, but it is how one carries oneself through this transition that makes the athlete.  In addition to the stats, highlights and game winning shots, it's how a player conducts themselves on and off the court that most people remember over time.  Of course some of us also tend to remember those 'boobs' who never shut up about themselves and think they are better than the game.  What will Tracy McGrady be remembered for? As his career is seemingly winding down, I guess we'll soon see.

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