Kai
11-26-2008, 12:11 AM
This was posted at Clutchfans:
http://www.probasketballnews.com/mejia_112508.html
By Tony Mejia
Pro Basketball News
On the night after Vince Carter silenced Raptors fans with an unforgettable performance last week, Tracy McGrady found himself in Orlando, where the venom isn't quite as hostile as it is for "Cousin" up in Canada.
Still, there was a part of McGrady that found himself a little jealous of his older cuz. Not about all the attention he still gets, but how he's able to handle it.
"At least my boos have turned into a lot of cheers when I go back (to Toronto). Get over it, man. You've got to get over that stuff. Fans are bitter. If they had any sense, you don't really want to piss a guy off that could get your team
for 40," said McGrady. "It's not a good thing to boo a guy that
can score, that's a great player. In that mode, you can get real
focused for one night. That's some food for thought for fans
that want to boo a guy that's been traded away from their team.
It's not a good thing."
In Orlando, where McGrady is still vilified after wanting out
earlier this decade, he couldn't muster the response he
would've liked. Ideally, he would've emulated his cousin
again and torched the Magic with his full arsenal of skills. Realistically, he was only able to play decoy and knock down open jumpers. That's all his body currently allows him to do. His knees are shot, and he's not trying to hide it.
"I'm buying into our system and just becoming a guy that defers, not being a guy that takes 25 shots like I did when I was here (in Orlando). I told the guys, I'm not trying to be that guy that I was four or five years ago. Those days are over," McGrady said."I'm still not happy with the way I'm playing and the way I feel. I told myself I was going to give this road trip to see how things were going to go and then talk to everybody and make a decision. For me, I'm really not going to be measured in the regular season. I've had unbelievable regular seasons. For me, it's just the playoffs, being healthy and pushing my team to that next level."
The road trip, a perfect one (3-0), is now over. McGrady played his role to perfection, doing what he could to aid the cause. End of the day, he'd prefer to sit back and get healthy.
When at full strength, he's one of the few guys that people who understand the game would put in the same breath as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as far as talent is concerned. Now? While still effective, he knows he's a shell of himself and covets a chance to regain his strength.
"Is it easier to take time off (as a veteran)? Well, yeah, if you really need it, which I think I need it," said McGrady, who's averaged just 12.4 points over the last 10 games after a six-point night against Miami on Monday. "I felt like I had to be out here at the start of the season since our schedule is so tough, so I didn't want us to get in a hole, but looking forward, we have enough talent on this team so if I was to sit out, and get Shane back, I think we'd be fine.
"My mentality is try not to play the whole season the way I am now. So if it takes some sitting out, that's what I have to do. I'd just feel confident in my team that they would be able to withstand this, get us some wins and get into the playoffs without me."
McGrady might sound like a guy who wants to sit for most of the season, but that's not going to happen, either. Head coach Rick Adelman wants him to play through a little bit of pain, understand his limitations and aid the cause wherever he can. That's not what McGrady wants, but that's what professionals do. Adelman, old school all the way, whole-heartedly believes that.
Somewhere, there's a happy medium. Be it a few weeks, a month or maybe more, whenever the Rockets and McGrady come together on a compromise, expect the perennial All-Star to sit. You can even start the countdown to him shutting it down. Battier hopes to play Wednesday. If there's anybody that can identify with what McGrady is experiencing, it's him. He's been out all season with a foot injury.
"You realize that there aren't any heroic monuments erected for anybody for coming back in November. You have to be smart because it's such a long season," said Battier. "Although you want to get off to a good start right now, I don't want to jeopardize my chances of helping this team in April and hopefully May and June, which is when this is more important. Obviously, I make a much better player than I do an NBA fan, but with my injury, patience is paramount. I need to exercise that and not get ahead of myself and not do further damage."
Battier has been practicing and is now ready to contribute. Once he gets back in his groove, expect McGrady to turn up the heat on the organization by asking to sit. In his mind, he's done what he set out to do, buying time for the Rockets until Battier returned and newcomers Ron Artest and Brent Barry got acclimated. The Rockets lead the Southwest Division and have the second-best mark in the Western Conference, trailing only the Lakers.
"Look how the Lakers are playing, unbelievable basketball right now, off to a great start. You don't want to be one of those teams floating down there at the No. 7 or
No. 8 spot. Face a team like them, face a team like -- I know a lot of people are sleeping on San Antonio, but when you think about it you've got two of their best guys getting rest right now and they're just holding on. When those two guys, Ginobili and Parker, get back, you're going to have some fresh guys. They're going to be pretty tough," McGrady said. "You want to put yourself in a great position. We've found that out in the past. Playoff seeding is definitely crucial."
That little nugget is indicative of the variety of things floating through McGrady's mind as he comes up on a crucial decision. He's wary of getting too comfortable and sacrificing an opportunity to get the highest playoff seed possible, but at the same time, he understands how much the long NBA schedule can take out of you. He fears guys like Ginobili and Parker being fresher.
Having proven all that he can prove, with only playoff success eluding him, McGrady doesn't want to sacrifice a postseason by trying to be a hero. He'd rather trust his teammates to get him to where he can really help them.
"I always ask him, I always say, 'Tracy, what do I got to do? What do you want? Do I got to step it up,'" Artest said. "If he's alright, he says 'Ron, I've got it.' If he's not, he says 'Ron, I need you to step it up.' I say 'ok' and then I take the shots. We're doing the best we can with the situation that we're in right now.
"We need to roll off a lot of wins so we can get T-Mac rest. That's not news to us. We'll pick him up if we need to. We definitely understand that it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're not going to win a championship tomorrow."
It sounds like his teammates have McGrady's back as far as taking time off to get right goes. You don't have to be a keen observer to see that he's nowhere near 100 percent. No one is going to lose any respect for him not playing through pain, because he's already done so for much of the early part of the season to ensure that Houston got off to a good start.
Hopefully the tug-of-war between management and McGrady doesn't get too hairy. Any agreement they can come to on how long T-Mac can rest his weary knees will aid to preserve the good will generated by a solid start.
Artest is right. You don't win championships tomorrow.
You can lose them, though.
McGrady seems to have his heart set on ensuring that doesn't happen. He knows his legacy is at stake. Like he said, he wants no part of gutting it out through a full season in his current state.
It's not good for anybody. A break is coming.
http://www.probasketballnews.com/mejia_112508.html
By Tony Mejia
Pro Basketball News
On the night after Vince Carter silenced Raptors fans with an unforgettable performance last week, Tracy McGrady found himself in Orlando, where the venom isn't quite as hostile as it is for "Cousin" up in Canada.
Still, there was a part of McGrady that found himself a little jealous of his older cuz. Not about all the attention he still gets, but how he's able to handle it.
"At least my boos have turned into a lot of cheers when I go back (to Toronto). Get over it, man. You've got to get over that stuff. Fans are bitter. If they had any sense, you don't really want to piss a guy off that could get your team
for 40," said McGrady. "It's not a good thing to boo a guy that
can score, that's a great player. In that mode, you can get real
focused for one night. That's some food for thought for fans
that want to boo a guy that's been traded away from their team.
It's not a good thing."
In Orlando, where McGrady is still vilified after wanting out
earlier this decade, he couldn't muster the response he
would've liked. Ideally, he would've emulated his cousin
again and torched the Magic with his full arsenal of skills. Realistically, he was only able to play decoy and knock down open jumpers. That's all his body currently allows him to do. His knees are shot, and he's not trying to hide it.
"I'm buying into our system and just becoming a guy that defers, not being a guy that takes 25 shots like I did when I was here (in Orlando). I told the guys, I'm not trying to be that guy that I was four or five years ago. Those days are over," McGrady said."I'm still not happy with the way I'm playing and the way I feel. I told myself I was going to give this road trip to see how things were going to go and then talk to everybody and make a decision. For me, I'm really not going to be measured in the regular season. I've had unbelievable regular seasons. For me, it's just the playoffs, being healthy and pushing my team to that next level."
The road trip, a perfect one (3-0), is now over. McGrady played his role to perfection, doing what he could to aid the cause. End of the day, he'd prefer to sit back and get healthy.
When at full strength, he's one of the few guys that people who understand the game would put in the same breath as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James as far as talent is concerned. Now? While still effective, he knows he's a shell of himself and covets a chance to regain his strength.
"Is it easier to take time off (as a veteran)? Well, yeah, if you really need it, which I think I need it," said McGrady, who's averaged just 12.4 points over the last 10 games after a six-point night against Miami on Monday. "I felt like I had to be out here at the start of the season since our schedule is so tough, so I didn't want us to get in a hole, but looking forward, we have enough talent on this team so if I was to sit out, and get Shane back, I think we'd be fine.
"My mentality is try not to play the whole season the way I am now. So if it takes some sitting out, that's what I have to do. I'd just feel confident in my team that they would be able to withstand this, get us some wins and get into the playoffs without me."
McGrady might sound like a guy who wants to sit for most of the season, but that's not going to happen, either. Head coach Rick Adelman wants him to play through a little bit of pain, understand his limitations and aid the cause wherever he can. That's not what McGrady wants, but that's what professionals do. Adelman, old school all the way, whole-heartedly believes that.
Somewhere, there's a happy medium. Be it a few weeks, a month or maybe more, whenever the Rockets and McGrady come together on a compromise, expect the perennial All-Star to sit. You can even start the countdown to him shutting it down. Battier hopes to play Wednesday. If there's anybody that can identify with what McGrady is experiencing, it's him. He's been out all season with a foot injury.
"You realize that there aren't any heroic monuments erected for anybody for coming back in November. You have to be smart because it's such a long season," said Battier. "Although you want to get off to a good start right now, I don't want to jeopardize my chances of helping this team in April and hopefully May and June, which is when this is more important. Obviously, I make a much better player than I do an NBA fan, but with my injury, patience is paramount. I need to exercise that and not get ahead of myself and not do further damage."
Battier has been practicing and is now ready to contribute. Once he gets back in his groove, expect McGrady to turn up the heat on the organization by asking to sit. In his mind, he's done what he set out to do, buying time for the Rockets until Battier returned and newcomers Ron Artest and Brent Barry got acclimated. The Rockets lead the Southwest Division and have the second-best mark in the Western Conference, trailing only the Lakers.
"Look how the Lakers are playing, unbelievable basketball right now, off to a great start. You don't want to be one of those teams floating down there at the No. 7 or
No. 8 spot. Face a team like them, face a team like -- I know a lot of people are sleeping on San Antonio, but when you think about it you've got two of their best guys getting rest right now and they're just holding on. When those two guys, Ginobili and Parker, get back, you're going to have some fresh guys. They're going to be pretty tough," McGrady said. "You want to put yourself in a great position. We've found that out in the past. Playoff seeding is definitely crucial."
That little nugget is indicative of the variety of things floating through McGrady's mind as he comes up on a crucial decision. He's wary of getting too comfortable and sacrificing an opportunity to get the highest playoff seed possible, but at the same time, he understands how much the long NBA schedule can take out of you. He fears guys like Ginobili and Parker being fresher.
Having proven all that he can prove, with only playoff success eluding him, McGrady doesn't want to sacrifice a postseason by trying to be a hero. He'd rather trust his teammates to get him to where he can really help them.
"I always ask him, I always say, 'Tracy, what do I got to do? What do you want? Do I got to step it up,'" Artest said. "If he's alright, he says 'Ron, I've got it.' If he's not, he says 'Ron, I need you to step it up.' I say 'ok' and then I take the shots. We're doing the best we can with the situation that we're in right now.
"We need to roll off a lot of wins so we can get T-Mac rest. That's not news to us. We'll pick him up if we need to. We definitely understand that it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're not going to win a championship tomorrow."
It sounds like his teammates have McGrady's back as far as taking time off to get right goes. You don't have to be a keen observer to see that he's nowhere near 100 percent. No one is going to lose any respect for him not playing through pain, because he's already done so for much of the early part of the season to ensure that Houston got off to a good start.
Hopefully the tug-of-war between management and McGrady doesn't get too hairy. Any agreement they can come to on how long T-Mac can rest his weary knees will aid to preserve the good will generated by a solid start.
Artest is right. You don't win championships tomorrow.
You can lose them, though.
McGrady seems to have his heart set on ensuring that doesn't happen. He knows his legacy is at stake. Like he said, he wants no part of gutting it out through a full season in his current state.
It's not good for anybody. A break is coming.