T-Mac Shootaround Interview

[Budkin]

http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/2013/04/17/130417mcgradymov-2449502

The caption says "Kawhi Leonard" :lol

[xellos88330]

It did the same in the Pop interview. :lmao

[travis2]

Hey, he sounds good...quiet, well-spoken, affable...seems to be both aware of his role and willing to do whatever is asked of him.

[Mark in Austin]

sounds good. I liked his answers.

[Richie]

I've only started watching the NBA in the last few years, never seen much of TMac. Is that interview indicative of his personality? Seems like a real likeable guy.

[HarlemHeat37]

Ya, he seems aware of his limitations and has made adjustments to his game, which isn't always the case for former stars once they are past their primes..

It sounds like he's going to work mostly in the mid-post, along with some point forward..if McGrady is feeling good, he could be a more aggressive version of Boris Diaw, tbh, and that worked out great for last year's Spurs..

I'm not expecting too much, but if plays even nearly as well as Vince Carter has played for the Mavs the last 2 years, it would help the Spurs fill a void..

[HarlemHeat37]

I've only started watching the NBA in the last few years, never seen much of TMac. Is that interview indicative of his personality? Seems like a real likeable guy.

He's always been laid back and relaxed, tbh..

Guys like McGrady and Carter are mostly criticized for being lazy and not caring enough about basketball, rather than cancerous players like Allen Iverson and Stephen Jackson, tbh..

[SA210]

Tbh, gotta love a player that is completely open and honest like that, and hardly uses any cliche answers at all. Really liked that interview. Dude sounds like he really understands his role, he's hungry and seems very happy to be here.

:tu Don't know if he'll contribute in the post-season, but I pray he does, and I hope Pop gives him that opportunity.

[Legacy]

Thanks for the post, Budkin! :D

[Dex]

Backup point guard? Intriguing....

[Captivus]

TMac: I was getting out of church and I looked at my phone and Pop called me, it was a shocker.
Reporter: So your prays were answered!?
TMac: My wife was praying for that!

TMac: I think in China they have a day to celebrate my 13 pts in 35 secs! :lol

[MVPCues]

Same here, what a great interview. He sounded wonderfully honest and realistic about himself and the team.

[spurspokesman]

Tbh, gotta love a player that is completely open and honest like that, and hardly uses any cliche answers at all. Really liked that interview. Dude sounds like he really understands his role, he's hungry and seems very happy to be here.

:tu Don't know if he'll contribute in the post-season, but I pray he does, and I hope Pop gives him that opportunity.
well put

[BatManu20]

I know he's way past his prime, but damn it's cool to see one of my top-3 favorite players of all time rockin Spurs gear. Hope he gets an opportunity to contribute.

[hater]

"Tracy, This is Greg Popovich here at the other end of the line. How was church? That's a nice tie you are wearing, and your wife looks beautiful on that yellow dress..."

[007nites]

uB1D9wWxd2w#!

[John B]

Why has it taken so long to sign him? He's been waiting since Feb and we've had people out. Too much money. I hope we get a chance to see him tonight and get acclimated to the system (sure in one game). Go Spurs Go!

[Budkin]

I know he's way past his prime, but damn it's cool to see one of my top-3 favorite players of all time rockin Spurs gear. Hope he gets an opportunity to contribute.

The Magic are my second team so I watched T-Mac quite a bit, so it's great to see him on my main team. I always felt so bad that he was on such underachieving teams. The 03-04 season was a nightmare for him. While he is scoring 62 in a game, the team is going on a 19 game losing streak. He's a shell of his former self but if Kobe and Timmy can still play at such high levels I'm sure he can at least be decent. Hopefully it works out and he stays with us next year as well.

[mrjap2x]

Nice interview, nice answers too.

[Two10Whitey]

I think T-Mac and Splitter are out tonight.

[Spur|n|Austin]

"Tracy, This is Greg Popovich here at the other end of the line. How was church? That's a nice tie you are wearing, and your wife looks beautiful on that yellow dress..."

Kinky..

[polandprzem]

Damn there are two interviews of Pop and Tmac

and in bothy situations jurnalists asking the same questions and Pop answers the same, as do Tmac.


Wonder why Pop did not got mad :huh:

[Budkin]

"Tracy, This is Greg Popovich here at the other end of the line. How was church? That's a nice tie you are wearing, and your wife looks beautiful on that yellow dress..."

Jack: "If you're scared, go to church."

T-Mac is called coming out of church.

Prophecy?

[timvp]

Good interview. T-Mac is a lot more humble than he used to be. He should, at the very least, not cause any waves.


The bad news is that it looks like he's a good 15-20 pounds over his normal playing weight. Hopefully it was just a bad camera angle ...

[cheguevara]

:wow TMac's demeanor, in interviews at least, is a carbon copy of Parker.

bizarre

[EricB]

Good interview. T-Mac is a lot more humble than he used to be. He should, at the very least, not cause any waves.


The bad news is that it looks like he's a good 15-20 pounds over his normal playing weight. Hopefully it was just a bad camera angle ...


His picture of himself in a spurs uniform looked ok. His playing pictures in china he looked slimmed down. I'm most likely wrong however.

[cheguevara]

I hope he brings this to the playoffs :lmao

:lol Jeremy Lin, get ready

oOA6DPaZqug

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

I hope he brings this to the playoffs :lmao

:lol Jeremy Lin, get ready

oOA6DPaZqug

LOL with a Mutombo wag straight in his face, he was basically asking for it. :lol

[cheguevara]

:lol chinese league

didn't even get a technical or nothing :lol

[Strategic]

It's too bad! If the Pop/Jax conversation at the beginning of this year would have ended in a different result then maybe McGrady would have already suited up for a couple of months and be able to help. As it is the Jax/Pop meeting bought Jax a couple of extra months with the Spurs and now the team really has neither. Grrrr

[Ellsworth]

He's a shell of his former self but if Kobe and Timmy can still play at such high levels I'm sure he can at least be decent. Hopefully it works out and he stays with us next year as well.

Would like to have him back on the team for next yr. as well... can't wait to see how him & KL at that SF position... he's still younger than TD & MANU (SJax, also). This is getting to be pretty exciting LOL

[Nathan89]

Good interview. T-Mac is a lot more humble than he used to be. He should, at the very least, not cause any waves.


The bad news is that it looks like he's a good 15-20 pounds over his normal playing weight. Hopefully it was just a bad camera angle ...

He should be in pretty good shape by June, tbh...that's all that matters.

[therealtruth]

He can be the solution to the backup PG and SF issues. He should be able to get plenty of minutes. I trust him more than any of the other options. It will also allow Manu to play of the ball more and reduce Neal's minutes.

[emanueldavidginobili]

He said he was a coach potato since he got back from China he definitely didn't think he would get picked up. But I think he will help us out and he is hungry

[emanueldavidginobili]

Tmac is well spoken.

[Proxy]

It would be cool to see him play backup PG

[Danny.Zhu]

TMac: I was getting out of church and I looked at my phone and Pop called me, it was a shocker.
Reporter: So your prays were answered!?
TMac: My wife was praying for that!

TMac: I think in China they have a day to celebrate my 13 pts in 35 secs! :lol

It's true...

[ALVAREZ6]

Good interview. T-Mac is a lot more humble than he used to be. He should, at the very least, not cause any waves.


The bad news is that it looks like he's a good 15-20 pounds over his normal playing weight. Hopefully it was just a bad camera angle ...
True, but he said he's changed his game and plays from the mid-post area, probably playing similarly to lebron on the low block in a triple threat position. Many options from there. He obviously can't play like he used to and take guys off the dribble on younger, quicker guards, but he's big and long and can shoot over people. Hopefully he has some type of offense to contribute off the bench for an NBA team because the Spurs will surely need help.

[ALVAREZ6]

And damn I didn't remember Tmac as being that chill and well spoken, humble, etc. but tbh I don't really remember any of his interviews and demeanor off the court from his younger days.

[pikkiwoki]

And damn I didn't remember Tmac as being that chill and well spoken, humble, etc. but tbh I don't really remember any of his interviews and demeanor off the court from his younger days.

looks like he's always been soft spoken

bvYIgcJc1uw

[lefty]

:wow TMac's demeanor, in interviews at least, is a carbon copy of Parker.

bizarre
Then he is going to choke in the playoffs too

[KaiRMD1]

Honestly, as shitty as the team has been playing, I hope the Spurs can get out of the first round for T-Mac's sake. I've always loved T-Mac's game & I'm glad he's a spur, just hope it works out.

[polandprzem]

nOBODY GOT MY JOKE

SCREW U

[KenziE]

TMac FTW

[Indazone]

Yah, Hope you guys get this T-Mac! lol

hk__kWf2kXQ

Soft Spoken my ass.

And when it don't work. You get this.

oleKfixy-7A

[szkorhetz]

At one point in the Playoffs I want to scream: "McGrady for the win, yeeeeeeeeeees"

[Stabula]

None of you know what you're saying.

McGrady is a fucking scum bag.

[100%duncan]

Nice interview.

[biskvito]

seems chill enough to fit the Pop standards

[MaNu4Tres]

Really wish Pop cut ties with Jackson a month ago if he was a problem. McGrady would be more than ready by now. Better late than never I guess.

[TheCerebral1]

He's such a joke. As a Spurs fan this is the worst signing in quite a long time. I don't want to see him get any meaningful minutes. A 25% team first Stephen Jackson is twice the player Tracy "All Me All the time" McHackjob is. Go back to China you bum.

[BobaFett1]

He's always been laid back and relaxed, tbh..

Guys like McGrady and Carter are mostly criticized for being lazy and not caring enough about basketball, rather than cancerous players like Allen Iverson and Stephen Jackson, tbh..

McGrady will fir this role of his great. Great find by SA.

[HarlemHeat37]

He's such a joke. As a Spurs fan this is the worst signing in quite a long time. I don't want to see him get any meaningful minutes. A 25% team first Stephen Jackson is twice the player Tracy "All Me All the time" McHackjob is. Go back to China you bum.

:lol Stephen Jackson isn't twice as good as anybody in the NBA, tbh..

[james evans]

the answer i'd like to know is exactly what game will he get injured in.

[Chomag]

Very good interview, he seems legitly very humbled and not near the person I remember him being. IT looks like he has matured in character quite allot, and I'm happy to have him on the Spurs. He may not play but it's still nice to have him aboard.

[Kidd K]

Sounds like we should have brought him in 2 months ago and gotten him into the swing of things rather than bring him in last minute.

[callo1]

A humbled, hungry vet is a good thing to have...especially one that still has some gas left in the tank.

I am going on the record to say that if he gets a chance to play, he will be a positive difference maker.

[Big Empty]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/17/the-t-mac-in-winter/
The T-Mac In Winter (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/17/the-t-mac-in-winter/)Joe Posnanski (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/author/kuiperfan/)
Apr 17, 2013, 7:09 PM EDT

18 Comments (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/17/the-t-mac-in-winter/#comments)

http://nbcprobasketballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/350x20.jpg?w=320 SAN ANTONIO — Tracy McGrady (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/473/tracy-mcgrady) is a shockingly young man. He will not turn 34 until May. He’s younger than, among others, Adrian Beltre, Tom Brady, Bradley Cooper and Kate Hudson. He’s too young to be President (not that this seems an especially viable career option) and he’s younger than all but one of the Backstreet Boys.
Still, everything about Tracy McGrady screams oldness. I think this is probably because he was drafted by Toronto right out of high school, so we have known him for a long, long time. His started in the NBA in 1997 – that year he was teammates with Tim Kempton, who was once teammates with Cedric Maxwell, who was once teammates with John Havlicek who was once teammates with Bob Cousy. When you can be connected to Bob Cousy through only three teammates, you have been around a while.
Also, athletes – and particularly brilliant young athletes like McGrady – age differently from the rest. There was a time when Tracy McGrady seemed limitless. He could absolutely fly – who could forget the time he dunked over 7-foot-6 Shawn Bradley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQD9CjVdoc) (“He just sucked the gravity right out of the building!”). He was an unstoppable scorer, twice leading the league in points-per-game (since 2000, his 32.1 points per game in 2002-03 is third behind Kobe Bryant (http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nba/430/kobe-bryant) and Allen Iverson in 2005-06). T-Mac was a breathtaking player who could do ridiculous superhero things.
Now, well, he can’t. He knows that. He’s still amazing when you compare him to, say, the best basketball player you know. But he’s not THAT player, not even close to THAT player – he’s aged, he’s been hurt, he’s grown tired, he hasn’t been an NBA regular in a long while. This season, he played his basketball in China. When asked how the basketball is played there, he breathed the deep sigh of a man who has seen pretty much everything. “Physical, man,” he said. “Physical.”
McGrady was at the San Antonio Spurs shoot-around Wednesday, working out for the first time for his new team. Nobody – not coach Gregg Popovich, not the Spurs players, not even McGrady himself – has any expectations about this relationship. He’s a wildcard. He might work his way into a certain role — maybe as an emergency point guard. He might play in certain situations like when the Spurs need an energy burst. He might not play at all. The Spurs signed him because Stephen Jackson was cut and they figured, hey, why not? Maybe the Spurs remember when he scored 13 points in the final 35 seconds to lead the Yao Ming Rockets to a shocking win over San Antonio in 2004.
“I don’t know if they remember that … I do know my Asian fans remember that,” McGrady says. “Every year, they have like a day to remember it.” Everybody laughs, but McGrady doesn’t. “I’m serious. They do.”
Wednesday, McGrady goes through a basic workout – lots of weaving, a few shots off screens, some basic education on the Spurs Way. There’s no way to catch him up on nearly everything the Spurs do, not this late in the season, but there’s also no reason for that. McGrady knows how to play basketball. He is a seven-time All-Star, and this is his eighth pro team if you include the Qingdao Eagles in China. Whatever the Spurs need from him, sure, he will find his way.
What is striking is how much the workout takes out of him. He admits that he got back from China two months ago, and he spent the bulk of those two months playing with his kids and sitting on the couch. All around him, Spurs players run around and barely sweat. But after a few sprints, McGrady breathes heavy. After a few more, his shot begins to fall off the front rim. He talks to the basketball (“C’mon girl, get in there!”).
If there is a knock on McGrady’s great career, it is that his teams never once won a playoff series. It is a sensitive point with him (“I can’t do it myself,” he says softly). He know that here in San Antonio, at the end, after he thought his NBA days were over, he gets a chance to be part of one of the best teams in the league. He gets to play with Hall of Famers and a Hall of Fame coach. Sure, he would like to taste victory, even as a role player, even if he never gets off the bench.
So, he’s pumped up about it. He works through the rust and the pain. The Spurs coaches put him in a baseline drill … basically, he is to set a screen, then sprint full speed to the corner, catch the ball and drain a three-point shot. The drill will go on until he makes three three-pointers.
And so, McGrady takes a step, a skip, runs into the drill. He sets the screen, sprints to the right corner, catches, fires, swishes the shot.
“Great shot,” the assistant coach yells. “Go!”
And Tracy McGrady runs out again, sets another screen and sprints full speed to the other corner, catches the ball and shoots the three. This one too, swishes.
Before the coach can say another word, he’s in motion again, back to the screen spot, a pause, and then all out to the corner, he catches, he jumps, and he fades away from the basket as he lets it go. This one swishes as well. Three shots, three swishes, just like old times.
“Terrific Tracy,” the coach yells. “Great job. Go shoot some free throws.”
Tracy McGrady smiles a little bit. He still can put the ball in the basket. Then he bends over, grabs his shorts, inhales and exhales and holds on for dear life.

[timtonymanu]

http://binaryapi.ap.org/dfeaf1504d174d2b80ee78f7576cb0d2/940x.jpg

[pikkiwoki]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/17/the-t-mac-in-winter/
The T-Mac In Winter (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/17/the-t-mac-in-winter/)

Joe Posnanski (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/author/kuiperfan/)
Apr 17, 2013, 7:09 PM EDT

18 Comments (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/04/17/the-t-mac-in-winter/#comments)

He might play in certain situations like when the Spurs need an energy burst.

When you think of McGrady, the very last thing you think of is "energy burst" tbh

Not a high motor player tbh

[Monkeyboy14]

nOBODY GOT MY JOKE

SCREW U
:lol I got you man, VERY FUNNY.

[polandprzem]

:p: