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lol just retire you old man. at least people will be able to look at your good days...
http://sports.sohu.com/20090303/n262570973.shtml
By Jonathan Feigen
As Tracy McGrady took a seat in Chicago’s United Center, placing the crutch he needs since his microfracture surgery carefully at his side, a friend asked a simple question.
“Is he done?”
He knew, of course, that McGrady was done for the season, and I knew that was not what he was asking.
I went on about the details of McGrady’s particular condition and procedure. The lesion on the bone beneath his left kneecap was on a non weight-bearing bone. The surgeon did not have to drain too much blood and bone marrow fluid to replace cartilage, which typically determines how much time a player will need to recover from microfracture surgery. His ligaments and other cartilage were in good shape. The prognosis was much better than for many microfracture patients who also happen to be elite athletes.
I went on this way for a few minutes. My friend, who has been closely following the NBA since before McGrady was born, listened without interruption, pretending to be genuinely interested in the details. Then he asked a tougher question.
“Is he done?”
I knew what he meant. At that point, all I could do is guess. I don’t like to guess. I’d prefer to know. On this, however, no one does.
It is a fair question. He didn’t want to know if McGrady would ever again get sweaty in a NBA uniform. He wanted to know if McGrady would ever again be T-Mac.
My best guess is that he will be back, but his days as the guy that led the NBA in scoring in consecutive seasons, who flew over Shawn Bradley in that Dallas series, who was such a spectacularly-gifted athlete are over.
Microfracture surgery can alleviate pain. It creates new cartilage so that bone does not rub up against bone. It does not send a player back in time.
McGrady’s statement following the surgery seemed to be wishful thinking.
“My personal focus now,” McGrady said on his website, “is to look forward and dedicate myself 100 percent to returning to the court and returning to be the player I was and know that I still am.”
He has not consented to an interview, so it is difficult know just what he had in mind by hoping to be the player he was.
It sounded as if he wanted to be the player he was at the height of his powers, or at least something close to that.
If that is too much to expect, and I suspect that it is, McGrady could still be a very effective player. Again, no one really knows until he is out on the floor, but if McGrady can be pain free, his feel for the game and his skills should be enough, even if he cannot be the sensational athlete that he was.
Then again, I thought that about his potential to be effective this season, too. I was wrong. The notion that McGrady cannot or will not play through pain is not accurate. He played through pain whenever he played this season and has throughout his career when he dealt with his back problems.
This season, however, he did not play well with pain. He would improve upon his return from each time away from the court. He would not bend rims and put up huge numbers, but he would look good and he would be effective. Then certain movements would send shots of pain through his knee and he became slow and tentative, especially defensively when he does not have the power for control his movements to protect himself from pain. That left him unwilling or unable to defend and eventually made him a liability.
The Rockets are a better team without him. They are not going to be a better team than they could have been if he was healthy and able to play with energy and consistency.
The tougher question is whether they will be a better team when he returns, whenever that happens, next season. That returns us to my friend’s question.
“Is he done?”
I don’t think so. I don’t think he will be what he was at his best, but I think he will be much more than he was this season, either. He likely won’t be the sport of microfracture patient Amare Stoudemire has been. He is a young player that even after the procedure can do things athletically few can match. Neither will he be the Allan Houston or Terrell Brandon types who never make it back. Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway came back and never were what they were at their best. McGrady will likely be some version of that.
In his case, he might be spryer than they were when they returned, but either way, my long answer to a short question was that he is not done. He has one season left on his contract with the Rockets. He will likely spend the bulk of it just trying to get back on the floor.
When he does, he will likely be a better player than he was when he left, even if he is never the player he was at his best.
lol just retire you old man. at least people will be able to look at your good days...
He has been done for about three years now.
I don't know about that. He was good for us when Yao went down in the 06-07 season. MVP-like. He was just super lazy this offseason and didn't give a .
yeah he was pretty done when they won 22 in a row last season and took them to the playoffs without yao.
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