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Sounds like he's trying to set himself up for MVP.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2334682
HOUSTON -- All-Star weekend has come to Houston during one of the worst times of Tracy McGrady's life.
The 26-year-old Rockets star, who'll play in his sixth All-Star game Sunday, won't divulge what's bothering him, but said his personal crisis is as trying as anything he's ever faced.
"I'm human, I'm going through some things in my life, things I've got to deal with, and I'm just trying to handle it the best way I can," McGrady said. "It's wearing and tearing at me. This weight has gotten heavy for me and it's taking a toll."
Even Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy is concerned, making a recent unscheduled visit to McGrady's house to talk to him about his issues. McGrady told Van Gundy he was considering taking some games off and disappearing from public life.
"I told my coach that's how I felt -- that I really felt like leaving and not tell people where I was going, just getting away for a few days and just clearing my mind," McGrady said. "I need peace of mind right now. It's all just piled up on me and broken me down."
McGrady has missed 13 games this season with back spasms and left another game in late December to see his fiancee, Clerenda Harris, give birth to their second child, a son.
But McGrady wouldn't say whether the issues were health-related or who they involve.
"I've dealt with family members passing away, best friends getting killed," McGrady said. "This is a lot worse than that because it's a combination of things in different areas.
"I'm in a tough stage of my life right now."
Whatever is bothering him, it's affected his play.
In his last 12 games, McGrady has shot worse than 32 percent from the field six times, including a 4-for-15 night in Houston's 109-75 loss to Phoenix on Thursday. He went 3-for-20 against New York last Sunday and refused to speak to reporters afterward.
"At times, I don't even want to be in the arena or a uniform," McGrady said. "It's just been so frustrating. In the past, I've usually done a great job of keeping things to myself and really not letting things affect me.
"I am going through some things and it does affect my professional life. I try not to let it, but I can't really control it."
McGrady had planned to skip Friday's media availability. Friends convinced him to go and McGrady said he hopes the weekend festivities in his backyard will take his mind off the personal problems.
"It really took a lot for me to come down here with the things that are going on," McGrady said. "They told me it was the best thing for me and I realize this is in the city I perform in every night."
McGrady said friends are helping him work through the issues, and he feels better than he did a few days ago.
"There, for a while, I wasn't really myself in games, after games, and everybody noticed it," he said. "I just felt like sharing with people what I was going through -- things that wear and tear on me physically and emotionally."
Across the room, McGrady's All-Star teammate, Yao Ming, was answering less personal questions -- most of them in Chinese. A swarm of Asian media mobbed the 7-foot-6 Yao, the top vote-getter for the All-Star game, as soon as he ducked under a black curtain and appeared in a hotel ballroom.
Yao will play in his fourth All-Star game and compared his experiences since he was drafted in 2002 to earning a college education.
"The NBA life has made me grow up a lot," Yao said. "I have not just grown up in my basketball skills, it's made me stronger and tougher."
For one thing, he's become more confident in his English, doing interviews without a translator for the first time this season.
"It's getting a lot easier," Yao said. "I'm getting used to it."
Sounds like he's trying to set himself up for MVP.
Man, it's rough to deal with work when you have some issues on the homefront.
Man, I hear that. You write like you know first hand too.
Charles Barley and Magic Johnson discussed that on Inside the NBA last night.
Magic was saying he hoped everything was all right with Tracy. Magic also said that when he played he found sanctuary from his problems on the court- playing was a release for him.
Charles wasn't very ( if at all moved) by Tracy saying " someone times I don't even want to be there ( on court playing." Charles take: " People in the normal world have problems too and they still have to get up and go to work."
While I have compassion for Tracy, I also believe Charles is 100% correct.
Yeah I watched that last night too.
It was pretty interesting.
I watched Quite Frankly last night too, it was probably a re-run, but it had to be pretty recent. He interviewed Kobe, and it sort of change my view on him. AI had a few good words about Kobe, and it wasn't BS.
Well, depending on what Tracy's actually going through - a lot of people in the 'real world' may take time off for these problems, too. And I'd venture a guess that dealing with these problems, whatever they are, in a spotlight makes it a little more stressful. You just can't really compare the two.
People under the magnifying glass, much like the ants we tortured, often get burned.
Poor Tracy. It's not like he's trying to draw the attention to himself. It's hard to judge him when we don't know the cir stances of his problem.
You're right when you say that almost everyone in the world has problems and they still have to get up and go to work everyday. But every problem is different, and it's hard to get up and deal with it sometimes.
If he did not want to draw attention to himself, he didn't need to bring it up in the first place. The way I see it, not knowing the problem makes me have less sympathy for him, especially considering how open and willing he was about talking about his issues. What if he wants time off to promote a rap group? Or he wants time off because he is upset that his accountant ripped him off?
I wish Tracy well, and hope he is ok, but he has already spoke with JVG, and obviously JVG did not think it was serious enough for Tracy to warrant taking time off, Most teams and the NBA understand when players are having a tough time and usually are ready to give them the time they need to get better.
My guess, he is angling for a trade, or is seriously ill, but in the latter case, I'm sure he would have received the time off that he needed. Like someone else posted, one of my first thoughts was that he was posturing himself to have a big game on Sunday.
I have a question, does anyone think TMac is having flashbacks to his Orlando days?
He has been injured, his team has performed poorly, his play recently has been sub-par, they just got blown out on national TV with both him and Yao in the lineup.
Is he getting ready to shut down for the balance of the year?
Where did you read that JVG "did not think it was serious enough for Tracy to warrant taking time off?"
The article says JVG even visited Mcgrady at his home to talk to him about his problem and that Tracy said he was thinking about taking time off and getting away from the game. It did not say anywhere that JVG disagreed with him.
It's all media fluff and hype. Three cares...
I just hope Tracy lets himself enjoy the All Star Break. Moments like that need to be treasured. They don't happen every day.
I've learned that having a little fun during hard times is beneficial. Once some of the load is off my mind it is easier to handle the issues at hand.
This is what happens when you have kids too young and get into relationships far too early. Stress and more bad things probly due to that girl getting knocked up and wanting some of his millions.
Look, I have no problem with T-Mac's life staying private. I think we have too much access into the lives of these athletes to begin with, and our celebrities as a whole. He wants the press, however, without the heat. And that's a problem for me. Shut up or talk. But the way he did this, ESPN can speculate from here to the end of his career what this "personal issue" is.
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