T-Mac was ever at full strength this season so having him out for the playoffs helps the Rockets. Houston finally could adjust without him and they have been getting better and better in the 40 or so games they have played without him. If he was 100%, I would have to agree with Poops, the Rockets definitely need another scorer if they hope to match the Lakers over the course of a seven game series and T-Mac would provide that if he was healthy.
i agree he's a solid scorer, but i just think they play better overall without him. i like how they just feed it to yao. mcgrady too often settled for jumpers, and i think this team already has some capable scorers. artest is a solid overall player. wafer is scoring machine off the bench. battier is a solid 3 point shooter from the corners, and scola is the cleanup guy.
i just think its kind of funny, the one year they dont have mcgrady they advance.
i just think its kind of funny, the one year they dont have mcgrady they advance.
As a houston fan I am glad we get a chance to see what this team is made of.. Tmac is great at scoring but this team is a defensive minded team so he isn't the best fit fit them.
La doesn't like it when u ruff them up and play slowed down...this will be a good series
La doesn't like it when u ruff them up and play slowed down...this will be a good series
Comments: Rockets’ glee is McGrady’s misfortune
By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 1, 2009, 10:26PM
Poor Tracy McGrady.
The guy can’t win for winning. Or is it supposed to be he can’t win for losing?
Either way (and that’s sort of the point), McGrady seems to always get the worst end of it. Year after year, season after season, we get to May, when the weather and NBA playoffs heat up, and McGrady is somewhere cooling down.
The Rockets exorcised a first-round playoff demon by beating Portland on Thursday night, putting an end to a 12-year stretch in which they had not advanced to the second round.
McGrady’s head is out-spinning Linda Blair’s, and I dare you to feed him pea soup.
The Rockets ended a streak. Yao Ming ended a streak.
But for McGrady? … The streak goes on.
This was definitely supposed to be the year. McGrady was as excited about this season as any because for the first time in his career he was on a legitimate championship contender.
A knee injury put a stop to all that, leaving the 12-year NBA veteran to cheer for the Rockets from afar.
Their victory isn’t his. He is on the roster but not on the team. Text messages wishing guys well and congratulating them on big wins are nice. His entry passes to Yao Ming would be nicer.
Constant rehab
While the Rockets were grinding out a playoff series victory over Portland, McGrady spent most of his time in Chicago doing six to eight hours of daily rehab following microfracture surgery on his ailing left knee on Feb. 24.
McGrady was on the Rockets’ bench for Games 3 and 4 against Portland at Toyota Center, but his rehab schedule kept him from being here for the clincher.
He has been able to come to Houston only on weekends, and he even needed to get a residence in Chicago because of all the time he will spend there in the coming months.
McGrady is happy for his boys, his teammates. He is ecstatic for Yao, because he knows the pain and pressure Yao was feeling with the first-round weight on his back. He has dealt with it almost twice as long as Yao had to.
But McGrady can’t help being green with envy, wondering if his day will come.
In a post on his Web site (t-mac.com), McGrady said he is not thinking about that.
“That’s the last thing on my mind and the least of my worries,” he wrote. “I know I’ll be back and have my shot to advance in the playoffs, and for now I’m enjoying the ride watching my teammates. Next up is the Lakers. I think we match up pretty well and I know coach will have us ready. Let’s go Rockets!”
How far can they go? The top-seeded Lakers are next, and that will be a tall order, even for these improved Rockets.
They could use McGrady in the next couple of weeks. With a high-flying, healthy McGrady, the Lakers matchup would be a tossup. A Rockets win now would be an upset.
If you think the Rockets would not have beaten Portland in the first round if McGrady were in the lineup, you’re not being fair.
Actually, to be fair, they would not have played Portland in the first round if McGrady had been healthy this season.
“With T-Mac, we would have been battling for the No. 1 overall seed,” Ron Artest said. “He makes us that much better.”
Yet some of you believe this team is better because McGrady is not playing. You’re so excited about the Rockets’ 22-8 run to end the regular season after McGrady shut it down that you’re not thinking straight.
Yao’s similar plight
A year ago, after Yao went down for the season, the Rockets went 19-7. Radio talking heads had you wondering if the Rockets were better without Yao. That was nonsensical, too.
Last year, the Rockets had no chance against Utah in the playoffs without an injured Yao and Rafer Alston hobbling in and out of the lineup. This year, they were the favorites to beat Portland for several reasons.
There is that 7-6 dude in the middle. There is Artest. There is Luis Scola in his second season, instead of his first. Ditto for Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry, plus Von Wafer.
I won’t even bother comparing last year’s Jazz to this year’s Blazers.
The Rockets were so sure they would beat Portland that their attitude bordered on overconfidence. That first-round demon was going to be exorcised.
Before he walked out of Toyota Center last Sunday, just after the Rockets had taken a commanding 3-1 lead over the Blazers, McGrady said he was as happy as he could be for his teammates.
He said he was progressing and doing well, just not doing what he would rather be doing — competing in the playoffs.
This year probably would have been the year he played into the second round.
Poor Tracy McGrady.
By JEROME SOLOMON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 1, 2009, 10:26PM
Poor Tracy McGrady.
The guy can’t win for winning. Or is it supposed to be he can’t win for losing?
Either way (and that’s sort of the point), McGrady seems to always get the worst end of it. Year after year, season after season, we get to May, when the weather and NBA playoffs heat up, and McGrady is somewhere cooling down.
The Rockets exorcised a first-round playoff demon by beating Portland on Thursday night, putting an end to a 12-year stretch in which they had not advanced to the second round.
McGrady’s head is out-spinning Linda Blair’s, and I dare you to feed him pea soup.
The Rockets ended a streak. Yao Ming ended a streak.
But for McGrady? … The streak goes on.
This was definitely supposed to be the year. McGrady was as excited about this season as any because for the first time in his career he was on a legitimate championship contender.
A knee injury put a stop to all that, leaving the 12-year NBA veteran to cheer for the Rockets from afar.
Their victory isn’t his. He is on the roster but not on the team. Text messages wishing guys well and congratulating them on big wins are nice. His entry passes to Yao Ming would be nicer.
Constant rehab
While the Rockets were grinding out a playoff series victory over Portland, McGrady spent most of his time in Chicago doing six to eight hours of daily rehab following microfracture surgery on his ailing left knee on Feb. 24.
McGrady was on the Rockets’ bench for Games 3 and 4 against Portland at Toyota Center, but his rehab schedule kept him from being here for the clincher.
He has been able to come to Houston only on weekends, and he even needed to get a residence in Chicago because of all the time he will spend there in the coming months.
McGrady is happy for his boys, his teammates. He is ecstatic for Yao, because he knows the pain and pressure Yao was feeling with the first-round weight on his back. He has dealt with it almost twice as long as Yao had to.
But McGrady can’t help being green with envy, wondering if his day will come.
In a post on his Web site (t-mac.com), McGrady said he is not thinking about that.
“That’s the last thing on my mind and the least of my worries,” he wrote. “I know I’ll be back and have my shot to advance in the playoffs, and for now I’m enjoying the ride watching my teammates. Next up is the Lakers. I think we match up pretty well and I know coach will have us ready. Let’s go Rockets!”
How far can they go? The top-seeded Lakers are next, and that will be a tall order, even for these improved Rockets.
They could use McGrady in the next couple of weeks. With a high-flying, healthy McGrady, the Lakers matchup would be a tossup. A Rockets win now would be an upset.
If you think the Rockets would not have beaten Portland in the first round if McGrady were in the lineup, you’re not being fair.
Actually, to be fair, they would not have played Portland in the first round if McGrady had been healthy this season.
“With T-Mac, we would have been battling for the No. 1 overall seed,” Ron Artest said. “He makes us that much better.”
Yet some of you believe this team is better because McGrady is not playing. You’re so excited about the Rockets’ 22-8 run to end the regular season after McGrady shut it down that you’re not thinking straight.
Yao’s similar plight
A year ago, after Yao went down for the season, the Rockets went 19-7. Radio talking heads had you wondering if the Rockets were better without Yao. That was nonsensical, too.
Last year, the Rockets had no chance against Utah in the playoffs without an injured Yao and Rafer Alston hobbling in and out of the lineup. This year, they were the favorites to beat Portland for several reasons.
There is that 7-6 dude in the middle. There is Artest. There is Luis Scola in his second season, instead of his first. Ditto for Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry, plus Von Wafer.
I won’t even bother comparing last year’s Jazz to this year’s Blazers.
The Rockets were so sure they would beat Portland that their attitude bordered on overconfidence. That first-round demon was going to be exorcised.
Before he walked out of Toyota Center last Sunday, just after the Rockets had taken a commanding 3-1 lead over the Blazers, McGrady said he was as happy as he could be for his teammates.
He said he was progressing and doing well, just not doing what he would rather be doing — competing in the playoffs.
This year probably would have been the year he played into the second round.
Poor Tracy McGrady.
i think t-mac was noticeably worse this year then past years. he has progressive injury problems that will continue to haunt him.
i mean if he was ever 100 percent healthy he'd be legit, but i mean the guy sneezes and gets injured. hes always injured. and these injuries are getting more severe and severe as he ages.
i think his all star days are gone.
i mean if he was ever 100 percent healthy he'd be legit, but i mean the guy sneezes and gets injured. hes always injured. and these injuries are getting more severe and severe as he ages.
i think his all star days are gone.
