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(2003 playoffs) T-Mac 46pts vs. Pistons


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Watching this pisses me off that his career ended due to injuries.

 

Mmhmm. What pisses me off more is how horrible the teams he led to the playoffs were. For a guy who averaged 29/7/6 for his career in the post-season, he should have had enough help at least once to get over the hump. He also had some really horrible luck with his teammates being injured come playoff time...Grant Hill with the Magic, Juwan Howard in 2005 (their 3rd best player), Wells in 2007 (a bit of a reach, but he was their only iso scorer besides Yao/T-Mac, and that specific team was horrible offensively), and then Yao in 2008 when they had homecourt AND considerably more help than the previous year where they pushed Utah to the last minute of Game 7. By the time 08-09 rolled around and he had enough help to make serious noise in the playoffs, his body finally broke down for good and he needed microfracture.

 

He really is the most unlucky superstar I've ever seen. At his peak, one could argue he had as much raw talent as anyone in NBA history.

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He's such a smooth, long, natural player... if he had added Kobe's insane psycho focus and work ethic, he probably would have been the GOAT. He was content to ride his talent... Kobe rides his talent and work ethic.

Agree. Also glad he got out of his cousin's shadow in Toronto that quick!

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He's such a smooth, long, natural player... if he had added Kobe's insane psycho focus and work ethic, he probably would have been the GOAT. He was content to ride his talent... Kobe rides his talent and work ethic.

 

If Shaq could run a 4.2 forty yard dash, shoot three's like Ray Allen, handle the ball like A.I., and pass like Nash, he'd probably be the G.O.A.T.

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If Shaq could run a 4.2 forty yard dash, shoot three's like Ray Allen, handle the ball like A.I., and pass like Nash, he'd probably be the G.O.A.T.

 

Except what Multi said actually made sense. Tmac had all the talent in the world to be right at Kobes level but never harnessed it well.

 

“Tracy McGrady was 1,000 hours of practice,” Van Gundy said, to some pretty loud laughs. “He should be a Hall of Fame player. His talent was other-worldly. He was given a great leg up in the race against other players. He’s as close as I’ve ever seen to someone with a perfect body and a good mind.”

 

“McGrady was the most gifted player I’ve ever had on the roster. I do think [his talent] got in the way of Tracy’s development. Much of the game was so, so easy — and you see this in the AAU level, where they have freakishly talented players. When it’s that easy to dominate at that young age, because of your physical tools — his wing span was freakish, his size was enormous, his IQ. But my sense was that all of that did get in the way of Tracy reaching his highest heights.”

 

Van Gundy came back to McGrady later: “I like a lot of things about Tracy McGrady. I just wish I could have changed his practice habits and his mentality.

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Except what Multi said actually made sense. Tmac had all the talent in the world to be right at Kobes level but never harnessed it well.

 

Too bad it didn't. You can't just magically add skills to a player. Awareness, clutch ability, focus, work ethic, ect. are all extremely important attributes, and you can't magically say "if T-Mac had those attributes". :lol: . Are you kidding me?

 

Damn, no wonder you were defending him. You're a Rockets fan, so I'm not surprised.

Edited by EastCoastNiner
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Too bad it didn't. You can't just magically add skills to a player. Awareness, clutch ability, focus, work ethic, ect. are all extremely important attributes, and you can't magically say "if T-Mac had those attributes". :lol: . Are you kidding me?

 

Damn, no wonder you were defending him. You're a Rockets fan, so I'm not surprised.

 

So what if I'm a Rockets fan lol? I'm far from a Tmac supporter so the homer card won't work here, trust me you can ask Dash on how much I actually "like" Tmac....when the Rockets finally got rid of him I was celebrating. He's a drama queen and I know it's not fully on him the organization lost control being communicative with the guy but he has that "diva" vibe and he loves the attention.

 

I agree with you nothing magically happens, but when it comes to work ethic it's on the player himself. All JVG and Morey were saying was he was so good even before he entered the league it all came natural to the guy. Almost like his talents spoiled him, he never really had to work extra hard to have an advantage, he already had it from the start. It sure did seem like Tmac took his talents for granted, it doesn't take magic to prove that Tmac could have been incredible.

 

Injuries can't be controlled, but that drive and ambition can be and Tmac never took it to that emotional level that Kobe did.

 

Oh ya this coming from someone who really can't stand Kobe, but is still being objective here and not being a unrealistic homer...

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So what if I'm a Rockets fan lol? I'm far from a Tmac supporter so the homer card won't work here, trust me you can ask Dash on how much I actually "like" Tmac....when the Rockets finally got rid of him I was celebrating. He's a drama queen and I know it's not fully on him the organization lost control being communicative with the guy but he has that "diva" vibe and he loves the attention.

 

I agree with you nothing magically happens, but when it comes to work ethic it's on the player himself. All JVG and Morey were saying was he was so good even before he entered the league it all came natural to the guy. Almost like his talents spoiled him, he never really had to work extra hard to have an advantage, he already had it from the start. It sure did seem like Tmac took his talents for granted, it doesn't take magic to prove that Tmac could have been incredible.

 

Injuries can't be controlled, but that drive and ambition can be and Tmac never took it to that emotional level that Kobe did.

 

Oh ya this coming from someone who really can't stand Kobe, but is still being objective here and not being a unrealistic homer...

 

I know what you are saying, but it's dumb, it really is. It's the same thing when people say such and such is the most talented player ever, but didn't have the smarts. Well, smarts are the biggest part of the game. It's the same thing with T-Mac. He's a great talent unlike his cousin, but he never put it together the way he should.

 

Honestly, I only made that post because Nitro started this thread.

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Honestly, I only made that post because Nitro started this thread.

 

It's the basketball media section, and I posted a video that a lot of people would be interested in and is relatively rare...what the [expletive] is your problem with this thread?

 

And besides, your point is retarded as usual. What on the basketball court could T-Mac not do in his prime? He had the handles of a PG, had the court awareness and passing ability approaching LeBron/Pippen level (which is why he was running the Piston offense this season despite not being able to penetrate the lane and collapse a defense), had the footwork and overall offensive arsenal of a slightly poor-man's Kobe, and rebounded very well. The only real aspect of his game from a talent/IQ standpoint that he did not possess was defensive fundementals, but in his prime he was still one of the best shotblocking SG's since Jordan.

 

Where he lacked was determination to work hard and improve. He did that in his final year in Toronto and first few years in Orlando, and that can be seen by how he evolved as a player. However, once he got to the point where he was only 1 of 3 SG's in NBA history to have a PER of over 30 for a regular season (Jordan and Wade being the others) when he averaged 32/7/6, he got complacent. He clearly had the capabilities of working hard to improve his game, as he showed earlier in his career, but he simply quit trying to better himself.

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