The Tracy McGrady Era Is Over
Are T-Mac’s days numbered?Having watched his ascendance into the League since his days in Toronto, it’s sad to say, but the Tracy McGrady era is over.
Before the season started, I couldn’t wait to see the Western Conference’s version of the Big Three with McGrady, Yao Ming and Ron Artest. But for whatever the reason, McGrady never got that memo.
T-Mac has missed the past three games with a sore left knee, and is averaging a measly 15.6 points per game this season, his lowest since ’99-00 in limited minutes with the Raptors. With no pop because of his knee, he has scored in single digits in five of his past 10 games.
If he continues to under-produce, and the Rockets can’t make it out of the first round again this season, you gotta think McGrady’s name will start to surface in trade rumors either this season or next. Making over $21 million this season and $23 million in 2009, T-Mac could be a great bargaining chip for teams looking to get severely under the cap in the Summer of 2010.
Where do you see T-Mac’s career going from here?
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December 1st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
P says:
To early to write him off….Wonder how long he will be out???
December 1st, 2008 at 12:48 pm
P says:
True he doesn’t look like The T-Mac were use too seeing….
December 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
cjh says:
Great talent but at 29 going on 30 with a ton of wear and tear on his body.Will he ever be the same? But if he does get traded to the right team who knows he might just have a little left in those legs.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
bf3ars says:
it is still too early to hop off the t-mac bandwagon…while i agree he is no where near his prime, he can still b a solid contributer to the rockets.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Brown says:
He needs to pull a Grant Hill and get his body healthy or his career will be over before he wants it to be. If and when he gets healthy, I don’t see him being able to start any more. He can be a contributor off the bench, but his body just can’t handle big minutes any more.
If he takes care of himself, he can play another 4-6 years, but that might be a stretch.
December 1st, 2008 at 12:58 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Saddest thing in the world to see Tmac go out like this..
I noticed it earlier and he doesnt look at all the same.. The Tmac we knew was on top of everything offensively.. Had sicks handles and knew how to use them to get to the rim plus a jumper he could pull up with from ANYWHERE.. At one point he was one the sickest shooters in the league.. but after that back shit his whole body has taken to falling apart..
The saddest part is he is buying into his injuries hard.. Most athletes (especially dominant ones) when they are hurt play through and essentially play harder to compensate.. irs called being competitive really.. but all he talks about is his injuries.. When asked if he was excited about this upcoming year he went sobbing about his injuries.. its sad because 70% of Tmac is better than a good amount of the shooting guards in the league.. but if his injuries are in his head he’ll continue to play worst than he can actually play..
December 1st, 2008 at 12:58 pm
jmg says:
its a wrap!
December 1st, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Kermit the Washington says:
…that headline was a bit “jump the gun”-ish
Usually a headline like that is followed by a retirement announcement or a trade confirmation. This was just saying that his health and productivity is down. Wow, thanks.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Gerard says:
Yeah it’s a shame. It hurts to see him hobbling around the court now.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Austin Burton says:
Fall back .. T-Mac dropped 30 on the Blazers a few weeks ago, right after giving the Celtics 26. A few games after that he scored 27 on the Suns. He’s been bothered by lingering injuries all season, but he can still come back and do damage. Like Kermit said, let’s not jump the gun. Still a superstar in my book and the player that makes the Rockets a legit contender.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
dapro says:
I said it before I’ll say it again. He needs to sit out for a minute and rehab his nagging injuries.
He still has the skills as evident by his performance in last years playoffs.
He just needs to see Suns medical trainers and rehab in Phoenix.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
D A says:
Philips, you are wrong man! T-Mac still has juice in his ‘frail’ body!
December 1st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
got them..SCOOBY DO's says:
you guys always seem to bury a guy when he’s hurt!
What did you think he would be able to do if he’s playing hurt????
PLAY 35mins a game…average 30pts???
December 1st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
GEE...All ya heard was poppa don't hit me no more says:
Kermit I most def. agree.
I read that headline and was like awww crap.
Aron, pimp, I know you the new kid on the block and all…but homey come on. You can’t just throw out a headline like that. That is way to hardcore for a dude who can still, and as of yet, is still playing. Even if it’s minor minutes and his scoring is dropping, He ain’t gone yet.
Now after being cooled down, and seeing that your article is only about him not being what he used to be. Well, from here I say he is a mid-card player that can still at times drop anywhere from 30 – 40 but don’t expect that all the time. You either a great, mid-card or bench dude in the L.
It’s funny cause I was actually reading Dime and noticed Tracy’s shoe add for the brotherhood deal. I said to myself “Wow this cat still got shoes in his honor, …well this will probably be his last signature set”. Still even at mid-card status, he is a threat and being the type of threat he is, I would say from here he stays in Houston and retires in 2.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:26 pm
alvin says:
say ot ain’t so!
1 is the loneliest number =(
rip penny 1994-1999
rip t-mac 2000-2008
December 1st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Dagomar says:
I remember when many journalists were writing about T-Mac being better than Kobe.
Strange: both guys entered the league young, but T-mac lacked two things Kobe always had: a love of pressure and a durable body.
Too bad. T-mac’s era isn’t over par se. He’ll keep playing, and though he says his game is based on athleticism he has a high enough basketball IQ to be a major contributor to a good team once his injuries heal. He might even get out of the first round as a second or third option. But he’s no longer a superstar or a face of the NBA. He’ll never again be considered a top-20 NBA player. And that’s a damn shame.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
kowtz says:
He’s like the Spur’s Mike Finley…
December 1st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
Why not keep the cap space for yourself?
They got a pretty good thing going with Landry, Scola, Artest, Battier, Brooks…
Yao is good but I’m not sure if he’s their answer. Alston has good nights but they need more from the pg spot. And T-Mac. Those 3 players can be moved or utilized in other ways to better the squad. If they get a better pg, and lose McGrady’s $23 Mil off the books, they can also go after the Boozer-Amare-Joe Johnson- Bosh – crowd. Then either trade Yao if it doesn’t work out again, but alteast you have more options.
December 1st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Prof. TX says:
McGrady needs to be the team’s second or third option, something like Ray Allen is doing in Boston. Some nights he’s the star, but being expected to put in an MVP game every single night is too much, especially for someone who’s always hurt.
December 1st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
JCARR says:
Trade him along with alston to OKC for Durant!!!!!!!!
TMAC will be like the TMAC of the Magic.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:22 pm
isaiah says:
I’ll take McGrady on one leg over Kevin “Six foot ten but can’t grab a rebound” Durant any day.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:48 am
bong says:
he’s still top 10 players in the league.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:12 am
SoulOnIce says:
Here’s the problem with everyone saying people need to ease up on McGrady: he’s ALREADY HURT. We’re not even two months into the season, and he’s banged up. He’ll never be 100% again, and if anyone thinks so, all we have to do is watch the last two-three years of tape, and the evidence is there.
It’s sad to see, especially for us who saw T-Mac when he was a legitimate TOP-FIVE player in the league, but those days are long behind us. I’m a huge Tracy McGrady fan, but the writing has been on the wall for a while now. We’ll see glimpses at times, because he’s still nice, but he just aint the same player anymore.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Kevin K says:
Tmac is like this because he is lazy and has the worst conditioning… he blames it on the playing minutes and the wear and tear but guys like Kobe and AI played WAY more than he did with more injuries. TMAC is a scrub. HE was once one of the best players, even better than kobe when he was with the magic, but a lazy scrub who huff and puff with his head down and his hands on his knees after 2 min in to the game will never be great
September 25th, 2009 at 7:07 am
To mama says:
How is tmac lazy? He’s playing hurt isn’t he? If he was truly lazy he woudnt play so shut up.