The NBA’s 30 best go-to players (#20: Tracy McGrady)
Tracy McGrady
Every NBA team has a go-to guy, and there’s really only room for one. And it’s not strictly who takes the last-second shot. It’s the guy who regularly gets the ball when things are getting tense in the fourth; the guy expected to calm things down when teammates are getting sloppy; the guy called upon to snuff out an opponent’s rally, or spark a rally of his own; the guy who’s not just supposed to make shots, but make the right decisions. Bottom line: Who do you want the offense to run through when everything is on the line? From #30 to #1, these are the League’s best go-to guys…
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With anything I write about T-Mac, I should qualify it with the admission that I’m one of his biggest fans. That said, I took every precaution not to overrate him here.
We all know the injury/durability issues at play with McGrady. His back is jacked, his knees are shot, and his shoulder is sore. Coming off microfracture surgery, he’s going to be out of action until at least Thanksgiving. But, like in the case of Michael Redd, even if T-Mac isn’t ready to go by opening day, he is still Houston’s unquestioned go-to guy (especially with Yao Ming being scratched for the season). The tough part is figuring out where a 30-year-old McGrady who’s past his prime ranks among his peers in the League.
Although he’s vowed to get back to the form that made him one of the League’s most explosive players once upon a time, odds are things are more likely going to only go downhill for T-Mac from here. If this were a list of the NBA’s top 30 players, period, he doesn’t make the cut. But the Rockets need a go-to guy down the stretch, and looking around, Mac is the only viable candidate. So what can he do when he’s put in that position to lead?
T-Mac was active for less than half of Houston’s games last season (35 games), and when he was on the court, he had one of the worst seasons of his career. He averaged 15.6 points, the lowest since his Toronto days, on a career-low 33.8% shooting from the field. He also had his lowest rebounding average (4.4 rpg) since his rookie year. But even if his explosiveness is almost gone, McGrady still had the crunch-time offense run through him on a regular basis. His natural playmaking ability, underrated passing skills and knack for hitting big shots from any range allow him that status.
The most notable of T-Mac’s performances last season was a 30-point, 7-rebound, 8-assist outing against Portland in November. Before Brandon Roy stole that game with a buzzer-beater, McGrady was running Houston’s crunch-time offense and delivering, scoring 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime along with three assists. McGrady also had standout games against Boston (26 pts, 6 asts), Phoenix (27 pts), Golden State (24 pts, 10 rebs, 9 asts), Denver (20 pts, 14 rebs, 10 asts) and Philly (24 pts, 6 asts) before he was shut down for the season.
As his body continues to break down, McGrady’s most notable decline will be defensively and growing more stagnant offensively. Otherwise, he shouldn’t lose his jumper or his playmaking skill. (It’s creating space for his jumper that will become a challenge.) With the absence of Yao, Rick Adelman said he wants to crank up the tempo with Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza as focal points. But when the game slows down, those two (and Luis Scola) take a backseat to McGrady. He might not be the Rockets’ leading scorer this year, and for all we know he might not hit 65 games on the schedule. But for the games he does play, Mac will be Houston’s focal point as long as he holds up.
Even as the injuries began piling up a few years ago, I always argued that a healthy McGrady wasn’t that far behind Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade as a top-flight two-guard. I can admit now that Mac has fallen off from that perch. But at the least, when he is healthy these days — whatever we consider that to be — he’s still on-par with that second tier of twos; guys like Joe Johnson, Kevin Martin, Redd, etc. Which isn’t up to typical T-Mac standards, but isn’t bad, either.
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21. Baron Davis
22. Michael Redd
23. Devin Harris
24. Kevin Martin
25. Al Jefferson
26. O.J. Mayo
27. Stephen Jackson
28. Nate Robinson
29. Boris Diaw
30. Rip Hamilton
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September 29th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
KenAdams says:
Thirty eleven! #20 for someone that hasn’t played much the last couple of years…
September 29th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Dr.Googles says:
As a fan of T Mac hopefully he will retire, so he wont comeback and be a BIGGER dissappointment.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
M Intellect says:
His body breaking down puts into perspective Kobe and his athletic durability.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Brown says:
T-Mc is too high. I’d bump him down to 26.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
JA says:
His jumper has been pretty shakey the last half-decade.
Not having enough explosiveness to take it to the rack, or even create space for the J is likely to see sub-40% continue until retirement.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
rangerjohn says:
not sure the best place to put this,
i figured some of you guys might be interested in this.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/DMX-the-latest-celeb-trying-to-cash-in-on-MMA?urn=mma,192865
September 29th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Derik says:
OMG….I take Yao Ming over TMac any day
September 29th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
I say don’t write him off just yet. A triple double on that western conference finals Nuggets team is no small feat. He says he’ll be back to his Orlando days then that’s what’s going to happen. Let’s wait and see if it’s true.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Lamar will be back and he will come back pretty good. Dude ain’t necessarily ever been one of the faster players but he could get it done. I think 20 is a cool number for dude. Aside from consistent injury and not making it out of the first round by his own merits, dude has put in work and accomplished a lot individually. Most def. The Rockets go to guy still able to do what many can’t.
Houston Up!
September 29th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
That's whats up says:
DIME, when you say Go-To… do you mean Go-To the Doctor?
September 29th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
kevin k says:
Tmac in his prime / orlando days was better than Kobe…
September 29th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
the cynic says:
i doubt McGrady plays 20 games this season. He just doesn’t have the work ethic of guys like Kobe and the years of lazily taking care of his body have caught up to him. If McGrady is smart he won’t try and play at all this year. just get his body as healthy as possible then sign a 1-year deal somewhere in hopes of showing he can still play and get one last good contract
September 29th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Ian says:
austin
tmac wtf???
September 29th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
ab_40 says:
this is true. plus he’s the best or second best passing point forward… LeBron is number one… or two.
September 29th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Ekstor says:
As a Kobe and Laker fan, I can tell you that I saw greater upside in TMac than I did in Kobe early in their careers. That’s not at all to understate Kobe’s talent and potential… but TMac bigger and longer while retaining much of the same athleticism and natural skill. That said, TMac may have been better than Kobe for 1 season and that’s it.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
sh!tfaced says:
LOL@10
20. T-Mac
21. Baron
22. Redd
23. K-Mart
24. Big Al
All of them were injured last season.
These guys aren’t exactly Cal Ripken.
Yep, I think DIME meant Go-To Doctor.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
schoops says:
personally I’d like to GO TO THE SECOND ROUND.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Amar says:
ab_40 says:
this is true. plus he’s the best or second best passing point forward… LeBron is number one… or two.
———–
Kirilenko makes way better passes than Tmac . . .
September 29th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
K Dizzle says:
lol @ post #17
that’s just cold
September 29th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
doc says:
T mac aint the go to guy on that team.And he hasent been for 2 years.Fuck that 1 30 point game.Willie Green did that.WTF is he 19.Willie Green better not be 19 yo.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:42 am
heartbreaker85 says:
WTF?
Austin man this looks more like a FANTASY TOP 30 than a legit one. TMac’s done.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Utah Jazz Blog says:
I wouldn’t put TMAC in the top 30, let alone the top 20. Watching him wilt down the stretch of close games in consecutive playoff series against the Jazz is all the evidence I need. Add to that the fact that he is always injured, and it’s easy to conclude that he doesn’t belong here.
October 1st, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Mellmeister says:
The Gingerbread Man made it to #20… I Agree with ShitFaced, all those players included were out, injured last season… we are not even sure if he’s going to be in again. i’d even put Luis Scola infront of him, or Aaron Brooks… tsk… don’t know what’s up with you guys… putting him that high… tsk…
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
kyle says:
fuckers are stupib t-mac is the best player in the game when healthy so he is the number1 goto guy bitches
October 5th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
j says:
Wait, I thought he retired? this list is messed up, coming up soon marbury and iverson will be in the top 10. Another list by dime based on player street popularity and not skill
October 6th, 2009 at 6:08 am
BEENZ says:
PEOPLE ARE TOO QUICK TO BUMP T-MAC, FORGETTING THAT A FEW SEASONS AGO HE WAS RIGHT NEXT TO KOBE WHO IS (PROB)RANKED.1 ON THE LIST.WITH THAT SAID YOU CAN’T OVERLOOK THE 3-4 SEASONS 2 OF WHICH HE COMPLETELY HAMMED KOBE AND WAS TOP5 IN THE LEAGUE.YEAH HE’S IN THE SHADOWS NOW SO I THINK 20TH. FAIR NUFF
October 17th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Mack Brownee says:
I love t-mac, too…very well written dime piece
October 21st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Ivy says:
T-Mac was the definition of explosive without him rockets are a bore.
he still is a go-2-guy just his absence has really put people and fans in2 doubt and faith that t-mac will ever return strong and i saw someone say they would choose YAO over T-Mac that is stupid if Andre Iguodala can dunk OVER YAO then T-Mac can do the same.]
so many above act as if you’s were all NBA pros so better check yourself and have respect for all NBA players or just rename yourselves a lil something called HATERS.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
BG says:
Tmac??? How is he on this list and no AI??? Iverson would be my choice 10 outta 10 times over tmac at anytime in either of their carrers tmac dosent have anywhere near the heart of AI… Give me AI all day