OT: T-Mac still deserves respect

[Newz]

I miss Orlando T-Mac.

T-Mac in his prime was like some sort of crazy mix of Durant and LeBron. Third favorite player to watch ever behind rookie TJ Ford and Tim Duncan.

T-Mac was probably my favorite player to watch, ever. Under-rated passer. He spent all those years with Hill and Yao injured, and had to do all the scoring himself.

That guy was ridiculously long, coordinated, smooth, and athletic. But his court vision was insane too, and he handled better than most pg's. Ridiculous instincts. JVG used to comment on how T-Mac really didn't even have to practice very much to be great.

That brings up the downside, though. He didn't practice enough to live up to his potential, and was notoriously neglectful of the rehab he was supposed to be doing for his back and knees. Just like his cousin VC, he had so much raw talent that he didn't have to work to become one of the greatest players alive, and he wasn't intrinsically motivated to become one of the greatest ever. Had he been, he could have been as good as MJ in my opinion.

I completely agree with all of this. One of the best pure talents to ever play the game.

[RandyBreuer]

Lol, Has Tracy ever seen Enter The Dragon?

An all time talent who missed out on Shaq in Orlando and Olajuwon/Drexler/Barkley in Houston. And could have been HOF if not derailed by injuries?

[Thunder Muscle]

Yeah, T-Mac circa 2001-2005 or so was an absolute monster. He probably won't be remembered by how good he really was b/c of injuries and his teams never got out of the 1st round. He was usually good for 40 against the Bucks in those early 2000s.

[Thunder Muscle]

I didn't realize he's only 33 years old. I was guessing late 30's for sure. Dare we bring him in as our tall lenghty SG? Why not.

[jakecronus8]

I miss Orlando T-Mac.

T-Mac in his prime was like some sort of crazy mix of Durant and LeBron. Third favorite player to watch ever behind rookie TJ Ford and Tim Duncan.

Ford rookie year was amazing. Thanks to terry Stott's for screwing him up as a player.

[Thunder Muscle]

I miss Orlando T-Mac.

T-Mac in his prime was like some sort of crazy mix of Durant and LeBron. Third favorite player to watch ever behind rookie TJ Ford and Tim Duncan.

Ford rookie year was amazing. Thanks to terry Stott's for screwing him up as a player.

And that whole neck injury thing. Statistically Ford actually had a better season under Stotts than Porter. But the box score doesn't tell the whole story either.

[Newz]

I miss Orlando T-Mac.

T-Mac in his prime was like some sort of crazy mix of Durant and LeBron. Third favorite player to watch ever behind rookie TJ Ford and Tim Duncan.

Ford rookie year was amazing. Thanks to terry Stott's for screwing him up as a player.

And that whole neck injury thing. Statistically Ford actually had a better season under Stotts than Porter. But the box score doesn't tell the whole story either.

Yeah. He had a whole different type of impact when he was a rookie. I had never quite seen a player like him... because I've never seen anyone even close to as fast with the ball in their hands.

[BUCKnation]

Unfortunately, T Mac will always be remembered first for his injuries and what if, but he was pretty incredible when he was on.

[MikeIsGood]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jbtt6OGLms[/youtube]

RIP

RIP is right. This sequence is completely legendary (honestly, one of the best in basketball history IMO) and he has taken a severe dive since. But it's tough, because when and where do you rate him? It's a tough line.