[Cron] T-Mac getting it from all sides

[HTown_TMac]

http://blogs.chron.com/nba/2008/12/mcgr ... _up_w.html

McGrady sits, Artest steps up. Where they (should) go from here
In the hours before game-time, Ron Artest did not seem like a game-time decision, at all.

He had already made his decision. He was out.

He would sit out a second consecutive game to rest his sore right ankle. See you Monday. Maybe

Artest, however, took that 'game-time decision" stuff literally. He warmed up a little, felt an adrenaline rush and just before the game, told Rockets coach Rick Adelman he would give it a go.

Hours later, he carried the Rockets through a second overtime and to a 120-115 win.
He said, however, that he only played because Tracy McGrady did not, making McGrady's contribution on Saturday more significant than in either of the previous two games.

We really don't know why McGrady did not play, other than the catch-all to rest his sore left knee. Adelman did not attend the customary pregame meeting with the media, the opportunity to ask such questions. He was no doubt in the back somewhere throwing out the pages of game plan that included McGrady.

Got this from CF and thought it was a good read.

[Amel]

the guy should have been traded 2-3 years ago

if he plays well the rest of the year, hopefully we can get something good for him

imo, he is done

[JoeHova]

imo, he is done

It certainly seems like he is. I hope we're wrong, but it's not looking good.

[ShaY]

T-Mac is not done imo , I know he looks bad right now but the guy is not done.

[Baller 24]

Lol, I'm not surprised by this, its just like the 2004 Orlando Magic season. Fans, media, and now we sit and wait till the team turns on him. Its clearly his fault though; he doesn't look like he cares about anything, and hes going to have to win them back one way or another----or out the door his NBA career goes. Hes already had one bad ending in 2004 with the Magic, hopefully he doesn't have another. He deserves the criticism though, Artest played amazing last night, and that's exactly what you want out of this team, someone that can bully players and attack the rim like he did; brings back memories of Artest in '07 and '08 (hopefully he can keep that up).

[ShaY]

Lol, I'm not surprised by this, its just like the 2004 Orlando Magic season. Fans, media, and now we sit and wait till the team turns on him. Its clearly his fault though; he doesn't look like he cares about anything, and hes going to have to win them back one way or another----or out the door his NBA career goes. Hes already had one bad ending in 2004 with the Magic, hopefully he doesn't have another. He deserves the criticism though, Artest played amazing last night, and that's exactly what you want out of this team, someone that can bully players and attack the rim like he did; brings back memories of Artest in '07 and '08 (hopefully he can keep that up).

I agree that he deserves the criticism and has been frustrating.

I still truly believe by the end of the year he will be in the same shape he was last year and if other things will be ok like Yao's and the other players health he will get out of the 1st riound this year with the team.

[Baller 24]

Lol, I'm not surprised by this, its just like the 2004 Orlando Magic season. Fans, media, and now we sit and wait till the team turns on him. Its clearly his fault though; he doesn't look like he cares about anything, and hes going to have to win them back one way or another----or out the door his NBA career goes. Hes already had one bad ending in 2004 with the Magic, hopefully he doesn't have another. He deserves the criticism though, Artest played amazing last night, and that's exactly what you want out of this team, someone that can bully players and attack the rim like he did; brings back memories of Artest in '07 and '08 (hopefully he can keep that up).

I agree that he deserves the criticism and has been frustrating.

I still truly believe by the end of the year he will be in the same shape he was last year and if other things will be ok like Yao's and the other players health he will get out of the 1st riound this year with the team.

We'll see, "we believe" every year, hasn't been the same since 2005; and all we can do is hope.

[McGrady2Head]

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

[2fast4u]

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

+1

[Baller 24]

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

This might just be your best post since you joined RealGM. No joke, although he is an excellent playoff performer, in the games that have mattered the most, he hasn't played his all that best (aside from Game 6 In '08). In '07 there were no excuses, I really don't want to hear any, in '05; well although we weren't favored to win, we did have a 2-0 series lead going INTO Houston, that shows something about not only him, but the entire teams character. And don't forget about Yao; hes a nice big guy, but hes had his mistakes too, the blame though goes on McGrady more due to the team considering him the leader.

But no joke, the excuses have to stop; especially this year, there are no "buts or ifs".

[YoungMoney23]

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

This might just be your best post since you joined RealGM. No joke, although he is an excellent playoff performer, in the games that have mattered the most, he hasn't played his all that best (aside from Game 6 In '08). In '07 there were no excuses, I really don't want to hear any, in '05; well although we weren't favored to win, we did have a 2-0 series lead going INTO Houston, that shows something about not only him, but the entire teams character. And don't forget about Yao; hes a nice big guy, but hes had his mistakes too, the blame though goes on McGrady more due to the team considering him the leader.

But no joke, the excuses have to stop; especially this year, there are no "buts or ifs".

It was kind of hard when Mark Cuban bought the refs but i agree some what

[MaxRider]

let trade T-Mac for Arenas

[McGrady2Head]

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

+1

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

This might just be your best post since you joined RealGM. No joke, although he is an excellent playoff performer, in the games that have mattered the most, he hasn't played his all that best (aside from Game 6 In '08). In '07 there were no excuses, I really don't want to hear any, in '05; well although we weren't favored to win, we did have a 2-0 series lead going INTO Houston, that shows something about not only him, but the entire teams character. And don't forget about Yao; hes a nice big guy, but hes had his mistakes too, the blame though goes on McGrady more due to the team considering him the leader.

But no joke, the excuses have to stop; especially this year, there are no "buts or ifs".

thanks guys....it came from the heart lol. i knew t-mac was not made for greatness about 2 years ago when i was listening to the dan patrick show, and he came on there and dan asked him about kobe, and t-mac said stuff like "oh kobe is just incredible, he treats every minute, every second, every play like its his last. the fire and killer instinct this man has is unmatched." i just sat there after i heard that and thought to myself "yeah, well hes getting paid millions of dollars to play hard. hes living in mansions, and his job is to play 100% and win basketball games." its so shi*ty that t-mac doesnt come out and play that way. hes a lazy bumb. i dont see how he could pick up his paycheck every month after cheating his owner, gm, coach, teammates, and fans with the piss poor effort he gives.

[hackle]

tell me if this is too ridiculous:

T-mac has adapted the O'neal regular season theory, that regular season is but a worthless course to the playoffs, which matters very little when the real game (playoffs) starts. so instead of playing my ass off in the regular season, i'd like to just take it easy as long as playoff spot is guaranteed for the team.

i think that is what t-mac believes. he doesnt want to play too hard during the regular season, to perserve energy, also to prolong his career. when playoff comes, he'd be a much better player. like last season with Jazz.

[MilBucksBackOnTop06]

I would give you Michael Redd for T-Mac in a heartbeat...

I love to watch T-Mac as a player regardless to what you all are saying and am willing to take his baggage and bad back if you get Redd out of my sight!

The young man is still a treat to watch play...

Perhaps back in the East he might have an easier road to the Finals and we can perhaps make a run with him and Richard Jefferson and Andrew Bogut.

Perhaps make a play Stephon Marbury (I wanted Steve Francis from your team...) and sneak up on some teams...

Ok, I am back now from my daydream ...let me live a little and have just one fleeting momment of delusional NBA Finals bliss....LOL

Now back to reality and looking at Michael Redd hoist up wild ass jumpers...and lose.

[McGrady2Head]

ok, if your the bucks gm, its a done deal. t-mac is more skilled obviously, but atleast redd will give effort

[ShaY]

Lol, I'm not surprised by this, its just like the 2004 Orlando Magic season. Fans, media, and now we sit and wait till the team turns on him. Its clearly his fault though; he doesn't look like he cares about anything, and hes going to have to win them back one way or another----or out the door his NBA career goes. Hes already had one bad ending in 2004 with the Magic, hopefully he doesn't have another. He deserves the criticism though, Artest played amazing last night, and that's exactly what you want out of this team, someone that can bully players and attack the rim like he did; brings back memories of Artest in '07 and '08 (hopefully he can keep that up).

I agree that he deserves the criticism and has been frustrating.

I still truly believe by the end of the year he will be in the same shape he was last year and if other things will be ok like Yao's and the other players health he will get out of the 1st riound this year with the team.

We'll see, "we believe" every year, hasn't been the same since 2005; and all we can do is hope.

He won't be the same like 2005 , I knew that after the first Jazz series , in the past he was just a konster in the playoffs he was amazing , in that series he upped his lever of play but not nearly like he used too , tehn I knew he has regressed.
But I still believe he can be what he was last year and 2 years ago.

This might just be your best post since you joined RealGM. No joke, although he is an excellent playoff performer, in the games that have mattered the most, he hasn't played his all that best (aside from Game 6 In '08). In '07 there were no excuses, I really don't want to hear any, in '05; well although we weren't favored to win, we did have a 2-0 series lead going INTO Houston, that shows something about not only him, but the entire teams character. And don't forget about Yao; hes a nice big guy, but hes had his mistakes too, the blame though goes on McGrady more due to the team considering him the leader.

But no joke, the excuses have to stop; especially this year, there are no "buts or ifs".

I agree , no excuses this year assuming we are without major injuries but even with one major injury not to Yao or T-Mac there are no excuses if we don't get past round 1.

And I also agree that he hasn't been at his absoloute best in elimanation games , but against Dallas he was great in game 6 and wasn't very good in game 7 despite the numbers , against the Jazz the 1st time he was very good but could have done more at the end of the game , was horrible in game 6 before that and last year he was great at both elimination games.

Blowing leads it's his fault but also the teams' fault , after a few games in the series the other team would focus more on Mcgrady and let the others try and beat them , his team never could help him but this year no excuses.

If we are without major injuries anything belowe WCF is a failure , and if we have just one major injury we sill need to get out of the 1st round and then see.

Mcgrady is so frustarting because if he had more heart he could have been one of the greats ever , but he will never reach that potential , and pair that with his playoff failures , the fact he is not as good as he was and his frusrating injuries , people give up on him.

[tha_rock220]

T-Mac is the most pathetic professional athlete of all time. With a heart and some fire, he could go down as one of the legends of sports (Jordan, Bird, Tiger Woods, Jerry Rice, Hank Aaron). But, because of his heartless, uncompetitive ways, he will go down as the biggest loser in sports history, and a curse. I defended him in Orlando, it was supposed to be him and Hill carrying that team. Grant hill never played, so you had every other team in the league playing on a 40 mill payroll, and you had the magic playing on a 30 mill payroll, with hills 10 mill in street clothes. there is nothing t-mac could have done there. but in houston, there is no excuse. he is heartless, he wanted to retire at age 27. he complains about depth perception of the arena. its always an excuse with him. he has so much talent this year on this team, if he would quit being a pu*sy and play, he might could put a nice finish on his career. but his heart is dead

Wow. I still think you're a dumbass, but this is spot on dude. I agree with the entire post.

This might just be your best post since you joined RealGM. No joke, although he is an excellent playoff performer, in the games that have mattered the most, he hasn't played his all that best (aside from Game 6 In '08). In '07 there were no excuses, I really don't want to hear any, in '05; well although we weren't favored to win, we did have a 2-0 series lead going INTO Houston, that shows something about not only him, but the entire teams character. And don't forget about Yao; hes a nice big guy, but hes had his mistakes too, the blame though goes on McGrady more due to the team considering him the leader.

But no joke, the excuses have to stop; especially this year, there are no "buts or ifs".

To be fair, he played great against Dallas in 05. The rest of the team was just wildly inconsistent. Yao Ming couldn't keep himself out of foul trouble, the shooters had a couple bad games, and they left Houston with the series tied.

What made thing obvious regarding McGrady was the last two Utah series. It seemed like all he wanted to do was just see if he could advance, but if he didn't it was no biggie. All the jumpshots, his fear of Matt Harpring's physicality, his lack of interest in exploiting Kyle Korver, etc.

tell me if this is too ridiculous:

T-mac has adapted the O'neal regular season theory, that regular season is but a worthless course to the playoffs, which matters very little when the real game (playoffs) starts. so instead of playing my ass off in the regular season, i'd like to just take it easy as long as playoff spot is guaranteed for the team.

i think that is what t-mac believes. he doesnt want to play too hard during the regular season, to perserve energy, also to prolong his career. when playoff comes, he'd be a much better player. like last season with Jazz.

Yeah, only McGrady isn't the best or even the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th best in the NBA. Shaq rehabbed on company time as an NBA champion. T-Mac hasn't gotten out of the 1st round yet.

Personally, I'm tired of saying "wait til next year".

[Baller 24]

LOL at T-Mac for Redd; we are desperate, but not foolish. McGrady is still a better passer, defender, rebounder, and this season LOL hes beating Redd at his own game (hes a better three point shooter, and has a better FG%).

[dlee7283]

LOL at T-Mac for Redd; we are desperate, but not foolish. McGrady is still a better passer, defender, rebounder, and this season LOL hes beating Redd at his own game (hes a better three point shooter, and has a better FG%).

That is true, yet I could see Redd becomming a better player with a Ming or Artest, as well as Battier to play with.

I dont think Skiles wants anything to do with a T-Mac, especially with a Milwaukee team that is going nowhere for a while

T-Mac is more fitting as second/third wheel on a championship caliber team like in Dallas with Kidd and Nowizki

maybe Josh Howard,Erick Dampier and Jerry Stackhouse for T-Mac, Scola, Barry

you might laugh at that deal, but those three guys could give Houston a huge amount of depth come playoff time and I consider Howard underated despite his offseason problems.

Basically Stack has one more year after this and Howard will too if we decline his team option. That is if he isnt doing well and we would have almost 20 mill to play with in 2010. Dampier is a year longer then Stack and Howard, but we need a serviceable center for the longrun when Yao goes down to injury since Mutombo is headed for the old folks home.


C-Ming/Dampier
PF-Hayes/Landry/Dorsey
SF-Howard/Battier
SG-Artest/Stackhouse
PG-Brooks/Alston/Head