T-Mac's career could have been saved if he stayed skinny

[Shock Defeat]

Somebody messed up at some point telling T-Mac to bulk up. That's exactly NOT what you do. I don't get why some players do this. T-Mac in his Orlando days was skinny. In his first year in Houston he was skinny. Then he started bulking up for no reason and the injuries started to happen. Look at longevity guys like Kobe, Duncan, and KG. ALL skinny. You have Duncan being the slimmest he's ever been in a long time and he's healthy. Kobe has said that his weight is the key to him staying healthy for so long. KG has always been lean.

Check out T-Mac in Orlando


Then his first year in Houston


then in 2010


A similar thing happened to Yao.

Rookie when he played all 82 games


Later on in his career


The real question is, was it Jeff Van Gundy? He was the Rockets head coach and I remember him wanting Yao to bulk up so he can be more of a low post and powerful force in the middle. I don't remember him telling McGrady anything like that but McGrady might have been inspired to do the same thing as Yao because of JVG. Kind of interesting if you can pinpoint both of their careers being cut short because of one guy.

[Mamba Venom]

TMac sued the donut shop for having holes in their products. "I want more sweets!"

[TheChosen618]

JVG said that McGrady got injured a lot because he didn't work hard enough and didn't take care of his body.

I think it has a lot more to do with the Rockets medical staff more than anything. I feel like if McGrady was traded elsewhere and if Yao was drafted somewhere else, their careers could have made a turn for the better.

[MaxRider]

when he was skinny he's having back spasm problem
so he bulk up to keep his back strong

[Shock Defeat]

when he was skinny he's having back spasm problem
so he bulk up to keep his back strong

then he got leg problems because of his added mass

[HomoSapien]

This is bogus. Michael Jordan bulked up and didn't have any health problems.

[DirtyDez]

Add T-Mac to list of players who could've won several MVP's if they wanted to. Guy dominated so easily you thought he wasn't trying that hard.

[MaxRider]

when he was skinny he's having back spasm problem
so he bulk up to keep his back strong

then he got leg problems because of his added mass

that's why he got knee problem 2 years later

[MaxRider]

This is bogus. Michael Jordan bulked up and didn't have any health problems.

have you look at t-mac legs? they are still very skinny

[Coaster80]

TMac bulked up before he went to Houston.

If you look at '01 or '02 T-Mac and compare him to '04 T-Mac you'd notice the difference. It really hurt his first step and he wasn't as quick. It also hurt his vertical a little on his jumper and that messed up his whole shot. People always said T-Mac left his jumper in Orlando and it's true.

[The MVPlaya]

This is bogus. Michael Jordan bulked up and didn't have any health problems.

Is this a serious post? Not everybody's body is going to react the same to putting on mass.

[GswSucks4Ever]

I guess if he was just doing the joe schmoe workout return, chest day arm day chest day arm day I agree with y'all

BUT I seriously doubt anyone on this board knows his training routine, and every opinion would therefore be pure speculation.

[KennyDuwayne]

This is bogus. Michael Jordan bulked up and didn't have any health problems.

Is this a serious post? Not everybody's body is going to react the same to putting on mass.

So how can you say that his added mass was the reason for him developing knee problems? How do you know his knee problems wasn't due to, I dont know, playing 10 years on a rigorous NBA schedule?

[CablexDeadpool]

TMac has scoliosis which is why he was injured a lot and has back spasms.

Tracy McGrady is on borrowed time. He has been for the past 11 years. "When I first entered the NBA and got tested by doctors and trainers," McGrady says, "they projected I'd play five or six years because of the way my body is structured."

http://www.operationsports.com/forums/p ... iosis.html

“Legs, just strengthen my legs,” McGrady said. “I’ve been working on my core my whole career. That’s the reason I’m still able to play. I was only projected to play this game four years. I have a slight case of scoliosis on my back. That’s the reason I’ve had back problems. That’s the reason I have to strengthen my core.”

http://hanleyramirez.com/tmac/blogDetail/1116

And where do people get this idea if you put on muscle mass your body is going to crumble, that isn't even scientifically sound

The function of muscle mass is to prevent injury and to protect bone and ligaments. The problem with most people that lift weights is that they they create muscle imbalances where one side of the body is stronger than the other due to how they lift and what exercises they do. So the body compensates and create structural issues and thus you have injury.

For example, they will only do overhead presses and then will not do lateral raises or rear delt raises and but then they'll bench press and not do any pushups and then they wonder why their shoulders hurts like hell. Or all they ever do is quad dominant squats and never do hamstring exercises. Or they just do hamstring exercises and never do squats.

Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard have certainly put on muscle mass. Kevin Garnett was wayyyy skinner than he is now. Lebron James has put on muscle mass and when the last time he has been severely injured? Michael Jordan has put on muscle mass. Kobe Bryant has fluctuated his weight, one year he decides to be skinny, next year he decides to be buff...he just does whatever he feels that year.

The are absolutely no benefits with being skinny..never ever ever ever was and never will be.

[rockmanslim]

Agree with this. In the summer of 2005, after the disappointing playoff loss to the Mavs, is when he really bulked up. There was a picture of him from late summer '05 with Larenz Tate where T-Mac was wearing a wife beater and was all swole, and Rockets fans, including me at the time, were like "Oh snap! T-Mac's gonna be a beast this season!"

That was the beginning of the end. Bulking up is fine, but in hindsight, it was in the wrong part of his body (up top), as opposed to the right part (down low). That fall in a game against Denver he collapsed on the TC court, screaming in pain and had to be wheeled out on a stretcher for back spasms. Too much weight up top, not enough down low.

I blame that meat head trainer of his, Wayne Hall.

edit: searched my hard drive and found the pics from '05

Spoiler:

him and his trainer are dumbasses

[wilhelmthe1st]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwmbHAc2SdI[/youtube]

his lifting form was HORRIBLE, guaranteed that played a factor in his back injuries

[Prince187]

I don't think he really bulked up that much. Maybe added 10-15 lbs

[Coaster80]

TMac bulked up before he went to Houston.

If you look at '01 or '02 T-Mac and compare him to '04 T-Mac you'd notice the difference. It really hurt his first step and he wasn't as quick. It also hurt his vertical a little on his jumper and that messed up his whole shot. People always said T-Mac left his jumper in Orlando and it's true.

Look at these two videos and compare 2001 T-Mac to 2004. You can notice the difference in size, and in the bounce in his step and his quickness and jumping ability. He noticeably lost a step and couldn't just blowby everyone in the league. This is only a 3 year difference and T-Mac was still only 24 years old in 2003-04 so it's not like he was old either.

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


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lt-sGl4x2I[/youtube]

[DoubleLintendre]

I believe that TMac was definitely more injury prone becoming more top heavy by bulking up. But, I'm sure it was more than just the extra 10-15 pounds of muscle that derailed his career.

My old favorite player Grant Hill indicated that the medical staff of the Magic (ironic) didn't make the best decisions for him, while also taking personal responsibility for his own lack or self-care. He didn't take his physical body completely seriously, doing things like not stretching before games. I'm positive with Tmac there are a host of reasons other than bulking up that contributed to his injury-proneness that are similar to Hill.

I mean, you're a superstar athlete who's never needed to think about taking that extra step in taking care of your body. You haven't had to deal with bad injuries, so you didn't learn early on how to be preventative in your approach to injury. I'm inclined to believe TMac's downfall was more because of his approach to his body, rather than merely bulking up.

Look at players like Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, they take great care of their bodies in the off seasons, and thus prevent injury as much as much as possible while prolonging their careers playing at a high level. Conversely, when TMac was interviewed by reporters when he was picked up by the Spurs, Tmac stated when he got the call he was out of basketball shape at home and watching TV after his stint in China.

Yes, you have every right to relax after playing hard overseas, but I think it does say something about your mentality regarding always keeping your body in the best shape you can.

[LakerLegend]

I too agree with OP...which is also a reason I think we are seeing so many players get injured these days. Players weight train much more than they did in the 80's/early 90's.

Look at Oden, he was relatively healthy in college, but when he got to the NBA he bulked up massively.

Kobe also prior to 2009 always had knee issues following seasons where he bulked up(2003/2005).