Laimbeer wrote:Wow, what's with all the McGrady love?
He was anything but a winner. The guy bailed on Toronto. He ran his mouth during a playoff series against Detroit and was made to look foolish. In a game seven against Dallas his team was destroyed by something like 40 points.
He didn't play hard and he wasn't mentally tough. He was the anti-Russell, the poster child for playoff failure. It may be that his teams weren't bonafide title contenders, but seriously, losing in the first round that many times?
I think you're being extremely selective in what you're choosing to remember about McGrady. You're using 2-3 examples throughout his career, and ignoring how good he actually he was.
He didn't run his mouth against Detroit. If I remember correctly, he said it was good to finally be in position to advance to the 2nd round. He didn't say they were definitely going to the 2nd round, he just said they were in position to...which was true.
In that game 7 against Dallas, he put up 27/7/7. And for the series he averaged 31/7/7 on 56% TS. And he hit the game-winner in game 2, and the main reason his team was even in a game 7 was because he put up a monster 37/8/7 in game 6. And throughout the series, he was tasked with guarding Dirk, and probably forced him into the worst playoff series of his career.
He didn't play hard and he wasn't mentally tough...proof? I don't understand why people say this about guys who didn't have the luck of playing with great teams...because he didn't win, then it must have been because he didn't play hard or he wasn't mentally tough. I actually think he was incredibly mentally tough...how many guys could keep going after the myriad of injuries he had? How many guys would have just called it quits? And you also have to take into account how embarrassing it is for T-Mac, to have once been on top of the NBA world, relegated to being a back-up PG...but he handled it with class, and he actually played well.
I mean, I used to make fun of him being injury-prone and "soft", but someone once told me that if I suffered from back spasms like he did, then I wouldn't be making fun of him, but that I would actually respect him...apparently, back spasms are pretty intense, and they can literally cripple you when you get them, but many times, T-Mac was able to actually walk off the court when he got back spasms. And wasn't he going through some personal problems around 08 or so...I think he's a pretty mentally tough guy.
In terms of work ethic, yeah, I've heard that he slacked off too, and relied more on his physical gifts...but then again so did Shaq. So does LeBron. They've been lucky enough to not have career-threatening injuries though. And honestly, I don't see how that criticism holds true in Orlando...the guy carried the team night in and night out, and even in Houston, he was the only consistent offensive threat...I think he worked harder than people give him credit for.
And with regards to the 40-point loss to Houston in Game 7...why does Kobe get so much love from you? He basically shot his team out of a championship in 04, he seemingly "gave up" in a game 7 against Phoenix, in which his team lost by 31 points (and also lost a 3-1 lead), his team lost by 39 points in the closeout game in the 08 Finals (a series in which he didn't play that great), and his team just recently got swept and lost by 36 points in game 4 against Dallas (another series in which he didn't play that great).
I don't think these points have that much weight, but if you're going to use it against McGrady, then at least be consistent.
