[Bleacher Report] The Great Tracy McGrady

props for jasonemilio for finding it (he's a rookie so i thought i'd help him out)

Found this in the game thread...thought it was a great read on how complete of a player McGrady is compared to his peers...

if it wasn't for his chronic back problems, i'd take tmac over kobe everyday and twice on sundays...his court awareness is second to none.

link - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/12349-NBA-The_Great_Tracy_Mcgrady-100308



His Rockets are in the middle of a historic 18-game winning streak and haven't missed a beat since Yao Ming's season came to an unceremonious end. They are a mere 1.5 games from 1st place in the powerful Western Conference, the strongest conference in recent memory. But Tracy Mcgrady is far from having seen that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. That won't happen until his team wins a playoff series. So, just who is Tracy Mcgrady? Does he fit the cliched mode of an underachieving talent? Or is he one of the greatest players this league has ever seen? A closer look at the player reveals that he indeed is closer to the latter than the former.

Tracy Mcgrady is, statistically, one of the greatest playoff performers in the history of the NBA. Mcgrady outshined Vince Carter in the 2000 postseason, when he first made a name for himself by playing tough defense. In the 2001 postseason, he averaged 34, 8 and 7. The following postseason, he averaged 31, 6 and 6. In the 2003 postseason, he averaged 32, 5 and 7 before falling in 7 games to the upstart Pistons, who would win the championship 1 year later. In 2005, he averaged 31, 7, and 7 before falling in 7 to the Mavericks. Last year, he averaged 29, 7 and 6 before falling in 7 to the Jazz, the 2nd best team in the West, and the team that played the Spurs the toughest. He has averaged well over 1 steal and 1 block in career playoff games as well. Indeed, only a select few have had higher overall career playoff averages. Mcgrady has historically stepped up his game in the big stage. There is no doubt in my mind that, had he stayed in the Eastern Conference, or had better luck and / or teammates, he would have made several deep postseason runs by now.

The verdict, as of right now, 11 years into Mcgrady's hall of fame career, is that his shortcomings are physical, not mental. And by physical, I mean his infamous lower back.

When his back is healthy, Mcgrady is clearly the second best guard in the world, after Kobe Bryant. On some nights, his talent would even make him the best guard in the world. Mcgrady is, historically, one of the league's most productive 4th quarter players, and, when healthy, has hit game breaking shots at as high a rate, if not higher, than his rival, Kobe Bryant. Mcgrady wants that shot and doesn't shy away from it, and I challenge any reader out there to point out specifically when he has choked in the postseason. Far from it, as I have already pointed out: Mcgrady's issues are not psychological.

When his back is healthy, Mcgrady is unstoppable in his forages to the rim, and his length and creativity allow him to finish. He isn't as compact and explosive as his counterpart, Kobe. He isn't as powerful a finisher as Lebron. He doesn't attack the rim as often as Dwyane Wade. But he is extremely deceptive with his moves, often using fakes to rock his defender the wrong direction. His hands are big enough to cup the ball effortlessly, and his left hand is as good as there is in the game.

Mcgrady is actually a better passer than Kobe Bryant in a half-court set. Part of this stems from the fact that he stands 2 inches taller and can see over double teams. He seems to have marginally better court vision as well, often finding the open cutter or a teammate off ball screens. It is amazing that, throughout the Houston years playing for offensively challenged Jeff Van Gundy, he averaged close to 6 assists a contest and found so many open teammates for layups. He is every bit the passer that Lebron James is, and an even better passer off the ball screen. His handles are impeccable, probably the best handles of anyone 6'8 or taller in the world.

Mcgrady isn't quite the open court player that Bryant, James, and Wade are, and he has to work harder for his buckets. Not only does he get less easy baskets off the fast break, but he settles more for the long jump shot. However, this has more to do with his ailing back (and narrower frame) than with anything else, because he is such a different player when healthy.

Back in the 2002-2003 season, people were debating who was the best guard, and possibly the best player, in the world, Kobe Bryant or Tracy Mcgrady. While it is clear who won that argument, it isn't like Mcgrady has forgotten how to ball since then, even though many detractors will have you believe that Mcgrady has taken steps backwards in his game.

Mcgrady had all of Kobe's moves on offense: the turn-around, rocker step, fadeaway, bank shot, step through, sky hook, the three ball, you name it. In fact, even today, only Mcgrady and Bryant are “complete” offensive players, meaning that they have a counter to every move. Lebron James needs work on his fadeaway when pushed out, Wade needs to learn to finish at the rim going left, and shooting in general, Iverson isn't very effective shooting the pullup going right, Carmelo can add some range and a left hand, and everyone else isn't close. Mcgrady isn't as efficient overall as Kobe, nor is he as relentless, and his defense isn't at an All-NBA level, and these factors separate the two. But Mcgrady actually makes offense look easier and more effortless, when he draws multiple defenders and sets up an open layup, when he runs the pick and roll with Yao, when he lulls defenders to sleep and strikes from deep – many times he has you scratching your head wondering if he is indeed more talented than that other guy, Bryant.

But back injuries have limited Mcgrady from playing to his full potential. Anyone with chronic back pain and / or spasms know the cancerous effects of them. While you can continue playing, you are less effective. You cannot help but settle for that outside jumper more and more. This isn't some ankle or even knee injury that heals itself, but rather a lifelong injury. People assume that you are playing at full strength, because you aren't sitting out for weeks at a time, but you are only a shell of your full self. This is the reason why over the years Mcgrady hasn't gone to the hole as much, and why he has had to work so hard for baskets.

While the majority of the media, and even some former players, notably Charles Barkley, have called our Mcgrady's mental toughness in this regard, that he settles too much for the outside shot, I must humbly disagree that Mcgrady's problems aren't mental, but physical. He isn't a Vince Carter who doesn't train in the offseason, and he isn't Nick Anderson with some mental storm raining on his head. He isn't some one-dimensional scorer like Alex English or Carmelo Anthony, because he has a complete floor-game and handles the rock better than many starting point guards. Rather, he is a player who, as evidenced by his career playoff statistics and this recent win streak, puts his heart and soul out there as much as his ailing back would allow him to do so. Anyone who has watched him through the years would agree. And, when he is healthy, watch out.

According to basketball-reference.com, Mcgrady's hall of fame probability currently stands at 86%, placing him 10th overall among active players and 61th overall historically. Another way of seeing this is that, Mcgrady, all 28 years old of him, has already accomplished enough to rank him 61st all-time and is virtually a lock for the Hall. He still has many, many good years ahead, and many chances to finally put to rest those first round demons that have haunted him.
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