Before free agency started, Tracy
“Slash” McGrady was a media darling.
Everybody loved him. He loved everybody.
He was “cuz” with Vince Carter.
Rising star, is what they said.
Then everything...
changed.
Suddenly, Tracy’s dignity was stripped
from him. As soon as he signed with
the Orlando Magic from the Toronto
Raptors, the media was on him like white
on rice, and he wasn’t letting down.
“It’s my time now. It’s time for
me to bring my team back late in the game.
Put the ball in my hands. Let me
show what I can do.”
I am one of the few, nowadays, that
still believe Slash is born for stardom.
Why? Let’s start with stats. And
with Vince Carter. Vince averaged 38
minutes a game, Tracy 31. Here are
Tracy’s stats from last year over 38
minutes a game...
Now, just by looking at both of them,
you see McGrady was second banana to
Carter. The obvious edges Vince
has are overall 3 point shooting, scoring,
higher free throw percentage, and
a slight increase in shooting percentage.
Now look at Tracy. An off guard
that actually plays defense? Tracy has an
edge on rebounds, assists, steals,
and blocks. And it’s clearly obvious
Tracy could have scored at least
24 points if given the chance to be the
number 1 option.
Some people like to say that Tracy
will be the next Michael Jordan, some
people like to speak their minds
about what they think of those people’s
momma. The fact is, Tracy isn’t
Michael. He isn’t Tracy Jordan. He is in NO
WAY related to Michael Jordan.
He is Tracy McGrady.
Slash is a new breed. A new protocol.
A new product on the shelf. Whatever
you want to call it. He is a monstrous
shooting guard, with long, lanky arms
and a sky-scraping 44’ inch vertical
leap. He blocks shots on pure
adrenaline, and steals so much it’s
illegal for him to be on the court, he’s
supposed to be serving the life
for robbery. He DOES know how to score. He
doesn’t get 15 points in 31 minutes
a game off dunks, rest assured. The best
part is, he’s only 21. ONLY 21.
You can’t put a roof on this guy, no matter
what you, him, or his momma says.
Tracy is very self-confident, and I think
it’s good that he is. He knows this
is his life, his career. He wants to
win, that’s all.
And it looks like he’ll be doing
quite a bit of that.
____________
Thanks for reading my article. If
you would like to send comments, my e-mail
address is crazy7345@hotmail.com.
Thanks again.
____________
9/9/2000
