Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports:
A day after he reportedly said he would be playing Nov. 18, Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said he was misunderstood. Rather, he merely hopes to be playing Nov. 18, a week before the Rockets said he could be back at the earliest.
“It’s a target date,” McGrady said on Tuesday. “I didn’t say I was coming back; I said it was a target date just like we have a date to have the MRI on the 23rd. Everybody is blowing it out of proportion like I’m guaranteed to come back. I want to play, so that’s what we’re targeting. I’ve been working out every day, improving every day, and that’s what it is.
“It’s not a guarantee that I’m coming back. It’s a target date.”
He also said, however, that he would not rush his return and indicated that he does not expect to play until the week of his scheduled MRI, Nov. 23.
I say T-Mac has no reason to rush back until he’s as close to fully healthy as possible. Coach Rick Adelman is doing a terrific job with the current rotation of players and for now, at least, they’re playing like a squad that will qualify for the playoffs.
Of course, things change in a hurry, but McGrady’s main goal should be returning and staying healthy for a long time.
