How will people remember T-Mac when his career is over?

[_KP_The_Familia_]

lol @ people arguing Pierce is better than Tmac now...what is ISH coming to? First everyone wrote him off and there were numerous Melo > Tmac threads. Than Carter > Tmac threads. Than Tmac carries his team and the Tmac > Kobe and Tmac MVP threads start popping up again. Now he gets bounced out of the first round and now Paul ****ing Pierce is better than him?? Not only that but he's also a better play-maker now too?? huh?? what?? Tmac is the only facilitator on the Rockets, the offense runs through him. When he's off the court and Alston has to set-up his teammates, the offense becomes stagnant. Tmac is also a better defender than Pierce when both are playing at their best, i.e. the playoffs. Scoring is not even close, Tmac is naturally a better scorer than Pierce. Pierce could never demolish the San Antonio Spurs in 30 seconds like Tmac did. Basically Tmac gets overrated and underrated here bi-monthly. But the truth is that Tmac is a top 10 player in this league and has been ever since his Orlando days. (minus last year due to injury) Tmac will go down as one of the most naturally talented and gifted ball players ever. IF he had the work ethic of a Kobe Bryant and IF he did not have his back injuries, he would go down as a top 10 player of all time IMO.

[_KP_The_Familia_]

yah, exactly

[IGOTGAME]

Right now after TMacs back injuries....PP34 is better than TMac...Tmac just doesnt attack the same anymore

TMac is overrated and declining quick

[Mathius]

T-Mac will be remembered by the same people who remember Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, Glen Rice, Mitch Richmond, Glenn Robinson, and a lot of other players who were stars that either didn't win a ring, or didn't win one until they were past the point where they were "the guy".

Also, he will be remembered as one of the pioneers of the high school to the NBA flood that hit the league after Kevin Garnett went #5 to Minnesota.

Mathius

[EricForman]

lol @ people arguing Pierce is better than Tmac now...what is ISH coming to? First everyone wrote him off and there were numerous Melo > Tmac threads. Than Carter > Tmac threads. Than Tmac carries his team and the Tmac > Kobe and Tmac MVP threads start popping up again. Now he gets bounced out of the first round and now Paul ****ing Pierce is better than him?? Not only that but he's also a better play-maker now too?? huh?? what?? Tmac is the only facilitator on the Rockets, the offense runs through him. When he's off the court and Alston has to set-up his teammates, the offense becomes stagnant. Tmac is also a better defender than Pierce when both are playing at their best, i.e. the playoffs. Scoring is not even close, Tmac is naturally a better scorer than Pierce. Pierce could never demolish the San Antonio Spurs in 30 seconds like Tmac did. Basically Tmac gets overrated and underrated here bi-monthly. But the truth is that Tmac is a top 10 player in this league and has been ever since his Orlando days. (minus last year due to injury) Tmac will go down as one of the most naturally talented and gifted ball players ever. IF he had the work ethic of a Kobe Bryant and IF he did not have his back injuries, he would go down as a top 10 player of all time IMO.

Pierce has had a ECF final run (with a average cast at best), that's better than anything Tmac has ever done.

And I (the guy who mentioned Pierce in the first place), never said he was a better individual player than Tmac. I just said Pierce has had a BETTER CAREER and would have to be ranked higher than Tmac if they both retired today (fact).

Tmac is a more natural talent, I know that, hell, Pierce doesn't even have a basketball body, guy's chubby. But still, Pierce has heart. He's had a playoff run at least, better than annything Tmac can claim. And for the record, Pierce can also pull Tmac and Kobe's "I have crap supporting cast" card so no excuses here.

[Real Men Wear Green]

they wont look at him as one of the top players of this current generation.

McGrady is definitely one of the greatest swingmen of his generation. Here's his competition: Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Wade, Anthony, and James didn't enter the league until McGrady's prime so I put them in a different generation, though for the record the only one of them that has had a season on par with McGrady's best is James. Of the players truly in McGrady's generation, only Kobe Bryant has a significant accomplishment that McGrady can't match (Championship) and that was accomplished as Shaq's sidekick. McGrady has 2 scoring Championships, and only Bryant of that group of players has more. McGrady, when focused, is the best defender out of that group, is second only to Ray Allen in shooting ability and behind only Carter in athleticism. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have had more playoff success leading their teams but the reason why I don't hold that against McGrady is that he actually has better playoff stats than any of these guys. 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Those are some great career playoff numbers that few players in NBA history exceed. Basically, the only advantage Bryant has with winning, and that is due to Shaq. All Carter has is leaping ability, and it's not a big edge, not even much worth mentioning. All Pierce has is durability, and if we see another year like this one us Celtic fans won't talk about that anymore. And all Ray Allen has is shooting ability, which is definitely trumped by McGrady's superior all-around game.

[kumquat]

I'll remember that Ginobili > TMac.

[JtotheIzzo]

McGrady is definitely one of the greatest swingmen of his generation. Here's his competition: Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Wade, Anthony, and James didn't enter the league until McGrady's prime so I put them in a different generation, though for the record the only one of them that has had a season on par with McGrady's best is James. Of the players truly in McGrady's generation, only Kobe Bryant has a significant accomplishment that McGrady can't match (Championship) and that was accomplished as Shaq's sidekick. McGrady has 2 scoring Championships, and only Bryant of that group of players has more. McGrady, when focused, is the best defender out of that group, is second only to Ray Allen in shooting ability and behind only Carter in athleticism. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have had more playoff success leading their teams but the reason why I don't hold that against McGrady is that he actually has better playoff stats than any of these guys. 29 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Those are some great career playoff numbers that few players in NBA history exceed. Basically, the only advantage Bryant has with winning, and that is due to Shaq. All Carter has is leaping ability, and it's not a big edge, not even much worth mentioning. All Pierce has is durability, and if we see another year like this one us Celtic fans won't talk about that anymore. And all Ray Allen has is shooting ability, which is definitely trumped by McGrady's superior all-around game.

yeah, I am thinking of 'top' as a smaller group, and that would be elite I guess...Iverson, Shaq, KG, Kobe, TD kind of players. McGrady is a tier two stud...you can talk about the individual skill all day, there is a ton of it there,but if you cant do anything with arguably the best center in the league on your team, how good are you?

and those playoff stats mean jack when it is the first round

[Real Men Wear Green]

and those playoff stats mean jack when it is the first round

Those stats show that he's playing at a high level. How could he not be? It's a team game, so great teams win, not necessarily great players.

[JtotheIzzo]

Those stats show that he's playing at a high level. How could he not be? It's a team game, so great teams win, not necessarily great players.

if there is any league in professional sports where great players win, it is the NBA. For a guy to be in the league for 10 years, score at will in the regular season, and now play with arguably the best center in the game, and he has NEVER made the second round of the playoffs ever.

sorry...you are not top tier.

[Real Men Wear Green]

if there is any league in professional sports where great players win, it is the NBA. For a guy to be in the league for 10 years, score at will in the regular season, and now play with arguably the best center in the game, and he has NEVER made the second round of the playoffs ever.

sorry...you are not top tier.

Not at all true. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once won MVP on a team that failed to win 40 games. In reality, this was the first year that McGrady has ever even been on a team that was favored to win it's series. Those Orlando teams had Mike Miller for their second-best player and played no defense. You really can't find any part of McGrady's individual performance to criticize. All you can say is, "his team didn't win." That's not his fault.

[SCREWstonRockets]

Not at all true. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once won MVP on a team that failed to win 40 games. In reality, this was the first year that McGrady has ever even been on a team that was favored to win it's series. Those Orlando teams had Mike Miller for their second-best player and played no defense. You really can't find any part of McGrady's individual performance to criticize. All you can say is, "his team didn't win." That's not his fault.

Thank you. But the thing is, people are not going to look at it like that. They see he has no playoff wins and thats it. And speaking on this season, the first time his team was favored to win and it was not even his fault they lost, although he took full blame. T-Mac did damn near everything this season for the Rockets. He scored, he defended well and he ran the offense. If I'm not mistaking, he also sold popcorn and swept the arena after games.

It's almost fact that ONE guy can't win it alone. Outside of Yao Ming, theres no other player on the team that can create their own offense to take pressure off the big two. Hakeem, Duncan, Kobe/Shaq, and Jordan all had very good role players on their teams. Rafer is a bench player, so is Chuck Hayes. Shane is our best role player but even "Mr. Intangibles" is not enough to win it all. The teams that are the most complete, get it done. In the west anyways.

[DCL]

someone like george gervin -- lead league in scoring a few times, even had ability to explode for 60 points, made some all-nba teams, was a regular all-star every year, but had no playoff success. regarded as one of the game's unstoppable scorers but just couldn't win. tmac will be remembered.

[xxxSuperStar]

Not at all true. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once won MVP on a team that failed to win 40 games. In reality, this was the first year that McGrady has ever even been on a team that was favored to win it's series. Those Orlando teams had Mike Miller for their second-best player and played no defense. You really can't find any part of McGrady's individual performance to criticize. All you can say is, "his team didn't win." That's not his fault.

Actually, I'd put blame solely on him.

Is he a top 10 player? I say no, you say yes

Is he the leader of the team? Yes

Does the team have very good talent? Yes

Are the Rockets one of the best defensive teams in the league? Yes

T-mac is the "leader" of that team and has led them no where. It is in large part his fault. He hasn't been the same player since he started taking more jump shots than going to the basket. T-Mac in Orlando (when he went to the basket and his FG% was high) was a top 10 player. Now...borderline, at best.

[fatboy11]

T-Mac will be remembered by the same people who remember Reggie Miller, Dominique Wilkins, Glen Rice, Mitch Richmond, [COLOR="Red"]Glenn Robinson[/COLOR], and a lot of other players who were stars that either didn't win a ring, or didn't win one until they were past the point where they were "the guy".

Oh sh!t. I forgot Glenn Robinson even existed.