If you watched the press conference after the Rockets and Jazz game tonight, you couldn't help but feel awful for Tracy McGrady. I think after this guy retires, he's going to be a very interesting case for historians; when I watch him play I have no doubt that he's a superstar, but I don't know that he'll be remembered that way. And while he's only 27 years old, his retirement may not be that far off, given the fact that he's already played 10 season in the NBA and he has quite an injury history.
On one hand, McGrady has been on two teams that won 50-plus games (04-05 and 06-07 Rockets), he's been to seven All-Star games, he averaged 32.1 ppg in 2002-03 and he scored 13 points in 33 seconds against the greatest defensive team of our generation.
But he's also now 0-6 in playoff series. And he's played with other stars such as Vince Carter and Yao Ming, though I think it's fair to question the merits of both of those players as well. Still, Yao is the best true center in basketball right now, and I'm pretty sure most Rockets fans thought they were better than this.
McGrady has actually played well in the playoffs, with his only bad series being his first one in 2000. I've got to think that he's been a victim of bad luck (injuries) and bad circumstances (Orlando), but I also think at this point is is fair to question how good of a player he is.
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That term "GOOD" is forever utilized within the most muddled logic known to man, woman and child. How do we measure good concerning an individual performer within a team sport?
Wins and losses are what define a team, but in the case of individuals, the greatest players often aren't the best winners, by traditional standards.
America is a funny place, it's the QUINTESSENTIAL land of individuality as far as Capitalism, and being a Democracy, but in the arena of sports, specifically basketball, this whole myth of team ideology is shoveled to the masses. Why!
Tracy is a great player that plays best when it counts. He's 0 - 6 in playoff series, but he's done all the things that we'd expect of a superstar in those series, and because of that he will forever wear the superstar crown in the hearts and minds of objective sports enthusiasts.
In this world of try your hardest and great things will happen it only makes sense to apply that chance to Tracy. However, in the real world of the NBA it's sometimes more realistic to acknowledge that being a superstar doesn't mean winning all the time, which is okay, because we watch for superstars, not winning teams!
I think historians will all look back and think of Tracy McGrady as a disppointment. But the blame should be passed around. Yao Ming was radically inconsistent throughout the series. Shane Battier was terrible and the fact that he didn't foul Darren Williams at the end was one of the most retarded things I've seen this postseason.
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