ISH How good was Orlando Tracy McGrady?

[ShaqAttack3234]

One of my favorite players. Very athletic, great length for a swingman, excellent ball handling skills, he had pretty incredible range and he could catch and shoot mid-range and long 3s or shoot either shot off the dribble. He could also exploit mismatches in the post, though he was primarily a perimeter player.

He actually already had back problems in Orlando, but once the injuries really started to pile up, his jumper got flatter and he lost good amount of touch on it.

Tracy was a volume scorer who could get his shot at basically anytime and he wasn't afraid to keep shooting, and when he went off, it was a sight to see.

He was also a great passer and a good rebounder for his position and he had all-defensive team ability, but he often didn't fully commit to that end, however, perimeter players who carry weak teams often don't because they have to do so much at the offensive end.

I can't remember a superstar carrying a weaker cast to the playoffs than T-Mac in 2003, maybe Wade in 2009.

Here's a T-Mac game I uploaded from his peak year. He went off for 46 points. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN9DLfePUM4

Ill upload the game where he had 52 points in 3 quarters in 2003 as well and his 50 point game in 2002 soon, maybe those 40+ games from the '03 playoffs as well. I'm pretty sure another youtube user uploaded his entire 62 point game a while back, too.

McGrady's first season in Houston(2005) was also great. Probably his 3rd best season after 2003 and 2002, but after that, injuries really got to him.

[thejumpa]

alright serious question was Prime Tmac @ Kobe/Wade/Bron level?

Yes. As far as pure talent and skill, he was just as good as all of those guys. There really was nothing that they can do that he couldn't.

[8BeastlyXOIAD]

[D.J.]

alright serious question was Prime Tmac @ Kobe/Wade/Bron level?

Putting team success aside, we'll look at each player's peak season:


McGrady- 32/6+/5+/1.7 and 45.7/38.6/79.3

Wade- 30/7+/5/2/1+ and 49.1/31.7/76.5

LeBron- 29+/8+/7/1+/1 and 50.3/33.3/76.7

Kobe- 35/5/4+/1.8 and 45.0/34.7/85.0


I'd say he compares

["Jesus"]

In terms of peak

1. Lebron
2. McGrady
3. Kobe
4. Wade

Pretty much.

People forget that T-Mac came into the league known as a defensive stopper. If he wanted to lock down particular players, he did.

Not to mention, he had pretty nice ups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZljhMFWUFAo

[Batz]

Yeah, he coulda made adidas just a bit more interesting.

[8BeastlyXOIAD]

Very good.

Grant Hill is healthy and you never know ...

[8BeastlyXOIAD]

Did TRACY McGrady have a good work ethic?

[D.J.]

One of my favorite players. Very athletic, great length for a swingman, excellent ball handling skills, he had pretty incredible range and he could catch and shoot mid-range and long 3s or shoot either shot off the dribble. He could also exploit mismatches in the post, though he was primarily a perimeter player.

He actually already had back problems in Orlando, but once the injuries really started to pile up, his jumper got flatter and he lost good amount of touch on it.

Tracy was a volume scorer who could get his shot at basically anytime and he wasn't afraid to keep shooting, and when he went off, it was a sight to see.

He was also a great passer and a good rebounder for his position and he had all-defensive team ability, but he often didn't fully commit to that end, however, perimeter players who carry weak teams often don't because they have to do so much at the offensive end.

I can't remember a superstar carrying a weaker cast to the playoffs than T-Mac in 2003, maybe Wade in 2009.

Here's a T-Mac game I uploaded from his peak year. He went off for 46 points. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN9DLfePUM4

Ill upload the game where he had 52 points in 3 quarters in 2003 as well and his 50 point game in 2002 soon, maybe those 40+ games from the '03 playoffs as well. I'm pretty sure another youtube user uploaded his entire 62 point game a while back, too.

McGrady's first season in Houston(2005) was also great. Probably his 3rd best season after 2003 and 2002, but after that, injuries really got to him.

I agree with everything except for the part about Tracy being a volume scorer. Volume scorers score high amounts of points on low percentages. Tracy regularly shot 45-46% in Orlando. A volume scorer would be like an Allen Iverson or Jamal Mashburn.

[8BeastlyXOIAD]

So what's similar? One is shorter/stronger and a better defender/slasher with a good midrange shot. The other is longer and taller, with insane shooting ability over people from both distance and midrange. Wade probably finished with a lot of dunks that year compared to Tmac, who relied mostly on finger rolls or acrobatic layups. Also, Wade went to the line like 10/game in 09, whereas Tmac I think was like 6/game or something - much lower.

ownage!!!

[Batz]

Did TRACY McGrady have a good work ethic?

There's a reason why people call him the big sleep in Toronto.

[D.J.]

And McGrady got to the line just shy of 10 times a game in 2002-03. The more he dominated, the more he got to the line. At 25 PPG, he was getting to the line 7-7.5 times a game.

[8BeastlyXOIAD]

Yup. If people watch some of the Orlando games(Houston too-he played pretty good there), they will see that he was an extremely smart player.

As for comparisons, the only thing that he and Durant share are size advantages. TMac is more athletic, better ballhandler, plays better defense, and overall a smarter basketball player IMO.

Durants size and jumper+Wades ball handling/playmaking=Orlando TMac

WOW!!!

Why arent they players like that nowadays Beasley get to the Gym!!!

[8BeastlyXOIAD]

In terms of peak

1. Lebron
2. McGrady
3. Kobe
4. Wade

damn i remember Kobe's, Wade's, and Bron's best season and if T-mac had a better season than Wade and Kobe that is crazy .

[magnax1]

Did TRACY McGrady have a good work ethic?

You have to have a good work ethic to become that great of a player. I think people say he wasn't a winner mostly because after 05 he just wasn't good enough to play like the superstar people expected him to be in the playoffs. Other then that it's really speculation, it's not like anybody on ISH actually knows TMac and what kind of person he was.