Why T-Mac will never be a superstar
Posted by Houston Sports Nut on April 23, 2008
It seems like everyone in the sports media who follows the NBA or covers the NBA playoffs has, at some time or another, placed blame on Tracy McGrady for the woes of the Houston Rockets and their inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs.
And now, McGrady is even blaming himself. Well, not really.
In the ultimate show of sarcasm, McGrady went off on himself on Wednesday, blaming himself for everything short of the rise in gas prices. According to a story in the Houston Chronicle, McGrady is now Mr. Sarcasm. From the article:
“It’s my fault,” McGrady said. “It’s my fault we missed free throws. It’s my fault we lost both games. Blame me. It’s my fault we fouled to tie the game up. That’s my fault. It’s my fault they get easy layups. It’s my fault we’re not executing well on the offensive end. It’s my fault a couple people in the stands ordered Heinekens and they got Budweiser. It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”
Really? That’s the point we’ve gotten to now? We’re going to act like we’re 16 years old? And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the man the Rockets are hoping can lead them deep into the playoffs?
Wait, there’s more…
“I am serious,” he said. “It’s my fault. Everything is my fault. It’s my fault. It’s T-Mac’s fault.
“Everybody’s blaming me. The Suns (for being down 2-0 to the Spurs). I mean, everybody. That’s what it seems like. It’s my fault. I’m out there by myself.”
And just when you thought he was finished…
“That’s another one of my faults: that Rafer got hurt and Yao got hurt,” McGrady said. “It’s my fault. I’m sorry.
“Even some of the guys can’t even believe it. I was talking to one of the guys, and he was like, ‘I would hate to be you. I really can’t believe what some of the people say about you, especially after playing the game you played the other night.’ They can’t believe it.”
So that’s the point we’ve arrived to everyone. The Rockets are down 2-0 in their first-round playoff series to the Utah Jazz. Is their fearless leader worrying about how to right the ship and pull out a victory in this series? Of course not. He’s busy getting his feelings hurt.
Could you ever imagine these words coming out of the mouth of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird or Magic Johnson? Absolutely not. They were too busy trying to win. Same goes for Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. They’re too busy trying to win championships to worry about what people write, say or think about them.
There is one good thing about all this. At least we’ve found a new nickname for McGrady. T-Mac? Try T-Fault.
April 23, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Wow. A little rough on Tracy there. After all the criticism he’s taken since he was in his early 20’s, I think we’re lucky this is what his “meltdown” turned out to be.
Every great player has reacted to criticism in different ways. When criticized for shooting too often, Michael did not make one field goal attempt in a game.
Wanna talk ornery? Try to remember Larry Bird during his playing years. His popularity wasn’t because he said the right things in front of the microphone — bu that’s another discussion.
Take it easy a little bit; Tracy has always been expected to do it by himself. And let’s be honest: no one can do it by themselves in the West.
April 24, 2008 at 1:31 am
reminds of me iverson’s “we’re talking about practice. practice. practice… practice. we’re talking about practice. practice. we’re talking about practice. practice? we’re talking about practice?”
“practice.”