Spurs Archives

Tracy McGrady during his tenure with the Houston Rockets

Tracy McGrady, at one time he was probably the best player in the NBA and once the poster player on every kids wall. That’s saying something considering the league was full of superstars ranging from Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant during McGrady’s reign. T-Mac, as is his best known nickname, played 14 years in the NBA playing with the: Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, the Chinese League Qingdao Eagles and now with the San Antonio Spurs. During his career McGrady has made the All Star Team 7 times, was a two-time NBA Scoring Leader, the Most Improved Player in 2001, and has made the All NBA First Team twice. The one thing missing from T-Mac’s career accomplishments is a NBA Championship.

“T-Mac to the rack!!”

Tracy McGrady was an awe to watch him play, as he was just so explosive in his drives to the basket. It became normal to hear “T-Mac to the rack!” followed by the loud cheer and applause from the crowd watching a true superstar perform on a level above anyone else. His best known performance came from his time in Houston as he scored thirteen points in a mere thirty-three seconds. This man could score on a level well beyond any player during his prime, the game of basketball came too easy to T-Mac during his greatest years. It’s a shame then to have seen Tracy McGrady slowly decline in his later years due to injuries and just the miles of playing catching up to him. At the end of the 2012 season with his contract with the Atlanta Hawks done, it looked like Tracy McGrady had no where else to go in the NBA; McGrady signed overseas to the Qingdao Eagles in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association).

McGrady played in China for their leagues 2012-2013 season where his numbers were respectable to say the least

Two days ago on April 16th, T-Mac was signed to join the playoff bound San Antonio Spurs to help bolster their team. While Tracy McGrady is past his prime and his body is hampered by nagging injuries, he still has shown to still be able to play on a high level accompanied by flashbacks of his earlier dominance. While I doubt T-Mac will make that much of a difference to the Spurs overall playoff success or failure, I am happy enough to see T-Mac back in the NBA. Maybe..just maybe I will hear the words “T-Mac to the rack!” echo through my television one last time.

And The MVP Is..

Lebron is poised to win his 4th MVP Award

The Maurice Podoloff Trophy is given to the Most Valuable Player each year in the entire NBA. This year the clear favorite to win his fourth MVP award if Miami Heat Forward Lebron James. I will not sit here and say Lebron James is not an amazing basketball player, but I do not believe he deserves the award this year. Yes, he led the Miami Heat to a franchise record 27 win streak, yes he is the most dominant player right now, and yes he is a full-fledged superstar, but he is on a team built to achieve above and beyond the known limits. He is a very important corner-stone to the team, but not the most valuable player in the league.

2008 NBA MVP Kobe Bryant

No matter what arena you see him play, no matter what team he is playing against, Kobe Bryant will always hear “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants. Oddly enough Kobe has only won one NBA MVP award back in 2008. This year he easily deserves to be a front-runner in the MVP conversation. The horribly underachieving Lakers have been willed on by Kobe alone and even though he is now out with a season ending Achilles tear, he has gotten them into the 8th seed of the playoffs.

Clippers Guard Chris Paul

Chris Paul (a.k.a CP3) has made the Clippers the team in Los-Angeles now and for years to come. He will become the corner-stone of the new dominant west coast force that are the Clippers. Chris Paul is long due for a MVP award and after watching him this year lead the Clippers to their first division title in decades, hitting the 50 win mark for the first time since 1976, and taking the Clippers on a dominant and undefeated month of December.

New York Knick Forward Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony is poised to win his first NBA Scoring Title after this season just nudging out Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant. Over the month of April Carmelo has averaged nearly 29 points per game and lead his Knicks on a 13 game win streak that ended in Chicago. Anthony has always been an elite scorer but this season in New York he is proving to be a real MVP candidate. Over this season the Knicks were written off as “too old” but they have secured a second placed seed in the Eastern Conference and will match up against Boston in the first round (a real good game by the way). While Carmelo’s stats are no where as nice as James or other players, his Knicks are only 6-7 without him. I would easily give him the MVP Award this year since Melo is long overdue and has clearly proven his worth.

Spurs Guard Tony Parker

Ah, Tony Parker, he was once the “dark horse” MVP candidate throughout this season. In 65 games this season, Parked has averaged 20.4 points, 7.6 assists, while shooting 52.4%, and 35.3% from beyond the arc. He has once again lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 58-23 record while securing the second place seed in the Western Conference. Earlier this season some people would’ve penciled in Parker as the favorite to win the MVP as he was and the Spurs were just on a roll. Sadly in the month of April he has dropped off due to injuries and has only played four games. No matter what though, Tony Parker is still the dark horse candidate to win MVP.

Once again, I am not putting down Lebron James and his amazing talent and ability to play the game of basketball. He is the most dominant force in basketball right now and will be for a couple more years. James though, does not deserve another MVP award as he is clearly not the most valuable player for the team compared to others. Sadly though, a fourth trophy is inevitable.