Tracy McGrady is a man on a mission and he is trying to prove something. Not only for his new team, the New York Knicks or his former team, the Houston Rockets, or the NBA itself, but more importantly to his soul.
Ever since he walked out of the Rockets practice and demanded a trade, T-Mac was branded by pundits as someone who can’t face reality. The sad reality of being over the hill. In six forgettable games with the Rockets this season, McGrady averaged career lows of 3.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg and 7.5 mpg all brought about by injuries that hounded the once-feared scoring machine. He also spent 47 games in sickbay last season. Thus, the Rockets had seen enough and sent McGrady to the Knicks in a blockbuster three-team, ten-player deal before the trade deadline a week ago.
McGrady debuted for the Knicks during the weekend in a game against the surging Oklahoma City Thunder at the Madison Square Garden. T-Mac played as if he had never left the game and his over-all performance was impressive enough to please the pundits as he finished with 26 points. However, his efforts went for naught as the Knicks absorbed a heartbreaking overtime defeat to the Thunder, 121-118. In two games so far with the Apple City outfit, McGrady is submitting norms of 20.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 3.0 apg.
McGrady, who also owned the dubious honor of being the only superstar not to win a single NBA playoff series in his entire pro career, is not being hailed as the last piece for a renaissance in New York, but at the very least, the foundation of a franchise that is looking forward for a run at LeBron James come the free-agent derby this summer.
This early, it seems T-Mac clearly wants redemption and he can only attain that by steering the Knicks to a respectable finish this regular season.
*****
For the nth time, troubled superstar Allen Iverson is at it again. After leaving the Memphis Grizzlies for good early in the season due to personal matters, the 34-year-old former Georgetown hotshot, has likewise took an indefinite leave of absence from the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers just announced that Iverson will not be joining the team for the remaining three games of its west coast swing. A source familiar with the situations of Iverson and the Sixers said that, in this case, ''indefinitely,'' could mean the remainder of the season.
This is a big turnaround from the day the Sixers saved Iverson from retirement after the Memphis fiasco. With all the theatric acts that hugged Iverson’s return to the City of Brotherly Love, the current scenario has brought disappointment and frustration not only among the Sixer fans but to the league followers as well. It seems AI had never learned his lesson or just maybe he never knew the true meaning of the word professionalism. This thing all started when Iverson missed the annual All-Star game in Dallas due to the health condition of his daughter.
In 25 games with the 76ers this season, Iverson has averaged 13.9 points per game and shot a decent .417 from the field. Whether those will stand as his final numbers remains to be seen. But speculation is running rampant that Iverson might call it a career.
The NBA will then be a better league without the likes and antics of an Allen Iverson.
No comments:
Post a Comment