When a change occurs it always takes the mainstream a bit of time to adjust to the new idea. I recall watching a Knick game near the end of the year with the announcers talking about whether or not McGrady would be coming back next year. One of them (not sure who it was) said that McGrady would have to accept being a second star on a team.
At this time, I’ll chose to reveal McGrady’s similarity scores before I continue.
Similarity Scores:
z-Sum | FLName | Year | Tm | PER | TS | eFG | PTS | ORB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV |
.000 | Tracy McGrady | 2010 | TOT | 12.2 | 46.6 | 42.1 | 13.1 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 2.4 |
.090 | Travis Best | 2003 | MIA | 11.2 | 47.3 | 42.7 | 12.0 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
.099 | Henry Bibby | 1980 | PHI | 11.1 | 49.1 | 41.0 | 13.1 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
.110 | Troy Hudson | 2007 | MIN | 10.8 | 48.3 | 45.1 | 13.1 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
.158 | Bimbo Coles | 1999 | GSW | 14.8 | 49.6 | 44.9 | 12.9 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.3 |
.162 | Bob Sura | 2004 | TOT | 16.2 | 51.0 | 43.8 | 12.9 | 2.2 | 7.1 | 5.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.3 |
.166 | John Johnson | 1978 | TOT | 11.9 | 45.3 | 41.5 | 16.1 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 3.3 |
.171 | Damon Stoudamire | 2004 | POR | 14.8 | 50.8 | 47.7 | 12.7 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 5.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
.174 | Brad Miller | 2007 | SAC | 13.5 | 50.8 | 45.9 | 11.5 | 1.6 | 8.1 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2 |
.174 | Doug Overton | 2000 | BOS | 10.5 | 46.6 | 42.9 | 12.7 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
.176 | Jim McMillian | 1979 | POR | 11.9 | 49.9 | 44.6 | 10.7 | 2.1 | 5.1 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 2.1 |
I know it takes a little time for perception to catch up with reality, but does that look like a list of players that should be questioning whether or not they are the second star of a team? To me that group should be worrying if they can keep their job as second string point guards. It’s been a long time since McGrady has been a top tier player, but there’s no doubt that he fell off Sandy Alomar Cliff years ago. Below is a list of his comparables by age, which reminds me of one those don’t use drugs posters.
Age | z-Sum | FLName | Year | Tm | PER | TS | eFG | PTS | ORB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV |
19 | .244 | Kevin Garnett | 1996 | MIN | 15.8 | 52.2 | 49.7 | 13.1 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
20 | .121 | Kevin Garnett | 1997 | MIN | 18.2 | 53.7 | 50.2 | 15.7 | 2.3 | 7.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.1 |
21 | .098 | Kobe Bryant | 2000 | LAL | 21.7 | 54.6 | 48.8 | 21.2 | 1.5 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 2.6 |
22 | .072 | LeBron James | 2007 | CLE | 24.5 | 55.2 | 50.7 | 24.1 | 0.9 | 5.9 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.8 |
23 | .145 | LeBron James | 2008 | CLE | 29.1 | 56.8 | 51.8 | 26.8 | 1.6 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
24 | .121 | Kobe Bryant | 2003 | LAL | 26.2 | 55.0 | 48.3 | 26.0 | 1.1 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 3.0 |
25 | .053 | Kobe Bryant | 2004 | LAL | 23.7 | 55.1 | 46.8 | 22.9 | 1.5 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 2.5 |
26 | .114 | Paul Pierce | 2004 | BOS | 19.4 | 51.7 | 44.1 | 21.3 | 0.8 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 3.5 |
27 | .175 | Grant Hill | 2000 | DET | 24.5 | 56.5 | 50.1 | 24.7 | 1.3 | 6.4 | 5.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 3.1 |
28 | .083 | Jamal Mashburn | 2001 | CHH | 17.5 | 49.3 | 45.0 | 18.4 | 1.1 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.5 |
29 | .088 | Derek Anderson | 2004 | POR | 15.1 | 49.9 | 44.0 | 13.8 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
30 | .090 | Travis Best | 2003 | MIA | 11.2 | 47.3 | 42.7 | 12.0 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
You might note that at age 27 his most similar player is Grant Hill, but a score of .175 means they’re not very close. Actually McGrady rates close to these players because of his high usage. From ages 21-28 he averaged more than 21.1 pts/36, however his efficiency has been dropping since age 23. Usually guys with TS% south of 52% don’t get to take enough shots to average 20pts/36, but McGrady has managed that feat 3 times in his career (2006-2008). Speaking of his shooting efficiency…
I added the red line, since the league average for TS% is around 54%. T-Mac had a very promising career, capping with a TS% of 56.4% as a 23 year old. A player’s career usually arcs up, levels off, then descends. But McGrady’s drops sharply and early at the peak, giving it the appearance of a mountain not the typical bell curve. If you looked at his career graph at age 23 and applied the normal career path, you’d think he’d be a perennial All Star. But as you can see that’s season was the exception, not the norm. It’s a shame, because McGrady is an exceptional passer and a capable rebounder. And he’s always been able to get to the line. Poor shot selection and an inconsistent three point shot (he’s been over 34% only once in the last 7 seasons) has kept him from achieving true greatness.
I had hoped that McGrady would benefit from a reduction in shot attempts upon arriving in New York. But even when he cut his FGA/36 to 12.6, T-Mac put up the lowest TS% of his career (46.6%). You know your career is over when you’re a former All Star trying to beat out Chris Duhon for a starting job, and you fail. Probably some team will sign him to a minor contract this year, I just hope it isn’t New York.
Report Card (5 point scale):
Offense: 1
Defense: 2
Teamwork: 3
Rootability: 2
Performance/Expectations: 1
Final Grade: F