Courtside: T-Mac’s anemic showing

It’s official. The Rockets are in a swoon, and only in part due to the prolonged absence of Ron Artest and Shane Battier due to injury. The bigger reason has to be the continued inability of all-star Tracy McGrady to play up to par, with his travails attributable to the knee surgery he underwent eight months ago. This season, he’s averaging just 15 markers per game, his lowest in 10 years, on a career-low 39% clip from the field. And to longtime hoops habitues, the significant dropoff in productivity is mind-boggling; after all, he’s 29, and it’s not as if he suddenly forgot how to shoot. Needless to say, critics have pounced on McGrady’s anemic showing, and not a few have seen fit to contend that he could do much better in terms of attitude. The opprobrium isn’t entirely undeserved, to be sure; he has made numerous disappearing acts, logging single digits in points eight times in 26 outings notwithstanding his extended stay on the court. Concomitantly, he has a mere 55 points to his name in his last six matches, never mind his 34.5-minute-per-contest exposure; no wonder the Rockets wound up with a single win during the stretch. To his credit, McGrady has been equally hard on himself in regard to his underachievement. True, he has been defiant at times; after a poor effort against Toronto last Friday, for instance, he argued that it was "hard to get in a groove when you’re touching the ball once every five minutes." On the other hand, he acknowledges that he needs to put in the effort in order to combat his frailties; "without a doubt, it’s a matter of trying to come out and trying to compete physically." Seconded Rockets head coach Rick Adelman, "He has to be aggressive no matter what. He’s not going anywhere unless he pushes himself. It’s a mindset." Clearly, the Rockets won’t be going far with a downcast McGrady. He remains their best playmaker, and, for all the steadiness of Yao Ming at the post, he’s still their most potent weapon on offense. Which is why Adelman keeps on prodding him and giving him chance after chance. Under the circumstances, an early step back may well be the only way for him — and those around him — to ultimately forge ahead.