Deja Vu: T-Mac Receiving Same Treatment as Tim Hardaway Once Did From Adelman
By eric guilleminault
Mon, 12/28/2009 - 2:20am
Not long ago, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming were the faces of the Houston Rockets franchise, delighting fans with their great talent and skills. However, a series of unfortunate injuries has forced T-Mac to often finish the season as spectators, watching his teammates from the bench.
As a result, fans have lost faith in McGrady, and the Houston Rockets have moved on to other personnel. Trevor Ariza, who was first thought to be a replacement for Ron Artest, has provided Rick Adelman with the ability to no longer play McGrady. The former All-star has been sent home, and is no longer traveling with the team. As a result of this decision, it looks like Rockets fans won't be seeing a lineup of Battier, Ariza, and McGrady on the floor together anytime soon:
"I said all along I want to see where he fits," Adelman said. "Coming back from an injury (Micro Fracture knee surgery) like that, it's obvious he's not Tracy we knew two years ago. He knows that. What I'm trying to figure out is where we can best get him in the rotation where he can have a positive effect on the team."
Adelman justified his decision of not letting McGrady suit up in the next two games by stating: "I just felt if he was unhappy with that situation, I wasn't comfortable to go forward and try to jump-start it again. I want to be sure this is our plan. I don't blame any player for saying, ‘I want more.' That's what he wants. Right now, I'm not sure how to do it. We'll figure it out, I hope."
Adelman probably sincerely believes this. However, his coaching record shows that he has a certain penchant for choosing favorites, sometimes at the expense of other high profile players. For example, Rockets fans will recall how he successfully brought in Ron Artest from his days with the Kings, but how he failed to integrate Bonzi Wells to the Houston franchise. There was also the Jerome Kersey experiment he undertook while coaching the Golden State Warriors. So despite Adelman's reputation as a "player's coach," history shows us that he has had his run-ins with NBA stars. In fact the current Aldeman-McGrady feud has a precedent.
Rewind to the 1995-96 season, when Adelman was head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Though the team had shortcomings, Adelman had inherited All Star point guard Tim Hardaway from the first Don Nelson era. Unfortunately, like McGrady, Hardaway was injured, and then forced to undertake a season ending knee surgery in 1995.
Pre-injury, Tim Hardaway had averaged 19 and 9 assist. Though he was expected to make a full recovery, the Warriors decided to shore up their bench and signed B.J. Armstrong during the off-season. Then Adelman began holding interviews and press conferences on the subject. During the preseason he said he would ease Hardaway back into the lineup (sound familiar?). Later he told reporters he wanted Hardaway to be more of a "scoring punch" coming off the bench. However, it seems that he ultimately believed that Armstrong was a better player than Hardaway. He used these pr tactics to appease the local media and fans base at the time, thereby justifying the unpopular decision of benching not only Hardaway but also Dream Teamer Chris Mullin for one of his former players Jerome Kersey.
In the end, the Warriors traded an "injury prone" Tim Hardaway with Chris Gatling for Bimbo Coles and a 34 year old Kevin Willis to the Miami Heat. Under Coach Pat Riley, the same "injury prone" Tim Hardaway immediately became the starter, was either an All-NBA first or second team member for the following 3 years, and led the Miami Heat to the playoffs for the following 6 seasons. Meanwhile Adelman was relieved of his duties after his second year at Golden State with a record of 66-98
Adelman has portrayed McGrady as a player that can no longer play the game at an All Star level:
"He was a great player. We're trying to see if we can keep a flow where he can keep his touches and not put the whole onus on him right now. That's the dilemma."
"A player of his caliber, he's smart, he's got skills other people don't have. They're in him. All the things he did before that came easy, suddenly they're harder. When you try to incorporate that into your game as a team, that's the thing I'm struggling with. I'm trying to figure it out. As talented as he is and as smart as he is, once he gets going, he's going to find a way. I don't know how long it's going to take."
Admittedly, Tracy McGrady has been more prone to injury than his peers, but so had Tim Hardaway. Adelman made the wrong assessment of one player, so one must now wonder about his assessment of McGrady. Some might support Adelman by arguing that McGrady is too old. The fact is that countless of NBA superstars are older: Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter (McGrady's cousin and two years his senior), and Kenyon Martin (who is not only 2 years older but has had the same micro fracture surgery). All of these players are key contributors on contending teams.
The question that Houston Rockets and McGrady fans should ask is: is Tracy McGrady truly done or is Rick Adelman running him out of Houston as he once pushed Tim Hardaway out of Golden State? The last thing Rocket fans want to see is a Tracy McGrady buyout (like the aforementioned Bonzi Wells), landing T-Mac on the Phoenix Suns or the Miami Heat for the playoffs. Only time will tell if we are witnessing the saga of Tim Hardaway part
