Remember Grant Hill, that player the Orlando Magic stole from the lowly Detroit Pistons, lined his pockets with $93 million over seven years, then watched him play only 18 games in the last two years?
Word out of Orlando is that the pain is gone and Training Camp 2002 is the target date for his return to the court. He has been primarily undertaking exercises in the pool to help strengthen the ankle, which has now had three successive surgeries, the Magic and Hill hoping three is a charm.
"Once I get on the court I'm just going to appreciate being out there," said Hill. "That's first and foremost. But I believe I will be able to come back and play at a high level. Now, what exactly will my numbers be, and will I be the man? I don't know and I don't care. I just think that physically I'll be able to come back and be somebody that my teammates can be confident in. And I don't think I was confident the last time around."
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John Denton of the Florida Today reports: A day after his Magic were pushed to the brink of elimination,Tracy McGrady boldly guaranteed that Orlando would win Tuesday's Game 4 and force a return to Charlotte for a Game 5. McGrady also stressed that despite Davis' magnificent triple-double performance on Saturday, he was indeed the best player on the floor.
"Oh, I am. No question," McGrady said with a playful smile and his usual confident swagger. "He's not the best player. You look at Baron's team and look at my team, then you understand that he has a lot more help. He has guys who can score, guys who can rebound on a nightly basis.
"Our guys are kind of inconsistent and we're always searching for guys to come in and rebound. All the focus and attention really isn't on him. With their defense, all the focus is on shutting me down."
Despite the dire circumstances the Magic are in, McGrady feels his Magic can rally to win the next two games and ultimately the series. The basis for his argument is that the series has been so close throughout. Each of the past two games have gone to overtime and Game 1 was decided by one point.
"Yeah, I'm going to guarantee it," McGrady said. "I don't want to go on vacation right now. So I have to guarantee that there's going to be a Game 5."
"I'm not running from anything," McGrady added. "I'm not afraid of anything."
Added McGrady: "I'm trying to carry the load, and it's not easy doing it by myself. I need some help and these are the guys on my team and they're the ones who have to help me."
Via Florida Today
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He issued a 'guarantee' on Sunday that the Magic would take this series back to Charlotte, the city he called (to be kind) "a boring place."
He reassured everyone that he's still the best player out there, as if he merely loaned the title to Baron Davis for Game 3.
He shouted in mock disgust, "I'm not afraid! I'll take the blame here!" after being asked about Allen Iverson's public sprint from responsibility as Philly's franchise player.
Tracy McGrady then ambled out to one of the 12 cars he owns after practice. (Who needs 12 cars -- other than Jeff Gordon?)
McGrady, 22, is a rich, brash, fun-loving kid, but we're lucky he's mature beyond his years.
We're lucky he doesn't take up too many parking spaces. We're lucky he sees the big picture and L.A.'s not in it. We're lucky, most of all, that he's patient.
"I have patience," McGrady said, leaning against his Mercedes. "A lot of patience."
The Magic should not test it.
McGrady wants to play for a contender. He needs help in Orlando. He needs Grant Hill to be healthy, of course. He needs a good big man for his team to be taken seriously.
Tracy once said he wanted to be the "winningest cat" in the NBA and he'd prefer to be purring here until retirement. He's at his home-base, having grown up in Auburndale.
He believes he'll be well on his way to wrestling Shaq and Kobe for rings by the time he can become a free agent again. He is doing the math and figures that he'll be only 25 when he can exercise an "out" in the fifth year of his seven-year $90-million contract he signed in the summer of 2000.
"I don't want to think about that," he said.
"How long did it take Michael Jordan to win a championship? Seven, eight years? I feel the help is going to come."
All the same, General Manager John Gabriel better realize T-Mac's contract countdown is on.
Gabriel has three seasons to keep his superstar happy — and keep him from even listening to recruiting pitches. Teams will come a'courtin' T-Mac in the summer of 2005. This time, it'll seem like the Great California Gold Rush compared to his exit from Toronto as a promising but uncertified star.
As bleak as the prospects for big men might be, Gabriel has to somehow find McGrady a rebounder. Or the climate will turn and it could be Gabe looking for another team.
The Magic don't look that far away from contending in the pliable East. They've spotted the Hornets a few good men and are still within a play or two of sweeping them, given two close losses. Looks can deceive.
"You look at Baron's team and you look at my team," McGrady said, referring to the Hornets' spectacular point guard. "He has a lot more help. He has guys who can score and rebound on a nightly basis. Our guys are kind of inconsistent."
The Magic must assemble the parts while McGrady is young and too full of fame and faith to doubt the future. Because down the road, the stars who carry the load and the burden of blame eventually discover the role wears on them like wool underwear.
Hill left Detroit to get out from under that weight. It's enough to make Iverson lose his head and foolishly proclaim he's not the Sixers' best player. "You don't want Tracy to panic. He won't. I won't," Coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't think Tracy gets discouraged. He's still learning."
Learning and earning a Ph.D in patience.
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Magic Apr 2002 Archive
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 29, 2002
The Charlotte Hornets returned to practice Sunday mellow, focused and intent on trying to end this series in Game 4.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 29, 2002
Tracy McGrady looked pretty silly, and he felt that way too, lying atop a boulder-sized big yellow rubber ball.
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| Apr 29, 2002
Baron Davis beat the Magic twice yesterday
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| Apr 27, 2002
Tracy McGrady, the star shooting guard from the Orlando Magic, Thursday flew in his therapist after the Magic decided to take a more aggressive approach to his strained back, Ken Hornack of the Daytona Beach News-Journal is reporting.
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ESPN | Apr 26, 2002
The (AP) reports: Jamal Mashburn will remain in Charlotte to be treated for anemia and vitamin deficiency while his Charlotte Hornets teammates play Game 3 in their playoff series against the Orlando Magic.
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Lakeland Ledger | Apr 26, 2002
Now that Ben Wallace of the Detroit Pistons has emerged as the most dominant inside player in the Eastern Conference, there is some curiosity and confusion about how the Orlando Magic "let him get away.
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Florida Today | Apr 26, 2002
To truly put Troy Hudson's rapid rise and game-saving, 26-point performance in Game 2 of the Orlando Magic's playoff series into perspective, you must flash back to his lowly status a year ago.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 26, 2002
Tracy McGrady sat out the Magic practice as a precaution Thursday because of his sore lower back, but not everyone believed he was feeling less than full strength.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 26, 2002
Not once, not twice, but three times last season the Orlando Magic tried to replace Troy Hudson with a more reliable, more dependable, more consistent guard to be the backup to Darrell Armstrong.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 26, 2002
Ashbrook High School has honored three of its former basketball players by framing their numbers and putting them on display on a wall in the school cafeteria.
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| Apr 24, 2002
Hornets forward Jamal Mashburn, an expected starter in last night’s game 2 in the series against the Orlando Magic, became dizzy at 4pm yesterday and returned to hospital.
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| Apr 23, 2002
"It was a bad move," Magic coach Doc Rivers admits.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 22, 2002
Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Magic President Bob Vander Weide, in Charlotte for the start of this playoff series, said this weekend that the DeVos family would likely reopen discussions again about adding an ownership partner in the future.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 22, 2002
As the Magic made their way to the court for practice, the little silver-haired assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets was walking out.
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| Apr 21, 2002
With the Charlotte Hornets down 74-62 at home to the Orlando Magic in the opening game of the team’s playoff series, Charlotte was in desperate need for a spark to propel them back into the game.
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| Apr 19, 2002
Charlotte Hornets star Baron Davis will today miss the team’s practice after the All-Star flew back to Los Angeles Thursday to be with his grandmother who suffered a stroke, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting.
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nba.com | Apr 17, 2002
The following suspensions and fines have been announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations, resulting from an altercation during the Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks game on April 16:
The Hawks’ Jason Terry has been suspended without pay for one game and fined $10,000 for throwing a punch at and fighting with the Magic’s Don Reid.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 17, 2002
Like almost everybody else in Georgia, Doc Rivers was tempted to buy a Big Game lottery ticket Tuesday.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 17, 2002
Changing their mind
Mike Miller went on the injured list Tuesday morning, but not before the Magic first announced that it was rookie Steven Hunter going on the list with patella tendinitis to make room for Jud Buechler on the active roster.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 17, 2002
The quest for the No.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 17, 2002
It's hard to imagine a victory feeling this empty.
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Lakeland Ledger | Apr 17, 2002
A chant of "MVP! MVP!" breaks out at every Orlando Magic home game as the 2001-2002 regular season winds down.
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Florida Today | Apr 17, 2002
Technically, the Comeback Player of the Year award does not exist in the NBA.
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Florida Today | Apr 17, 2002
Who: Orlando Magic vs.
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AP | Apr 16, 2002
The (AP) reports: The Orlando Magic, who have lost three straight games and are battling for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, placed guard-forward Mike Miller on the injured list Tuesday with a sprained left ankle.
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Philadelphia Daily News | Apr 15, 2002
Phil Jasner of the Daily News reports that with yesterday's win in Orlando, the Sixers have finally secured a spot in the playoffs.
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| Apr 15, 2002
It seems Orlando’s Tracy McGrady cannot shake the spasms in his back, the rising star tweaked his back in the final minutes of a loss against the Philadelphia 76ers after skying to block an attempt by Matt Harping.
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| Apr 14, 2002
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting that a poll taken last week with 20 writers, 10 from the East and 10 from the West, had New Jersey’s Jason Kidd taking the MVP award on 10 ballots, Tim Duncan from San Antonio just behind him with 9 and Shaquille O’Neal registering one.
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| Apr 13, 2002
John Denton of Florida Today reports that despite expected pleas from the Orlando Magic to play on forward Horace Grant still plans to retire at this seasons end.
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| Apr 12, 2002
Heading into the game in Orlando against the Magic the New Jersey Nets knew that if they were to be treated seriously in this playoff campaign that they needed to re-establish a presence on the road.
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Florida Today | Apr 10, 2002
There's a major problem looming for the Orlando Magic -- and it has nothing to do with the Charlotte Hornets being dead-head come playoff time.
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Houston Chronicle | Apr 9, 2002
Tonight, Orlando's Patrick Ewing will likely make his last appearance as a player in Madison Square Garden.
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Houston Chronicle | Apr 9, 2002
One thing no one was willing to argue about was Tracy McGrady's taking over when it was time to do so and the fact there was little the Rockets could do about it.
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| Apr 7, 2002
Is Kobe overrated?
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| Apr 7, 2002
Jud Buechler won three championships playing with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, which set up a nice contract for himself with the Detroit Pistons when the dynasty was dismantled back in 1998.
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Florida Today | Apr 5, 2002
John Denton of the Florida Today reports: With icepacks strapped to both of his tendinitis-ravaged knees, Orlando forward Horace Grant limped out of the arena following the Magic's morning practice Wednesday and stressed that he still plans to retire at season's end.
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Florida Today | Apr 5, 2002
With icepacks strapped to both of his tendinitis-ravaged knees, Orlando forward Horace Grant limped out of the arena following the Magic's morning practice Wednesday and stressed that he still plans to retire at season's end.
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Orlando Sentinel | Apr 3, 2002
Carolyn Peck is leaving the Orlando Miracle to coach the Florida Gators women's basketball team.
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NBA.com | Apr 2, 2002
The Orlando Magic have signed guard Jaren Jackson to a 10-day contract, General Manager John Gabriel announced today.
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Newsday | Apr 1, 2002
Has Ewing got one foot in the NBA grave?
