He's not dead, he's just resting.
Watching Tracy McGrady reminds me of that Monty Python sketch about the parrot.
He's not a quitter; he's a rester. He takes it easy for as long as he thinks he can get away with it. Symptoms:
1. Often stands at the top of the key dribbling, betting that he can juke his man at the last moment and put in a long 3.
2. Often stands inert on the perimeter during the occasional offensive or defensive possession, essentially taking a mini-vacation.
3. Relaxes his game when he's comfortable with a lead (see: frequent 4th quarter collapses).
4. Same problem with whole-game performances. Raises his game when he thinks he needs to (e.g. 04-05 Games 1 and 2 in Dallas), but avoids working that hard if he's confident of victory (e.g. this whole series).
5. Played tremendously when Yao was out, then relaxed when Yao returned.
6. Avoids going to the rim, even in playoffs, conserving his back for some undefined professional future.
7. Almost never seriously chastises himself in postgame comments after sucking. Says he's confident and will just keep at it. Constantly alludes to his own gifts.
8. Has a habit of getting 2-game leads in series and then blowing them.
9. That play before halftime -- hey, it's only halftime. We've got plenty of time to come back and win it, just like we did in Games 1 and 2 ... right?
Conclusions:
1. The problem is not that he won't play hard, raise his tempo, go to the rim, etc., when he thinks the game or the season is on the line. He'll do that. He's proven it time and again.
2. The problem is that, like the ant that lost to the grasshopper, he relaxes too long. He underestimates the opponent and overestimates his ability to recover. It's possible that subconsciously he even prefers the drama of performing at his peak with the game on the line to the boring work of performing at his peak with a 15-point lead.
I don't think it's an accident that in each of his 2 playoff series with us so far, he has lost the 3rd and 4th games after winning the 1st and 2nd. And this time, I think he's been slacking the whole series. I think he's counting on his magnificent talents to pull it out at the end.
But he has really, really bad judgment about when he needs to turn it on, and how high. I'm not afraid he won't raise his game in this series. He will. I'm just afraid that by the time he does, he won't have left enough margin for error. And guess what, Tracy? If you lose a 7-game series, you really are the worse team. Nobody cares whether you sucked or coasted.
Now get in there and fight like there's no tomorrow.
