It's the Hangover Edition of the mailbag, so keep the shouting to a minimum.
Too late.
Tracy McGrady, his exit from the Rockets and his possible inclusion on the West All-Stars sparked reaction, Gilbert Arenas and his determination to show the Wizards the way out sparked reaction, and even a new role for Sebastian Telfair sparked reaction. Poor Telfair. Minding his own business, happy with life out of the spotlight, embracing his reserve role ... and still gets slammed.
To the letters, at least partially in a whisper.
How dare you. T-Mac is not playing on the Rockets by the choice of their management, not because he is not physically able to play. And don't tell me he doesn't deserve it either because, No. 1, he is their best player (even when he's playing injured) and, No. 2, he has done more for the franchise than possibly everyone else except for the Dream. And don't give me that never-went-more-than-one-round stuff. The fact that a team with T-Mac and a bunch of role players is expected to go beyond the first round is a compliment and adds to his reputation.
Speaking of which, let's not forget that in his prime, he was put in the same sentence as Kobe. I don't blame you for trying to take him off the All-Star list for Deron Williams. [Williams] is a great player too, but he will never be mentioned along with Kobe or T-Mac. We (the collective NBA community, including yourself) all saw what happened with Dwyane Wade last year. Why not give T-Mac the same chance?
Maybe the All-Star game is what he needs, you never know. After all, this league's slogan IS "Where Amazing Happens." Maybe it's time it happened.
Sincerely yours, and I apologize for any rudeness in the text.
--Alex, Phoenix
I like anyone who can be so polite yet chastising. Moses Malone, Clyde Drexler, Rudy Tomjanovich, Calvin Murphy and Elvin Hayes may want to talk over your assessment of No. 2 after Hakeem Olajuwon. And if you literally meant someone who has done the most for the franchise beyond Dream, not just the second-best player, it's easily Rudy T, a success in coaching as well as playing.
No question McGrady had some very good moments, but it's a safe bet that most people in Houston would consider his five-plus seasons a disappointment. He did take some undeserving blame for the string of quick playoff eliminations -- T-Mac was great in defeat against the Jazz in 2008. That's the price for getting a superstar salary, though.
I am an avid basketball fan and I love the NBA. I am writing in regards to the McGrady All-Star article. It was a very good article, but I am writing to just vent to say that the All-Star voting needs to be re-evaluated. It just makes me upset because there's no way McGrady or Iverson should even be on the All-Star ballots, let alone mentioned in All-Star conversation.
I think it is very appealing to have fan voting, but it needs to be limited input, in my opinion. I feel that the All-Star game should be just that: an All-Star game for the best performers in the NBA the first half of the season. I think that there should be criteria to qualify, like a minimum number of games played. I think that only the players who meet the criteria should be placed on the ballot. Fans will continue to vote for their favorite players if their name is on there. I think fans should be able to select the final five bench spots for both the East and the West. That way, it gives the most deserving players a chance to shine.
I guarantee if they put Michael Jordan's name on the ballot today, he would make the All-Star team this year.
--Kalonji, Edgewood, Md.
If McGrady and Allen Iverson are both voted starters, it's going to prompt a new round of debate about the process. I'm fine with the current popularity contest as long as no one tries to suggest the outcome matters (along the lines of the silliness of baseball awarding World Series home field advantage to the All-Star winner) and as long as no one complains when some winner of the fan vote means a deserving candidate has to be left off. You can't have it both ways.
The game itself is meaningless, as anyone who has ever watched the effort on defense will attest, so there's nothing wrong with fans treating it as meaningless. But, yes, a gathering of actual All-Stars would be a great thing, ideally with teams chosen by players themselves, especially considering no major NBA postseason award is selected by players.
Attaching criteria is an interesting consideration, but impossible as long as paper ballots are still used . There isn't enough time for a season to develop to see who is playing, print the ballots, have the ballots in circulation, tally the votes and still meet the deadlines to allow coaches to pick the reserves.
Gilbert Arenas is a "Zero"... just like his nickname suggests. We don't need to wait for him to show his true form as we're seeing it now. He's always been EXTREMELY overrated and we're seeing the true Agent Zero. When you "self-impose" a nickname with the word "zero," that should be a very prominent sign. He's a nobody, he's overrated and, as he says HIMSELF, he's a zero.
--Justin
And Gilbert thought knee injuries were tough.
I'm not on board with the nobody vote. Averaging 22.7 points, 6.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds after basically missing two seasons has to count for something. Critical is fine. But Arenas, while hardly worth the $111-million contract, is still a big-time scorer.
So I decided to read in between the lines of your article, and basically I can sum up the entire thing in a few choice words describing Sebastian Telfair's current status as an NBA player. And it goes as follows: "Six years into his career, at least Sebastian Telfair isn't sucking more than he did before despite his lower number. But he's still pretty close."
Overall, the guy is still a huge flop based on the hype, but I still think there are teams where his skills can be put to good use in the pros, even more than another flop like Kwame Brown. But all fantasies aside , he's at best a third-string point guard on a contender, and perhaps a backup on a low-seeded playoff team.
The stats you pulled, I assume to justify his growth as a less-erratic player, are borderline ludicrous. Five points and two assists in 15 minutes of play, and then a side note about his best shooting percentage to date. Let's zero in on that last statistic. Forty-one percent shooting, up from his previous mark of 40 percent, I think it was. When a player's role is vastly reduced, as in the case of Telfair, his offensive load is decreased so the shots Telfail takes are for the most part high-percentage shots such as fast break and wide-open looks, or other shots created by the natural flow of the offense. One would expect his shooting percentage to be through the roof with this knowledge, yet he's still barely able to top his previous high. This measly one-percent increase is an utter failure.
--Dave
If the story was about Telfair charging toward the Hall of Fame, you'd have me. His career is not going as well as he and others would have hoped. But it was a profile of a player who has matured and is finally feeling comfortable about his place in the NBA after years of a losing battle with hype, not an article that nominated him for stardom.
I can't let your flawed logic pass, either. The smaller role a player has, the more open looks and fast-break opportunities he gets? Huh? The guy is playing about 30 percent of each game, not the final five minutes of garbage-time blowouts without much structure.
Even if the Knicks manage to cut enough cap space to seem enticing next summer, could they really be considered a legitimate contender? There are too many holes to fill, right?
Could you really see LeBron, D-Wade or even Chris Bosh in the blue and orange?
--Nathan, Crawley, England
I don't see contender next season, but I definitely see the potential for a big leap forward. Look at it this way: If James leaves Cleveland, even if he doesn't leave for New York, the Cavaliers are capsized. Same if Wade leaves Miami. Then the East is left with Orlando and whatever final push the Celtics can squeeze from the calendar, plus maybe Atlanta, depending on Joe Johnson and his free agency. Is it so impossible to imagine someone racing up those standings?
I think the Knicks will make a major addition. And remember, they can also use cap space to make trades without having to send players in return, a huge advantage. One mega-free agent combined with a good player in trade combined with the improving Danilo Gallinari combined with either David Lee or a possible return from a David Lee sign-and-trade and New York has meaningful progress.
That's a lot of variables, but one jackpot signing is all it takes, and the Knicks can offer that jackpot. Coach Mike D'Antoni is popular with players, a lot of still appreciate the Garden has a special energy when it's rocking, and the playoffs will be in sight. If wins follow, so will future free agents.
Lots of holes, yes. But also lots of possibilities.
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