Just as the Rockets were tiring of T-Mac’s injury shenanigans, the oft-injured scorer decided to shut it down and get microfracture knee surgery. I feel bad that T-Mac’s having the prime of his career robbed by injuries, not unlike Grant Hill. But I don’t feel bad about calling out the media members that hyped up this Houston squad like it was the favorite in the Western Conference before the season began, just because they had acquired Ron Artest. Seriously, how could you look at this roster knowing its top stars are two of the most injury-prone dudes around — T-Mac and Yao — and call them the favorite to win anything other than most time spent in the training room.
Now what might be the worst part of this injury is the repurcussion. Sean Deveney at Sporting News wrote last week that Vince Carter was on the block, with the Spurs and Rockets battling for his services. Chad Ford now says the Nets are talking with the Blazers as well. I’m still trying to figure out what teams want to do with a guy owed $33 million over the next two years, considering he no longer poses the same scoring threat that he used to. I’m not sure how McGrady’s knee injury would impact a potential trade, but I do know that despite his ankle injuries, trading Artest for Carter won’t help the team. VC is slower and not as dynamic as he used to be. In the Nets games I’ve watched this year, he’s never hit an outside shot on a consistent basis. I just can’t see a team acquiring him and really improving. Last year I was wrong saying that Jason Kidd was the trade-deadline answer for a desperate team. I won’t make that same mistake this year with Carter. As for Houston, how could you not see this coming?
