The B-Side: Two Once-Injured Players, Passing Quietly in the Night

The B-Side is a recurring feature here at Bleacher Report that gives kudos to the unheralded: the brilliantly executed set that leads to a bland layup, the swarming coverage that causes a shot clock violation or even the phenomenal move that ends with a blown finish. Every night in the NBA is filled with plays that are noteworthy for a wide variety of reasons, and this space is set aside to enjoy the alternatives to the standard highlight—one clip at a time.

Tracy McGrady sizes up his man, throws in an ineffective ball fake and triggers from the right wing. He finds his way to the paint with his defender safely behind him and quickly converts a bounce into a finger-roll; the transition is as seamless as it ever was, but his exploitation of the open space at the rim is a bit lacking.

His finish is too soft, and although his previously-nameless defender was once left in the dust, he arises from obscurity to hurl the shot from view in that postured way that only Kenyon Martin can.

Considering the pasts of these two players, a collision this specific and telling should probably spark some kind of nostalgia. Yet this particular play was just one of many on Tuesday night, and one that registers little import and frankly, little emotion.

McGrady was intriguing as a tragic figure, but he's since revived his career and instead become a relatively commonplace last-legs veteran. His name still hearkens back to daydreams of 13 points scored in 35 seconds, but while McGrady's downfall due to injury was truly unfortunate, his current state is merely the circle of life.

He's gone through his basketball life cycle at an accelerated rate, but to see him swatted on a finger roll is hardly different than seeing Reggie Miller chased down by Tayshaun Prince; time comes for all basketball players, and although McGrady was once one of the truly transcendent scorers of his time, there's hardly tragedy in him playing out his days in peace as a Hawk and contributing however he can.

Martin presents a very different case as a once-jaw-dropping leaper who has settled in as an occasional source of blocks and dunks. He too has seen some of his game claimed by injury, but because Martin never reached the heights that McGrady did and managed to sneer away any goodwill he may have otherwise garnered, he simply remains a more neutral shade of the player he once was.

McGrady was an experience, while Martin was a mere player. Although K-Mart once had a legitimate claim as one of the league's top dunkers, he never galvanized like Blake Griffin or even inspired awe like Gerald Green. Martin was simply a pretty solid player who dunked hard and often.

K-Mart was violent without being visceral, impressive without flirting with the impossible and ultimately a man who was already mortal, undercut further by shaky knees.

Neither player is what they once were, but why reminisce? Martin leapt to block McGrady and secure his highlight fodder, even if it was wear and tear that actually claimed McGrady's shot in the first place.

There are times when the juxtapositions of the game speak, but this isn't one of them. It's merely two players, with better years behind them, colliding in the most convenient way possible.