Is It All Tracy McGrady's Fault?

Is it all T-Mac's fault?

This summer, it will already be five years since Tracy McGrady was traded to the Houston Rockets from the Orlando Magic for then All-Star Steve Francis, among others.

Considering it was the same summer that Shaq left L.A, many considered Houston to have the new "Shaq and Kobe" in T-Mac and Yao Ming. And who could blame them? T-Mac had been the league's top scorer in the previous season, and Yao was finally acting on all that potential in his 7'6'' frame.

It seemed they were right too. T-Mac's 13 points in 30 seconds against San Antonio electrified the fanbase, and suddenly they didn't miss Steve Francis so much.

The new guy led the Rockets to their first 50-win season of the century, but lost to Dallas in game seven of the first round (though T-Mac did make the dunk of the year on Shawn Bradley).

The next year was not as promising. Injuries plagued the team and the Rockets missed the postseason. The next year was another game seven first-round loss, this time to the Utah Jazz.

Last season at least heralded some hope with a 22-game winning streak, much of it without Yao. But the Jazz again defeated them in the first round of the postseason.

Six months ago, the team traded for Ron Artest and most agreed that, finally, the team would be a true contender. But here we are, and it hasn't happened that way.

As of today, the Rockets are 33-21, earning them the fifth seed. This is fairly respectable, considering the caliber of teams in the West, but they are still only two games above the eighth spot.

And with Phoenix running seven-second offenses once again and Carlos Boozer soon returning to the Utah Jazz, how long can the Rockets hold off these teams?

The news came yesterday that McGrady is going to miss the rest of the season to undergo the dreaded "microfracture surgery." The surgery that kept Amare Stoudemire out for almost an entire season. The surgery that has effectively ended many players' careers.

Back when T-Mac played for Orlando, I remember seeing a mix comparing him to Penny Hardaway. Looking back on it, the guys do have pretty similar games. Are their careers now going to end the same way too? Shells of their former selves thanks to this surgery?

The Rockets have most definitely underachieved so far this season and cannot be seen as a threat to the title at the moment. But the question is, is this all McGrady's fault?

Is it T-Mac's fault that they haven't made it out of the first round in the last five years? Is it T-Mac's fault that they aren't being the top-tier team they were projected to be this year?

The answer is no.

I refuse to believe that a team's loss can ever be just one player's fault. He wasn't playing one-on-five, was he? No.

Did he choose to get injured? Of course not. Did he put every imaginable effort into rehabbing that he could have?

Well, I don't know in all honesty, and neither do you. only McGrady can answer that. Still, in my opinion he has.

The Houston Rockets have lost in the first round all those times, not just with McGrady.

No matter what, he will not be a part of this season for the team, and I still think that hurts them.

T-Mac's scoring is down to 15.4 PPG, the lowest since 2000, and a six point drop-off from last season. His shooting percentage of 38 percent is the lowest of his career. However, he still averages five rebounds and five assists a game, so he is not exactly useless.

This brings me to perhaps the only part of McGrady's game that has improved in the last two years: his playmaking. T-Mac is an amazing passer and now understands how to use his skills to make a play for another man, which has been seen at times this year.

His defense is still poor, despite the fact that he used to be an All-NBA defender, but this is mainly due to a lack of effort and injuries rather than simply being a defensive liability.

When healthy, T-Mac still has a lot to offer the Rockets. The problem is, he is not healthy and has not been all year. We can see how badly his leg has been hurting and it seems that surgery was inevitable. I believe it to be the right choice, and I wish all the best for T-Mac.

So, do we write off the Rockets now?

Not at all.

The Rockets can still transform themselves; they can still make it past the second round. Their 33-21 record is respectable, but we know the team is capable of more. They've been rattled by injuries for years, but they need to win no matter what now.

They need to make a statement in the second-half of the season, in the same way they did last year, and they need to follow through on that in the playoffs.

They need to beat Cleveland on Feb. 26 and beat the Lakers on March 11, or at least make it competitive. They need to show they can play with the big boys, and they need to squash the lower-tier teams. No more losses to Memphis or Minnesota.

They still have Yao, who, though he won't be donning a cape and becoming a fan favorite for his dunks anytime soon, is one of the top three centers in the league. No argument; he simply is. And he's a great guy, too.

Artest's offense appears to be returning lately. Apparently he is getting over those little nagging injuries.

Von Wafer is the surprise of the season and is filling the T-Mac void well with his scoring, and the Rockets have a great bench and tons of role players to help the team.

Rafer Alston is underrated as a point guard. Luis Scola is the Western Conference version of David Lee and is undoubtedly undervalued when people talk about the Rockets.

They have young talent in Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, and Luther Head. Meanwhile they also have veterans to keep them grounded and to step up in the playoffs like Brent Barry, Shane Battier, and Dikembe Mutombo, who is the most experienced player in the league.

And they have a quality coach at the helm in Rick Adelman.

This is a quality team, and I am certain they can make it to the second round as long as they stay above the seventh seed.

Of course, for McGrady, either way this season is not going to end well for him.

Say the same thing happens to the Rockets this year, losing in the first round. Again. The fans, management, and the players will have had enough.

You wouldn't be able to blame management for considering blowing the team up if this happens again. And people will blame this on T-Mac's brittleness and his absence that sealed their doom.

Or the Rockets will finally win a playoff series and will undoubtedly celebrate as if it were the finals. The city of Houston will go wild, and the fans will be happy, perhaps even if they lose in the next round.

But then someone will realize, ''Wait, we did this without T-Mac. In the five years he's been here, the only time we went on to the second round was when he wasn't on the court.''

What does that tell you? In either scenario, McGrady doesn't come out well.

I love T-Mac and I hope he comes back and beats the microfracture surgery. However, to be honest, this is a mere detail right now.

The Rockets must win. Now. They have got to stand up and make people take notice. With or without T-Mac.

It is not T-Mac's fault that they have not been successful in the playoffs. It never will be. It is no one man's fault.

But the Rockets have to either simply forget those first-round losses, or use it as fuel. They have a talented team and it is going to waste.

Injuries or no injuries, T-Mac or no T-Mac, the Houston Rockets win or lose as a team, not as individuals.