T-Mac Back on Nov. 18?: Rockets Implications, Rumor Breakdowns and More

As of Nov. 9, the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks are atop the division with their respective records standing at 4-2. In what has been one of the most competitive divisions in recent memory, the Spur, and Hornets find themselves struggling to remain afloat. Eventually both teams will find their games as the season progresses, the Spurs more-so, but the complexity of the division would alter with a new "acquisition," the Rockets are rumored to acquire on the 18th, former all-star Tracy McGrady.

Yeah, yeah, he's not really a new acquisition, but with how much time he's missed last season, and this year in training camp, preseason etc.  McGrady finds himself a stranger on the new look run and gun Rockets. Before we divulge into the type of impact he will have on the Rockets granted he is healthy, there seem to be conflicting reports to whether McGrady will indeed return on the supposed marked date.

The news was originally broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, claiming that Tracy has targeted Nov. 18 versus Minnesota to make his return from micro-fracture knee surgery. It was partially confirmed by McGrady later as he posted on his personal website, tmac.com on a blog that he's ready to go, and feels the doctors will clear him much sooner, rather than later.

But then the Houston Chronicle had Darly Morey commenting on the situation claiming that no date had been set, and the organization and doctors have yet to agree upon a time in which they'd both feel comfortable with McGrady returning.

So who to believe?

It's been a cat and mouse sort of game the entire off-season. Immediately after the surgery, the consensus was the returning post all-star break would be the goal, as that's the general time-frame for one to recover from such an extensive surgery. With more months of rehabilitation in Chicago with Tim Grover, the "expected return date" shortened to sometime in January, in which Morey had been quoted as saying a rough time line in which he'd return.

Then not even a month later it seemed McGrady would be returning within the first month of the season, if not in time by training camp and the first game of the season. While that seemed a bit lofty, it even seemed Morey was coming around. Then when media day and pre-season approached, most fans even expected McGrady to announce he'd be there to start the season. But the Rockets organization announced that they had agreed upon a date, Nov. 23 to be exact, in which McGrady would receive an MRI, and that they'd proceed from there.

McGrady never initially confirmed the MRI, so there was some confusion to the stories behind the two. Now McGrady is saying one date, and the Rockets organization is saying another.

Personally I feel McGrady is overplaying his current condition, while the Rockets are trying to downplay it. Nov. 18 might seem too soon, but a week after wouldn't be too far out of the possibility. But this time, unlike last season in which McGrady announced to the media of his decision to go for surgery, the Rockets have control, and they will decide when he chooses to come back. Not the other way around.

At the very least, McGrady will come back sooner, rather than later, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him on court within two weeks, maybe even the rumored date, which is just over a week away.

So the exact date isn't official, but it's becoming clearer Tracy is ready to make his return to the basketball court. And with anyone's return to the court, the speculation begins.

The first question is, how much of his game has he lost? Based on last season, one could infer, his days of being an all-star are long past him, and anything more than being the most expensive role player in the league would be wishful thinking. 

The optimist would look at the sort of games even last season, where he was clearly injured and out of shape and the type of games he was able to produce when he was able to get rest or receive shots before the game. You can point to the 26-point game against the Celtics, followed by the 30/8/8 game against the Blazers, the 27 points against the Suns, the 16 point fourth quarter against the Wizards, or the week in which he averaged nearly a triple double and 20 points per game.

He had other games in which he showed flashes of his former self, but in general, his inability to move on the perimeter both offensively and defensively made him a liability on the floor, the cause for him opting for micro-fracture knee surgery.

It's clear he's lost a considerable amount of weight, and at now at a weight level in which he's performed at All-NBA caliber before in his career. It doesn't mean he'll return to that level.But the first step in getting back to that level is getting into shape. It should not only help with his quickness and first step, but the elevation he sorely needs to get the arc in his shot.

If all McGrady does in his return is make plays with his court vision and passing ability, they'll benefit. With the Rockets' hot start, they've relied on Adelman's offense, and their heart and hustle to overcome lineup deficits and win games. They have all the pieces, the only thing the Rockets lack is a man that draws the attention of multiple defenders and has the ability to either create for himself or his teammates in the closing minutes of a ball game.

We saw it against the Lakers, one of the Rockets' few losses in this early season. In overtime, Brooks and Ariza had key turnovers which changed the momentum of the game. No bigger than the final possession in which the Rockets had the chance to win, but failed to even get a shot off. The Rockets' free flowing offense and hustle is working to perfection now, but when the Rockets go on those type of droughts against the better teams, having that guy who's shown he can handle double teams and make plays is crucial.

That's where McGrady can come in. He can either act as a decoy or reclaim his place as an NBA All-Star. If the latter were to happen, everyone would fall into their roles, Scola, Brooks, and Ariza acting as secondary scorers feeding off a player that garners more attention, while the likes of Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, and Kyle Lowry do their thing.

There's always the question whether he'd buy into the system, and while completely buying into a more free flowing offense would be optimistic, with everything McGrady has gone through from criticism and hate - it'd be awfully dumb of him to go against that team concept, that so far this season is working. It'd be his team, and frankly, the level he plays at will determine how much success the Rockets will experience.

The final question, is who gets the boot in the rotation? It's definitely not Shane Battier, or Trevor Ariza, so all sings would point toward the rookie Chase Budinger. But with the way he's played, and how crucial he's been in the Rockets wins, it's hard to think the Rockets would just cut off his minutes when all he's done is prove he's deserving of more.

Instead of on the wing, I'd actually guess the minutes to be cut at the big man positions, and in the back court. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rockets go small ball at times, which would unfortunately take up all of David Anderson's minutes, and giving Scola more time at the C position.

By seasons end, assuming everyone is intact, I'd think the rotation would be something like the following:

PG - Aaron Brooks (32) - Kyle Lowry (16)

SG - Tracy McGrady (33) - Shane Battier (11) - Kyle Lowry (4)

SF - Trevor Ariza (33) - Chase Budinger (15)

PF - Luis Scola (8) - Carl Landry (26) - Shane Battier (14)

Cc - Chuck Hayes (24) - Luis Scola (24)

Give or take a few, but I'd expect a sort of rotation similar to the one above would be the most realistic and beneficial towards the Rockets putting the best lineup on the floor all night long.

Whatever date T-Mac and the Rockets will re-unite, one thing is for certain, the date is approaching sooner rather than later, and depending on how well McGrady can play will determine the greater successes, or failures the Rockets will face this season. Should be a good ride, is Houston ready to come back to Earth with their undermanned roster? Or ready to blast off with the continued play of the consummate team effort and the addition of McGrady? Something tells me the latter, we'll see.