Who’s ‘The Man’ in Houston? McGrady Says, ‘Who Cares?’

It ruined the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant pairing in Los Angeles, but Tracy McGrady won't let it derail Houston's title hopes.

With McGrady and Yao Ming, the Rockets resemble the Shaq-Kobe Lakers - one team, two superstars. One player has to be "the man,'' and O'Neal and Bryant both demanded that role.
McGrady doesn't care.

"I never did,'' he said. "I had no choice (in Orlando) but to go out and carry the team, because I didn't have Grant Hill. When I came here, I've got a big guy that I can go throw the ball to and he gets 25 shots a night and I could defer to him.''

When McGrady joined Orlando from Toronto, it was thought he would be Hill's sidekick, but Hill never stayed healthy.

McGrady turned into one of the league's most explosive scorers while playing for some bad teams, but he's never advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs. He said he believes the way to make it happen is by riding on the back of his 7-foot-6 center, who McGrady says is playing at an "MVP-caliber level.''

"I'm all about winning. I'm a very unselfish player,'' he said. "For me, it's all about getting Ws. I've won scoring championships. I don't care about none of that stuff no more. I'm at a point in my career where I just want to win ballgames. So if that's going out averaging 12, 15 points and we're winning ballgames, so be it.''

Not everyone agrees that a player who won two scoring titles and is one of league's most talented offensive players is best served being a No. 2 option.

"For (Houston) to go to the next level, Tracy McGrady cannot be the second man on the team,'' announcer Doug Collins said during TNT's telecast of the Rockets' game against the Bulls last Thursday. "He has to be the dominant guy on this team and not run away from the responsibility of being their best player.''

McGrady's way is working now. Yao has dominated, and the Rockets, who struggled last season when both players frequently were hurt, look like a contender in the tough Southwest Division.
"I think it's death with either one, because they're both capable of winning the basketball game,'' Knicks coach Isiah Thomas said. "It's a matter of pick your poison.''

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source : NBA.com