"I felt all of it. I felt every minute, every second of it, absolutely," said McGrady, whose teams have never advanced past the first round of the playoffs. "K is my man. We're both with Adidas and I'm around him a lot. We talk. I just know some of the things that he's been through. I'm kind of in those shoes.
"I can only imagine when that time comes. You take so much criticism through the years. It's your fault. But when your time finally comes and you shut everybody up, it's your time. You let the emotions out."
No one can question that McGrady is a poten tial Hall of Famer. The seven-time All-Star has averaged 22.3 points in his 12-year career, is a three-time All-NBA first-team selection, and was the 2001 Most Improved Player. He has the fourth-highest scoring average in playoff history at 28.5 points per game, behind Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Jerry West.
Yet even with all of that hardwood success, the big knock against McGrady is that he has not been past the first round of the playoffs. While playing for coach Doc Rivers in Orlando in 2003, McGrady was quoted as saying it would be great to "finally be in the second round" after the Magic took a 3-1 series lead over Detroit. However, the Pistons won three straight to claim the series.
McGrady was overcome with emotion when the Rockets were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs two years ago, and again last season when they were missing Yao Ming.
"I'm pretty content with what I've accomplished to this point," he said. "I wish there could be some things that could be different, but it is what it is."
Now the Rockets are hoping to blast off toward the franchise's third championship, as they acquired talented yet troubled forward Ron Artest via trade in August. The addition gives them their own version of "The Big Three."
The rejuvenated Rockets (3-0) host the Celtics tonight in Houston in what could be a preview of the NBA Finals.
