Without Yao, McGrady has to step up.

Yao Ming is out with a foot injury for the rest of the year and playoffs and many of the experts think that the season is over. Mainly because the western conference is so tough. The eighth seed is ten games over .500. It seems as if the casual basketball fan loves Tracy McGrady, and what's not to love. he scores a lot of points, he takes a lot of shots, and he plays above average defense..... when he wants too. While I do agree he is an above average player, he is not one of the great ones. He shoots under 45% every year, he doesn't consistently play defense at the level he's capable of, but more importantly, he does not make his teammates better. For his much publisized first round failures, he's had at least a few teams more talented than their opponents, but wasnt able to get over the hump. Here's the ultimate bailout for him, getting this team in the playoffs in the the tough West. He can lose in the first round yet again, but people will give him a pass this year because he will be "shorthanded." Making the playoffs would be a minor miracle...... but since McGrady is so "great" and he has an average supporting cast at the very least, he should get them at least to the 8th seed. Time to earn that"greatness" label.