Blame the Flu for Tracy McGrady’s Rough Weekend? Houston Had Better Hope So

The Rockets split a pair of games in Los Angeles this weekend, nudging the then-winless Clippers on Friday and getting smacked in the mouth by the Lakers Sunday. The loss to LAL really was something -- the Lakers outscored Houston by 41 points in the last three quarters.

Tracy McGrady was particularly horrible in both games, scoring three points on 11 FGAs against the Lakers and two points on five FGAs against the Clips. After Sunday's loss, McGrady noted Friday's poor performance came with a bout of the flu.

"It was rough," McGrady said. "It was probably the two worst games of my career. When you play a long time like that, you're going to have some games like that. Unfortunately, I had two in a row. ... I had the flu (on Friday). I was pretty bad off the other day. Tonight was just a bad game."

But anyone who has seen McGrady at all this season has noted how much slower than usual he looks. Mac missed most of the preseason because of some lingering problems with his left knee, on which he had surgery this summer. McGrady is typically an able defender, but he's been getting burned all over the court this season. And obviously, his offense is nowhere near where it should be.

The Rockets can't contend with McGrady playing so poorly. Let's all hope for the sake of Houston that the flu really did squelch Mac this weekend, and that it wasn't his knee (or shoulder) doing the damage.

Blame the Flu for Tracy McGrady's Rough Weekend? Houston Had Better Hope So originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.