McGrady signs on in Motown
Basketball Betting Lines
08/16/2010 - Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Pistons announced the signing of veteran swingman Tracy McGrady to a one-year contract Monday.
According to the Detroit Free Press, McGrady will play for the league minimum of $1.35 million for a veteran with 10 or more years of service.
McGrady appeared in a combined 30 games last season for Houston and New York. He had limited playing time in six games with the Rockets after recovering from microfracture knee surgery and was dealt to the Knicks. In 24 games for New York, he averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
"I wanted to play basketball," McGrady was quoted as saying on the Pistons' website. "That's what I told (team president Joe Dumars). I wanted to play basketball. If anybody knows me, I don't show a lot of emotion, but I have a chip on my shoulder. I carry things in the back of my mind. That's what really motivates me."
The 31-year-old went to the NBA directly out of high school and was selected by Toronto with the ninth overall pick of the 1997 draft. He's also played for Orlando in his 13-year career and owns career averages of 21.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists.
McGrady was the NBA scoring champion in 2002-03 and 2003-04 with the Magic and averaged 24-plus points in seven consecutive seasons from 2000-07. A seven- time All-Star selection and two-time First-Team All-NBA choice, McGrady ranks 10th amongst active players in career points and has played in 38 career playoff games, averaging 28.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
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Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.