McGrady Says He Wasn't Guaranteeing A Return Next Week

Houston Rockets shooting guard Tracy McGrady(notes) says his hope of making his season debut Nov. 18 is just a "target date," nothing more.

McGrady, who's still attempting to return from microfracture surgery on his left knee, gave that date in an e-mail to Yahoo! Sports on Monday. On Tuesday, he said that wasn't meant as a guarantee.

"I didn't say I was coming back; I said it was a target date just like we have a date to have the MRI on the 23rd," McGrady told the Houston Chronicle. "Everybody is blowing it out of proportion like I'm guaranteed to come back. I want to play, so that's what we're targeting. I've been working out every day, improving every day, and that's what it is."

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told the Chronicle that a timetable for McGrady's return hasn't been set, and that McGrady is still "off and on" in practice.
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