Tracy McGrady has been amazing teammates and opponents alike.

Darrell Armstrong is amazed by a lot of things teammate Tracy McGrady can do. Basketball dominance aside, put McGrady's ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime near the top of Armstrong's list. When the opportunity arises, count on McGrady grabbing some shut-eye.

"He sleeps all the time," Armstrong says. "ALL the time. He sleeps when we come in from shootaround in the locker room, waiting for that time to go back out on the floor. He sleeps on the plane. By the time the plane takes off, he's asleep. By the time he sits in his seat, he's asleep."

McGrady grabs whatever rest he can because he can forget about getting any rest from Magic coach Doc Rivers. Not this season or any season after that. McGrady may never get a breather again from Rivers, who played him 50 minutes in an overtime game against Portland. Through December 5, McGrady was second in the NBA in minutes played a game at 41.3. Only Phoenix's Jason Kidd was playing more (42.7).

Rivers sees no reason to ease up on the team's off-season acquisition, who spent the past three years in Toronto where he averaged a career-high 31.2 minutes last season.

"At 21?" Rivers said, referring to McGrady's age. "I'll play him 48 minutes for the next four years. Shoot, at 21 he should never be tired. What else does he have to do all day?"

Rivers is playing his hot hand and McGrady, literally, has one. The Magic guard has played a portion of the early season with a heavily bandaged left hand that is protecting a painful infection. It looked as though McGrady was playing with an oven mitt, but it mattered little.

In a four-game stretch from November 29 to December 5, no NBA player may have had a hotter hand. With McGrady grimacing every time a player swatted at the bandage, he responded with a combined 128 points, 32 rebounds, 15 assists, eight steals and eight blocked shots. In Orlando's December 2 game at New Jersey, McGrady poured in a career-best 40 points.

He says the injury limits his ball-handling ability, but it has yet to affect the impact he has on a game or his sense of humor. "I think the way I've been playing, I might want to keep this bandage on all year," McGrady said.

At less than 100 percent, McGrady is more than a handful for opponents. In Orlando's 83-80 victory against New Jersey on December 1, McGrady had 31 points. The performance caused Nets coach Byron Scott to say "it's scary" when asked to assess McGrady's future. Rivers also was left shaking his head after McGrady showed his coach he had reached a new level of play. "Another heroic effort," Rivers said. "It's amazing. It really is to me. I don't know how he does it."

Neither did the Nets' Kendall Gill, who had the task of guarding McGrady. Known as one of the NBA's better defenders, Gill found his best effort wasn't good enough.

"I played some great defense on him," Gill said. "I played the best defense possible I could play on him and he was still hitting shots. He is commanding the double team right now. He has an inside game and an outside game. He is very patient. He is going to be a force to be reckoned with, especially when Grant Hill gets back [from the injured list]."

Against Utah, McGrady's 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting drew this comment from Jazz coach Jerry Sloan: "He was killing us. We could not match up to him man-to-man."

That's why Sloan and so many others have tried to slow McGrady with double teams. Some players also resort to giving him a low push when he leaps for a jump shot. It's a foul Rivers say the officials have a hard time seeing. But McGrady's numbers prove there is no easy solution and as his confidence grows, it could get worse for the rest of the league.

In mid-December, McGrady was averaging 24.8 points, eighth best in the NBA, and 7.8 rebounds. He had topped 20 or more points 15 times in 19 games and had surpassed 30 five times.

"I want to get everybody involved because that's the type of player I am. I'm not a guy who's going to go out there and shoot up all the balls and be selfish." - Tracy McGrady

But one of his more impressive stats 9 and one he's very proud of 9 was his 4.1 assists a game. When the double-teams come, McGrady often has no choice but to pass to an open teammate.

He says he now knows how superstar Vince Carter felt when they played together in Toronto. Carter was the marked man who would draw the doubles. McGrady says he had the role of "bail-out guy."

McGrady is learning how to deal with the added defensive pressure, especially when it comes late with the game on the line. His solution is to often rely, unselfishly, on his teammates. It's a mentality, he says, that comes naturally.

"I want to get everybody involved because that's the type of player I am," McGrady said. "I'm not a guy who's going to go out there and shoot up all the balls and be selfish. There's nothing I can really do [when double-teamed] unless I force a lot of shots and I don't want to do that because I believe in my teammates that they can knock down shots. That's why I keep passing it out.

"We have great shooters on the perimeter. At any given time, [Pat] Garrity's going to knock down a big shot for you. [John] Amaechi will do the same or Mike Doleac or Darrell [Armstrong]."

But if McGrady wanted to be a little bit more selfish at times, Garrity says nobody would mind. McGrady, however, says he's trying to be careful to not come across as someone who's only thinking of himself.

"I don't think there's any reason for him to think that," Garrity said.

"Maybe it's just because he's young like everyone else on this team. It wouldn't upset me. It would bother no one on the team."

"It's tough for my first year," McGrady said. "I'm still trying to get accustomed to it. I'm trying to find a way to beat it, even though Grant's not on the court and even though my guys are not knocking down shots the way they can. I might have to take matters into my own hands and be a little bit more selfish.

"I just don't have that mentality right now because this is my first year with the ball in my hands this many times. Once I get that mentality, it'll definitely be a different situation. I definitely want to win the game but I want to keep my teammates happy because they're going to help me down on the other end of the court."

The return of Hill to the Magic lineup gives opponents another major problem to address. He was out for much of the early season to undergo additional rehabilitation following off-season ankle surgery, and Rivers says he's moving around better than he was during the preseason.

McGrady has surpassed Doc Rivers' expectations for scoring this season.

The possibilities of what the McGrady-Hill combination can produce almost seem unlimited. Hill has watched Orlando's other superstar from the sidelines and says he's not surprised by what McGrady has done.

"I said after the first day of training camp the guy can play," Hill said.

"He's the real deal and I think we all were somewhat shocked at just how good he is. That's a good shock, but I still think he can be better. I still think you haven't seen quite yet what he's capable of and I know he will get better."

McGrady said he couldn't wait until Hill was back in the lineup. Rivers says the offense Orlando was running early in the season wouldn't change much since it was designed with Hill and McGrady in mind. But instead of having thoughts about the two piling up points for themselves, McGrady talks about what they can do for their teammates.

"I think both of us will see double-teams," McGrady said. "I think we'll definitely handle that pretty good because if you double-team me, I'm going to find someone on my team. And Grant's a good passer. Someone's going to be open at all times. We're both great passers and we're definitely going to read the double-team pretty well."

When Orlando signed the pair in the off-season, Rivers said he felt the team was getting a Scottie Pippen type of player in McGrady, one who was capable of winning MVP awards. McGrady has certainly lived up to the enormous expectations and has provided Rivers with some pleasant surprises along the way. For one, McGrady's tougher than Rivers realized.

As if the infected hand wasn't enough to deal with, McGrady played against Boston on December 5 with a touch of the flu. He hit only two of 10 first-half shots and was bent over on the sidelines before halftime feeling dizzy. But after eating at halftime and regaining his focus, McGrady connected on 12 of 18 shots in the second half en route to 29 points and a Magic victory.

Rivers compares McGrady to Brett Favre, the Packers' hard-nosed quarterback who's known for playing in pain.

"These are the questions, I don't care how much research you do in the summer, that you don't know," Rivers said. "You don't know if he'll play when he's injured. Everyone can tell you how tough he is but everyone's toughness is at different standards. He's met ours for sure."

And McGrady also has surpassed his coach's expectations for scoring. His 40 points against New Jersey was an impressive outing, but Rivers liked more what he saw from McGrady in Orlando's next game when he had 29 against the Celtics. Rivers said it was an indication to McGrady that he's capable of having big games on a consistent basis.

"I knew he could score, but, heck, not like this," Rivers said. "He's a better shooter from the outside. I think the biggest adjustment Tracy has made is he's not settling for jump shots anymore. He's trying to take it to the bucket.

"Those first five or six games, he really was falling in love with his jumper. I think he's gotten away from that. He'll take the jumper, but he's looking to take it to the basket. I think Tracy McGrady in single coverage is a nightmare for the opponent."

That, says Garrity, is where opponents will indeed pay heavily. Teams often resort to fouling him but he has enough body control to sometimes still get his shot off for a chance at a three-point play. McGrady also shoots 71.3 percent from the free-throw line.

"When he posts up and starts backing a guy down and when he elevates ... first of all he's 6-8 and his arms are long and he can jump higher than most everyone," said Garrity, shaking his head.

While McGrady has been a perfect fit on the court, the same can be said for how he's adjusted when the games aren't being played. Armstrong has gotten close to McGrady and the two enjoy being together, especially when they have more time to talk on road trips.

"He's just a guy who's kind of relaxed, laid back," Armstrong said. "You can still see he's young but he's kind of mature, too. He's funny. We love to laugh. That's what I like about him. I can hang around anybody who can laugh and have a good time. And he definitely laughs a lot and it's fun to have a guy like that."

Garrity says McGrady was at first somewhat shy when he joined the team but he quickly warmed up and is a favorite among the Magic players. "He's been great," Garrity said. "He laughs and jokes. He's just like everyone else. He's a good guy and I think that's what a lot of people didn't know about him. I remember reading a couple of things about RDoes he have character?' and he does. He's just a ballplayer who fits in with everyone else. It's like he's been around forever."

In a way, he has been. He grew up in nearby Auburndale always dreaming of playing for his "hometown" team. McGrady carries plenty of pride in his roots and he even concluded a postgame television interview after the Magic's first victory against New Jersey with a chant of "Polk County, Polk County."

Being happy and being home has meant plenty of production from a player the Magic have under contract through the 2007 season. Things have changed forever in his life as a city embraces its newest NBA superstar who now must clear time in his schedule to film shoe commercials. McGrady vows the increased attention won't change him or how he approaches the game. In fact, it only makes him work harder.

"You just have to keep a level head. Everyone's been telling me I'm a humble person and I think I am a humble person," McGrady said. "I know what I have to get done, my team knows what we need to do."

As he left a recent practice, he held a stack of game film in one hand. He says much of his free time is spent at home looking at film, trying to figure out ways he can get even better. In his other hand 9 the injured one 9 McGrady clutched a bottle of medicine to battle the flu bug he says was beginning to take its toll.

There was another game to play in a day and McGrady needed his rest. But playing for Orlando seems to be the best medicine for a Florida native who endured three years of chilly Toronto winters.

Now, he is back among friends and family in a town where he can make unannounced stops at high school basketball games to unwind on his off days. McGrady couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

"I thank God for this," McGrady said. "I'm glad I made the decision to come home to Orlando. I'm having the most fun playing basketball I've ever had in my life."

Rivers, no doubt, is also enjoying every minute of it. All 41.3 of them a game.