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ATLANTA — Unable or unwilling to wait any longer, Tracy McGrady finished his pregame workout and got ready to play, changing into his uniform for the first time since his surgery last February.

Finally, he looked the part. But nothing had changed. He was all dressed up with no place to go.

McGrady’s Nov. 18 “target date” to return to the court came and went with McGrady, 30, on the inactive list. The occasion turned out to be more of a “Target Center” date, with the Rockets facing the Minnesota Timberwolves while McGrady waited in the locker room in street clothes.

“I just wanted to see what it felt like,” he said of getting dressed to play. “It’s been so long.”

There is an open spot on the active list, but the Rockets seem in no hurry to change their plans. McGrady is expected to practice Monday, then have the MRI the team scheduled in September.

Asked if there were a chance McGrady could be allowed to sit on the bench in uniform tonight when the Rockets face the Hawks or Saturday at Toyota Center, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said in an e-mail, “We will get new info on Mac Monday.”

Morey had no comment on McGrady choosing to dress for the game Wednesday.

But McGrady’s patience has seemed to have worn as thin as the cartilage that had to be replaced by the knee microfracture surgery.

“I’m dying,” said McGrady, a 6-8 guard/forward. “Just sitting there is tough. Last year, I did it because I had no choice. I couldn’t play. I was hurting.

“Now, after putting in all the work this summer, I’m so eager to get back out there. I’m hungry. I’m so ready to play, man, it’s not even funny. It’s tearing me apart to sit here and watch my guys go out and playing and I can’t do anything but watch.”

That might explain his announcement of a target date to return a week earlier than any the Rockets had said they would consider. Morey and coach Rick Adelman said again there is no timetable.

But McGrady has seemed to be progressing rapidly the past 10 days.

“We’re doing a lot of work with the knee now for both strength and endurance,” athletic trainer Keith Jones said. “He’s doing a lot more running for his cardio, for basketball conditioning. He’s getting there. We still have a little ways to go. He knows it. But he’s pushing every day. He wants to do more.”

Integrated treatment

McGrady spent the offseason working with Tim Grover in Chicago, workouts that seem to have meshed with new Rockets director of strength and conditioning Darryl Eto’s functional training routines.

Though McGrady has been pain-free for months, Eto has worked to strengthen muscles McGrady did not use when struggling with the knee last season, with progress evident.

“We tried to integrate what he’s been doing with Tim Grover in Chicago with the addition of some basketball-specific movements as well as working on some conditioning,” Eto said. “He’s doing better, getting better and better every day, making progress.”

But McGrady was not ready to celebrate. He endorsed the program but was out, and could not cheer progress until it returned him to the court.

“I don’t make too much out of it because I’m not playing, yet,” McGrady said of Jones’ evaluation that McGrady has improved. “Eto has helped me come a long way. It’s really all about getting different muscles to fire.”

He placed little significance on Monday’s practice or MRI, considering both milestones more than tests.

He repeatedly has disagreed with Morey’s description of his participating in practices as “off and on.”

“Me going out and practicing and not being able to finish, I don’t know where that comes from,” McGrady said. “I’ve been going full practices for a while. I was shocked to hear that.