I kinda agree with you. Shaq is not getting enough love for his winning the third ring playing through pain. No wonder he is looking at freaking out on the Queens. I like Shaq as an athlete. I would love to have him in my team anytime. But he tries to project a mean image of himself which he is not (unlike Karla, who's well and truly mean). He has brute force and is a wonderfully agile athlete especially for his size. And of course the NBA and refs love him (more recently than before). ITs his attempt to be the monster he is not, that makes it pitiable. I think he craves for an adoration that he will never get, despite maybe winning mroe rings than Air Jordan.
Agree. Shaq is not a mean player. He is decent. He doesn't need to promote his tough guy image. It can only make people think he is soft insdie.
I hope Yao has hips of steel (not like my Grandmother's... lol!), because Shaq will have his game face on and will greet him like Yao was greeted at the beginning of his first pre-season game at SA. Hip-check time! Considering there will be about 60 pounds extra behind those hips than Duncan or Robinson (hell, a lot more than that), Yao better just figure that he'll be intimately acquainted with the floor. With a bit of good timing, however, Yao can return the favor and send Kobe skidding on his a$$ for a few meters. He can best get his own back against Shaq by scoring on him like crazy and drawing him out of the paint. Finesse him. Let Cato hammer on Shaq. Kelvin can be pretty tough against him if he's in the mood. After we win the game, I expect Shaq to be gracious and greet Yao with a smile. (a big smile if we lose) As a side-bar, Griff will get a lot of attention with the 7 or so blocks he'll have, K9 will abuse Fox, Rice will want pay-back if he gets on the court, and Steve will have his way with LA. Looking forward to it! (Just my humble opinion, of course.)
I'm still worried...although we only play the Lakers 4 times this year, there is a chance that Ming might get injured because of Shaq & that could affect the other 78 games
If Shaq hurts Yao, we'll just get Lisa Malosky to eat Shaq...and she'll probably want Kobe for dessert.
If you guys love Shaq so much, join the LA fan club. As for me, I've never seen Shaq shoot with any sense of grace at all. His style is 1) lower shoulder; 2) knock the opposing player into the stands; 3) dunk the ball; and 4) smirk at the cameras to show he got away with another foul. You'll find no love for Shaq here.
Right, it's always painful to watch Shaq bullies under the basket and then score as if he has some great "basketball skill". KH
