Shaquille Ö'Neal: Howard cannot take the Rockets to the next level

in a league where above avg post scorers are hard to come by, the pacers have 3 of them. besides bosh, the heat have a weak pf/c rotation. the heat will have a tough time against them

then they got george and granger and a bunch of other pieces. thats a really good way to build against the heat. if u cant get a star player, load up against their weakness. great strategy.

assuming they're healthy and things go well, i think they rethe biggest threat to the heat

 

questionable ok but how is he jealous. he won four ships and was a better player

 

He's knocking both:

"Believe it or not, it ain't about him."

It's true, we don't have all the pieces to bring out Dwight and Harden's game together.

Stretch what?

 

somewhat agree, rox still have a long way to go for the ring. Harden and Dwright doesnt fit well currently, one of them have to change.
harden need to hit the roll man more, for now it is the big dog and you need to feed the big dog to guard your yard. it seems he never pass once start his euro step, b4 he start that one-two step he would look for the pass, once he initiate that skill he will go all the way to the hoop/foul no matter what.
the big dog Dwright need to work on his movement in PNR. i dont remember how many times he chose to post up right in the middle of the land blocking the lane. that's plain stupid, for he just ruin a good opportunity that have 2 man attacking the rim when defense is busy rotating and out of position. even he catches the ball down there the situation deteriorate to at best mismatch post up. it is usually crowded and defense have time to rotate back and other players are close to the paint they can put help defense right on, or if they rotate well the mismatch is not there he got their best post defender single coverage. a pnr just get the same result of an inbound pass, what waste.

those 2 man's individual natural game just dont fit naturally. rox need to find a way have them fit or add a perimeter-post conduit between them like the Magics to lub it out.

 

Granger is a post player?

George is a post player?

Hibbert is a post player?

I can understand West, but Scola is a statue at this point. Even Matt Schaub has more ups than Scola right now (although Schaub doesn't have 1/100th Scola's heart and would much rather crawl into a fetal position than do anything resembling jumping).

 

Perhaps not jealous per se but Shaq is notoriously petty.

 

I guess he did not take it well since Dwight took his nickname "Superman".

He dislikes him for some reason.

 

Shaq still considers himself a Laker and anything coming out of that camp about the Rockets, and D12 in particular, must be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Shaq will forever be the epitome of a dumb jock.

Already dissed Houston once. He better get it together or somebody's going to drop his big ass.

 

I agree with Shaq. If you look at Dwight game there is no improvement. I was expecting a guy that was motivated to prove everybody wrong. Instead we get a guy going through the motions on the court. He's no fire in his body and it's just really disappointing.

 

I dont' think he's just going through the motions. He is who he is. Fortunately, we have Harden and our young run n gun talented supporting cast and if Dwight just provides what he is already providing, he still have a shot at making some major noise this year. Dwight is not only an upgrade but a piece that allows us to have rim protection 48 minutes a game and an aerial assault to boot. Now, of course, if Dwight really chases it like the rest of our boys seem to be doing, we'll be good to go. It's all about coaching now. The pieces are there.

 

He said he doesn't think Dwight will take us there "right away." Not that he can't.

Does anyone here think we are legitimate favorites to win it all this year? I don't think so. We are exactly what he said we are: a dangerous team.

 

Anything Shaq says about Dwight is negative, so this comes as no surprise. It's been this way for many years now.

 

Shaq contradicts himself and is very hypocritical. First, he says "it ain't about Dwight" then goes on to list all the reasons why Dwight can't get it done. If it ain't about him, why is it all about him?

Second, he says Kobe is #1 player to be with, nevermind that Kobe is 35, recovering from Achilles injury and has so many miles on him. Shaq's hypocritical b/c he left the Lakers at Kobe's prime b/c he didn't want to play with him and is now criticizing somebody who did the exact same thing.

How do these guys get paid millions to give their opinions when they make no sense?

 

I noticed that also. Barkley tells it how it is. Shaq, I think, Lets his feeling, get in the way.

 

I agree with Shaq & Charles on Dwight's offensive game. It lacks polish to dominate in a way we would like to see him do it. But he is very athletic and that is what gets him by the other centers. Right now I think DMo might have more moves than Dwight in the low post. But I agree between Kevin and Hakeem they will help Dwight add to his repertoire of moves to make him better.

Morey even said they are a (PF)player away from the top.

 

People are missing the point of what he's saying. I'll probably get roasted, but Shaq isn't off in his assessment. Dwight is what he is now. He won't make massive changes to his game midway through his career. He is already established in what he does. The things he does well, he's great at (PnR, rebounding, deterring drives to the paint, running the floor), but the things he sucks at (low post, half court offense, matching up with elite big men) will probably stay that way.

The big question about the Rockets this season (and the one that Shaq and others are alluding to) is that after having a good season last year (8th seed with low expectations), will adding a dominant (but flawed) star take the Rockets to contender status? In Houston, we certainly hope so but theres not guaranteed answer.

 

I think what Shaq and Barkley are saying is correct. To win it all Dwight will have to be focused and it may take some major improvement on offense for him. He is not getting any younger or bouncier and he will have to compensate by developing some skill.

Defensively he seems like a championship center.

This is Dwight's big chance. He should be motivated by the fall off last year and the criticism. He should be motivated also by the supportive atmosphere in Houston. I think Harden is his perfect number one guy to lead Dwight. Harden is serious and hard working but much more sophisticated socially and less of an egotist than Kobe who has an arrogant personality not everyone will respond to.

 

We need him more on the defensive side of the floor. He made his free throws for the most part last night so I'm happy with that.

 

i agree with this, of course they will need time to work things out. BUt like you said once harden drives to the lane he is not looking to pass which is ok for one of the best SGs in the league it would just be a bonus if he could drop off the ball in the motion. Thats a PG job to find dwight while entering the lane