The Shaq Effect

I saw Dwayne Wade play all through college and into the NBA, and trust me. This kid is the real deal. Period. First of all, the Shaq effect doesn't allow you to put up a near triple-double for the entire playoffs and something stupid like 40 and 18 or whatever. Also, his confidence, skills and athletic ability is off-the-charts. This guy has been doing this for years. There was no Shaq effect when he was dropping a triple-double on Kentucky in the regional finals on his way to taking Marquette, yes MARQUETTE to the Final Four. What it is is that he's coming into his own right now, in his second year in the league. If you took Shaq off of Miami he would still be doing this or near this. The guy is reminding me a lot of Tracy McGrady. I refuse to tarnish his accomplishment by using an excuse of the "Shaq effect", especially since I saw him before Shaq came along.

 

Penny was hurt. And Kobe is still a great player, just too selfish to be a winner. I don't think Shaq made them great. I don't think Shaq makes Wade great.

People said Shaq cruised through the regular season, and that he'd be dominating in the playoffs. But Wade's the one who is dominating. Wade, not Shaq, is the MVP of the Heat in the playoffs so far. Shaq is the second fiddle.

 

You'll have people disagree with you cabbage, but I don't. You're essentially talking about the characteristics the league (and fans) already put on a 'superstar' - making the rest of the team better, instilling confidence in everyone else. The 'greats' take it a step further.

We saw this firsthand with our own Olajuwon. Imagine the mental boost, the confidence, knowing that Dream was on the court for you and what he could do. It's why guys like Kenny Smith, Chucky Brown and Matt Bullard would knock down crucial, key shots when all the presure in the world was on them.

Because they had that confidence to let go, put it all on the line and play like there was nothing that could stop you.

What Shaq brings to a team in that regard is why he's in that 'greats' category above superstar.

 

Dwayne Wade is fantanstic player and at the beginning of next year will be considered a top 10 player, and can take over a game like the other great stars, however, make no mistake who's team this really his.

This team first and foremost became a champioship contender because of Shaquille O'Neal. If anyone can't see that, then go back into history. Look at what happened to Orlando when Shaq left, and look at happened to LA when Shaq got there. Look at what happened to LA when Shaq left, and look at happened to Miami when Shaq got there. None of this is a coincidence.

If the Heat never did this trade, they would still be a fine team, with Wade elevating his game, Odom, and Butler. They would probably have increased their win total from 42 wins to close to 50 wins. However, nobody would confuse them with an NBA title contender.

 

Dwyane Wade is great, no doubt, but they just got through beating the Washington Wizards. They nearly lost the game at the end when the Wizards didn't have arguably their best player even playing (Gilbert Arenas). The Wizards were 45-37. The Nets were 42-40. The Wizards were 4-6 heading into the playoffs and lost their first 2 against the Bulls. This wasn't exactly a team on a roll to begin with.

If you can take Shaq out and have Wade beat a Pistons team consistently, then that's great, but to walk over the Heat and Nets... blah.

The fact is that with Wade the Heat are a good team. With Shaq and Wade, they are a great team. Without the post presence, your team is nothing unless your team happens to have some specific guy named Jordan on it.

 

All those guys are great individual talents with or without Shaq, but having Shaq (the Shaq Effect as you call it) is what makes you a "championship-caliber" team. Add Shaq to the biggest scrub team in the league and that team is instantly transformed to a contender. THAT is the real Shaq Effect. If I were a player, and had Shaq on my team, how the hell can I not be the most confident player in the entire league?

Shaq makes you a winner and takes you to the next level, that is why he (you can add Duncan here) is one of no more than two truly "great" players in the league today, they are in a category all by themselves. KG, T-Mac, Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Amare, and others are a step below them as "superstars". Others like Francis and Yao are a step further below as "all-star caliber" players, who haven't yet reached that elite superstar status.

That is how I categorize them.

 

BTW, Kobe is NOT a career 50% shooter from the field, he is a career 45% shooter, and he shot as low as 42-43% in his career a few times (he was around 43% for about 4 seasons), and shot nearly 46-47% for 4 seasons in a row (from 1998-2002), and in his entire career he has shot 45% from the field, which is pretty good for a SG/guard player in the league today.

Kobe's playoff career, however, he shot a tad lower at about 43% from the field.

So yah, Wade is a better shooter than Kobe, and Lebron is shooting better early on in his career now as well, but I am not sure if that will last for too long.

 

I think DoD is right on. You have to remember it is the Washington Wizards. They are a team with lots of holes who were happy to win a playoff series, and then got a good two game thumping with Shaq in the line up. I think they knew they have no chance to beat Miami. It is only natural to have a little letdown considering these factors and knowing if Miami did get in any kind of trouble they have Shaq waiting if they head back to Miami for the formalities.

Also, Miami without Shaq but with Zo is still one of the better defensive teams in the league. Combine the D with 2 outstanding games by Wade without Shaq and you have two close games that broke Miami's way. But they are going to need the big fella and Wade to try to beat Detriot and/or Spurs/Suns no question, and IMO Shaq's play will be even more critical than Wade's for those series.

 

Plus, wouldn't any psychological effect a team has knowing that their dominant big man will return just be cancelled out by the psychological advantage the opposing team has knowing they can go inside and not have to worry about Shaq posterizing them for at least a game or two? I'm like the others, Wade is good, and he could even turn out to be really great, but he isn't THIS good and the reason he is as good as he is is only a small part due to Shaq.

 

Look there is a reason Jordan is considered the greatest player to ever play the game. Because he won so much without a legitimate inside threat to help him. Right now, I say no one in the NBA can do that, except maybe Lebron in a couple of years. That is why Kobes team will be mediocre and why LA wants Yao so bad. It is also why Wades teams will be good but never great without the inside presence. Same reason why AI went to the Finals the year he had Deke playing with him and why he was so happy to get Webber (not great inside but you get the idea). Even Steve Nash didnt win MVP until he had a good post player on his team.

This is why all these amazing swingmen you talk about will never win championships without an inside presence. We will see what Lebron does.

Also they all know this. This is why Tmac wanted to play with Yao, who could be the next best center in the league if he gets his $hit together and shaq retires. Also this is why Kobe wants Yao on his side and why AI wanted webber.

So we know the next "Jordan" has come when it is a swingman winning without a legitimate inside presence.

 

This isn't about whether the Heat would be a championship team without the Trade. The issue is how great a player Dwayne Wade is. I've said before that Shaq should have been the MVP this year because, more than anyone else in the NBA by far, he forces the most adjustments from the other team. Duncan and KG are great, but teams don't have to account for them like Shaq because Shaq's physical presence on both ends of the court is so awesome.

That all said, Dwayne Wade is his own man. Giving Shaq too much of the credit for Wade's improvement diminishes what he has become. He stands by himself as one of the top 5-10 players in the NBA. Put him on the same team as Shaq, add a pretty good supporting cast along with a very solid coach and, PRESTO!, you have the favorites to win the NBA championship. I don't think anyone denies the existence of a "Shaq effect," but the extent of it on Dwayne Wade is up for debate.

 

without wade, the heat would not be title contenders and anyone who says otherwise is a ****ing moron who has been sucked into the hype of shaq.



lets see, penny was never as good as kobe and wade even when shaq was there, and he pretty much kept playing like himself (with a lower fg% of course) after shaq left and even had a great playoffs the year after. then he got injured and was never the same again. unless the shaq effect has magical healing powers that prevent career-changing knee injuries, i don't wanna hear penny never did anything again. ralph sampson never did much after he injured his knees and left the rockets. maybe it was the hakeem effect.


kobe's huge fg% from 50% to 40% was actually a drop from 43.8% to 43.3%. whoooo doggie, get shaq back in there to save him. he went form 24/5.5/5.1 to 27.6/5.9/6.0 this year. his career is over!!!!


and wade did have a huge improvement, but it was the same huge lebron took. wade was already a pretty good fg% guard and it only got better this year. and the only possible shaq effect when he's out is that a guy can be more rested from not having to carry the team the whole year and thus can let it all go for those 2 games. still playing like shaq is in and driving doesn't work if the other team just starts sagging on that guy all game without shaq in. w/o shaq in, wade should not actually get better, if shaq is really responsible for his greatness. that's absurd. shaq is the reason you get good, and if he's not there and you do good, he's also the reason for that! ****, think how good tmac was this year, it's must be b/c shaq wasn't here but at some point tmac had dreamed of shaq being here so it had a lasting effect.


and people always talk about shaq's team after he leaves and his new ones once he gets there. they say, look at orlando w/o shaq and now LA with him. oh, and look at LA w/o him and now miami with him. of course he looks good, b/c he goes from one team with a great 2 guard and a nice supporting cast (that always is able to hit 3's and spread the floor for him) to another one. you're essentially arguing shaq plus kobe is better than penny. well no ****. and now shaq plus wade is better than kobe. well no ****. i actually saw some article during the mvp debate saying with wade the heat weren't contenders, with shaq they are. well no ****. b/c when you say "with shaq," you're saying "with shaq and wade." that should be obvious. did anyone see shaq win a title with a fairly talented lakers team before kobe became a top 5 player? no, and neither did i. does anyone think shaq's 23/10 makes miami a title contender w/o wade's 24/6/5? no. it's like shaq transfers between teams that are equal without him and then people are surprised when the new team is better than the old team. of course they are. b/c it's shaq + his old team versus his old team. shaq is obviously great so it's going to make a good team great. but he's never won crap without a dominating 2 guard playing beside him.

wade has been carrying the heat in the playoffs so far, and i would argue was the best player on the heat during the regular season. he'l have plenty of years to prove himself since shaq is getting older and something tells me he'll acquit himself well. and since he doesn't have kobe's personality problems, people will give him the benefit of the doubt and recognize he's still great even if the team gets naturally worse from losing a talent like shaq.

shaq w/o kobe equaled no titles, and shaq w/o wade this year would not be a title contender.

 

and of course shaq helps them. all good players help everyone else. you don't think the 2 guards help shaq by drawing some attention as well? or by taking over the game for stretches while o'neal gets a breather. or how about every team shaq has been on and their 3 point shooters? he always has them. switch him for iverson on philly this year and let a team sag all over him w/ only one real outside threat. of course shaq elevates others, all great players do, but he goes from perfect situation to perfect situation. and teams that are good without him, and thus become great with him.

 

Of course Shaq has an effect on his sidekicks. He's not the most dominating player in the NBA for now reason. But I think people will go against you, thecabbage, is because Wade seems to be a different type of player from Penny and Kobe--a humble and willing player.

Kobe always tried to fight for the spotlight with Shaq. Penny had his jealousy of Shaq's money. Could all these things happen to Wade? Of course, it's the NBA. But, I don't know about any of y'all, I don't see it in Wade. I think it helped that he was drafted the same year with Lebron/Melo so it took a lot of media attention away from Wade..which turned out pretty good.

I think when Shaq had Penny, Hardaway was okay with playing the sidekick role but he didn't want to be stuck in that role. With Kobe, Kobe never wanted to be the sidekick. But Wade, he seems like he'll obliged b/c he knows, from history, that if you play with Shaq, you'll get a good shot at a ring. So he'll take his opportunities, and if he wins a ring and Shaq eventually retires, he'll take over.

 

Nah. I almost never disagree with a thacabbage post...but this time I will.

Shaq is in Miami because Dwayne Wade kicks ass. He kicked ass last year, before Shaq got there. And now he's a year older, etc. Kobe Bryant is still a sensational player - but (a) has turned into an egomaniac on (b) a team with completely mismatched talent (a bunch of scorers and nothing else).

Penny? Injured.

 

I think this is a subconscious attempt to say that Shaq should have won the MVP.

 

No doubt who the real MVP was, and it's the little dude on the Suns who has as many MVPs as the biggest guy in the NBA.