Agreed on the respect for Shaq as a person off court, but the OP's agenda is set on his game on court, which is indisputably in sharp decline.
so i can't express my opinion? thanks for a real rebuttal too. "please never post again" accomplishes nothing in the dicussion. you may not like what i have to say but at least i added something to the conversation. i know not a lot of people share the same view as me. but when i sit back and look at the body of work, game film and the strengths and weaknesses of players, i don't see shaq in the same light as guys like hakeem, wilt, kareem, and bill russell. was shaq an excellent player and one of the games top 20-25 players?? yes, but he's not "the greatest" or a top 10 player all-time. he was PHYSICALLY dominant by being able to simply bull over defenders for dunks and layups. that was smart on his part because he couldn't make anything outside of 6-7 ft. to save his life. on defense he was a good rebounder but a guy at his size should have been able to pull in 15+ everynight, something wilt did at a similar build. simply put, i don't believe all the hype everyone tries to feed me on why he is supposedly the greatest center all-time or even top 3, because he isn't.
I wish Yao would use his size and athleticism more like Shaq and just dunk on people. No need to fade away from the Boris Diaws of the league.
Personally, I think the argument that Shaq is only good because he's bigger than everyone else and just bulldozes everyone is idiotic. It's not his fault he's bigger than everyone else. It's not his fault the referees decided not to call offensive fouls. If the league isn't going to call the fouls, why shouldn't he use his size and strength to his advantage? Arguing that Shaq is "overrated" because he's just plain big is as ludicrous as saying, "Olajuwon was only good because he had amazing quickness. I mean, if you take away that God-given advantage, Olajuwon is nothing." If you have a physical advantage to succeed in the league...and the referees don't plan on making calls to hinder your use of that physical advantage (i.e. Shaq and charging, or Hakeem and travelling), it's common sense to USE IT EVERY CHANCE YOU GET. Moreover, Shaq's physical play is a double edged sword. He may dish it out every time he gets the ball, but he takes a hell of a lot of punishment too. The man's not an impregnable fortress, and he gets beat up by multiple 200-250 lb. players every game. Proportionally speaking, it's like having 100 lb. 13 year olds slapping/clawing at you in the post. How well would any of you play under those conditions?
Exactly. How many babyShaq's have come in the league and failed? He's not the only 7' 300lb man out there. But he's the one who's been successful in the NBA. Plus the comment about his little girls hitting him harder than Stack was refreshing after the Mav whinefest.
How about you come up with a proper response to a well-thought out argument before you reply? Or else don't post again yourself. At least give a rebuttal to why you think he might be wrong. Sheesh.
As some have pointed out, there are plenty of big guys in the league, and have been in the past. Lots of them have failed. To say that Shaq is as good as he is *only* because of his size is oversimplifying his ability. There is still much to be said about positioning, quickness, aggressiveness and knowledge of the game among other things. And size and being a dominant force isn't exactly a negative. Physical ability/talent is as much a part of an NBA player's game as anything else. You can't fault a guy for that. Hell; that same thing could be said about our Yao. He really is bigger than anyone out there. How easy is it to shoot over someone when you are usually at least half a foot taller than them? But those of us who know better know there is more to it than that. Same applies to Shaq.
It's the off the court stuff that people hold against him. I think we all know Shaq gives his all on the court but even Kobe and PJ have questioned his dedication and conditioning. There was a very strong rumor during the season that Riles gave him an ultimatum about losing some pounds. Some think the Lakers could have beaten the Pistons if Shaq was conditioned better (I don't agree). Shaq is a freakish athlete and the NBA game comes easy to him because of his stature, incredible strength and (former) agility. If he worked hard off the court like Hakeem, Karl Malone, Kobe, Tracy, Jordan, Bird, Reggie Miller, Gilbert Arenas and (name your favorite gym rat) Shaq could have claimed the MDE (Most Dominant Ever) mantel without argument from anyone. The people that constantly dwell on Shaq's lack of off-court dedication are people that don't like him, black or white. There isn't any stereotyping to it at all. (Of course there are a few exceptions). The fact he has 4 rings should be enough to shut anyone up, even the Kobe-lovers on the Laker forums who can't stop hating on him. You'd think Shaq committed the unforgiveable sin by leaving their team. I haven't bothered even reading them since the playoffs started.
There's not question that Shaq has not only size but also a quickness and explosiveness in his youth that made him so dominant. There have been and will be guys bigger than Shaq who nevertheless were totally ineffective because they lacked any skills. HOWEVER, it is also true that in the past the NBA officiating allowed Shaq to get away with a lot of offensive fouls that allowed him to dominate beyond his great abilities. To say that Shaq is only good because he is so big and strong would of course be ignorant as there were many before and after him who were as big and strong as he was. But to ignore that Shaq got away with many moves that were clearly offensive fouls during his dominant years would also be wrong.
Shaq in his prime was nothing less than a genetic freak of nature. No one that huge should've moved the way he did. Look at the explosion that Amare has and put that into a body like Shaq had. People challenge Amare's shot - people would just back the hell up when Shaq went up. I've always liked Shaq simply because he's a big oaf. The only things I hated about him is that his ego and pride sometimes got in the way. You would see him as the big goofy Shaq, but then he would say something just stupid that wreaked of ego gone wild. As for not having skills, give me a break. Any 7'0" 300-350 lbs. monster that could move like he did is skilled. Why settle for a jumper when you can ram one down the opposition's throat?
It's difficult to dislike Shaq as a person, and I have never hated him, although I tried to back in his Laker days. His career speaks for itself, the accolades he has rival the greatest players of all times, and he was a phenomenon that we might never see again in this league. I think Shaq will only be truly appreciated when his career is over, he's always had his detractors, but he's always come on top; that has to count for something.
COMPLETE GAME ok this is the biggest bullsh*t argument out there ALL HE DOES IS DUNK Guy V Lewis says the Highest percentage shot in the game if my guy is 60% from within 8 ft of the basket why the h*ll would I want him shooting 40% from 15? The game is played TO WIN not to satisfy some idiotic ideal of COMPLETE GAME SKILLS if you want skill contest . . . goto the all star game and watch at half time. or some other bullsh*t Amazingly Does Steve 'The matador' nash have complete game?? nope Mike Jordan is the closest there has been Bird didn't have a complete game I love Dr J but his defense was suspect at the end too Kareem wasn';t shooting threes . . beyond the sky hook he wasn't hitting 15 ftrs Taking his game out from 6 ft would only hurt his team EXAMPLE?? SEE THE MERMAID!! Rocket River
How can you not say Shaq is not talented. He is bigger than every offensive lineman (even the ones on HGH and roids) in the NFL and he is running around trying to cover guys like Jason Terry on the pick and roll. Lets put this perspective. The dude is at least 50 pounds heavier than Bruce Matthews. Name another person not named Yao to be that athletic at his size.
I'm not so sure about that.... Those same guards without shaq would still harvest scoring titles(Wade'll get one sooner or later), and harbor reknowned skills and achievements, Shaq without the guards would just be Kevin Garnett, as in... just another all-star superstar.. but, neither apart would get as many rings as they collected together. Shaq and those 'guards' needed eachother equally.
its not just strength, size, and explosiveness. shaq kept putting the same move on diop all night. got him leaning one way and drop step the other way. the guy has classic big-man moves. and you just don't get out of bed with those. you work on your game and then you work on the court.
Shaq was not the reason Miami won- this was Dwade all the way. You can say what you want this was not Shaq bestowing the ring on the others- they were lucky to get game 3 and luckier in Game 5 ( with an assist from NBA)
Boy, that's an awful comparison.. Amazing quickness alone gets you as far as an Allen Iverson at 6'0, or as far as Amara without the jumpshot at 6'10.. Hakeem, didn't rely one one attribute, his amazing quickness came accompanied with incredible finesse and athletic poise, ball handling, and that came accompanied with knowledge of the game and precise discipline over his talents. He also had a more apt capability to learn as he played, as he went from a quick, dunking athlete, to an all around unbeatable player.. that could take any big man off the dribble, on the dribble, pass, dunk, shoot 15ft from the basket as well as he did under the basket, have an arsenal of moves at his disposable, and be clutch, including the free throw line.
