A thought has been brewing ever since Mourning returned to play for the Heat during the regular season, and now the playoffs: Alonzo Mourning looks a lot bulkier than he has over the past few years. He also has been acting a bit "amped up", more than he used to act in the past (flexing, taunting, etc.). He basically looks like a wild man. Performance wise, he appears to be a lot closer to his normal playing days than his post-kidney transplant performance. As far as I know, he hasn't really ever speculated publicly on the possible causes of his kidney failure. If I remember correctly though, Shaq did it for him a few years back, implying that it may have been a combination of excessive use of painkillers and/or testosterone precursors. Mourning's always been known as a workout fiend, a bodybuilding fanatic. In my opinion, this was mainly due to the fact that he's a natural center, skill wise, who never developed physically from a power forward's body in high school--in other words, he doesn't have a big frame. So he compensated by packing on the pounds, using protein supplements, etc. All I'm saying is, his return from the New Jersey failure seems a bit suspicious. He no longer looks weak (seemingly, all of a sudden) and looks uncontrollable, emotionally. In other words, he looks powerful again, in the span of a few months from quitting in New Jersey.
When I saw him back..I was like wow dang he's crazy. He's a great backup right now..and yeah very emotional..maybe cuz he is back in the NBA and lucky? I don't know maybe ..I really don't care unless it turns out to be true.
Dude. Zo's ALWAYS been like that. He's always been overemotional on the court, back to his days with Charlotte. He's always flexed and screamed and instigated other players on the court. It's who he is. And he's ALWAYS been huge. And, just a random observation, his voice seems way too deep for someone taking steroids...
Zo's been wild since he was young - he's always been amped up when he plays. He was also a genetic freak coming out of high school.
And what exactly was his "failure" in New Jersey anyway? He turned into Bruce Banner? NJ got rid of him cuz a. his contract was a mistake(precisely cuz you can't count on his health) b. to match salaries c. his attitude Toronto released him because he wouldn't play ball for him at all. That doesn't mean he never had anything left in the tank ... NJ also got rid of Dike and it wasn't because he was weak or roiding up.
New Jersey got rid of Mourning because he forced them to, essentially. He more or less refused to play (and apparently rehabilitate) after the team was partially gutted. He then refused to play for Toronto. In the few minutes he spent with the team, he had clearly lost weight and was physically weak on the court (rebounding, inside scoring, dunking). This is natural, since he either hadn't had enough time to recover from his transplant or he simply didn't want to give the effort to lift weights for New Jersey. The point is, he magically reappears a few months later, apparently back to his full weight and musculature. I also don't remember him being so demonstrative on the court--arrogant and emotional, yes, constantly taunting opponents, no. You'd think a kidney transplant would have made him more humble, not less so.
He'd be one stupid guy to mess with more drugs after he knew what was responsible for his kidney condition.
You're just wrong. Simply put. Zo played in 18 of NJ's first 21 games. He played quite well, averaging around 10ppg, 7rpg, and 2.5bpg in 25 minutes per contest. He was also in very, very good shape. Then he was traded from NJ in the Carter deal to make salaries match and refused to report to Toronto. His performance in a Heat uniform has been about the same as it was when he was with NJ, albeit in fewer minutes. Also, I don't really see how Zo has been outwardly taunting anyone. In the NJ and Detroit Series', all I've seen him do is pump his fist and try to hype up the crowd. He's had a few stare downs, but he's always done that. He's not on steroids.
Yep, Zo was playing more minutes and putting up better numbers earlier this season in Jersey than he is now in Miami. So I don't know what you're talking about.
I'm not sure I'd ever characterize Mourning as being in "very, very good shape" this year. Apparently, part of the reason he was shut down is because he wasn't "feeling well" earlier in the year--PR or truth, whatever. Simply put, he wasn't strong early in the year--anyone who watched any Nets games could plainly see that. I would definitely say his Heat performance has been far more effective than his Nets performance. His work ethic has always been fascinating, because he was able to flourish as a center in the league despite being only 6'9" (yes) and as previously mentioned, a relatively small frame (compared to say, Stoudamire or Karl Malone). Given that he was an avid user of supplements in his prime, it's not a stretch to think he might have turned to other substances in recent months to regain some semblance of peak physical condition. He's always been one of my favorite players because of his intensity and work ethic, but his recent outlandish behavior as a bench player has left me soured, to say the least.
Zo wasn't that big at Georgetown though he was always strong. I was also wondering if he was on steroids strictly because he is unbelievable shape considering how long he missed.
Well of course he wasn't that big. But if you guys are going to hold that against him somehow without any proof, look at the younger and older bodies of Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, uuuh... Yao Ming. NBA training and strength conditioning does wonders. I'm not going to suspect him of steroid use unless I have a reason to... and I don't have one yet.
That's the point, he hasn't been training. This guy is coming off major surgery and has missed more than a year of time. I wouldn't put steroid use past Karl Malone and other than him very few players look like him and Mourning even with the natural weight game that comes with age. I mean you just compared Yao Ming and Hakeem to Mourning and Malone. Ming and Dream aren't even in the same league. That's silly.
I put them in there because if you look at them when they first came into the league and look at their upper bodies, you will see some mass gain. Doesn't mean it's steroids. Karl Malone's off-season conditioning and weight training program has been well-documented - it was insanely rigorous. What about Jordan? Look at his body when he came into the league and then compare it to his body in the 90's. Muscle gain. Steroids? Doubt it. As for Mourning, the guy was lifting weights, doing cardio, etc. while he was recovering. It's not like he was sitting on the couch doing nothing and said, "woo hoo, I'm all better, put me in coach!"
Yeah looking at him tonight it doesn't look like steroids. His frame already is big..he's not bulky..he's just like naturally strong.
He also looked horrible when he came in for a few minutes against Houston. I believe he was blocked multiple times by Yao and got the ball ripped out of his hands several times in only a few minutes.
If Zo took steroids AFTER his kidney problems, he belongs on the all-time stupid list. When he first went down, everyone was moaning and groaning about his health and how it and his family were more important than playing basketball. Supposedly he only came back after getting clearance from doctors. BEFORE his kidney problems, maybe so. I have no idea. Steroids have been known to harm kidneys. Karl Malone would be my #1 suspect for steroid use. His physique was almost freakish.
I've been following ZO since his rookie season and he has always been this fit and his body has pretty much remained the same. He, Malone, David Robinson and Kevin Willis have been the strongest players I have seen (having the most sculpted bodies in the leagues). Zo has always been ferocious on the court, almost too ferocious (cost them series versus the Knicks 2 years in a row when he got into fights). He feeds off of emotions and aside from Kevin Garnett and maybe Ben Wallace, I have not seen another star player in this league play with as much passion and hunger. Zo is not stupid to sacrifice his LIFE by taking steroids. If he took steroids, his kidney would surely fail and he would be dead. Nobody is that stupid, especially with all the attention being placed on steroids recently. Quit hating on a guy who has busted his ass to come back from a life-threatening disease. This is lower than Kenyon Martin poking fun at Zo, a true lowlife.
