Shandon Anderson is good, but he does not possess many of the traits MJ did. There is no comparison there at all. I don't think that I berated Shaq at all in this thread, I simply argued about the MJ thing. Oh wait, my signature..... I am not a Shaq fan at all. I have said it a hundred times in here, he is not a leader, not a winner. He is about money and fame and nicknames. Honestly, he has gotten better over the years. I am 6'2", 180. I played high school ball and even a little JUCO ball. I have range, can handle the ball, etc. MAKE ME 7', 300 LBS AND LET'S SEE WHAT I CAN DO. There isn't anyone in the league with his sheer size and strength, period. His skills are decent at best. Sure, he uses his strengths to dominate. Nothing wrong with that. But if he was 6'10", 265....how effective would Shaq be then?? He is not nimble or particularly agile, has less than stellar footwork (unless you count travelling as footwork), and really has very few post moves. There is no array of spins, his fadeaway "jumper" is just as nasty as his free throws, and what's left after that? The jump hook? The main reason, in my eyes, that he is so effective is that he is bigger and stronger than anyone else (not his fault, nothing wrong with it, just arguing my point). But the main reason that MJ was so effective had more to do with the person he was than his athletic ability. He was gifted with athleticism, but he made himself the winner he turned out to be. ------------------ HOOP-T Hey Shaq, Acme called, and they want their bricks back!
Sure, I am jealous of Shaq....and all the other players in the league. They get paid an enormous sum of money to play a game that they love. I, on the other hand, get paid a fraction of that and have an engineering job that can be stressful. But my opinion of Shaq and his abilities has nothing to do with that jealousy. It is simply my opinion. Sure, he has improved every year in the league....I won't discount that. Hakeem IS one of my favorite players. Shaq and Hakeem are two very different types of players, both in their style of play and their personalities. I was not blaming Shaq for his size, and I even stated that his size is not his fault and he certainly uses it to his advantage. I am not going to rehash my argument about why I am not a fan of his, I have stated my opinion and that is that. YOU CAN'T MAKE ME LIKE HIM!!! ------------------ HOOP-T Hey Shaq, Acme called, and they want their bricks back! [This message has been edited by HOOP-T (edited May 24, 2000).]
Well agree to disagree then!! ------------------ Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things!
IMHO you are way off here. Take Hakeem for example. I am sure Hakeem is one of your basketball gods, if you are a Rockets fan he has to be. Now tell me, in what ways did Hakeem lead that Shaq hasn't. Oh, so Hakeem was the silent leader type, eh. He lead by his excellent play. Ditto for Shaq. The thing about MJ was just to try and make an analogy. Anyway, here is what you said about him... MJ had a complete knowledge of the game, was smart, hustled, made the players around him better, could shoot, drive, pass, handle the ball, make plays, play defense, post you up, play facing or back to the basket, got into opponents heads, was a true competitor with a burning desire to win and be the best. I think up until the point where it starts talking about getting into other players heads, Shandon Anderson can do each and every one of those things. If he was as athletic as MJ he would definitely do all of those things with superstar ability and would learn to get into other players heads, etc. Im not saying he would be the megastar MJ was, sure, MJ did have a special quality about him, a desire to win or something, but Shandon definitely has a wonderful knowledge of the game, etc, etc too yet he isnt nearly the player MJ was. The main reason, if you ask me, is the athleticism. IT just cant be denied. It is a large part of being a superstar and superplayer in basketball. Vince Carter, Francis, Garnett, Kobe, Shaq, Zo, Hakeem, Iverson, etc, etc, are all AMAZINGLY athletic in some way or another. Now name superstar or great players who arent athletic. Only John Stockton comes to mind-it just doesnt happen as often. So the point was not to blame Shaq cause he is just big and huge. It is an ignorant point. I too can play ball and if I was big and huge I would be pretty good also. But, then again, if I was Mj or Vince's size, with their amazing atheltic ability, I would also be pretty good. In NEITHER case would I be as good as they are though. At the begining of Shaq's career I would agree with you though. It was solely due to his size (but every player has a learning curve to go through). However, Shaqs game has progressed amazingly. IF he was HAkeems size or Alonzo's size it is my opinion that he would still be one of the best centers in the league. YOu can disagree if you want but look at some of the moves he does. He has developed nice drop steps, hooks in the lane, works hard for rebounding and positioning. I mean if Cato had his stuff he would definitely be a 20/10 man. Shaq is just good, there is no reason to hate him or berate him. In my opinion if you just dont like him because or because you think it is all due to his size, then you are just very jealous, and undoubtedly youd be his number one fan if he played for the Rox. ------------------ Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things!
Using the same argument you have against Shaq (3 inches shorter and 16% lighter), how effective would Jordan be if he is only 6' 3" , 181 or Olajuwon be if he is only 6' 8", 214. If you are only 5'11", 151 would you also be less effective than you are currently? When you take away 3 inches and 16% of body weight from any players in NBA I think most of them will be less effective. However, being big and heavy does not always translate into greatness. Look at Thomas Hamilton, he is 7'3" and 330 but his size and weight does not make him a great player. Other players like Kemp play terrible when they gain weight. Thus, If you are 7'1 and 300 you could be the greatest player of all time or you could turn out to be another Hamilton. Just because a person is tall and heavy does not mean he could move as quick as Shaq could. I am not a Shaq fan either, but I also do not have anything against him. I do give Shaq or any big man credits for being able to dominate at this level with all that weight.
