Shaq is probably going to retire the fourth or third best center of all time . Wilt chamberlain , Bill Russell , Hakeem Olajuwon , Shaq , and Kareem Abdul Jabbar are all in the top 5 . I dont know where you guys are getting this crap about Shaq not respecting Hakeem. I remember a commercial several years ago , Shaq said "If I can be like any player , I want to be like Hakeem" And they had a clip of Olajuwon doing an up an under move on Shaquille. Shaq can say whatever he wants , and he is a working-class hero. Did he not work to get where he is ? He didnt come from generations of wealth like some people . Just because he is rich now doesnt mean he has always been .
<b>The worst thing anyone could have done was to get Shaq fired up for Yao. Whoever said Yao has better skills than Shaq shall soon see the error of their ways. The Diesel is hard enough to stop without being pi$$ed off. He's going to have a serious point to prove. That means Ming, R.I.P. It's going to be ugly. Yao may never recover.</b> Oooh, we're REALLY scared of Shaq! I'm guessing Yao will do just fine, thank you. We'll see how Shaq is feeling when he's going one-on-one with Ming while the Rockets guards are killing him. And I'm sure Griffin will have a field day. <b>As it is, the fans will revolt for Rudy wasting a number one pick - yes even the Ming homers. </b> I'm curious Juugie how can you call people "Ming homers", if we've never seen the guy play? We're homers for wanting to give a 7-5 guy a chance? He can shoot, he can score, in a game he had 21 points, 21 boards and 7 block shots. That sounds like logic to me! I can understand being called a Mobley homer, or a Mo homer, or a Francis homer, or a Dream homer, because we've seen those guys. We really don't know anything about Ming! <b>Look at Mo T. Everyone was glad when he chose to sign with the Rox and now most the people on this board would trade him for a dixie cup and string. </b> There's a huge difference here, the guy blew out his leg. You're comparing Ming to a guy who blew out his leg!? <b>I see the same thing happening when people consistently score on Yao and when he's sitting outside shooting jumpers. The cry will go out over all of Houston - "You're 7'5" for crying out loud. Get you @ss down in the paint you friggin wuss!"</b> How do you know people will consistently score on the guy? IN the championship game in China the guy had 7 blocks. And you're banging on the guy talking about how Shaq is going to kill him, you know how you combat Shaq? Get a big man who can shoot OUTSIDE! I'll take a 7-5 guy with a nice tough from the outside.
Dream is 39, Shaq just turned 30 and Ming is 22. Dream dominated Shaq when Dream was 32 and Shaq was 23. There is no other player available who has the potential to turn the tables on Shaq in 2 to 4 years. Have we all forgotten how well an aging Sabonis played Shaq because Arvydas had range, passing skills and court smarts? Sabonis' website lists him at 7'3" and 292#'s.
I don't Shaq will lose a minute of sleep guarding Shaghai Slim. And as for our guards killing them, they have people that do a good job covering our guards already. The last game we played against LA, they didn't have Shaq and they still beat us by like 30. And Ming is alrady afraind of Shaq. He said, and I quote; "I don't want to play against Shaq. He's too strong. This isn't football. He should be in the WWF." I once had 12 blocks playing against my little brother and his friends. It was much harder to duplicate when I sarted playing against people my own size. And the Lakers will say, "Go ahead. Shoot." Every jumper Yao takes is a jumper Steve or Griffin or Cat doesn't. Not to mention you can't shoot jumpers from the bench which is where Yao will be after he gets his third foul in the first quarter. And we will still be saying this team has to get some kind of inside, low post scoring to be effective. See the Mavs.
I have a lot of respect for Shaq. You say he doesn't have skills, and that he just bowls over people in the paint? That might have been about 5 or 6 years ago, but not anymore. Shaq may not have the pure finesse skills, but what other 7 foot Center besides Dream has had those kind of skills? He's got post-up skills, which is all he needs to dominate. Do pure basketball skills really have to require dazzling cross-over moves, and acrobatic dunks? Shaq is the best player in the NBA. Robert Horry and he are the only Lakers I like as basketball players. GATER made a nice point...Shaq will dominate Ming for a couple of years, just like Dream did back in '95. I also agree with Rocket River...Shaq is only serious when he's pissed about losing a game, or something going on within the team that he doesn't like. He shows respect to a lot of players in the NBA...giving Tim Duncan the nickname of "The Big Fundamental" was a compliment, IMO. He is a very respectful man, and quite funny actually. A lot of people seem to think that he breaks the rules, and is a dirty player by using his elbows, running over people, etc. Well, don't other teams break the rules by getting away with fouling him? It's not like he sees someone standing under the goal, goes up and intentionally throws an elbow, then dunks on him. He takes a lot of beating in the paint. If you really want to hate on someone, look at Kobe...
Shaq is a fool. What the hell is he tryin to say about him being part of the "working class"???? Also, his nickname is a huge insult to Aristotle. The guy couldn't come up with a knock knock joke, let alone a quote.
Let's see here.... Yao Ming taking wide open 12 foot jumpers vs. Francis, Mobley or Griffin forcing up shots at the 3 point line with a man in their face because the shot clock is winding down. Show me one person who has questioned Yao's ability to shoot? That FORCES people to guard him, meaning it takes Shaq away from the basket, meaning Griffin has easier offensive rebounding opportunities, and Francis/Mobley have a wide open lane for penetration. You don't shoot 21-21 on accident, and yes the CBA players are taller than NCAA players.
Shaq is nothing but a bully, He has no! basketball skills. All he does is elbow, and push people around. He will never get my respect, I hate the guy! Only Laker that I like is Kobe, because he really has skills.
I like Shaq because he plays the 5 like you suppose too. He doesn't do these cute finger rolls like Wilt used to, he powers the ball up. He's a bully, but thats what he's suppose to be. on top of that he's a people person. You see him in the club and he doesn't duck and hide or stay in his room like Kobe. If Kobe would get out more, it wouldn't be a big thing when he did get out. Like it or not, even though he's still not healthy, he's the best player in the league. If all the players were thrown ina pool and you were starting a team, he would go first, period. Its true he probably would get the best of Ming early on, but If Ming could get 15-18pts and 8-13 rebs, that would be just fine considering the guards we have. Shaq is the most interviewable person the nba has since Chuck retired.
So, basically, Shaq feels someone who may grab a share of his spotlight so he talks **** about him. Funny, I thought elbows were illegal in basketball. I love how Shaq represents himself as a working class guy when in fact he's probably lived a life that is 10 times more lavish than Yao. I hope Yao makes the all-star team over Shaq. That would be hilarious.
Uh, that's the whole point. He's 7'5. He's got 5-6 inches on most NBA centers. There is no one his size. And no, the centers he was playing against in China were not 6'7. They were 6'10-7'0, just like ours. Southern Chinese, on the average, are very short. Northern Chinese are friggin' HUGE. 7'0 Chinamen aren't that odd.
Kobe is the reason the Spurs aren't playing in the WCF right now. Shaq is no longer the most valuable player on his own team whether it's due to his toe, decline to his body lugging around excessive fat for so long, whatever. Bryant is the guy LA goes to in the 4th, not the "Big stupid"
"Shaq is no longer the most valuable player on his own team whether it's due to his toe, decline to his body lugging around excessive fat for so long, whatever. Bryant is the guy LA goes to in the 4th, not the "Big stupid" -Raptros Dyansty Excessive fat? Are you kidding me? Take a close look at Shaq...that is not fat. I recall one time hearing that he has less than 2% body fat. Oliver Miller was fat. Thomas Hamilton was fat. Shaq is strong. Bryant may be the go to man in the 4th, but Shaq carries them the whole way until that point. You have to be ignorant to value Kobe over Shaq with the lack of Centers in the NBA. There are quite a few clutch players in the league, but not so many <b>dominant</b> player, especially in the post. Shaq has post skills, Kobe has shooting/dribbling skills. Shaq's a Center, Kobe's a guard...do not try to compare their skills. My God, I actually sound like a Lakers fan...what the hell is happening?
Couldn't have said it better myself. Most of you guys may not like Shaq but there is no denying that Shaq is going to destroy Yao, especially because of all the attention he's getting.
lol shaq is right...but u know after 5 years when yao bust 50 pts on shaq look who will be laughing then...just a thought yay my first post! woohoo
So simply because he didn't mention Hakeem in that group means he doesn't show respect to him? Maybe he doesn't think Hakeem belongs in that group. And in an interview a few days ago, he still said that Hakeem destroyed him in those finals. And yes, "destroyed" was the word he used if I recall correctly. ... oh, and the Spurz still suck.
Shaq is funny? I guess if you find stupidity amusing. I know I do Besides, what brought this out........has Ming said anything about how well he may play in the League, or has he directly insulted Shaq? And what's with "giving the MVP" to Duncan? He took the Spurs a lot further than they should have with a team consisting of Bowen, Daniels, Parker, Rose, Smith, Ferry, and Robinson, which isn't worth MUCH these days, in a conference that is supposedly tougher. Not to say 34 isn't an amazing player, but switch Kobe and Parker and how many rings do you have now Shaq? Seriously though, what does he mean by working-class hero? And correct me if I'm wrong, but the NBA was drooling over Shaq into making him the next "Big Thing" when he was about to get drafted.
