LOL..."stale patrick ewing move"...I dont think ewing was throwing down tomahawk jams like that even in his prime...shaq is just mad because he got burned hard on the play And i think the biggest flop is shaqs acting/rapping career. Its also funny how shaq says he hates a frontrunner when his teams have been frontrunners for the majority of his career...
Ha. Jesus Christ that was obvious. I hadn't gotten around to taking a look at the video before today. Wow. Seriously. Just man up to the fact that you flopped. Do you REALLY think that we believe you can be bowled over that easily?
Most of his teams were frontrunners because of Shaq. What did the Lakers or Magic do before they had Shaq? Not much. After they got Shaq, Orlando went to the Finals and the Lakers won a few titles. Got traded to Miami, won a 'ship. Never heard of him demanding a trade to the Suns though.
Tell me about it! I come here to see if everyone's enjoying the pure hilarity of this entire ridiculous incident, and instead I'm greeted by a bunch of serious posts and indictments of Shaq. WTF?? When did Clutchfans become drama queens central (well, outside of the GARM, anyway)?
Mark Jackson was ripping him during the Jazz/Nuggets game. C'mon, what did Ewing or JVG do to Shaq? He was being a dick for no reason. I'm surprised that not enough clutchfans are standing up for JVG especially. Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade...take either one of the last two names off the list and he has as many titles as Ewing. At least Olajuwon can say he won one of his championships with all role players...i only wish Shaq and Hakeem could've met in their respective primes so Hakeem could've put Shaq in his place. Instead shaq will constantly run his mouth about how much he's accomplished and how nobody's career could measure up to his.
Shaq gets away with stuff because he is so outrageous people think he's funny. Except he's not trying to be funny. That makes him a douche.
Some of you act like if you took Shaq off of those Championship teams then they would have still won a Championship. Don't let your hate for the guy take away from how dominate he was in his prime.
I'm certainly not saying that at all. Kobe wouldn't have won without him and he wouldn't have won without Kobe. He definetley wouldn't have won without Wade who carried the majority of the load for that Heat team. Granted, he has been one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA but I'm just saying be a little bit more humble about the success of your career. He's had the good fortune of always being on teams built to win championships. If you don't agree with that then see the 2004 Lakers team with a starting lineup of Payton, Malone, Kobe and Shaq. Not everyone was as fortunate as Shaq to have been surrounded by players like that... As a reality check compare Shaq's legacy to MJ's. Who is overall the greatest player of all time? Who acts/talks like they are the greatest of all time? Forget rhetorical questions and lets lower the standard a little bit. Between Shaq and Tim Duncan...who has accomplished more? It's about even (Although TD has one more MVP). Who acts like they've accomplished more? Definetley Shaq. In the end, who WILL accomplish more? Possibly neither or Tim Duncan only because he's still on a championship caliber team and Shaq will end his career with the implosion of the Suns.
Shaq is a jerk and I don't like the guy. But in his prime, NOBODY would have "put Shaq in his place". He was a dominant, unstoppable player. Hakeem was great too, but he wouldn't have been able to stop Shaq at all. Shaq was impossible to defend with one player. Maybe your memory fails you, but Shaq did quite well in the 1995 Finals, which was before his prime. In your theoretical matchup, Shaq would have squashed Hakeem like a bug if the Rockets had been dumb enough to single cover him. On the other end of the floor, Hakeem would have used his finesse and quickness to tie Shaq in knots.
Ah, lighten up. Shaq provides entertain beyond the court. Kinda like Barkley. The NBA is lucky to still have Barkley involved with the NBA. When Shaq retires, the league will be a little less entertaining. Yes MJ was the greatest and he is more humble but off the court ...he is boring. Shaq and Barkley are two of the most entertaining guys the league has ever seen. Even if you love to hate them, they are good for business.
After Shaq's comments about flopping and that floppers just tell him that they cant guard him. Wouldnt that mean that Shaq cant guard Howard in his mind?
Maybe its an exaggeration to say that he would've put shaq in his place but I still think he would've won the overall matchup. Both had an uncanny ability to put the ball in the hoop but Hakeem is the greatest shot blocker of all time so defensively he wouldv'e limited him more than Vlade Divac, Rik Smits, or any of the other scrubs that Shaq killed in his prime. I'm not saying Hakeem would've stopped Shaq...certainly not some of Shaq's power moves but Hakeem would have definetley limited Shaq's ability to dominate a game.
Hakeem would be lucky to block any of Shaq's shots because Shaq usually either jammed the ball through the hoop or he would lean on the defender, which wouldn't allow them to elevate. The only way to guard Shaq was to keep him away from the basket (which Hakeem couldn't do any better than anyone else) or to swarm him with defenders. You have to remember Shaq was a complete freak of nature and his physicality, strength, size and agility put him in a class never seen by any other NBA player. As an individual defender, Hakeem was much too small to limit Shaq once he started dominating. It would have been physically impossible. Team defense was the only way to even think about slowing Shaq down. Even then, he destroyed teams. As an individual defender, Yao would be more effective against Shaq than Hakeem. Defensively against nearly any other center in the NBA, Hakeem would be decidedly better than Yao.
Like I said, Hakeem wouldn't have stopped some of Shaqs drop step moves but the other moves in his repitoire such as his hook shots could be altered. And as you pointed out...hakeem would have his way on the other end of the court too plus Shaq couldn't ever shoot freethrows which makes him a liabilty in crunch time. As for single vs double coverage...if I was coaching against Shaq would double teaming be a part of my game plan? Sure. Would it be a part of the game plan if I was coaching against Hakeem? Yes. No center could stop Hakeem with single coverage either..just ask David Robinson in the 1995 Western Conference finals.
If both teams double or triple-team, then your theoretical "overall matchup" goes out the window. I don't get your point at all.
