Well, he is too old to carry a team, but a good TEAM (Lebron Cleveland James was not a team) that can utilize what still left can definitely carry Shaq around. He is still a very serviceable center if only for his size alone, not to mention his experience. I can only imagine how much it sucks for a player like Shaq to play in a system where he can't just use what he has instead of fighting for crumbles that fall of the playbook. This is why I thought he chose wise deciding to sign with the Celtics - They know how to utilize players and they have the need for his leftover skills.
Dwight Howard
- Thread starter Archie Moses
- Start date
Well, he is too old to carry a team, but a good TEAM (Lebron Cleveland James was not a team) that can utilize what still left can definitely carry Shaq around. He is still a very serviceable center if only for his size alone, not to mention his experience. I can only imagine how much it sucks for a player like Shaq to play in a system where he can't just use what he has instead of fighting for crumbles that fall of the playbook. This is why I thought he chose wise deciding to sign with the Celtics - They know how to utilize players and they have the need for his leftover skills.
I agree he is improving, but I would expect much more from a player in his caliber - can you imagine what he could have been if he improved like Millsap improves every year?
Same goes, by the way, to Lebron. He is definitely a great player (I hate him though) but he is not improving as much as expected. If you compare him to his fellow teammate Wade, you can easily see how Wade worked himself from a good player into one of the game's best while improving EVERY single aspect of his game. Sure you might say that Lebron is still better, and in some aspects you might be right (I can't believe I'm saying that...!) but he should have been freaking amazing right now instead of a great player.
dantheman
Member
I was talking about Howard...
Shaq and Kobe teams would have crushed MJ's teams. In his prime, Shaq is possibly the most dominant player in the Western Conference over the last 27 to 30 years, excluding lockout seasons, seasons containing leap years (both), and periods of low precipitation. Did I do that punt thing right, Archie?
chemdude1232
Active Member
Shaq was surely dominant:
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html
Scroll down to the "Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors" section and look at how often the "(1)" thing appears. That means he led the league that year in that particular category. I see quite a few of them.
Are his numbers in the range of Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul Jabbar? No. But - within the "era" in which he played - does he have dominant numbers? Absolutely.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html
Scroll down to the "Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors" section and look at how often the "(1)" thing appears. That means he led the league that year in that particular category. I see quite a few of them.
Are his numbers in the range of Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul Jabbar? No. But - within the "era" in which he played - does he have dominant numbers? Absolutely.
I'd be lucky to have seen Wilt or Kareem or Oscar play, and we'd all be lucky to see how modern Shaq would have played then and they would have played now. I guess the atheists and believers alike hope God gives us a show one day. My guess is Shaq could have rolled with the toughness required back then, but did they have the strength training and conditioning required today is my question.