I assumed she was talking about centers. Mark Price #1 by a hair over Barry ... 90.4 to 90.0. No man shooting underhand deserves the title.:hihi:
Great analogy domer. You dont have to win a NC to be a winner. As for Orlando, he did make it to the Finals.
And, you could say that there would be no championship in Miami w/o Dwayne Wade. I don't know how you can say Shaq can win championships without a Kobe or Wade since he was always teamed up with one of those players for his championships. Its revealing that the Lakers chose to keep Kobe over Shaq, and Miami was willing to trade anybody on their roster except for Wade to get Shaq. Although, if I had been the Lakers GM, I wouldn't have traded Shaq either and kept him for the rest of the contract but not given him an extension because Shaq was no longer worth as he used to be. That was a bad trade for the Lakers where they received Odon, Butler, and Brian Grant whom they immediately released. They probably could have gotten more talent from Dallas even though Dallas was unwilling to trade Dirk, but Dallas is in the same conference. I don't know if Shaq by himself makes a team an instant contender; he still needs to be teamed with a player who can take over in the fourth quarter. If he had been traded to Miami and Miami had to give up Wade, I don't think Miami wins a championship and we're talking about Kobe Bryant winning another championship.
I never said Shaq is terrible. I called him a great, great player but he never lived up to his potential. With his talent and size, in a era where there were no other big centers to challenge him, imagine what Shaq could have done if he had the same drive as Michael Jordan.
Basketball is a team game. Even the greatest of all time, Jordan, didn't win anything without a great player along side him, Pippen. To win titles in the NBA, a team generally needs two star players. LeBron James won't win one until the Cavs give him a better second banana then Larry Hughes. They traded him because Shaq wanted 20 million a year. The Lakers went with the less expensive, younger player. Centers hit the wall at a certain age and Shaq was pretty close to it. All the great centers do. He is certainly in the twilight of his career now. Why would the Lakers keep Shaq and piss off Kobe. That was an either/or situation. Kobe was a free agent soon and he didnt' want to be on the same team anymore with Shaq. He made the Lakers force their hand and they wisely went with the younger player. That paragraph is true now. Shaq is old and is only dominant in limited stretches. In summation, you're talking out of your ass as usual.
I'm willing to concede my error to a fellow RHS grad, what with our 10 hoops state titles and all... :thumb: As far as the underhanded thing goes - I remember that he said that he couldn't shoot a set shot, and that he wasn't allowed to shoot a jumper for his free throws, so he tried underhanded from the stripe and found it more comfortable to him. I seem to remember an NBA player years ago that actually did shoot jumpers for his freebies... Anybody know who that was?
There is a tremendous difference between living up to your potential and maximizing your potential. Shaq has certainly lived up to his potential, but I don't feel he maximized it. Very rarely does a superstar player do so. Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russell.. these are NBA legends who maximized their potential. Shaq should not be crippled because he won with an incredible player alongside him unless you're going to criticize the great players Kareem, Bird, Magic, Jordan, etc all played with.. Did he maximize it? No. He could and likely should have won two more titles, but he's a big man unlike the NBA has ever seen, and he dominated. Shaq changes the way teams play defense against his ballclub moreso than Wade or Kobe as evidenced by the Heat/Lakers without Shaq and with Wade/Kobe. Brian ~Go Tigers!~
After reading this idiotic thread, one can only assume "GaricMeatball", the poster known as "SlowFlowPro" elsewhere, has found TigerForums. Shaq Facts: (Look under Accolades) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O'Neal NBA's 50 Greatest: (LSU has 3 players on this list) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Greatest_Players_in_NBA_History
