I’m so sick of Shaquille O’Neal. He is the most overrated NBA player of the last 15 years. He has never won an NBA championship without an all-time great alongside him. He got to play with Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Steve Nash, and now LeBron James (not to mention Penny Hardaway in his prime). Last year Shaq went to a very good Suns team and led them to the lottery. He wasn’t as good as Hakeem Olajuwon, who won two titles with a much worse supporting cast. If Shaq had had Patrick Ewing’s supporting cast, Shaq never would have won an NBA championship. At least Ewing won an NCAA title. Shaq never developed many offensive moves and he’s one of the worst free throw shooters in NBA history.
This is a panic move by Cleveland. Shaq doesn’t work very hard, is often overweight, and like Brett Favre, his name is much bigger than his game. It’s so great that everyone thinks that 18 points and 11 rebound a game is so awesome. Shaq did that last year for a running team that finished well above .500. That’s really amazing – slightly better than an average NBA center.
Shaq benefitted from his size and athleticism for that size but has never been an overly skilled player. The refs always allowed him to get away with too much. The Cavs have put too much pressure on themselves to win it next year because Shaq is near the end. They will certainly talk a big game and will be hyped up by the media. Now the Suns can move on and they get a good young player in Sasha Pavlovic.
Tags: championship, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Penny Hardaway, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash