A note about Sabonis

[Swopa]

Vlade Divac, who played against him in Europe in the late '80s, has said that Sabonis in his prime was better than Shaq. He compared Sabonis to a 7-foot Larry Bird.

[Diesel]

Shaq is Dominate but he's not that good. The refs allow Shaq to get away with Alot.

I remember when Shaq was a better defender and a little less bullish underneath and in their primes, David Robinson and Hakeem would take Shaq's lunch and eat it in his face.

I'm sure that Sabonis was more skilled than Shaq. However, if Sabonis had to come here and play Shaq with these refs, Shaq would dominate.

However, Just wait. More dominate, skilled Big men are on the way. Tyson Chandler. This kid will be THE MAN. Defensively he's there. Offensively he needs more size. But when he put it all together in about 2-3 yrs, he will be UNStoppable.

[Guest]

Just kidding.i do think people overrate Shaq as you were saying,but

he is no chump he got his numbers even back then.But Shaq hasn't

hit his prime until Phil arrived.Whatever the case maybe,Shaq is

unstopable.

Shaq would still destroy a Sabonis at any age probably.

[chillzatl]

him early in his career. And it's not truthful or fair to say that "he's not that good". But he really only has 2 "moves" on offense, if you want to call them that. Most of his success there is a result of being so much bigger than everyone else.

But he does have MANY basketball skills, he's a great passer,rebounder and could be a great defender. I really think the comparison between him and Wilt is fitting. He could probably averag 8 assists if he wanted to. Just as he could probably average 20 boards if he wanted to. I think his overall skill is overshadowed because of the focus on his size and offense.

Personally I would love to see play in an era of other great centers. THEN I think we would really see how great he could be. I mean he was only challenged by a great center (hakeem) for 2 years in his career. I think that really pushed him to become a better player and since then he hasn't had anyone to motivate him to work that hard again.

[Diesel]

Shaq didn't hit his prime until Jordan Left and D. Stern needed a new Cash Cow. You notice that the patented Shaq Shoulder dip stopped getting called when Phil went to LA and Jordan was no longer playing.

Shaq may seem unstoppable, however, I make you this bet. If Jordan can get his band to the finals and if the Lakers are there to meet him.. .I bet the Shaq Shoulder dip gets called every time!!!

Also, there are teams being erected that can beat LA.

Kings. Had Peja played, woah nellie. LA won that series by the skin of their teeth.

NJ. Now that they have Deke, they can stand defensively against Shaq without having to double.

EVEN LAC!

I don't think Miller will have a great impact on LAC, but if they resign sorry Khandi, it will be fun to watch them compete. LAC has a very deep and talented team.

Khandi/Brand/Odom/Q/ and Miller. The fans of LAC are writing us thank you letters as we speak.

[Diesel]

The game was changed to Stop Wilt.

The game was changed to Help Shaq.

In Wilts day, the Dunk was illegal. What would Shaq do?

You're right though. Shaq is more than just a brute dunker. BUT not much more. His strength and Size are his greatest attributes. If you deny, watch Shaq against other Superheavyweights. Until he took hurt, Stanley Roberts used to give Shaq a Hard time. So did Ostertag and Miller. Ostertag mainly because Shaq gets fustrated trying to move him around. Even when Deke plays Shaq, Deke gives up about 50-60 pounds.

However, I would have liked to seen a healthy Mourning take his Miami team with Grant and Jones to LAL to play against Shaq and the Lakers. While Mourning is not as strong or Big as Shaq. Mourning is DAMN aggressive. He would have pushed on Shaq and defended Shaq for the whole game. Warrior style. If Duncan were as aggressive as Mourning, Duncan would be unstoppable.

I guess now we have to wait to see what the new crop does when they get more experience. Curry, Chandler, and Diop.

[Teeareess]

In reply to:

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Most of his success there is a result of being so much bigger than everyone else.

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He's also quicker and more explosive then any center anywhere near his size.

People complain about him getting calls seem to convenietly forget that every star player from Jordan to Stockton to Nique, gets the benifet of friendly refs. But they only get those calls after seasons of great play. Shaq's first season or two he had his share of offensive fouls, just like every young quick guard gets a lot of carrying turnovers. It's part of the game.

[chillzatl]

I think shaq will be gone way before any of these guys have enough hair on their chests to do anything in this league. Regardless of what those guys do, Shaq will be the premier center in the league until he either retires or injuries force him out. None of those guys will challenge him though. They don't have the size to do it. And as you said, size is what bothers him, not an outside jumper. None of those guys have the size to bother him.

[cyman3]

"If Jordan can get his band to the finals and if the Lakers are there to meet him.. .I bet the Shaq Shoulder dip gets called every time!!!"

- SO TRUE... VERY TRUE

i could see that happening... MJ could create heck alot more noise in the NBA's economy than Shaq.

Wizards vs Lakers would have more FANS watching the FINALS (last years tv ratings were horrible according to many sources).

[Guest]

The fans watched the Mavs vs. Kings and Kings vs. Lakers

but they didn't watch the finals.I didn't watch NONE of the

finals either.

[Diesel]

A Jordan Shaq Finals would be HUGE! Stern is hoping Jordan comes back and stays healthy and gets the Wiz into the playoffs. Jordan has talent there but not a lot of experience. If Kwame comes back and he and Heywood become a devastating 1/2 punch at the PF/C position. Stern would love to have that finals.

Reason being. Jordan is the star to all of us who grew up with him and he is now considered Old School? To see Jordan take Kobe one on one would be the biggest draw ever. Bigger than if Webber can get his team there or can Kidd make NJ better.

I have this one warning. If the Wiz make the playoffs, the refs will do Everything that they can to have a Jordan vs. Shaq Kobe finals.

BTW, Back in the day when Jordan and Nique were head to head... Kobe wouldn't have lasted a second vs. Jordan... Or Nique for that matter.