Shaq may or may not dominate in the East, but I think either way he is done come playoffs (if the Heat are there). If he doesn't get in some serious shape, the nightly pounding of Eastern ball may wear him out quick. I think it all really depends on how hard Shaq is going to work. Will he be in shape and play some defense, or the fat guy hanging out under his own basket? If his recent trend continues, Miami may have gotten the bad end of this deal.
...nightly pounding of Eastern ball may wear him out quick... I think this is an important point. Eastern Conference teams, due to a relative lack of size, tend to be fast-breaking, ball-pressuring outfits. The Heat in particular. Acquiring Shaq calls for a dramatic change of pace from a dynamic full-tilt running assault, to micromanaged half court sets. Are there any capable spot up shooters on the Heat roster? Rasual Butler? Maybe. Dwayne Wade? Maybe. Eddie Jones? They tried this before. Heat player who looks to benefit most from the trade? Udonis Haslem. Removing Grant and Odom makes his prime competition for the 4 spot Malik Allen. If his recent trend continues, Miami may have gotten the bad end of this deal. And I quote the Sport's Guy: Next year will be Shaq's 13th season. Just about every Hall of Fame center started declining between seasons 12 to 14 -- Kareem, Wilt, Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson, Mokeski. Russell saw the writing on the wall and retired. Only Moses and Parish kept chugging along, but neither of them was nearly as good in his mid-30s. Even Shaq watched his scoring average drop six points last year. Nowadays, when Shaq submits monster games like that 36-20 in Game 4, you say things like, "Wow, Shaq really has his legs tonight," and his coach says stuff like, "We wasted one of the all-time great efforts by Shaq tonight." Back in his prime, a 36-20 wasn't a cause for celebration. You expected him to repeat the performance 48 hours later. He's wearing down. Slowly. Subtly. That's the real reason L.A. chose Kobe. But by dissing Shaq in the decision process, they opened the door for a Clemens-like revival over the next 3 to 4 years -- something that never would have happened had he remained a Laker. Now he's about to pull an Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill." It could go either way. Too bad it came to this. It's sad to think that Shaq could have another 20/10 season considered "a failure".
Oooh, Laker owner Jerry Buss piles on Shaq: "We were kind of on the fence anyway," Buss said. "We were thinking, `Should we trade him this year, should we keep him?' At some time, we know his asset value is going to decrease, that's completely obvious. The question is, at what point can you trade one asset for other assets and keep the franchise at the top of the heap?"
I think Wade will work well with Shaq. I say that more from seeing Wade in Conference USA - I think he can do the spot-up shooting. I believe Wade has a rather high FG% particularly for a rookie (I checked, it's .455% highest on the TEAM in the playoffs, .465% in the regular season). You don't get that from driving to the basket, commentators aside, that comes from a good midrange game. So Wade may be even better with Shaq, although that's without a sophomore jinx. I think Eddie Jones will be good with Wade and Shaq. Jones can slash, Wade can distribute and shoot. Maybe Haslem, Allen and Butler can platoon at the forward spots. I think Miami will have to pick up some free agents, maybe some diamond-in-the-rough rookies to make this work. I don't see this making Miami a Finals contender without another good player or two. This Miami lineup is not better than the Lakers were, imo. If Shaq goes on the revenge tear suggested by Bill Simmons and returns to a good playing weight, maybe that can help them challenge for the East's top spot. Maybe he just needs some controlled carbs.
It's a great trade that leaves both teams with a shitload of holes and no depth. Only in the NBA.
Just a quick note: A Google search for the word "Shaqenfreude" comes up with no results. Or maybe now it'll come up with just this page. Let it be known that the word was coined here, then.
That is *sweet*, taupe!
taupe- Direct yourself to the SpoFi wiki. Stat!
