Enough Shaq, please!!! Get over it!

[the_way]

You know, I am sick and tired of Shaquille O'Neal. Since when did he become God and ruler of the universe. This guy is so bitter its not even funny. He wants to be in LA so bad. He talks about "who is Kobe Bryant", yet he thinks about him every second. All throughout the year he has made derogatory references to Lakers Organization and Kobe. And he has yet to stop. Kobe hasn't said one thing. He has moved on, why can't Shaq. Shaq asked to be traded. His wish was granted. If Miami is such a great situation as he claims it is and they hang out and go play laser tag all the time, then why is he always harping on the Lakers every chance he gets. Last time I checked, Shaq didn't win any titles without Phil Jackson and Kobe. Shaq was broom stick after broom stick in series sweeps in the playoffs. In fact, I think he is still walking around with a few of those broom sticks up his rear-end. Enough Shaq, you asked for the trade and you got it. Now move on with your life. If it was such a bad time in your life in LA and Miami is so great, then shut up about the Lakers.

[RDF]

Shaq is getting annoying with his hard on against the Lakers/Bryant. All he had to do was get his lard butt in shape and he'd never have lost his place and to me that was Bryant's problem with him in first place. Bryant might have a large ego--most star players do--but he wants to win and he knew O'Neal didn't take conditioning serious and Jackson still sided with Diesel and that Editeded Kobe off. Bryant might be a jerk at times but he cares about basketball and Shaq cares about being Shaq and making his "promises" or "threats" that he rarely comes through with.

Shaq is very engaging and seems like a decent guy, but his on court talents are a mixture of great talent that's been underdeveloped, and laziness. He's always been a TERRIBLE defensive player and to me his "thigh bruise" didn't effect him at all on that end. His balance has gotten worse as he's gained weight and to me the play that cost Heat the series and spot in Finals was his inability to get an offensive rebound that should've easily been his, and at time Heat was up 3 pts with less than 2 minutes left--and in same sequence Pistons nail a 3 to tie game. Mourning should play late in game for Heat because of his defense and if Shaq's in he should move to PF defensively because all he can do--and not as well as he should, is rebound. Zo defends/intimidates more and Heat put too much responsibility in Shaq and lost because of his crappy defense and inability to get a rebound.

So he turns that into more "threats" and shots at Lakers. As Way said, why does he care?? I think Lakers not only made the wise move basketball wise, they chose the player that loves basketball more which is important when spending money in NBA. Bryant's motivated by basketball, Shaq's motivated by being a Superhero, Cop, etc.... and sometimes basketball.

[aussiehoya]

Wow guys,
couldn't disagree with you more. The big fella is taking shots and keeping it interesting for all of us. I think Kobe may be the one of most hateable athletes. EVER. To me Shaq is just toying with Kobe and having a lil fun. This is pure entertainment. You know that kobe immediately heard about this from his agent/whatever and is sitting there stewing.

I also disagree with your contention that he wishes he was back in LA. I think Miami fits shaq to a tee. My buddies down in MIA claim that Shaq has injected new life into the place just by being there. It's an exciting and chic place to be because of shaq right now. Remember how he let Sager get away with that absurd pink suit purely because he was in Miami? Shaq understands what it's all about down there...

Agreed that the daddy should have had FAR more DE-fensive production than he had in this year's playoffs. Although i would caution calling him out regarding his thigh bruise. If you read up on that injury, apparently the blood was being drained daily and there was calcification and all sorts of icky stuff happening, leading me to believe it was affecting him. of course, he'll have next year to prove all the haters wrong as MIA has all but punched it's ticket to the eastern conference finals next year...

[Deleted]

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Bryant isn't motivated by basketball at all. The guy has a singular purpose in life, and that is to be the best player on the planet. While that works for people in individual team sports and sure makes for big time regular season statistics, it does nothing for your team or racking up rings that people can't look at and say "Oh he's got those because of Shaq or Phil."

That said, I think Shaq lost his high-ground with the repeated attacks. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut and he'd have "come out on top," if that phrase applies. All he had to say was "check out the standings, man" and nobody would have been able to doubt him. But noooooo...

Either way, Shaq sees himself - and I'm guessing all athletes - as entertainers, and that's what he does. I'm not saying he isn't upset with Kobe or the way things ended in LA, but he's a smart guy... he knows what he's doing when he says some of the things he says.

[the_way]

Oh yeah Buff, no doubt. Shaq is a sound bite master. I'm just getting sick and tired of hearing about it. I also disagree with you about Kobe. Kobe is a team player. If you watched the Laker games this year, he was the ultimate leader on the team. He was like the coach on the floor, looking for other guys. He tried to take over, when everybody else was struggling. When Shaq was there, he would feed the Big Fella and they were winning championships. Kobe wouldn't really start playing his game until the second half. He would let everybody else get involved by passing in the early part of the game. The media tries to portray Kobe as this selfish guy, much like they do with AI. But if you really look at the situation,and watch both players play, they are far from unselfish or ballhogs.

[hoyarooter]

I'm going to chime in briefly on this. Since I have addressed this before, I will keep it brief. Shaq is a big baby. I'm not sure he will ever grow up. To me, his shots at Kobe have been ridiculous but tolerable, but his shots at Mitch Kupchak and Jerry Buss have been imbicilic.

Shaq's best days as a player are behind him, thanks in part to his failure to maintain proper conditioning. Next year will be his last shot at a title (unless the Heat upgrade their roster), because after that most teams will realize his skills have diminished, he doesn't need to be double teamed, and his teammates can be played straight up (except Wade, who is fantastic). I give Shaq credit for getting in decent shape this season, but it wouldn't have happened in LA.

[MCIGuy]

I'm on Shaq's side in the debate (albeit one-sided) with Kobe. But I will say that Shaq has ALWAYS been insecure. These latest comments further prove that.

[nychoya3]

Shaq is insecure, no doubt. That said, he has been under a microscope his whole career. Everything he says is parsed and dissected (just like this!). Early in his career, I thought the general public feeling on him was frankly insulting. I'd hear friends talk about him like he was an idiot, when he's a pretty bright guy with (by NBA standards) significant interests outside of basketball.

Shaq as a player...well, given that every team he plays for wins, it's safe to say he's one of the best ever. His conditinoing definitely went downhill, but he also has a "unique" body type where I think he has to tread a line between staying in shape and conserving his legs from the beating they take hefting around his bulk. I love the guy. He's a very nice guy, who is unusually comfortable around other people. On his ESPN diary, he devotes an entire episode to Damon Jones getting dunked on by Lebron. He's just having fun and messing around, and it's refreshing to see a guy so comfortable in his own skin.

Kobe has nothing against passing, but it's tough to win with a guard who has the ball in his hands ALL THE TIME. I think Lebron will learn that too, soon enough.