Breaking Cavs News: No Mo Tonight (Update)
January 21, 2010Would You Want Jim Thome Back One More Time?
January 21, 2010If you head over to Cleveland.com you will find an interview with Shaq in which he lists his top five favorite centers. The list is excluding Shaq himself, and starts with Hakeem Olajawon. Following Hakeem is Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell and Moses Malone. Shaq describes his favorite part about each of these centers, and is quick to point out that there will not be another center in this mold again. He says the game is changing and that big men want to step out and shoot more these days.
After the Raptors game on Monday, Shaq made another list. In a post-game interview he was asked about being more aggressive on the defensive end, particularly when it came to fouling in order to stop an easy basket. Shaq replied that unlike previous years in his career he didn’t feel like he had to save any fouls like he did previously. He said that he had “the second best center in the East backing him up”. He made the statement twice in fact that Zydrunas was the second best center in the East.
It would be foolish to assume that he wasn’t calling himself the best center in the conference. But if that’s the case, where might he slot Dwight Howard? At no time during that interview with Cleveland.com did Shaq mention Howard, even though they were talking at one point about the succession from one star to the next. It would have been very easy for Shaq to mention Howard in that context, just like it would have been easy for him to say that Z was ‘one of the best centers’ instead of assigning him a number.
There are times when I think we read too much into statements. I get that. But these omissions can’t possibly be accidental. Since the press conference that welcomed Shaq to Cleveland we haven’t seen Shaq give Dwight Howard much credit at all. You might remember that presser. Shaq informed Mike Brown that they will not be double teaming Howard anymore. Period.
The first time the Cavs and Magic played this year Shaq certainly backed his words up. Dwight Howard was held to just 11 points and seven rebounds while having to sit and play tentatively because of foul trouble. Zydrunas, Shaq and company sent Howard to the line 12 times in that game. He was basically a non-factor.
The knock on Dwight has been that he really doesn’t have a complete offensive game. He is a freakish athlete, but doesn’t seem to hone his craft around the basket like big men who have come before him. Perhaps that is why Shaq refuses to include Howard on his lists.
16 Comments
I think Shaq has to much free time these days he’s really starting to talk alot. I kind of liked when he was in the background and just played basketball and this is coming from someone who gives a huge pass to the Big Aristotle simply because of his entertainment value off the court.
starting to talk alot? he’s been a quote machine since day one.
And the Howard thing dates all the way back to ripping off the whole “Superman” thing. I also think that him being in Orlando has a lot to do with it…
I liked that interview about centers. “My favorite was the Dream because I couldn’t break him. I’d toss an elbow at him and he’d just laugh and hit a jumper in my face.”
Shaq has never liked Dwight Howard… Dwight stole Shaq’s ‘superman’ nickname
If anyone would like Shaq to stop talking, then beat him. Howard included.
Dwight has “ShowMe Muscles”. Looks big and plays big against certain guys i.e. Noah and even Bynum. Guys that have muscle behind the size (Shaq, Perkins, even Hibert to an extent) he backs way off. He goes into “Looks like Tarzan plays like Jane” mode.
I hate making even the tiniest of complaints about a website that gets me through my workday, and I think this idea has been mentioned in the comments section before, but can I motion for a change in the text color combinations for links? I moved my mouse over “Cleveland.com” in the first line of the article, hoping to find a direct link to the interview. When I didn’t find it, I headed over to cleveland.com to look for it, and after 5 minutes of unsuccessful searching, came back here to try again where I finally found it under “find an interview.” A distinguishing color, or maybe an underline, just someway to identify links from normal text would be nice.
nice comment, Bill.
I wouldn’t put too much stock into what Shaq says. He’s predicted things before that didn’t happen.
However, if he needs to put extra pressure on himself to defend Howard, I am all for it. I agree with Bill, Howard seems to back off a bit against guys with a lot of girth. It’s amazing how Orlando’s matchup advantage against us is literally GONE. Nelson is a score first pass later guard with average speed whereas Rafer Alston wreaked havoc against us. Vince Carter has NEVER played well against Cleveland defense, and we have size to keep Howard from getting the low post position he needs to dominate.
I really feel like the Lakers and Bobcats are our only rivals to the throne this year.
Tsunami you are right on with your fear of the Bobcats. They are an absolute nightmare matchup in the first round. Right now they are in the 5 seed, 2 games from the 8 seed.
@Scott Shaq has been quiet for his standards since coming to the Cavaliers my guess is he’s just a little bored is all.
Howard really has no inside game at all so Shaq may be right about this.
I like this. Sure, Shaq indirectly puts down Howard but who cares? I appreciate the fact that he references his teammate and backup Z as an excellent center. Is he the second best? Doesn’t matter. This is Shaq being a team player.
Shaq is right because if you look at how Shaq has played Horward since Dwight’s career began, well he’s pretty much dominated him. Howard has a nice game here and there against him, but other wise Shaq is too much for him. When Shaq and DH were on the floor against each other this year DH had like 1 point and 2 boards, he only finished with the 11 points and single digit rebounds. I like our big guy letting everyone know, HE controls the paint.
i totally agree MP34. shaq has been quiet compared to other seasons, and quite amazingly i havent seen any story on the lebron-shaq relationship (besides the phantom thing). i dont want to go personal but i think that his divorce might be a little hard for him. just a guess.
anyway as it was said i prefer to see him just play the game
#8 and #9
the bobcats?! let them make the playoffs first before we talk about them as a contender. playing well mid season doesnt mean squat.
same applies to the cavs. i like their tempo and pace at this point of the season as we gear up for a monster run in may and june!
As someone who’s lived in charlotte since the bobcats were the hornets, trust me when I say that the bobcats have a long way to go before we talk playoffs. They’ve been in this position before and every year they fall apart and miss the 8th seed.
Besides wait another week or two and Larry Brown will get bored and trade some people around. It’s been about a month since Capt. Jack we’re due for a move.