Shaq is better than Kobe...

Kobe is a great player in his own right and I'm a Laker fan first, but I think it's time to admit that Shaq's a better player. Yeah, Shaq has Wade but look how much better Wade is this season because of Shaq. Some of his improvement is also due to natural growth but Shaq has helped the whole Miami team a lot. They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals...

While Kobe and the Lakers didn't even make the playoffs or even get a better record than the Clippers. If Kobe really was better than Shaq then he could've gotten a lot more accomplished with Odom and Butler on his team.

If that doesn't convince you, think about the playoffs this year and last...
The Heat just BARELY lost in game 7. It could have gone either way and Wade's injury also was a big setback.
The Lakers basically got swept. They won 1 game but even that was close. Sure, Malone was injured but Kobe and Shaq were fine.
Injured Shaq and injured Wade did better than healthy Shaq and healthy Kobe.

Sorry Laker fans, Shaq is better. Believe it

 

Like shape said, Shaq is your best short-term solution to get a championship.

You can argue all you want about two completely different players. The fact still remains that this is a team game and its played with 5 players on the court and 7 players on the bench. If one player gets injured, someone has to step up. In a perfect world, no one would ever get injured but the fact is injury is part of the game.

The Pistons are a great team. They play together extremely well (on offense and defense), they have a great coach and execute down the stretch. Its their team play that won the series, as well as the championship last year.

I too am eager to hear what's gonna happen with Shaq's contract. Time is ticking, he's not getting any younger.

 

Your Wrong. How many championships do Dwayne and Shaq have? I think Shaq and Kobe have 3...but I could be wrong, you could check on ESPN though to confirm that one. Anyways you can't judge who's better since they play dif. positions, thats like comparing MJ and Wilt Chamberlain...anyways, don't bother writing back because your opinions wrong.

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Lakerland:</div><div class="quote_post">Kobe is a great player in his own right and I'm a Laker fan first, but I think it's time to admit that Shaq's a better player. Yeah, Shaq has Wade but look how much better Wade is this season because of Shaq. Some of his improvement is also due to natural growth but Shaq has helped the whole Miami team a lot. They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals...

While Kobe and the Lakers didn't even make the playoffs or even get a better record than the Clippers. If Kobe really was better than Shaq then he could've gotten a lot more accomplished with Odom and Butler on his team.

If that doesn't convince you, think about the playoffs this year and last...
The Heat just BARELY lost in game 7. It could have gone either way and Wade's injury also was a big setback.
The Lakers basically got swept. They won 1 game but even that was close. Sure, Malone was injured but Kobe and Shaq were fine.
Injured Shaq and injured Wade did better than healthy Shaq and healthy Kobe.

Sorry Laker fans, Shaq is better. Believe it</div>

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ilive4ball:</div><div class="quote_post">Your Wrong. How many championships do Dwayne and Shaq have? I think Shaq and Kobe have 3...but I could be wrong, you could check on ESPN though to confirm that one. Anyways you can't judge who's better since they play dif. positions, thats like comparing MJ and Wilt Chamberlain...anyways, don't bother writing back because your opinions wrong.</div>
Are you crazy? Shaq and Wade played together for one year. How many do you expect? Should they have gotten 3 in one year? Is it even possible?????
Sure I hate comparing 2 GREAT players but this year, Shaq's team has been a better one. Next year, it could be the same or the opposite, we never know. Until then I wouldn't say who's better yet but this year, Shaq's TEAM did better than Kobe's TEAM. Now, will you admit to that?

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting WadeDynasty:</div><div class="quote_post">Are you crazy? Shaq and Wade played together for one year. How many do you expect? Should they have gotten 3 in one year? Is it even possible?????
Sure I hate comparing 2 GREAT players but this year, Shaq's team has been a better one. Next year, it could be the same or the opposite, we never know. Until then I wouldn't say who's better yet but this year, Shaq's TEAM did better than Kobe's TEAM. Now, will you admit to that?</div>

Shaq's Miami Heat team is way better than the lakers team by far. If you look at the Heat bench they have way better players that can contribute more than any laker off the bench would. Zo, laetner, rasual butler, dooling all contributed and even helped the heat stay in the game at times. If you look at the crappy laker bench of the older teams with mark madsen, george, fox, lue, etc... they all didn't contribute anything to the team except rot the bench. Imagine if the lakers had the heat bench this year, they probably could have beaten the pistons in the finals last year.

I don't wanna take anything away from shaq, hes a good player and he makes his teammates better especiallly wade, but to say it was just wade and shaq that did everything is absurd. Without the help of the heat bench, they would not be where they were at.

The main point is that shaq's team in LA was much worse than his team in Miami. Everyone knows the lakers bench sucked for the past couple of years and relied soley on shaq and kobe. When the finals came around they didn't have to worry about any other players and when shaq and kobe got a rest, there was nobody on the laker bench that could give them a spark or score and sometimes maintain a lead if they had one. The two teams are not even close.

 

I believe we traded shaq for odom, butler, and grant. You can't say shaq is better then kobe. What you can say is that shaq is better then odom, butler, and grant. And Pat Riley is definitely better then Mitch. If we received near equal value or even a trade that was way lop sided I think we would be talking about a different story.

 

^exactly. We didn't get near enough for him. In the original deal the Lakers wanted Wade but Riley wouldn't have it. No one would give up anything great for a great player like Shaq. Dallas wouldn't give Nowiztski and Miiami wouldn't give up Wade.

 

I don't think it's fair to say Shaq was better than Kobe this year. By the numbers alone, Shaq would have lost. Shaq showed he was not Superman this year, though he's still a force in the middle. But I bet Yao could have defended him straight up had they met in this year's playoffs.

Shaq's TEAM, however, beats Kobe's TEAM by a mile. The Heat was better primarily because of that man, the new superstar Dwyane Wade. The MVP on this year's Heat team is Wade, so actually I was mystified why Shaq, and not Wade, was the strong candidate for league MVP.

On the topic why LA got beaten so badly last year, I think it was because only Kobe and Shaq showed up to play in the Finals. Malone was standing on one leg, Payton lost his head, Fisher and George lost their shot, Fox and Grant lost their health, so who else did the Lakers have last year to help carry the load? Cook? Slava? Luke?
AND like what proved to be the Heat's undoing this Game 7, the ball could not go in to Shaq when he got going, and the Piston defense shut down the superstar guards Kobe and Wade.

 

This is one of the most retarded threads ever. They both play totaly different positions. No one ever said kobe was better then shaq, the same way no one ever said Jordan was better then Wilt. The fact is Miami is a better team and it would help kobe if he had a 2nd all star on the team.
Shaq/Wade - Kobe its not very balanced so yea..obviously miami is better.

 

^Thats right! People say why didn't Kobe give it to Shaq more and why did the Lakers not feed Shaq in the finals against the Pistons? The reason is just what batman9970 said. The Pistons know that if they cut of entry passes to Shaquille(people think making entry passes to the post is easy and its not) and make the Superstars (Kobe and Wade) beat them then they know that they have the best chance of winning and so far they are 2-0 vs. Shaq and a Superstar guard. The Pistons know how to handle Shaq's teams. Once they cut off the entry passes, Kobe and the rest of the Lakers and D-Wade and D Jones and the rest of the Heat start taking too many bad perimeter jump shots which = loss

 

hello eveyone! well i think that shaq is not better than kobe, well i think kobe has a lot of potential and a great game, good skills, nice shoot, etc... Shaq is dominant, and he has a great force but he really doesn't make anything else, only recieve the ball he does a move and he dunks!!!! Who is shaq without Kobe, Wade, or Penny???' i think kobe and shaq can't be compared in who is beter? i really love the game that kobe made every night, i must admit too that kobe and shaq are complemented, now shaq work fine with wade, i think lakers will be able to make a great season in the next.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting KB23:</div><div class="quote_post">^Thats right! People say why didn't Kobe give it to Shaq more and why did the Lakers not feed Shaq in the finals against the Pistons? The reason is just what batman9970 said. The Pistons know that if they cut of entry passes to Shaquille(people think making entry passes to the post is easy and its not) and make the Superstars (Kobe and Wade) beat them then they know that they have the best chance of winning and so far they are 2-0 vs. Shaq and a Superstar guard. The Pistons know how to handle Shaq's teams. Once they cut off the entry passes, Kobe and the rest of the Lakers and D-Wade and D Jones and the rest of the Heat start taking too many bad perimeter jump shots which = loss</div>
My thoughts exactly. You guys realize that Shaq hasn't won a championship since zone defense was allowed? Zone up around Shaq to discourage the entry pass and you take away a huge chunk of the bread-n-butter plays.

 

I have no problem admitting shaqs team is better, you'd have to be a moron not to. And obviously you can't get 3 championships in one season, but it is unfair to start claiming how much better dwayne and shaq are than shaq and kobe were after one season. The only point we'll be able to asses that is when shaq and dwayne aren't team mates any more.

Back to shaq being a better player, it's impossible to say. You have to define player... I mean skill wise Kobe is top notch in every facet of the game and probably the best all around player in the game. Shaq is way more dominant but when your twice the size of a point gaurd with an attitude problem, of course your going to be dominant. Shaq has great foot work, can pass well, has a chip on his shoulder, and is HUGE- equals one of the best if not the best centers we'll ever see. Kobe is athletic, young, hungry, good shooter (he'll learn to deal with double teams more), can pass, hit the big shot...

The players are too different to judge, I'm by no means puttin down shaq cause u really can't, unless u want to get into personality **** which has nothing to do with basketball. So yeah...both shaq and Kobe are going to go down in history as two of the best players to ever play the game- though Kobe has longevity, something shaq doesn't.

 

This is the gayest thread I have ever seen. What is it supposed to prove? Who cares about the Shaq and Kobe feud already. It's over. Let's look at the positives of this situation. We now have a good looking future. We might sign Phil Jackson soon. We have a lottery pick. Let's stop comparing two guys that play in two different positions. I am just excited to see what is going to happen with Shaq's contract with Miami. The truth will come out people will realize it. Kobe is doing good by just keeping it in because he knows he will get respect again. Hey he is getting promoted finially by Nike.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ericdabbs:</div><div class="quote_post">Shaq's Miami Heat team is way better than the lakers team by far. If you look at the Heat bench they have way better players that can contribute more than any laker off the bench would. Zo, laetner, rasual butler, dooling all contributed and even helped the heat stay in the game at times. If you look at the crappy laker bench of the older teams with mark madsen, george, fox, lue, etc... they all didn't contribute anything to the team except rot the bench. Imagine if the lakers had the heat bench this year, they probably could have beaten the pistons in the finals last year.

I don't wanna take anything away from shaq, hes a good player and he makes his teammates better especiallly wade, but to say it was just wade and shaq that did everything is absurd. Without the help of the heat bench, they would not be where they were at.

The main point is that shaq's team in LA was much worse than his team in Miami. Everyone knows the lakers bench sucked for the past couple of years and relied soley on shaq and kobe. When the finals came around they didn't have to worry about any other players and when shaq and kobe got a rest, there was nobody on the laker bench that could give them a spark or score and sometimes maintain a lead if they had one. The two teams are not even close.</div>


Your right this team is way better than the Lakers team. It took 7 games and the whole starting lineup being injured to beat the heat. When the Lakers were perfectly healthy and got beat in what 5 games? Im seriously tired though about this Kobe vs. Shaq. I've had my opinions in the past but you have to move on. It happened a long time ago. Shaq has more impact on the team he plays for but Kobe is proably the better player.

 

Shaq is a higher impact player, and is a "better winner". Kobe is a more talented, and at this stage of their careers the better indivudual player, that's really all their is to say about it.


<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "ericdabbs":</div><div class="quote_post">Shaq's Miami Heat team is way better than the lakers team by far. If you look at the Heat bench they have way better players that can contribute more than any laker off the bench would. Zo, laetner, rasual butler, dooling all contributed and even helped the heat stay in the game at times. If you look at the crappy laker bench of the older teams with mark madsen, george, fox, lue, etc... they all didn't contribute anything to the team except rot the bench. Imagine if the lakers had the heat bench this year, they probably could have beaten the pistons in the finals last year. </div>
The same Heat bench that people said would be non-factors, and the same supporting cast that people mocked to start the season? I think we can all agree that Shaq and Wade really opened things up for those guys. Really though I don't know how you can say the Heat bench is superior to the older Lakers benches. The Heat during the season had Keyon Dooling, Christian Laettner, Michael Doleac, and once in a while Rasual Butler coming off the bench. Their bench was really not that good to tell the truth.

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">2. Shaq cannot create his own shot.</div>
I don't know about this one, I consider him scoring off the post-up creating his own shot. If you mean creating off the dribble, then obviously, if we really look at it, not too many big men are very clutch players. It's not because they can't hit the shots, but it's harder to get the ball inside down the stretch.

Their's exceptions, but their's a few things:

1) It's hard to get the ball in the post, especially late in the game.
2) Teams will deny the post, and it will take longer to get the ball inside, which isn't beneficial in short clock situations.
3) Posting up many times requires posting and re-posting if the offensive player does not have good position which also takes time.
4) Not that many big men are very good FT shooters.
5) Few big man are really able to create their own shot off the dribble effectively.

 

I bet you that if Kobe and the Lakers won this season, everybody here would be saying "Kobes better than Shaq." What's all this talk about the Heat being deep...Payton, Shaq, and Kobe isn't good enough? 3 Hall of Famers on one team...4 if you count Malone. Why were Payton and Shaq messed up? Because Kobe hogs the ball. I'm not saying the ball should go to Shaq every single possession, but there's no reason for Kobe to be shooting fadeaway jumpers when he's being guarded well. Ben Wallace can't take Shaq....

Before the season I thought, "If Kobe would just be a smarter player, the Lakers might do better than the Heat." But he's still hogging the ball so I think he still has some growing up to do...

Oh and also, looking at the stat sheet doesn't tell the whole story when you look at Shaq. He does more than score and rebound. He draws attention away from players like Wade or Kobe so they can get more free. EVERYBODY on the team benefits from the increase in open shots. Think about it: teams CHANGE their gameplans for Shaq. Teams will stock up on big men just so they can afford more fouls. For Kobe, he is a great player but very much containable (Bowen....Prince....)

 

Er... we're back to "Kobe hogs the ball." I'm sorry not to move past last season's loss but I still feel Kobe got a bum rap taking all the blame for the Finals loss. The Piston defense was terrific in denying Shaq the ball, and the Laker shot just wasn't falling for everyone, Kobe, GP, George, Malone, Fox, et al. Heck, if Phil Jackson really wanted to pound the ball in to Shaq, he would have done it. He's got 3 other players besides Kobe to pass it in but apparently the other players on the floor couldn't do it either. I don't think Kobe has the power to stop them from passing in to Shaq if Phil Jackson had ordered it. (Maybe Phil never did order it??? Beats me, he's always so cool sitting there.)

Payton last year was a misfit on the Triangle squad; he wouldn't play it and Phil Jackson was forced to use Fisher for many a 4th quarter, remember? Payton's spot-up shots off many Kobe kick-outs missed, too. Anyway, Payton wouldn't have been a bust if he had done what he was brought in for, to be The Glove on the opposing point guard. Sadly, he failed miserably to contain the Finals MVP Billups.

However, I'll agree with Lakerland that Kobe still has a problem with shot selection. Still hasn't found one he doesn't like. This year he seemed to have acquired the disconcerting habit of firing a three at the most inopportune time of the game, as in when down two in the final minute of the game. Kobe has got to use his ability to take the ball all the way to the rim again and again for the Lakers to be successful.

Now to end this pathetic rambling of mine, I share lakerland's enthusiasm for Sasha. In the extremely limited minutes he had, he has shown glimpses of what he can do: Remember the pass thru the defender's legs on a break to Slava for the finish. Sign of things to come.