Do you think the combination of Iverson and Shaq would have won more titles than the combo of Kobe and Shaq?
I don't know how they would be playing together, but I think they would have won a few titles (atleast one or two). I think they would have stayed together instead of being broken up like the Shaq-Kobe dynasty was simply because both have great respect for each other and have said they've always wanted to play with each other.
Shaq always dislike shoot-1st players, so I have no doubt in my mind they wouldnt have got along. Not many people remember that before Kobe, a similiar feud went on with the magic front office and Penny Hardaway. So considering you have the biggest ballhog in the game right now paired with shaq, I dont think the results would be well, espically considering Iverson didnt begin passing at all until recent years, and most of his assists come from him handling the ball most of the game on offense, still considering the weak east back then, I'm sure they would have won at least 1 championship even if there was no chemistry at all. It's easy to get along with someone, until you have to play with them.
I don't buy the "Iverson wouldn't pass" argument anymore, because he'll pass when he needs to. He's said all along that if he has capable players around him (offensively), he'll set them up. He couldn't really do that under Larry Brown simply because he played shooting guard, and most of our players were defensive specialists, not offensive specialists. I'm sure if he had the big fella down low to dish it off to when he penetrates, he'd look to pass a hell of a lot more than he does now with Dalembert down low.It really depends though on who their coach was and what kind of players they would have around them. If they had some shooters around them, then Iverson's poor shooting wouldn't be as big of a negative. It would be ridiculously hard to stop Iverson from penetrating and dishing it off to Shaq.EDIT: AI the biggest ballhog in the game right now? Please... he may still be somewhat of a ballhog, but he definitely is not the biggest anymore.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BigMo763 @ Jun 8 2006, 07:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't buy the "Iverson wouldn't pass" argument anymore, because he'll pass when he needs to. He's said all along that if he has capable players around him (offensively), he'll set them up. He couldn't really do that under Larry Brown simply because he played shooting guard, and most of our players were defensive specialists, not offensive specialists. I'm sure if he had the big fella down low to dish it off to when he penetrates, he'd look to pass a hell of a lot more than he does now with Dalembert down low.It really depends though on who their coach was and what kind of players they would have around them. If they had some shooters around them, then Iverson's poor shooting wouldn't be as big of a negative. It would be ridiculously hard to stop Iverson from penetrating and dishing it off to Shaq.EDIT: AI the biggest ballhog in the game right now? Please... he may still be somewhat of a ballhog, but he definitely is not the biggest anymore.</div>You should stop being biased for a minute, and look who has taken the most field goal attempts in the last 5 years. :closedeyes:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PrimeTime @ Jun 8 2006, 06:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>You should stop being biased for a minute, and look who has taken the most field goal attempts in the last 5 years. :closedeyes:</div>Yes... I am definitely being biased, even though I'm one of the rare people here that watch every Sixers game and know how much AI actually passes instead of relying on stereotypes about his game from a few years ago.By the way... in the last five years, Iverson has taken only 178 more FGA than Kobe has and still had 231 more assists than Kobe did, and this past season Kobe took 2173 FGA compared to Iverson's 1822, and Iverson had 532 assists compared to Kobe's 360 assists.Iverson had less FGA and more assists than LeBron this past season, so I guess LeBron is a ballhog too, right?So, is Iverson still the biggest ballhog in the game today?EDIT: And if anybody thinks that AI wouldn't pass more if he had Shaq downlow compared to guys like Mutombo, Nazr Mohammed, Derrick Coleman and Samuel Dalembert... you're out of your mind.Reason for edit: I realized I forgot to put in Kobe's assist numbers from this past season.
No. Iverson is too selfish. He wouldnt give Shaq enough touches. He would have wanted the ball more than Kobe did back when Kobe was young. Iverson scored more points, but he wouldnt fit into an offense with Shaq because of how many touches he was used to. Also, Iverson was a poor defensive player.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jun 8 2006, 06:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No. Iverson is too selfish. He wouldnt give Shaq enough touches. He would have wanted the ball more than Kobe did back when Kobe was young. Iverson scored more points, but he wouldnt fit into an offense with Shaq because of how many touches he was used to. Also, Iverson was a poor defensive player.</div>I really don't buy that. If Iverson didn't pass to the most dominant player perhaps in the history of the game, he'd be a dumbass.I think it also depends on WHEN the two were paired together. Iveron and Kobe's careers have been vastly different. Iverson had to carry teams single-handedly, whereas Kobe had Shaq. I'm sure if Shaq joined Iverson (or vice-versa) after Iverson had experienced four or five years of carrying a team on his back, he'd be absolutely ecstatic to pass to Shaq.Kobe, on the other hand, was never allowed to be the primary option on offense, and was asked to play second-fiddle to Shaq, which I think is a big reason why he wanted to have his own team, etc. If he had gone through four or five years of having to play with below-average to average teammates and have to carry them on his back, it would have been a different story.
This thread is full of haters. Do you not think Ai would realise he has the Most Dominant player on his side and would stop ball hogging? Would he not realise that would be his best oppurtinity to win a ring?Circumstances changes people.
I don't know what would happen if they were teammates because they've never really played with each other. But I'm sure that once they got used to each other's playing styles, they would have dominated on the court and brought home some championships.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo_061 @ Jun 8 2006, 06:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This thread is full of haters. Do you not think Ai would realise he has the Most Dominant player on his side and would stop ball hogging? Would he not realise that would be his best oppurtinity to win a ring?Circumstances changes people.</div>I agree. (<<That's a first. )
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BALLAHOLLIC @ Jun 8 2006, 06:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Do you think the combination of Iverson and Shaq would have won more titles than the combo of Kobe and Shaq?</div>No. AI doesnt play the team game good enough. AI when he entered the NBA was going to be a star no matter what. Kobe allowed the game to come to him, which also allowed him to understand the importance of Shaq. I've also never seen AI be able to consistantly hit a jumper when the ball is passed out of the paint like Kobe can.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (redneck @ Jun 8 2006, 08:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>No. AI doesnt play the team game good enough. AI when he entered the NBA was going to be a star no matter what. Kobe allowed the game to come to him, which also allowed him to understand the importance of Shaq. I've also never seen AI be able to consistantly hit a jumper when the ball is passed out of the paint like Kobe can.</div>Yes... Kobe definitely understood the importance of Shaq, especially when he was about to be a free agent. And you have not seen AI be able to consistently hit a jumper when the ball is passed to him out of the post because... well, simply put he has never had a reliable post player who needed to be double teamed, and thus that was never a part of the offense that Philadelphia ran with Iverson.
How about all of you that are calling AI a ballhog and stuff liek that actually watch the Sixers before you say these things. How do you say a player that got 7.5 apg last season w/ no real good scorer on his team is the biggest ballhog in the league??? I mean cmon. Maybe the reason he always had so many shot attempts was because he had no true scorer on his team. I mean he has never had a great scorer play along him. Don't even say that AI would be a ballhog if he had Shaq around him. I mean AI would be so happy to have Shaq with him if he got the chance. I mean both players have a ton of respect for each other and I think they could both play really well together
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (iversonfan268 @ Jun 8 2006, 09:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>How about all of you that are calling AI a ballhog and stuff liek that actually watch the Sixers before you say these things. How do you say a player that got 7.5 apg last season w/ no real good scorer on his team is the biggest ballhog in the league???</div>My favorite all-time response to that question (which is the one I normally get) is "well, a player that has the ball as much as he does SHOULD average that many assists." Yeah... right. If he doesn't get assists, he is a ballhog, but even when he gets assists... he's still a ballhog. Hell, people called him a ballhog in the 2004-2005 season despite the fact that he averaged a career-high in assists.Some people just rely on the media stereotypes instead of watching players actually play the game on a consistent basis. This doesn't apply solely to Iverson... it applies to a lot of players in this league.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BigMo763 @ Jun 8 2006, 06:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't know how they would be playing together, but I think they would have won a few titles (atleast one or two). I think they would have stayed together instead of being broken up like the Shaq-Kobe dynasty was simply because both have great respect for each other and have said they've always wanted to play with each other.</div>I agree not sure if they would win more titles, but they would have won a few for sure. Iverson, and Shaq got a lot of respect for each other. I am pretty sure Shaq was the few that spoke up for AI when he got snubed from the USA team.And for those who say Iverson does not pass, or is not a good passser.......... You should go to games, and watch then you tell me how AI does not pass. AI passes the ball, and they pass it back after a dribble, or 2. They are always scared to shoot except Webber who misses a lot. And Korver if he is hot he will make them othere wise he miss a lot of shots also.
I think it would be a lethal combo. AI would pass the ball much more often if he had that much of an offensively dominant player along side him.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheAnalyst @ Jun 15 2006, 11:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I think it would be a lethal combo. AI would pass the ball much more often if he had that much of an offensively dominant player along side him.</div>Yea to late now Shaq is old. What could have been hahaha
