Shaq has no competition in the East toher than Ben Wallace. Jamal Maglore is heading to the West too. What other competiton does Shaq have?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ace2k2:</div><div class="quote_post">Shaq has no competition in the East toher than Ben Wallace. Jamal Maglore is heading to the West too. What other competiton does Shaq have?</div> Big Ben will be the only guy to hold him. But...don't forget about Emeka. He's athletic and can jump high. He won't be able to stop Shaq when he is in the air, but I think Emeka has the potential to block some of his shots and rip the ball when he does get in the air.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting realdealbneal:</div><div class="quote_post">Big Ben will be the only guy to hold him. But...don't forget about Emeka. He's athletic and can jump high. He won't be able to stop Shaq when he is in the air, but I think Emeka has the potential to block some of his shots and rip the ball when he does get in the air.</div> Good point I forgot about Emeka. Shaq will still have his way with Emeka but Emeka will get about 2 blocks in there.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ace2k2:</div><div class="quote_post">Good point I forgot about Emeka. Shaq will still have his way with Emeka but Emeka will get about 2 blocks in there.</div> Other than those two guys, Shaq will be untouchable. Although...I'd like to see the Celtics throw Al Jefferson on Shaq when they are getting destroyed by the Heat...because Jefferson is a monster. But...not as agile and athletic as Emeka.
Well how emeka will hold Shaq? He's only a rookie too. I think Jermain O'neal has better chance defending Shaq
I didn't really say that Emeka would hold him good...but he'd do it better than anyone else in the East (other than Ben Wallace). Jermaine O'Neal is undersized at the center position now that Shaq is in the East...any other time, Jermaine would do great as a center...but not against Shaq. Maybe if he put on 100 more lbs...
It doesn't matter if you can stop Shaq or not if the Heat are getting outplayed everywhere else. Pistons can do that.
Only big guys worth mentioning who can take it to and guard Shaq are Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Elden Campbell, Jermaine O'Neal...well thats about it. Won't make much difference though, unless you have the supporting cast and added depth what Shaq does won't really matter too much.
Well the best chance the East got is hoping that his age factors into his play and slows him down. Having another career low despite not having another big superstar that takes alot of shots for himself. Other then that I guess he could get 25 and 12 again. Which is great for a player being 32 going on 33.
you guys are giving emeka okafor a chance in guarding shaq?? Are you guys smoking crack or something?? Shaq outweighs the rookie(!) by 100 pounds, he will certainly run all over his ass and dunk on him easily. Did anyone see the finals?? Shaq made Ben Wallace and the rest of the Pistons forwards/centers look like they were ants. To put it short, the only person that can guard shaq one on one and not look like a 12 year old is yao ming, no one in the east has a chance against him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting subrock:</div><div class="quote_post">you guys are giving emeka okafor a chance in guarding shaq?? Are you guys smoking crack or something?? Shaq outweighs the rookie(!) by 100 pounds, he will certainly run all over his ass and dunk on him easily. Did anyone see the finals?? Shaq made Ben Wallace and the rest of the Pistons forwards/centers look like they were ants. To put it short, the only person that can guard shaq one on one and not look like a 12 year old is yao ming, no one in the east has a chance against him.</div> Of all the Magic/Lakers games I have watched over the years, the best defender against Shaq that I saw was Malone. I am convinced that Malone could guard anyone, after seeing the 40 something come out and guard Tony Parker and smothering him. You shoulda saw the look on Parkers face. That however had nothing to do with guarding Shaq, sorry . Back to that. Malone is the best physical specimen with D Rob retired. When Shaq would do his drop step, Malone held his own. Shaq had to shoot jump hooks about everytime. No one else that I've have seen could do that. Hakeem did exception on him to.
Who can honestly guard Shaq anyways? Probably Tim Duncan, and thats about it. East or West, he's still one of the hardest players to guard. The Wallaces can't exactly guard him, but they are two of the players who could help contain him. As for the mentioning of Okafor - He's done a lot of damage on the defensive end. I know college ball is a lot different than the NBA, but it shouldn't discredit his ability to defend.
Yeah, I think that alot of people are dismantling Okafor's ability only because he played with Ben Gordon, and also because he suffered a back injury. Does anyone remember how great Okafor played in the tournament? WOW...without him, UConn would've had an early exit. The man is a beast...he's got a nice vertical, he can position his body for a block on ANY big man, and he's no skinny "Shawn Bradley" type of player, either. He lacks height, but makes up for it in agility, quickness and muscle mass. He'll be doing great things in the NBA...just not with the Bobcats (as a team).
Rafael Aroju .. There is no body, in the entire league that can stop Shaq 1 on 1 without fouling him, not Ben, not Duncan .. and not even Yao. You just contain him, put him on the line when he goes off, and stop his supporting cast. That's what Larry Brown did in the finals, and that's what every coach should do when they face the Diesel.
Ben Wallace - the best chance Okafor - notta chance Dalembert - hahaha Cato - ahh, na Collins (NJ) - lol Jeff Foster - kidding, right? Gadurzic - no Bluont - what a joke Eddy Curry - he is baby shaq, isnt he? not
How about Damp? He has played well against Shaq. If you have watched those games, you would know. I think that Pavel guy might have a chance. The thing is with rookies, you can not say anything about them until they have proven themselves in the league. So dont even mention Okafor.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Warriorfansnc93:</div><div class="quote_post">How about Damp? He has played well against Shaq. If you have watched those games, you would know. I think that Pavel guy might have a chance. The thing is with rookies, you can not say anything about them until they have proven themselves in the league. So dont even mention Okafor.</div> Dampier isn't in the East...and anyways, Dampier has had just one good season. Ironically, it's the one before he receives his player option...so it makes him look appealing to the coaches. Pavel Podkolzine stopping Shaq? He's a rookie, too, my friend...so mention Emeka before you mention a guy who played an average of 5-10 minutes a game because he can't work with his teammates.
Yes, we are talking about the east. And anyway Shaq will man handle that Pavel dude from Utah with power, quickness and a whole lot of experience.
Podkolzine only averaged a couple of points and rebounds per game. He's just yet another project, and to mention him in the same breath as Shaq is rather funny. He won't make an impact for a couple of years down the road. I'd love to see Pavel get thrown in there with Shaq though, he'd get eaten alive.
