to be fair, don't forget that kobe has had to share scoring opportunities with shaq while jordan was the main focus of the offense. you can't disprove that kobe without shaq (while maybe not winning championships) may not have had as good numbers as jordan. this is why those stat-based comparisons are misleading. everytime i hear players, coaches, gms, commentators, etc; answer who's the player closest to jordan they all say kobe. there must be a reason why.
The real proof will be in how he does now that Shaq is gone, it will be the real teast to see how he does in a situation like Jordan, him being the man and no big name center.
Also let's not forget how Dwyane was injury ridden last season. If Dwyane has another injury ridden season this year on top of Shaq missing at least 20+ games, this team is done.
Wade is no Kobe (at least not yet) and it will take him at least a couple of years to come even close to that level. Until then, it's going to be very difficult for Miami to win the championship because Wade needs to play at near Kobe-level for them to have a chance. And by that time, I'm guessing Shaq will be on the decline due to age and injuries. Miami better hope that Wade develops at a significant rate or else they could've traded away a potential annual championship contending team.
Was anybody watching the playoffs last season? Was I the only one who noticed that the Heat would have scoring droughts for up to 2-5 minutes <u>atleast once</u> in every playoff game? That is not championship material, it was a nice run but at the end of the day it was a fact that they were gonna have to improve their offense drastically if they want to compete. IMHO Dwayne Wade carried the Heat into the playoffs as far as he could, and he is the rookie so it should've been the other way around. There is no other player like Shaq in the game. I don't think his career in L.A. is going to reflect in Miami in a bad way. He was getting tired of playing for the Lakers and the way it was going, so you know he wasn't putting in effort because of it. Plus he brings experience to this team, which it seriously lacks. Now that he's going to Miami, he wants to prove that the Lakers made a big mistake in letting him go. Playing in the East is not as hard as it is in the West, and the Lakers didn't wanna face him in the West. Everyone in the Heat's roster PPG is going to go up because of all the double/triple teams he's gonna get and he's gonna do a way better job than Grant ever will. ShaQ 21 PPG last season Dwayne Wade 16 PPG last season Eddie Jones 17 PPG last season ^ Expecting those numbers to get better next season, the Heat have a better offense now than last season and we should see less droughts in scoring without compromising our defense. Point is, ShaQ instantly makes almost any team an instant title contender, and with D Wade carrying us into the second rounds of the playoffs, we're filling in all the right pieces to the puzzle that is the NBA Championship for Miami. WTG Riley
Well most sources say it was a good trade. Wade isn't Kobe yet, we all know, but I think Wade will only play better with Shaq.
brian grants one of my fav players caron is one of my fav players i like odom i hate shaq why are we giving away a #1 round pick as well as caron im thinking of changing alegence
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting The goat man:</div><div class="quote_post">brian grants one of my fav players caron is one of my fav players i like odom i hate shaq why are we giving away a #1 round pick as well as caron im thinking of changing alegence</div> How can you like Brian Grant?! God he sux major ballz. And hes your favorite player LOL. Jeez Grant better thhan Shaq? Think again buddy theres a new center in this town.
Yeah I understand the lament over sending Odom and Caron but how would you not like Grant being gone? Grant and Shaq are at the same age too. It ain't only SHaq that's getting old.
