http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXuolMTzuz0&feature=related
Have we now entered the dangerous 'Shaq realized he can't play so he's just going to intimidate opponents' phase of Shaq's career?
Wasn't he flinging around Rockets' players the other night?
They need to bring Barkley back so someone can step to this dude. In today's NBA, is there anyone with the cajones to answer Shaq's demand for satisfaction? I can't think of one. Who really wants some from an old, bitter 360 pound has-been? This is like when Andre the Giant was drunk during matches.
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I’m still waiting for Kobe to exact his cold vengeance for that bullshit Shaq pulled in the nightclub (“Kobe, tell me how my asssss tastes!”). I’m all about being the better man, but some shit cannot go unanswered.
When the Suns traded for Shaq, I hated it — thought they’d killed the Nash run-and-gun era. No one agreed with me. Everyone else seemed to buy the pundits’ argument that the Suns needed to do something; that Shaq, while not the Shaq of old, would still be able to improve their defense, spark fast breaks with offensive rebounds/outlet passes, and draw defenses away from Amare so he could score more easily.
Yeah okay, I said. Riley had to sit him during crunchtime of the 2006 Finals. And the Heat wasn’t even a fast-break team. Shaq had a fork sticking out of him then.
The Suns had to do something? Why? Nine months earlier, they had a Western Conf. Finals victory ripped out of their hands by some head-spiningly bad officials. Remember Game 5? That was just the capper. That entire series the stink of Donaghy on it. The Spurs got a gift. No offense to a great team, but that was a goddamned gift.
But pay no attention to reason, Kerr needed to make a move. Okay. So Shaq shows up in Phoenix and is introduced to the home crowd. He stands up in response to a standing O...and points to the championship ring on his finger, smiling and nodding. Really, Shaq? Talk about false and empty allusions; “Shaq” doesn’t equal “ring.” It did back in 2001, but not now.
At the close of the 2006 Finals, when Sterling started to hand D-Wade the trophy, Shaq took it from the commish so that he could hand it to his young protégé (another meritless allusion). I sat there shaking my head. Wade won that series almost single-handedly; the only assistance he got was from some friendly officials; Shaq made absolutely no positive impact while on the floor that series. And I left a Springsteen concert early that night so I could catch the second half. (Actually, no regrets there. Wade’s performance was worth it.)
Remember young, athletic Shaq? Orlando Magic Shaq? Holy shit. An absolute force to be reckoned with. But now? Stop it. I started to lose respect for the man-as-player when he started showing up to camp 40 lbs. overweight and “playing [his] way into shape” during the early part of the season. Now, the Suns are only giving him minutes every other game or so, to “keep him fresh for the post season.” What a joke. (I’d like to break down Shaq’s megalomania, too, but that would require another 500 - 1,000 words, minimum. Let’s just say not every personality could agree to something like Kazaam! And this new on-the-court shit where he’s straight manhandling opponents to make up for his lack of stamina and mobility is just another chapter.)
Bottom line: The Shaq era is over. O-vah.
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