boutons
11-12-2004, 06:18 PM
Scouting Report: Heat at Spurs
By Rob Peterson
Nov. 12 -- When the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat, not only did the Lakers front office break up the team, but they also broke apart one of the better center rivalries in the history of the NBA. Because they are in different conferences, Shaq and Tim Duncan will now only meet twice a season instead of four times. And instead of perennially meeting in the Western Conference playoffs, Shaq and Duncan will only meet in the postseason if their teams make the Finals.
But tonight, here they go again. Duncan and O'Neal will square off in their first of two meetings as the Miami Heat head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). We talked to an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference scout to get their thoughts on how Miami and San Antonio have changed since last season.
How has Shaq changed the Heat?
Eastern Conference scout: "Just his presence alone has helped his teammates. He has raised the level of confidence in not only on the team but also the organization. They expect to be good now. A lot of times when guys play with confidence, they raise their games overall.
"They have a little bit of swagger now. And there's more confidence in the direction the organization is heading and that raises the comfort level and helps guys calm down and play better."
Western Conference scout: "They have an immediate presence in the paint, offensively. More important, they have an immediate presence organizationally. He just changes the whole complexion of the roster and the organization.
How has Shaq helped the Heat on the court?
Eastern Conference scout: "He is such a dominant figure on the court, teams naturally have to focus on him as their first player to stop, so that opens the court for the other players like Dwyane Wade, who was already a great player last year, but is on his way to being a superstar player. Just Shaq being in the paint helps Wade. It's helped Udonis Haslem, who's off to a good rebounding start because the other team has to be aware where Shaq is.
"It gets other guys open on the perimeter, too. Eddie Jones has always been a good cutter from the perimeter and getting open. If his guy is going to double, then it's easier for them to get open looks. Same with Rasual Butler and Damon Jones."
How has Shaq changed the Heat's style of play on offense?
Eastern Conference scout: "I think they're keeping everyone involved. Wade has great numbers but he still gets the ball to people. And Shaq himself is an underrated passer in his own right. That makes guys stay active and that, when they're open, they know they're going to get the ball. The big two are Shaq and Wade, but the other guys know if they move, if they stay active, they're going to get the ball."
Western Conference scout: "Their personnel is so different than last year, they need to play accordingly. Last year, they had Lamar Odom, who came into his own. He was a point forward at times, he could handle the ball. Caron Butler was a wide-open player, so the structure of that team dictates that you were going to play differently with that group than you would with this group.
"If you fast break too much, you could negate [Shaq's] value. But if you're a team that doesn't have anyone who can match up with Shaq, you're going to want to fast break more to try to take Shaq out of the game."
How has Shaq changed the Heat's style of play on defense?
Eastern Conference scout: "On defense last year, they had Brian Grant, who wasn't a shot blocking threat at all. With Shaq behind them, it allows them to take a few more chances on the perimeter and be more aggressive. Shaq can help eliminate their mistakes. And with Shaq, you don't need to help double team the other team's center."
Has Shaq been jumping out on pick-and-rolls like Miami centers have in the past?
Eastern Conference scout: "I think it's a bit overrated for him. I don't think they want him to [jump out]. With Pat Riley-influenced teams, they always do the same things, blah, blah, blah. But Shaq's the exception to the rule.
"You don't want him jumping out 35 feet from the basket, picking up a stupid foul on a point guard. I'm sure they want him to jump out, but knowing that, they also want him on the court and not in foul trouble. Or the fact that if he jumped out too much, he'd be away from the hoop, the ball would swing to the weak side and some guy goes in and dunks it from the weak side."
Is Dwyane Wade that good or is he a product of having Shaq on his team?
Eastern Conference scout: "No, Dwyane Wade is that good. To me, Wade, the last two or three months last year was an All-Star. He's a dominant, penetrating guard. He's playing point guard and he's proving he can do it.
"He's gifted with size, speed and strength. His jump shot is improving and it's not to the point where a defender can completely ignore him. He'll knock down those shots easily. He has one of the best first steps when you combine his quickness and his strength. He can finish to the rim and he's not looking to finger roll. He's a great passer because he can get past people and find the open guy.
"Yeah, Shaq's helped, but he'd be great without Shaq."
Western Conference scout: "Both. He's that good and he's better having Shaq around because Shaq takes a lot of pressure off of him. A lot of times if Shaq's not on the floor, that big guy who's guarding Shaq may be on the bench as well. That could also open things up for Wade. Now, Wade is a year older, he went through the process with the Olympic team. He's a very mature player and his learning curve has been very impressive in the last six to eight months."
Are the Spurs a better team this year than they were last season?
Eastern Conference scout: "They're still a great team. I think the [Brent] Barry influence alone makes them better. The other guy who will have a much improved year is Malik Rose. I think he was slowed by health issues last year and lost his quickness. It was a wasted year for him. He's been impressive so far. He's going to be another lift off the bench. And now, they're a better passing team than they've ever been."
Western Conference scout: "The Spurs have gotten off to a better start in the season than they have in the past. The one thing I'm seeing from the Spurs this year is that last year they needed key games from a few players. This year, they have more players who can give them big games. There are more people contributing to the win than in years past."
In preparing for the Heat, do you think teams prepare for them like they did with the Shaq-Kobe Bryant Lakers?
Western Conference scout: "I would say no. I don't think the comparison is fair. The teams are totally different. Unfortunately, people compare eras, players and situations to ones that have come before.
"Wade plays a different position than Kobe. Kobe plays on the wing. Dwyane is more of a one-two guard. He plays out more front than Kobe does. My position is that these guys are totally different. Shaq is different than he was in L.A. He has a newfound energy and excitement. He's in the type of shape he hasn't been in this early in the season in a few years. And Wade is a completely different player. He plays it differently, he sees it differently, so I would say I don't like the comparison anymore than you would say Yao and T-Mac are like Kobe and Shaq."
By Rob Peterson
Nov. 12 -- When the Lakers traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat, not only did the Lakers front office break up the team, but they also broke apart one of the better center rivalries in the history of the NBA. Because they are in different conferences, Shaq and Tim Duncan will now only meet twice a season instead of four times. And instead of perennially meeting in the Western Conference playoffs, Shaq and Duncan will only meet in the postseason if their teams make the Finals.
But tonight, here they go again. Duncan and O'Neal will square off in their first of two meetings as the Miami Heat head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). We talked to an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference scout to get their thoughts on how Miami and San Antonio have changed since last season.
How has Shaq changed the Heat?
Eastern Conference scout: "Just his presence alone has helped his teammates. He has raised the level of confidence in not only on the team but also the organization. They expect to be good now. A lot of times when guys play with confidence, they raise their games overall.
"They have a little bit of swagger now. And there's more confidence in the direction the organization is heading and that raises the comfort level and helps guys calm down and play better."
Western Conference scout: "They have an immediate presence in the paint, offensively. More important, they have an immediate presence organizationally. He just changes the whole complexion of the roster and the organization.
How has Shaq helped the Heat on the court?
Eastern Conference scout: "He is such a dominant figure on the court, teams naturally have to focus on him as their first player to stop, so that opens the court for the other players like Dwyane Wade, who was already a great player last year, but is on his way to being a superstar player. Just Shaq being in the paint helps Wade. It's helped Udonis Haslem, who's off to a good rebounding start because the other team has to be aware where Shaq is.
"It gets other guys open on the perimeter, too. Eddie Jones has always been a good cutter from the perimeter and getting open. If his guy is going to double, then it's easier for them to get open looks. Same with Rasual Butler and Damon Jones."
How has Shaq changed the Heat's style of play on offense?
Eastern Conference scout: "I think they're keeping everyone involved. Wade has great numbers but he still gets the ball to people. And Shaq himself is an underrated passer in his own right. That makes guys stay active and that, when they're open, they know they're going to get the ball. The big two are Shaq and Wade, but the other guys know if they move, if they stay active, they're going to get the ball."
Western Conference scout: "Their personnel is so different than last year, they need to play accordingly. Last year, they had Lamar Odom, who came into his own. He was a point forward at times, he could handle the ball. Caron Butler was a wide-open player, so the structure of that team dictates that you were going to play differently with that group than you would with this group.
"If you fast break too much, you could negate [Shaq's] value. But if you're a team that doesn't have anyone who can match up with Shaq, you're going to want to fast break more to try to take Shaq out of the game."
How has Shaq changed the Heat's style of play on defense?
Eastern Conference scout: "On defense last year, they had Brian Grant, who wasn't a shot blocking threat at all. With Shaq behind them, it allows them to take a few more chances on the perimeter and be more aggressive. Shaq can help eliminate their mistakes. And with Shaq, you don't need to help double team the other team's center."
Has Shaq been jumping out on pick-and-rolls like Miami centers have in the past?
Eastern Conference scout: "I think it's a bit overrated for him. I don't think they want him to [jump out]. With Pat Riley-influenced teams, they always do the same things, blah, blah, blah. But Shaq's the exception to the rule.
"You don't want him jumping out 35 feet from the basket, picking up a stupid foul on a point guard. I'm sure they want him to jump out, but knowing that, they also want him on the court and not in foul trouble. Or the fact that if he jumped out too much, he'd be away from the hoop, the ball would swing to the weak side and some guy goes in and dunks it from the weak side."
Is Dwyane Wade that good or is he a product of having Shaq on his team?
Eastern Conference scout: "No, Dwyane Wade is that good. To me, Wade, the last two or three months last year was an All-Star. He's a dominant, penetrating guard. He's playing point guard and he's proving he can do it.
"He's gifted with size, speed and strength. His jump shot is improving and it's not to the point where a defender can completely ignore him. He'll knock down those shots easily. He has one of the best first steps when you combine his quickness and his strength. He can finish to the rim and he's not looking to finger roll. He's a great passer because he can get past people and find the open guy.
"Yeah, Shaq's helped, but he'd be great without Shaq."
Western Conference scout: "Both. He's that good and he's better having Shaq around because Shaq takes a lot of pressure off of him. A lot of times if Shaq's not on the floor, that big guy who's guarding Shaq may be on the bench as well. That could also open things up for Wade. Now, Wade is a year older, he went through the process with the Olympic team. He's a very mature player and his learning curve has been very impressive in the last six to eight months."
Are the Spurs a better team this year than they were last season?
Eastern Conference scout: "They're still a great team. I think the [Brent] Barry influence alone makes them better. The other guy who will have a much improved year is Malik Rose. I think he was slowed by health issues last year and lost his quickness. It was a wasted year for him. He's been impressive so far. He's going to be another lift off the bench. And now, they're a better passing team than they've ever been."
Western Conference scout: "The Spurs have gotten off to a better start in the season than they have in the past. The one thing I'm seeing from the Spurs this year is that last year they needed key games from a few players. This year, they have more players who can give them big games. There are more people contributing to the win than in years past."
In preparing for the Heat, do you think teams prepare for them like they did with the Shaq-Kobe Bryant Lakers?
Western Conference scout: "I would say no. I don't think the comparison is fair. The teams are totally different. Unfortunately, people compare eras, players and situations to ones that have come before.
"Wade plays a different position than Kobe. Kobe plays on the wing. Dwyane is more of a one-two guard. He plays out more front than Kobe does. My position is that these guys are totally different. Shaq is different than he was in L.A. He has a newfound energy and excitement. He's in the type of shape he hasn't been in this early in the season in a few years. And Wade is a completely different player. He plays it differently, he sees it differently, so I would say I don't like the comparison anymore than you would say Yao and T-Mac are like Kobe and Shaq."