some_user86
11-08-2007, 01:57 AM
Buck Harvey: Old men mountain: Tim as Shaq
Web Posted: 11/08/2007 12:28 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
The oldest team in the league can make anyone feel young, and maybe that's what got into Shaquille O'Neal.
Back in the city where he played high school hoops, back against familiar rivals, he opened the second half with a dunk that looked like something from the start of the century.
Asked afterward if he had a little more spring Wednesday, Shaq nodded. "A little bit," he said.
But that's the scary part. If this passed for youthful pep, then Shaq must be calcifying on other nights. He ended with just three rebounds, and his one dunk against the Spurs was only his second of the season.
The freakish combination of power and quickness that once made him the MVP has gone, and now he's pulling down $20 million while waiting for someone else to make the game easier for him.
And?
In four years Tim Duncan will hear a similar critique.
In four years, when Duncan is as old as Shaq is now, he will be at the end of the extension he just signed. That's one difference between these men. Shaq has two more years of superstar money after this season.
Their games are also a contrast, since Duncan is landlocked enough not to miss an extra step. Furthermore, the city of San Antonio won't begrudge anything to someone who played his entire career with the Spurs, won at least four titles and took less money on the last contract.
Shaq, who followed Dwyane Wade to a title, doesn't have the same history in Miami.
Still, the best two big men of this generation cannot escape their ties. Either one or the other has been in every NBA Finals since 1999, and, as the years pass, each of their fading stages will be publicly evaluated.
Shaq has thus far handled it well, especially considering the separation he's going through with his wife. Instead of snapping back at various reports (one newspaper announced he's "done" and could be looking for a buyout), he's remained his playful self.
Asked Wednesday about the beard he's growing, he said, "That's my mountain man look."
Ever in search of big-something nicknames, he's settled on this one for the beard: "The Big Rogue."
But none of it makes up for the big change. He's closer in agility now to the same Greg Ostertag he once decked, and it's only natural. How many players in history have retained most of their ability after 15 seasons?
Robert Horry comes as close as anyone. He knows old and he also knows Shaq, and he sees a different player than the one he once played with.
The spin? The quickness around the basket? "That's gone," said Horry.
Horry was there for the best of Shaq, in 2000, when O'Neal was the MVP of both the regular season and the Finals. "No one in the universe could have stopped him then," Horry said.
But Shaq hasn't been anything close to that since before his last season with the Lakers. His scoring average has dropped steadily to a career low of 17.3 last year.
Coincidentally, he scored 17 Wednesday in a loss to the Spurs, and Horry thinks Shaq could have had more. "You could tell he was frustrated," he said. "He's playing with people who aren't used to getting the ball to a dominant big man."
That's where Wade comes in. The Spurs double-teamed Shaq, suggesting they still see the power in him, and Wade would take advantage of that. If Shaq remains ineffective with Wade, then it's official. He is finished.
But now? Done?
"You know, that's just the press," Heat coach Pat Riley said Wednesday. "The guy's had an incredible career, so everybody is looking at him and picking him apart instead of embracing what he's got left and what he has done."
There's something to this. Shaq has something left, because 350-pound centers always do.
And if it doesn't match up with his salary, that's because the past is built into the cost. This is the price the Heat paid for their title.
And if San Antonio has a hard time embracing a 35-year-old superstar whose best days are behind him, time will change that.
In 2012.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA110807.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.3a4fe8b.html
Web Posted: 11/08/2007 12:28 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
The oldest team in the league can make anyone feel young, and maybe that's what got into Shaquille O'Neal.
Back in the city where he played high school hoops, back against familiar rivals, he opened the second half with a dunk that looked like something from the start of the century.
Asked afterward if he had a little more spring Wednesday, Shaq nodded. "A little bit," he said.
But that's the scary part. If this passed for youthful pep, then Shaq must be calcifying on other nights. He ended with just three rebounds, and his one dunk against the Spurs was only his second of the season.
The freakish combination of power and quickness that once made him the MVP has gone, and now he's pulling down $20 million while waiting for someone else to make the game easier for him.
And?
In four years Tim Duncan will hear a similar critique.
In four years, when Duncan is as old as Shaq is now, he will be at the end of the extension he just signed. That's one difference between these men. Shaq has two more years of superstar money after this season.
Their games are also a contrast, since Duncan is landlocked enough not to miss an extra step. Furthermore, the city of San Antonio won't begrudge anything to someone who played his entire career with the Spurs, won at least four titles and took less money on the last contract.
Shaq, who followed Dwyane Wade to a title, doesn't have the same history in Miami.
Still, the best two big men of this generation cannot escape their ties. Either one or the other has been in every NBA Finals since 1999, and, as the years pass, each of their fading stages will be publicly evaluated.
Shaq has thus far handled it well, especially considering the separation he's going through with his wife. Instead of snapping back at various reports (one newspaper announced he's "done" and could be looking for a buyout), he's remained his playful self.
Asked Wednesday about the beard he's growing, he said, "That's my mountain man look."
Ever in search of big-something nicknames, he's settled on this one for the beard: "The Big Rogue."
But none of it makes up for the big change. He's closer in agility now to the same Greg Ostertag he once decked, and it's only natural. How many players in history have retained most of their ability after 15 seasons?
Robert Horry comes as close as anyone. He knows old and he also knows Shaq, and he sees a different player than the one he once played with.
The spin? The quickness around the basket? "That's gone," said Horry.
Horry was there for the best of Shaq, in 2000, when O'Neal was the MVP of both the regular season and the Finals. "No one in the universe could have stopped him then," Horry said.
But Shaq hasn't been anything close to that since before his last season with the Lakers. His scoring average has dropped steadily to a career low of 17.3 last year.
Coincidentally, he scored 17 Wednesday in a loss to the Spurs, and Horry thinks Shaq could have had more. "You could tell he was frustrated," he said. "He's playing with people who aren't used to getting the ball to a dominant big man."
That's where Wade comes in. The Spurs double-teamed Shaq, suggesting they still see the power in him, and Wade would take advantage of that. If Shaq remains ineffective with Wade, then it's official. He is finished.
But now? Done?
"You know, that's just the press," Heat coach Pat Riley said Wednesday. "The guy's had an incredible career, so everybody is looking at him and picking him apart instead of embracing what he's got left and what he has done."
There's something to this. Shaq has something left, because 350-pound centers always do.
And if it doesn't match up with his salary, that's because the past is built into the cost. This is the price the Heat paid for their title.
And if San Antonio has a hard time embracing a 35-year-old superstar whose best days are behind him, time will change that.
In 2012.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA110807.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.3a4fe8b.html