More embarrassing: Dream in Toronto or Shaq in Cleveland?

[resistanze]

@ Toronto Olajuwon. I remember when they signed him to that absurd contract (3 years/$18 million?), sports analysts here were hyping that up.

[MiamiHeat]

Give Shaq some props, I mean, he is one of the oldest, his career is nearing it's end. Instead of retiring and sitting in tv shows doing commentary he still plays, he actually found a team where to play in his last days. Isn't that awesome when you are such an old player? I think it is, plus he isn't bad either and he has a shot at the le with LeBron, although I think that would be very hard seeing how cleveland plays this season.

dude

Shaq does not give a about the regular season

See : LA, Miami

heck, Miami was HORRIBLE in 2006 regular season vs the good teams.

I think the stat waqs 2-12 record vs best teams of the NBA including Mavericks, Pistons, etc....

then the Heat suddenly "turned it on" in the playoffs and beat everyone in 6 games or less and won a le.


Don't ever doubt Shaq. With LeBron, they are my favorites at the le.

[Bob Lanier]

but how the is toronto the third best city in North ing america?

New York and Chicago are nicer.

[picc84]

New York is a piece of .

[Culburn369]

New York and Chicago are nicer.

I remember "Old Town" in Chicago back in the '60s visiting my aunt. It was hippy city. Is that still there is some form, Bob?

[mogrovejo]

I think that depends on when Leon Powe gets back and how he plays when he does get back. He's supposed to come back before the trading deadline. If they move Shaq or Z now, they're left with Varejao and Hickson as their only other semi-viable frontcourt players. That isn't enough.

LeBron as the 4th big or trade them for a stretch, athletic 4. I think you have to do it, waiting for Powe is too risky and he's not the kind of big that could help much anyway.

I think they're going to be as patient with Delonte as they possibly can be. He really is huge to this team when he's feeling and playing well. I also think the guy they really wanted was Captain Jack, but that ship has sailed. To be honest, I don't know what big guards are out there to be had.

Yeah, they can give him some more time, but I'd start looking for alternatives.

Thanks for the answers.

[JoeTait75]

LeBron as the 4th big or trade them for a stretch, athletic 4. I think you have to do it, waiting for Powe is too risky and he's not the kind of big that could help much anyway.

LeBron is a wing player. He has the size to be a big but not the commitment or the post game. He'll play the 4 in stretches but that's it.

But I'd love to have a guy like Steve Novak or Linas Kleiza on this team, that's for sure. Or Rasheed, for that matter.

[panic giraffe]

New York and Chicago are nicer.

LA? Mexico DF? Jalisco? Miami? just about anywhere in the US besides small towns with a pop less than 1 million excluding detroit would probably beat toronto, as nice as it maybe, it's still canada.

[jacobdrj]

Why is Shaq in CLE embarrassing? Why was Dream in Toronto embarrassing? Nobody expected Dream to be great there. Just an Oakley type mentor. Shaq is still effective, and he is playing hard. If anyone should be embarrassed, its Moron Brown for not figuring out what to do with LeBron+Shaq.

[Bob Lanier]

it's still canada.

Which you counter with four ish Mexican slums.

[panic giraffe]

Which you counter with four ish Mexican slums.

LA and Miami are in the US. poor reading comprehension or just dislike for anything south of the great lakes?

say what you want about Jalisco, but DF's only rival in the northern part of the western hemisphere would be NYC, when it comes to population, what it has to offer, culture, etc....any large city will have its slums, but wouldn't call the whole city a slum.

[Bob Lanier]

Perhaps I should have said "Mexican-infested slums."

[Double-Up]

I remember "Old Town" in Chicago back in the '60s visiting my aunt. It was hippy city. Is that still there is some form, Bob?

Did you her too?

[Culburn369]

....like trout meat.

[panic giraffe]

Perhaps I should have said "Mexican-infested slums."

at least get your brown people hatred correct. Miami is a "cuban/dominican/pr-infested slum, LA is just about infested with everything, including culture. something that skips the great lakes.

either way, move on and lets all go back to talking basketball.

[mogrovejo]

LeBron is a wing player. He has the size to be a big but not the commitment or the post game. He'll play the 4 in stretches but that's it.

But I'd love to have a guy like Steve Novak or Linas Kleiza on this team, that's for sure. Or Rasheed, for that matter.

If you like Rasheed, then you can easily get someone like Troy Murphy (who has the advantage of being a good rebounder) for Z and a pick, I think. The problem is that you'd still have too much slowness and bad pick'n'roll defence in the big man rotation.

I'd like to see Cleveland doing one of these:
a) get a legit starting 4, able to change ends fast, defend the ballscreen and stretch the floor a bit. Is there a guy like this available out there? Not sure. I'd probably settle for Al Harrington, even overpaying, than someone like Novak, Murphy or Sheed.

b) get another shot-creator wing. Then I'd keep starting Hickson playing him 20 minutes or so per game while hoping his defence+rebounding improves throughout the season. Rotate Shaq and Varejão at the 5. Play LBJ at the PF spot 25% of his playing time or so (I wholeheartedly agree that his best position by far is as a wing and ideally he wouldn't play anywhere else) in a 4 out, 1 in set, with the newly acquired wing on the floor. That would minimize the amount of time you're playing Shaq and AV together and diminish the frontcourt slowness to acceptable levels, while forcing other teams to deal with different looks all the time.