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serious question for everyone:
what numbers can shaq put up if he's as physically healthy as he can possibly be for his age AND out to prove everyone who thinks he should call it quits wrong?
can he ever be a 20 10 player on a contender again?
I hate Shaq, but Wow, I really respect him for admitting he didn't deserve to go the ASG
How ironic it is that it's the same man who was crying about not being named MVP a few years ago.
Crap, I don't know what to think of him.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allsta...ory?id=3226305
Riley suggests Shaq should be given All-Star role; O'Neal disagrees
MIAMI -- Hours after Miami Heat coach Pat Riley said he still believes Shaquille O'Neal deserves an All-Star Game role, a differing opinion was heard.
It was from O'Neal himself.
"As the general of this squad, I wouldn't deserve to be an All-Star," O'Neal said Friday evening. "And if they gave me the spot, I wouldn't take it, because I don't want to be given anything."
So with that, O'Neal's record-tying streak of 14 consecutive All-Star selections ends.
He wasn't voted by fans as an Eastern Conference starter last week, and when the coaches' votes for reserves for the Feb. 17 game were released Thursday, O'Neal wasn't on that list either.
Still, Riley didn't sound so willing to abandon the O'Neal All-Star quest earlier Friday, when he said his center merited a role in New Orleans and that commissioner David Stern should have the option of adding someone to the roster when the situation is warranted.
"I really think that the 12 most deserving players should get it. I do," Riley said. "The most deserving should get it and I think the commissioner should always have the right, for somebody who has done so much for the league, for whatever reason, to add a 13th guy to come and be part of the whole thing."
O'Neal was flattered. But his mind is made up.
"I appreciate my coach for sticking up for me, but I don't want to be handed anything," said O'Neal, whose run of 14 straight selections matched Jerry West and Karl Malone as the most in NBA history.
O'Neal is still headed to New Orleans.
The former LSU center, who championed a number of charity efforts after the Hurricane Katrina disaster, is expected to host at least two parties and appear at several other events.
"He's going to be part of the All-Star festivities specifically to raise money," Riley said. "So I would think the NBA should give him a role. A role. Just like they bring a lot of veteran players in that have retired, they're always around, I think he should have a major role in something."
O'Neal is averaging 14.2 points this season, a career low, and is currently sidelined by injuries to his hip and thigh.
"When I get healthy, I'll be back," O'Neal said. "Right now, I'm just concentrating on being 1,000 percent. I haven't been 1,000 percent in four or five years. I've been given orders to get 1,000 percent healthy."
Orlando's Dwight Howard won by a wide margin in the fan balloting for the East's starting center, and O'Neal believes fans made the right choice.
"Congratulations to Dwight Howard and congratulations to all the other guys that they voted in, put in," O'Neal said. "But I'm having troubles, and it wouldn't be fair to my teammates for me to try to get ready to play in the All-Star Game if I did get in."
In the coaches' poll for the reserve spots, there was no true backup center selected.
Toronto's Chris Bosh, a forward, likely will wind up being the de facto backup center in the game that usually becomes a freewheeling offensive showcase anyway.
"It could have went a lot of different ways," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who was voted in as a starter by the fans. "I was actually surprised there were no centers selected at all, more so than Shaq not being selected."
serious question for everyone:
what numbers can shaq put up if he's as physically healthy as he can possibly be for his age AND out to prove everyone who thinks he should call it quits wrong?
can he ever be a 20 10 player on a contender again?
He's capable of 16 and 8 if healthy. But he's always been a player that has a bigger impact on the spacing and play of a team than his numbers will indicate. Just having some sort of low post presence would help Miami drastically.
Still, Shaq is done. Miami knew they were going to struggle like this for the chance to win a championship...and they got it. Now they have to deal with the consequences.
If healthy, Shaq is capable of 25 10 3 for 35 mins per game. C'mon, it's Shaq.
Coaches voted Bosh at center since Andrea has been starting beside him.
Shaq will be in New Orleans anyway and involved with alot of activities. He was the one who championed the Spurs-Heat extra pre-season game that year to benefit New Orleans.
Your thread le was better than mine, lefty.
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86193
Going full speed at his size and weight will injure himself. His legs cannot support him any longer at a full speed NBA level.
Look up what happened to the other centers of the past. Shaq will never avg. 3 blocks again. He doesn't have explosive jumping ability any longer.If healthy, Shaq is capable of 25 10 3 for 35 mins per game. C'mon, it's Shaq.
Sorry, didn't see it was already posted
Dude, put down the ing crack pipe. The days of 25 AND 10 are FIVE YEARS in Shaq's rear view mirror. His numbers and games played per season are in a steady downward spiral. I know this is a tough concept for you youngsters, but NBA players don't retire because they don't feel like playing for huge dollars anymore, they retire because they can't play anymore. The bod does break down as you age, and you will all find that out when you cross 30, and then 40. It's worse if you don't take care of yourself like Shaq didn't. He may actually be in a wheelchair someday, like in his late 40s or early 50s.
It's okay, I meant it. Your le was much better, it summed up the whole fiasco. I only put the link in so people could read the other comments that had been posted.Sorry, didn't see it was already posted
Shaq needs to walk away, Riley needs to let it go. Shaq seems to know it's ending, but I'm sure he'll stay around to collect his paycheck.
It's a tragedy that Dwight Howard is in the ASG and Shaq isn't.
The le of this thread says [Shaq: "I'm a piece "]. If Dwight Howard were saying that about himself, it would be true.
Just give it the up.
The Dwight Howard is over, done. You've taken it as far as you can. The entire NBA fan base disagrees with you.
Find something else to harp on.
21.7ppg & 14.9rpg >>>>>>>>>> 14.2ppg & 7.8rpg.
25 and 12. he's still the biggest dude on the court.
It's not just about the numbers, it's how much he's getting paid, he's getting paid far too much to put up such paltry numbers...
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