Originally posted by RZA
Btw, can anyone tell me what the hell is going on with the Sixers and Cavs? It's not good to be struggling when heading into the playoffs.
I dont know whats happened to the Cavs, I watched them get dismantled by the Kings at the weekend and they were a far cry from the team i watched in Feb. They didnt even look like they wanted to be out there, body language tells alot in sports and they didnt seem interested. They dont seem to be getting anything from the point guard spot and Z was a non factor. Even LeBron was pumping up threes like Peja instead of taking it to the hole, when he does that he is unstoppable because he can finish strong or dish. I hope they get it together for the playoffs.
As for the Sixers......last week i watched them stick it to the Pistons and in the space of a week they have fallen apart. Im not sure how long Webber is out for but that could hurt them if he is out for the playoffs. I know he hasnt really found his feet with the team but im sure they would rather have him in than out.
Originally posted by wuTa
ok..i know you think lebron deserves the MVP but since he isnt winning i guess that means that you must think nash should take MVP since winning is the big picture
You are sort of right. I no longer believe Lebron should get MVP this season. However, at this point I would give it to Shaq. Don't get me wrong, I'm not even a Shaq fan. But Shaq came to Miami and did the same thing Nash did. Here's a little break down:
Nash - Last season, Phoenix was nothing. Nash came in and all of a sudden, they are tops. Nash also leads the league in assists with a decent scoring average. However, one thing people forget, is that without Nash 'this year', Suns would not be nothing. People make it seem that he individually made them from nothing to greatness. Suns didn't do as well when Nash was hurt, but they still would have been a playoff team easily. Q. Richardson was an excellent addition and Amare stepped it up big time. I understand that Amare doesn't play as well without Nash, but in the games Nash wasn't there, Amare was definitely better than he was last year. You can't seriously tell me that Amare wasn't going to develop without Nash. Basically, Nash improves his team a whole lot, but not as much as people make it out to be.
Shaq - People will say, "But the Heat even made it to the playoffs last year without Shaq." Don't forget, Shaq is individually replacing 3 of the starters from that team WHILE leading the Heat to the best record in the East and possibly the best record in the NBA. Shaq also makes his teammates better like Nash does. Look at Wade. Again, Wade would have developed with or without Shaq but Shaq still brings the best out in Wade. At times, the Heat have stomped through the league. Not since the 96 Bulls has a team had two 10+ win streaks in one season.
Pts per game: Shaq (22.9), Nash (16.3)
Rbs per game: Shaq (10.5), Nash (3.3)
Asts per game: Nash (11.5), Shaq (2.8)
Blk per game: Shaq (2.42), Nash (.05)
Stl per game: Nash (.95), Shaq (.46)
Efficiency Rating: Shaq (24.58), Nash (22.91)
They are both pretty close overall (statistically and what they do for their team), but I give the nudge to Shaq. I really have no problem with somebody thinking Nash deserves it more because of how close things are, but this is just my choice.
Another tid bit, Nash doesn't play D. 😉
Actually, i don't think Wade would be anywhere near as impressive without Shaq. He hasn't been around long enough to know wether or not Shaq is integral to his game. All we know is that the lane is always open for him to drive down.
Marion and Stoudamire have always been good by themselves...Nash just compliments them very nicely.
yea right, no offense, but i find that funny....wade has put that team on his shoulders with or without shaq...he did it last yr...but people didnt know about him until the playoffs because A. nobody cared about the heat during the season last year, and B. Carmelo was overhyped which put Wade under the radar.....if nash has a bad game the suns lose, if shaq has a bad game the heat can still win because wade doesnt depend on shaq as nearly or even if at all like the suns depend on nash
Last year was hilarous. The whle East, aside from Detroit was a joke. The Heat were what? 6th seed? or was it 8th seed?
The Heat were no better last than the Lakers are this year....and the Heat had a better overall cast.
Wade's jumpshot is sketchy at best....because he's young. All He can do is take it to the whole and without Shaq in the middle he wouldn't even be able to do that.
Neither the Suns nor the Heat would be 1st in their conferences if they were missing their marquee players.
I'd give Wade 2 more years to develop his overall game before I go polishing his knob.
Wade has nothing to do with that equation. The Heat could have Gilbert Arenas or Chauncy Billups and do the exact same, if not better as long as they had Shaq. There are countless players in the NBA who would go from decent players to all-stars just because of Shaq.
Look at Haslim for the Heat. Get rid of Shaq and Haslim is a nobody, but with Shaq he's a Sophmore all-star and a solid player.
Shaq has consistantly proven himself to be the person who can take a team to the playoffs...if not the finals. He's made good players into great players his whole entire career. Penny Hardaway, Kobe Bryant, and now Wade.
They didn't remove almost their entire team, they removed 3 sub-par players and replaced them with the best player in the entire league.
Originally posted by Linkalicious
Last year was hilarous. The whle East, aside from Detroit was a joke. The Heat were what? 6th seed? or was it 8th seed?The Heat were no better last than the Lakers are this year....and the Heat had a better overall cast.
Wade's jumpshot is sketchy at best....because he's young. All He can do is take it to the whole and without Shaq in the middle he wouldn't even be able to do that.
Neither the Suns nor the Heat would be 1st in their conferences if they were missing their marquee players.
I'd give Wade 2 more years to develop his overall game before I go polishing his knob.
wtf...so much for not taking it offensive....i see your basketball I.Q hasnt gained much since last year.....if you honestly think all wade can do is take it to the whole than you know jack sh*t about basektball.....did you not see him in the playoffs last year..... who am i kidding OF COURSE YOU DIDNT, because if you did you would actually know what your talking about, Wade dont need shaq, if you seen any of the eastern games from last year besides the nba finals you would know that.....i'm not saying the heat would be as good as they are without shaq, thats a given, but i'm saying Wade don't need shaq to dominant..he already proved that..I would rather give Wade MVP than Shaq, Wade has performed the same since opening game, Shaq sucked ass the 1st 2 or 3 months of the season
Dwayne Wade did NOT dominate last year, and he would NOT dominate this year if it wasn't for Shaq. Period
Rip on my Basketball IQ all you want, this year proves just what I said last year....Detroit isn't THAT good. They pulled togethe and played team basketball at the end of the Indiana series and rode that through the Lakers with ease....but where are they now? Right where they belong.
Have you even watched a Heat game this year? Wade runs the show pretty well with Shaq off the court but he's NO WHERE near as affective as when Shaq is on the court. He isn't like Kobe where an team will base their whole defense around him, they just put their best guard defenseman on him and hope he doesn't blow up.
Where are the double teams? On Shaq. Who do you plan your defense scheme around? Shaq.
Go ahead. Tell me about the multiple aspects of D. Wade's game. I don't see him drilling three pointers or hitting open 18 footers, or ANY fade away jumpers. He penetrates defenses and either kicks or finishes. And he's a hell of a finisher.
Regardless, he's a minimum of 2 years away from any sort of domination.
LMFAO...right detriot isnt good....just because they destoyed your little dynasty dont me you can make up pure propaganda about them...there in 2nd place in the eastern division, just like they were last year...you can go ahead and try and rag on them but they will jut make you look stupid again, just like they did last year...Wade just scored 39 points without shaq....when shaq isnt in the lineup, he plays even better without shaq becasue he knows he has to step up his game, i watch evey heat game i can and i've seen him knock down 18 foot jumpers and 3 point shots with hands in his face all the time, just because he's not a p*ssy like vince carter and has the balls to take it to the whole and make contact dont mean he cant hit a jump shot
How many championships did LA win again? oh, 3x as many as Detroit. 😐 Lets not go ***-for-tat when it comes to championships or dynasties...we know who wins that war. LA had to go down sometime, better Detroit than San Antonio. And 2nd place in the East lands them right about 5th place in the West.
Wade's 39 points were against the Chicago Bulls. The same team who's best player is a rookie named Ben Gordon, who just so happened to lead all Bulls scorers with a monsterous 14 points. The score in the first quarter was 38 to 24. It was a route all game.
Correct.
LA was on top in the west for what? 4 years in a row?
Who was the last team to do something similar to that? The Chicago Bulls?
They aren't Manchester United or the Yankees. They can't just sit there and pay ridiculous amounts of money to everyone. Salary caps hinder a teams ability to monopolize the league.
Originally posted by DanZeke25
Wade just had 39 points without Shaq.
I'm not saying Wade isn't good by himself. Its just that Shaq elevates the level of the team by so much. That aspect is comparable to Nash. Then on top of that, Shaq's statistics are a little better than Nash's overall PLUS (and this is a big plus) he is much better at defense. Shaq makes other teams have to adjust on defense and on offense. Nash only makes the other team have to adjust their defense.
I guess that makes sense. You would have to go back to Larry Bird winning the MVP for the last player who wasnt a known defensive force. I would be happy with either Shaq or Nash, more so with Nash because its alot easier for Shaq to make an impact because of his size (not saying thats all he has but its definitely easier for him). Players like Nash are good for the league, they are unselfish and focus on the basics and in a league filled with so many pri-madonnas its refreshing. Who do you guys like for the coach of the year so far? I realise that D'Antoni, Pop and Van Gundy are probably in the lead but i like what Carlisle has done with Indiana. After all the shit that team has been through they have stuck with it and if they get Jermaine back for the playoffs they could make some noise. George Karl may be in the running if he was there since the start of the season, Fratello has done well to, carrying on after Hubie left. Any other candidates?