Am I the only soul on this planet (besides Steve Kerr) who thinks the Shaq deal is good for the Suns and bad news for the Lakers? My feelings went from "euphoria" when the Lakers got Pau Gasol to "grave concern" upon hearing the news that Shaq was back in the West.
Don't get me wrong here. I don't like the Suns. I think the whole organization has short-man's complex. They've always felt slighted and disrespected. Ever since they lost out on a coin flip that had Lew Alcindor's face on it, the Suns have played second fiddle to the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, Jazz and Mavericks and it is killing them. Well, all that changed with The Diesel coming to the Valley of the Suns.
As a diehard Lakers fan, I am fearful that The Diesel will stand in the way of the Lakers' 15th NBA championship. He will make Amare play better. He will benefit from playing with the best point guard in the Association in Steve Nash. He will add toughness to a soft team. And, he will keep that lockerroom in stitches.
Basketball is an emotional game and it is hard to measure a person's level of motivation. Shaq is the NBA's classic sleeping giant. When he's asleep, which he has been since leading Miami to a title two years ago, he's bad. Like Oliver Miller bad. But, when motivated, Shaq is a beast. Even at 35, he can still be an effected player. Just think Kareem, Wilt and Russell in the last years of their Hall of Fame careers. All of them won titles despite having one foot in the old folks' home. Shaq does not have to dominate games. An old, broken-down Diesel with pedestrian numbers (14 points and 7 rebounds) is still better than half the centers in the league.
If you thought the Lakers-Suns rivalry was intense, well, it just got juicier and bigger. HGH big! It's like Brian McNamee went into the NBA office and injected the Lakers and Suns with some kind of performance-enhancing hype. The story lines are set: Shaq vs. Kobe...Gasol vs. Amare...Raja Bell vs. Kobe...D'Antoni vs. Phil.
I can't wait for the playoffs to start.
Keywords: Lakers, Phoenix Suns
Comments
Good post, maniLA ice, but let's not forget the twin-tower effect when Bynum returns and gets his game back, alongside Gasol. Shades of Duncan-Robinson a few Spurs seasons back? Better; Bynum's bigger than both. There aren't many true power centers left, with quite a few 7 footers being hybrid center-forward types (including Tim Duncan). They tend to weigh in between 245-265 lbs. Even Dwight Howard, the so-termed "Beast in the East" is "only" 265. Lakers new guy Gasol is of the hybrid ilk, as well, weighing 260.
Well, I was pleased to note that Andrew Bynum is listed as 285, not as big as the Diesel-with-aging-wheels Shaq, at 325+, or the towering 7'6" Chinaman Yao, at 315, but bigger than anybody else I've found, of comparable dominance. And hey, 285 was Wilt Chamberlain's playing weight, the last dominant hi-profile true power center before Shaq. And 'Drew's a helluva lot younger than Shaq. Since this man-child is so newly emergent as a dominant power center, I really hope he comes back from that lengthy injury period with renewed zeal, and finds his game again fast.
I think Bynum/Gasol can handle Shaq/Stoudemire. The question is, can the Suns handle the potential Shaq monkey wrench in their team identity.
Well, we'll certainly see. It's a great time to be a Lakers fan, and NBA fan in general (how 'bout those Celtics?).
Cheerz!