[cjg11582]

Am I the only one rooting against The Heat this season? The love affair with Shaq and Miami only makes me more contemptuous. Can someone please explain to me this undying loyalty every NBA fan now seems to have for this team?

[pete_b]

Shaquille O'Neal is a hard working, talented yet modest basketball player. He doesn't let the fame go to his head. You never see him bashing other players. He has the balance of being confident yet not arrogant. SHAQ is the reason why Miami is where they are right now. Just tell me one reason NOT to like Miami and SHAQ.

[cjg11582]

He doesn't let the fame go to his head? He has a Superman tattoo on his arm, not to mention every item he owns. I do not recall ever seeing a a more self-congratulatory, egotistical superstar in my life. In addition his entire game is based on his size. He lacks even a fundemental understanding of how to play basketball three feet away from the basket, his help defense has always been at best mediocre and he is consistently out of shape. People singing his praises has nothing to do with modesty and even less to do with hard work.
And why do I not like Miami? Two words, one name: Pat Riley. I understand his ego is a little damaged because he wasn't able to win a title without three of the 25 greatest players of all time, but to attempt cherry picking a title like he is right now is deplorable. It really wouldn't have minded if he had not blatantly made Van Gundy the scapegoat. But Yeah, class act.

[Wizard of Os]

CJG,

I'm again beginning to believe that it doesn't matter whether you like Miami or not, they're going to win the eastern conference. Go ahead, hate Riley all you want. Hate Shaq all you want. Hate White Chocolate all you want. It's not going to make a difference, and Miami may very well win the East.

If Miami does take the championship this year, CJG, will you give them props? It's an interestingly structured team the composition of which Riley had much say over. I'm convinced that Riley came out of the front office and onto the court because he knew all his players needed was a proper coach to mold it all together, a la Dr. Phil with the Lakers in 1999.

How can you not like at least one of the following: Dwayne "How come he doesn't have a nice nickname yet?" Wade, comeback king 'Zo, hard working Christian Laettner, even harder working Eddie Jones, and 'Toine? Don't these guys deserve a ring? Don't you think they want it so bad they can taste it? And what if they have to go through seemingly invincible Detroit and whichever Texas Terror gets into the finals? Wouldn't that be admirable? Wouldn't Riley deserve some praise for winning a championship with two different teams and getting a third to the finals?

Since my Lakes are pretty much a joke this year, there are many teams i wouldn't mind winning it all this year: Detroit, Indiana (and my alma matermate Danny Granger!), Dallas, Phoenix and, yeah, Miami. (Honestly anyone, really, as long as it ain't the Spurs.) Meanwhile, i can daydream that Superman's 25-30 points (inside three feet, they're still worth two per basket) and 10-15 boards nightly are still being racked up for the purple and gold...

[cjg11582]

I really like Dwayne Wade, I wish he was somewhere else where he wouldn't be overshadowed by Shaq's 25 minutes a game. I will give Pat Riley credit for drafting him. I have been an Eddie jones fan since he was at Temple, sadly though, he no longer plays for the Heat and was traded to The Grizzlies. Laetner is no longer with the team either. I am not entirely sure what Antoine Walker or Jason Williams have done to "deserve" a ring, but if you feel like they have paid there dues in some sort of inverse way then thats what you feel.
I totally concur with you on The Spurs. Has there ever been a less personable team in The NBA? Do they even like each other? During the all-star game they had Duncan miked up and he was hilarious. Why don't we ever get to see that?
And you are probably right, The Heat certainly seem like the favorite to win the eastern conference (and in my opinion the NBA title). But I haven't liked that team since they acquired Shaq and i am not going to jump on there bandwagon because they like a championship team. Rooting for Shaq is like rooting for the house in Vegas and unless you live in the city he plays for I have a difficult time understanding all this staunch support everyone seems to have for him. Thats all.

[Wizard of Os]

CJG et al,

i'm an idiot. Apologies for the third bush-league error (re: Heat roster) i've made in the past week. I haven't been sleeping enough, i guess.

cheers.

[legend]

It would be easier to root for Shaq if he kept himself in tip top condition and busted it night in and night out. The bottom line is, with the media attention he gets and all the money, how could he not have a big ego? He does do much for charities and gives away alot of his money, even paying for George Mikan's funeral. But I don't see them beating the Pistons because I hate the Pistons and that would be so unlike me to have something I want to see happen actually transpire!
The comment about Riley is correct. He never won anything without Jabbar. Paul Westhead won with that team, minus Worthy. But what coach did win without great players? NBA coaching is the most overrated of all the major sports. When was the last time a team actually ran the play at the end of the game the coach drew up?

[Wizard of Os]

Ah Legend (and others),

I don't know why everyone rips on Shaq so much. The man is a champion thrice over, and in three seasons carried a 21-win to the NBA Finals. Where all the negativity about his ego comes from i have no idea. The Superman iconography is just joking around; heck, Jerry Seinfeld referenced the Man Of Steel repeatedly and no one claims he's an egomaniac? Dudes, Supes is Shaq's hero. He's a comic book guy.

Plus, the guy has been hacked on both blantantly (does anybody remember games slowing to a crawl in the fourth quarter when the opposition coach called the "hack a Shaq" defense?) or surreptitiously since his rookie year. He's played through injuries and pain, he's been teamed with nobodies and egomaniacs, yet typically when he's given the ball, good things happen.

The single-minded willpower he employs during a playoff run would be admired in nearly any other superstar, and the fact is that if the words Most Valuable Player meant exactly what they seem to mean, Shaq would have a fat trophy collection numbering what? Seven? Eight? Sir Charles himself once said the NBA revolves around Shaq's big toe.

The Big Dude is in his 14th season of being hacked on and he's 34. So he's lost a step, sure. So he's not the "most dominant" player in the NBA anymore. If the Heat win the title this year and Shaq bags his fourth playoff and championship MVPs, what will Shaq's detractors say then?

Cheers, all.

[cjg11582]

No one is denying that Shaq is a great NBA center. Arguably the greatest of all time. But his entire career is based on his size and muscling people out of his way. He isn't exactly defying odds by dunking on Brian Cardinal so why is he so comended for it? Yes it is what he is supposed to do, but I cannot comprehend the mass appeal he seems to garner. Would we root for him if he was dunking on high schoolers as well? People always talk about the lack of a team game in The NBA, while The Pistons epitomize team basketball, The Heat only emphasize the individual. Fans applaud this approach and then we wonder why The NBA markets its product the way it does. I don't fault Shaq for his dominance but rather I question why the general public pines to see him win every title/accolade every year. Figuratively speaking, its like rooting for Goliath over David.
And yes, a lot of his actions off the court are commendable: Charities, Mikan's funeral, things of that nature, but... All NBA players are involved in charities! Even Kobe. So why is Shaq's charity work so recognized while everyone else's is not even a blimp on our collective radar?