Big Ru responds to Shaq’s “worst player” comment: “It is sad”

[Nate505]

The players don't respect Gobert. If he was making $10M a year it wouldn't matter but they see a foreign dude whose a scrub on offense about to be worth $300M. Shaq basically nailed how all the players feel about him.

Those players seem like complete morons.

[Nate505]

Read on Twitter

Thank god he didn't spell it out. Then morons like Shaq and Jason Hart couldn't read it.

[dk1115]

I think no matter who you are, the lowest reasonable rating you can give Gobert is borderline all-star, possibly an extremely strong starter.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I don't think he's a bad defender. But unfortunately, there were too many lowlight tapes of Gobert getting crossed by Curry/Harden, Clippers mounting that comeback with him getting blown by numerous times and this past season with Jokic/Doncic having iconic moments with him in the picture. A bulk of it are not his fault, but lowlights stick out so much more than the highlights. There's not a lot of "highlight tapes" of Gobert in general, maybe due to lack of fanbase?

Take my favorite player, Ben Wallace, for example. You search him on YouTube, you would probably see highlights with ferocious blocks to the 3rd row, pinning Shaq's dunk, etc. Most would only remember that. To be honest, I'm getting old, these were some of my favorite moments and I have this nostalgic feeling as I'm typing this. I also remember Yao Ming jammed it on him in the post.....but who cares, he was a post defender to pour his heart out every game.

Also, there is probably a decent amount of people who would say someone like Jamal Crawford is better Derrick White (for example) strictly due to highlights.

I rememeber Wallace getting schooled by Bodiroga

[jokeboy86]

Simple cause he’s not American or Canadian. If Gobert were either of those (and also not white)he probably would’ve already responded to the disrespect he’s gotten and probably with not so nice words to the point that off court threats would have been exchanged and cooler heads would try to de-escalate things if possible.

See how Kwame Brown responds now to people who called him a scrub or how McGee eventually responded to Shaq and harsh words were exchanged. Maybe you can chalk it up to European players having thicker skin or American players taking things too seriously but American players know you can’t trash other Americans publicly and expect nothing said back. Even Magic trashed Edwards when he could’ve just laughed it off or took the high road if he wanted too.

[shrink]

First, Shaq admitted on Reddick’s pod that he says stuff just to say it, and he doesn’t owe the listeners honesty, which is a position I find repulsive. I believe though he believes this, and he is just wrong.

Second, Gobert certainly puts in more effort guarding perimeter players that Shaq ever did, and often to great success. Obviously Gobert is elite under the rim, but here’s a collection of all the plays in the playoffs where Gobert was isolated on some of the NBA’s very best wing scorers. This isn’t highlights - it’s every play, 6-for-21.

Read on Twitter

[Tracymcgoaty]

The only correlation between the two of them I can see is their limited offensive game.

I guess Shaq is a firm believer that if you have a clear weakness in your offensive game *cough* free throws *cough*, you don't play hard.

Shaq in fact doesn't respect Centers who have zero postgame or ability to score. Gobert fits that like a glove. There is no bigger frustration than watching gobert try to score from the post.

He's great at being a rim protector.

Okay, and Gobert rarely every tries to do things on offense outside of his skillset. I know Shaq is not some "intellectual" or something, but you don't need to be one to understand that not everyone has the same body type, mechanics, coordination, touch, etc. Gobert's lack of offense isn't because he never tried to get better there, it's simply because he does not have the tools to be a good offensive player at the highest level of basketball. If he didn't try he wouldn't be this good on defense, he was not this good on defense his first seasons.

A guy like Shaq calling him out because of that just makes it seem like Shaq doesn't actually understand how basketball talent works (that's not necessarily an abnormal thing among some former players). Shaq probably just thinks, "if he tries harder in practice or training he would be better". It's just like the people who think the difference between Curry and other players is that Curry just practices shooting more than everyone else lol

Shaq's mentality is actually damaging to future players, because you might have a guy trying to play outside of his skills (eg: Dwight) just to prove something that in reality he shouldn't be trying to prove. Shaq is not actually helping anyone with the way he talks about these C's.

Shaq's always been consistent though when it comes to centers like Gobert...I remember they asked him who he talked better between Brook Lopez and Dwight and he said Brook Lopez. He doesn't respect centers that have zero offense to their game. And i get where he is coming rom.

But he comes across as salty and petty. But i dont think thats what he is. He seriously doesn't respect centers like that. And the try harder in practice thing is probably just him masking what he truly feels. That he just doesn't respect these centers.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I don't think Shaq is familiar with Rudy's game

[D.Brasco]

Shaq still has that 90s/2000s mentality where Euro players weren't fully respected and were seen as soft.

[og15]

Shaq in fact doesn't respect Centers who have zero postgame or ability to score. Gobert fits that like a glove. There is no bigger frustration than watching gobert try to score from the post.

He's great at being a rim protector.

Okay, and Gobert rarely every tries to do things on offense outside of his skillset. I know Shaq is not some "intellectual" or something, but you don't need to be one to understand that not everyone has the same body type, mechanics, coordination, touch, etc. Gobert's lack of offense isn't because he never tried to get better there, it's simply because he does not have the tools to be a good offensive player at the highest level of basketball. If he didn't try he wouldn't be this good on defense, he was not this good on defense his first seasons.

A guy like Shaq calling him out because of that just makes it seem like Shaq doesn't actually understand how basketball talent works (that's not necessarily an abnormal thing among some former players). Shaq probably just thinks, "if he tries harder in practice or training he would be better". It's just like the people who think the difference between Curry and other players is that Curry just practices shooting more than everyone else lol

Shaq's mentality is actually damaging to future players, because you might have a guy trying to play outside of his skills (eg: Dwight) just to prove something that in reality he shouldn't be trying to prove. Shaq is not actually helping anyone with the way he talks about these C's.

Shaq's always been consistent though when it comes to centers like Gobert...I remember they asked him who he talked better between Brook Lopez and Dwight and he said Brook Lopez. He doesn't respect centers that have zero offense to their game. And i get where he is coming rom.

But he comes across as salty and petty. But i dont think thats what he is. He seriously doesn't respect centers like that. And the try harder in practice thing is probably just him masking what he truly feels. That he just doesn't respect these centers.

I guess having a consistently bad take can at least be commended for it's consistency (not really but still).

I'm not sure about it not being petty though because when you start talking about someone else's money, it can feel like there's definitely pettiness going on.

Regardless, it's not helpful, but it is what it is.

[zzaj]

The thing that's so funny with Shaq, is that he basically dominated on size alone. He has very little offensive skill or defensive skill. Gobert is a much better defensive player and it's not really all that close.

IMO, if you put Shaq on a team without elite coaching and without another elite player(s) to draft off of...he has about as much success in the league in terms of W/L as Gobert.

That's my hot take, anyway...