RealGM

With all the recent threads of "building your own team" etc.

It got me thinking could/can (what ever word you want to use) Wemby guard Shaq downlow on defense? And I'm talking defense only not offense.

Only thing I don't like about Wemby's game is his 3 point shooting, but is what it is, these days - yeh I know some of you going to be smart quote me on this lols Kudos

We all know Wemby's game, we all know Shaq's game

Once Shaq gets the ball downlow it's pretty much game over either ez buckets or sent to the FT line

Could Wemby stop, slow Shaq downlow from scoring and force him to pass the ball, ie extra passes open shooter, would double teaming still be needed etc.

He has the length, the defense, the skill etc but does the he has the strength?

Also Clav/Zimpy you both know what's what, hell i think even bizme and other mods know, lol. I'm on Holidays atm (for me woo). We all need B-ball to start

My all time line up ... Wemby/Giannis/Bird/Jordan/Luka
I mean even if you had Shaq/Wilt as your front court, you gonna have a hard time, just saying - maybe another thread incoming idea

1 on 1 against prime Shaq ? No way.

Current Wemby, no way

Wemby 5 years from now with more strength. Maybe

I mean post defense against heavy opponents is easily Victors weakest part of his defense, altho his length helps still, but there is no way he could guard Shaq, I am not sure he is very good against Zubac or Jonas let alone Shaq. It is not the post defense that makes Victor most dominant defender in the world.

look man,,,I'M taller than wemby if he's lying on his back

shaq wouldnt even have to lower his shoulder. he just has to step into his move and wemby bounces - we've seen wemby bounce off guards.

nope.shoulder in chest and there we go.shaq move.

My ribs hurt just thinking about it haha

B4 heading off to sleep Aussie time, here is youtube of Rodaman shutting off Shaq, surely Wemby could do same at least for some spurts?

bonita_the_frog wrote:My ribs hurt just thinking about it haha

Thanks for the giggles

But Rodman held his ground against Shaq, when other far heavier men couldn't.
Plus he was a rough and tough person, made for the job.
I don't think of Wembanyama as rough or good at holding ground...
Its like wrestling skills and using your legs

bonita_the_frog wrote:But Rodman held his ground against Shaq, when other far heavier men couldn't.
Yeh not like Rodman all that heavier then Wemby??' haven't checked the stats.

Plus he was a rough and tough person, made for the job.
Yeh, Wemby no go there lol

I don't think of Wembanyama as rough or good at holding ground...
Not even close lols. Shaq would destroy today's game

BTW all typing this live as I'm well, you know.

some additional context.

prime shaq weighed 100lbs more than wemby
additionally, if wemby were chet's height, 7'1, he would weight 193lbs, 15lbs LESS THAN chet himself

you know than pic of shaq next to boykins.....think of shaq/wemby as a width/girth version of that

SlimShady83 wrote:

bonita_the_frog wrote:But Rodman held his ground against Shaq, when other far heavier men couldn't.
Yeh not like Rodman all that heavier then Wemby??' haven't checked the stats.

Plus he was a rough and tough person, made for the job.
Yeh, Wemby no go there lol

I don't think of Wembanyama as rough or good at holding ground...
Not even close lols. Shaq would destroy today's game

BTW all typing this live as I'm well, you know.

I'm glad your feeling well

Lalouie wrote:some additional context.

prime shaq weight 100lbs more than wemby
additionally, if wemby were chet's height, 7'1, he would weight 193lbs, 15lbs LESS THAN chet himself

It's a Thursday night for me and I'm on holidays lols, can't wait for the replies tomorow and onwards FYI I only drink on wknd or holidays I swear I'm not an alco

bonita_the_frog wrote:But Rodman held his ground against Shaq, when other far heavier men couldn't.
Plus he was a rough and tough person, made for the job.
I don't think of Wembanyama as rough or good at holding ground...
Its like wrestling skills and using your legs

It's not about weight, it's about being strong + using leverage/center of gravity. In the NFL there's a saying that "the low man wins", in reference to the OL/DL. That's how a 280lb defensive end can push back a 350 pound tackle. He had the leverage because it's easier to "push up" than it is to "push down" against against someone who has a lower center of gravity.

Now, Shaq would actually have the leverage/center of gravity advantage against Wemby. Wemby would be broken in half 1v1. The ideal matchup for Shaq is someone like Rodman, a physically smaller/shorter player yet who is still very strong/stocky.

JDR720 wrote:Now, Shaq would actually have the leverage/center of gravity advantage against Wemby. Wemby would be broken in half 1v1. The ideal matchup for Shaq is someone like Rodman, a physically smaller/shorter player yet who is still very strong/stocky.

Wanted to quote the rest, but this will do for now. How would you or others for that matter feel about Draymond Green Guarding Shaq? He has stated in one of his youtube videos can't quote in current state lols, that he would be able to guard shaq in his superteam of the GSW's, hopefully this making sense.

different topic but meh.

SlimShady83 wrote:

JDR720 wrote:Now, Shaq would actually have the leverage/center of gravity advantage against Wemby. Wemby would be broken in half 1v1. The ideal matchup for Shaq is someone like Rodman, a physically smaller/shorter player yet who is still very strong/stocky.

Wanted to quote the rest, but this will do for now. How would you or others for that matter feel about Draymond Green Guarding Shaq? He has stated in one of his youtube videos can't quote in current state lols, that he would be able to guard shaq in his superteam of the GSW's, hopefully this making sene.

different topic but meh.

I agree Draymond would guard Shaq because Durant's too slim or too slippery for sure.

And as JDR said Draymond pushes under Shaq, while Durant would be up high more and lose balance.
Wemby is a taller and slimmer Durant, so they both have no hope..

Even I'd have a better chance of guarding Shaq than Wemby/Durant do, and I'm 5 foot 1 but can push under him.
The lower centre of gravity the better.

I think some people overstate how Shaq would break Wemby in half. Wemby would definitely make a few defensive plays that would surprise Shaq, given his length and recovery time.

Over the whole game, Wemby wouldn't be strong enough to fight for inside positions with Shaq all the time. He'd get pushed around and end up in very uncomfortable positions. He wouldn't be able to consistently box him out on the boards, which is one of the most underrated aspects of Shaq's offensive game.

I don't think I agree that you want someone shorter than Shaq to defend him by the way. It gives you a decent chance to avoid being pushed around if your guy is strong and has low center of gravity, but that would make you more vulnerable to all the off-ball work. Shorter guy can't front Shaq successfully, can't guard lob passes and Shaq can easily rise over them for hooks and turnarounds. In perfect scenario, you need someone long with strong base, that's the best way to defend Shaq. Duncan did a very good job and of course Yao had plenty of success against older Shaq. Historically, guys like Gilmore and Wilt would be the perfect choices for that.

If the 2026 Spurs had to played a prime-Shaq team tomorrow, you'd sacrifice guys like Olynky, Kornet, and even Sochan to stand in front of Shaq in the post. Wemby would protect the rim behind that, forcing Shaq to react to help after he's beat his man and pick up his dribble.

Most people get this after watching how teams have defended Jokic in the playoffs (Rui in front of AD, KAT in front of Gobert, iHart/Caruso/J.Dub in front of Chet), but you don't want your primary rim protector stuck guarding a one-on-one matchup. Even if your best rim protector can do it, it weakens your overall defense. The best defenses have the personnel to let their rim protector protect the rim as much as possible.

Nobody could stop Shaq 1x1, thus the hack-a-Shaq.
But if anything he "struggled vs the heavier guys like Ostertag or Sabonis.