Re: 2019-20 NBA Season Discussion
Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 11:09 am
Also, one more thing regarding Shaq vs. smallball...
Why are people assuming you have to be over 7 feet to have any prayer of defending Shaq? Wasn't Ben Wallace like one of the most effective Shaq defenders ever and he's what... 6'9'' on his best day? He's definitely not much taller than someone like Draymond. Also, Dennis Rodman was able to defend Shaq very well in various stages of his career.
Most 7 footers you will find on the market are clumsy oafs with bad footwork, low mobility, poor core strength and high center of gravity... That's why Shaq was throwing them around like rag dolls. You need the exact opposite of those things to defend Shaq... You need to move gracefully, have good footwork, good lateral mobility, good core strength and a low center of gravity... Which is what Ben Wallace and Dennis Rodman had.
This 'myth' that Shaq would be unstoppable today because teams no longer have as many big planks of 7 feet laying around is kind of weird... Those 7 foot planks didn't really defend Shaq any better than how most Centers would in today's league. And as many have mentioned before, if a guy like Shaq existed in today's NBA, teams would stock up on a couple more big bodies just to throw at him and collect some fouls. It's not like there's a shortage of them...
Why are people assuming you have to be over 7 feet to have any prayer of defending Shaq? Wasn't Ben Wallace like one of the most effective Shaq defenders ever and he's what... 6'9'' on his best day? He's definitely not much taller than someone like Draymond. Also, Dennis Rodman was able to defend Shaq very well in various stages of his career.
Most 7 footers you will find on the market are clumsy oafs with bad footwork, low mobility, poor core strength and high center of gravity... That's why Shaq was throwing them around like rag dolls. You need the exact opposite of those things to defend Shaq... You need to move gracefully, have good footwork, good lateral mobility, good core strength and a low center of gravity... Which is what Ben Wallace and Dennis Rodman had.
This 'myth' that Shaq would be unstoppable today because teams no longer have as many big planks of 7 feet laying around is kind of weird... Those 7 foot planks didn't really defend Shaq any better than how most Centers would in today's league. And as many have mentioned before, if a guy like Shaq existed in today's NBA, teams would stock up on a couple more big bodies just to throw at him and collect some fouls. It's not like there's a shortage of them...