Shaq pretending he doesn't want the spotlight again...

grumpysaddle · Post #1 » by **grumpysaddle** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:34 am

Just read this in an article on the front page of nba.com.

"I'm 37 years old, it isn't my time anymore," O'Neal said once his interview session was moved to the team's weight room, where the power was back on. "I had my time and I did what I did. I'm not one of those players that always thinks it is his time. It would not be advantageous for me to take 30 shots a game when you have a guy like [LeBron]. We'll get him the ball and let him do what he does and when he drops it off to me, I'll do my job.

"It is [LeBron's] team and he's going to have the ball the most and it is our job to make him look good. I don't have to say it, every team that has a great 1-2 punch with a guard and a big man, the guard has always been that guy and the big man has been the other guy. At this point in my career I accept that."

Sounds familiar, right? Well at least the Cavs don't have Porter at the helm.

WTFsunsFTW · Post #2 » by **WTFsunsFTW** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:40 am

Nostradamus predicts a comment about "needing my touches" in T-minus 8 weeks....

Never Fear 33 Is Here · Post #3 » by **Never Fear 33 Is Here** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:54 am

Man I am glad he aint on the Suns anymore.

Post #4 » by **lilfishi22** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:57 am

I believed Shaq when he was brought here and said he's just going to be a role player and do what needs to be done.

It was Porter who made Shaq what he was here.

JohnVancouver · Post #5 » by **JohnVancouver** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:02 am

lilfishi22 wrote:I believed Shaq when he was brought here and said he's just going to be a role player and do what needs to be done.

It was Porter who made Shaq what he was here.

Nailed it - Shaq had his ego in check, things looked promising and then D'Antoni was gone and Porter came in, the single worst thing that could have happened re: Shaq.
Porter really had a very unimaginative approach, head-shakingly so; building your offense around a 36 year old centre with limited mobility when you have a fast-break team featuring the best guard-big man combo in the league? He really does deserve to be unemployed

DirtyDez · Post #6 » by **DirtyDez** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:14 am

Never Fear 33 Is Here wrote:Man I am glad he aint on the Suns anymore.

Same here, the chemistry seemed awful last year. But it's looking better this year and hopefully can result in a few more wins. Out of the 4 major sports i think NBA teams are most affected by team chemistry since the rosters are so small... We shall see

Shuttlesworth · Post #7 » by **Shuttlesworth** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:29 am

JohnVancouver wrote:
lilfishi22 wrote:I believed Shaq when he was brought here and said he's just going to be a role player and do what needs to be done.

It was Porter who made Shaq what he was here.

Nailed it - Shaq had his ego in check, things looked promising and then D'Antoni was gone and Porter came in, the single worst thing that could have happened re: Shaq.
Porter really had a very unimaginative approach, head-shakingly so; building your offense around a 36 year old centre with limited mobility when you have a fast-break team featuring the best guard-big man combo in the league? He really does deserve to be unemployed

Wow man very well put regarding Porter. I couldn't have said it better myself.

WTFsunsFTW · Post #8 » by **WTFsunsFTW** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:53 am

JohnVancouver wrote:
lilfishi22 wrote:I believed Shaq when he was brought here and said he's just going to be a role player and do what needs to be done.

It was Porter who made Shaq what he was here.

Nailed it - Shaq had his ego in check, things looked promising and then D'Antoni was gone and Porter came in, the single worst thing that could have happened re: Shaq.
Porter really had a very unimaginative approach, head-shakingly so; building your offense around a 36 year old centre with limited mobility when you have a fast-break team featuring the best guard-big man combo in the league? He really does deserve to be unemployed

Well said.

Things that make you go

Post #9 » by **Qwigglez** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:31 am

DirtyDez wrote:
Never Fear 33 Is Here wrote:Man I am glad he aint on the Suns anymore.

Same here, the chemistry seemed awful last year. But it's looking better this year and hopefully can result in a few more wins. Out of the 4 major sports i think NBA teams are most affected by team chemistry since the rosters are so small... We shall see

I don't really think it was Shaq's fault though.
Bell disliked Porter, Nash disliked Porter, Hill disliked Porter, Amare disliked Porter. When all the starters dislike the Head Coach there is gonna be chemistry issues. So what the front office did was trade a few players for other players to see if those players would buy into Porter's system since they have not played under D'Antoni's system. Well, Richardson never seemed to click with Porter, Dudley wasn't give time under Porter, so all in all, Porter was a terrible coach.
When Gentry took over, things looked fun again. The chemistry was back, even with Shaq... kind of.

grumpysaddle · Post #10 » by **grumpysaddle** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:42 am

how could you take shaq not wanting the spotlight seriously, though? did he not just have a terrible show featuring himself in the spotlight claiming he could beat top professionals of other sports? the thing in phoenix is that people playing next to nash were getting a fair amount of touches each, how is shaq going to feel when EVERY possession goes through lebron? i've also read that lebron wants to "play more inside and at the elbow" this season... good luck with slowpoke shaq clogging up the inside. shaq just gets under my skin and i'm glad he's gone.

Post #11 » by **lilfishi22** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:20 am

But with Lebron most of his team mates get a fair share of touches as well as evident from his assist numbers.

The only thing wrong with what he said, it's not his time anymore, is that it wasn't his time 2 years ago. Yet Porter ran our offense through him. I could understand Porter trying to make his players more responsible on defense but when take away what they do best on offense, they aren't going to play for you.