Maker_84 wrote:tmorgan wrote:Shaq was the extremely rare young big that used almost pure power and athleticism and got away with it. Yeah, he had some foul troubles really early on, but he basically physically dominated the paint from year one.
Drummond is EVERY BIT the athlete that Shaq was. EVERY BIT. He's just not as skilled, and definitely not as polished. He could get there. It's unlikely -- I mean, we are talking about the greatest pure power player of all-time, here -- but he's the only other person I've seen since Shaq's debut that actually has the natural ability to do it. There have been a few others in the past, but they all had other issues. Moses was great, just not quite AS great, and not quite the same athlete. Dawkins was probably just too stupid. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others.
you cant say Drummond is the athlete Shaq is when Shaq for being just about as quick as Drummond was 3 inches taller and 50 pounds heavier. IMO Shaq is the most talented basketball player EVER even over Jordan and Lebron he was just lazy and never developed his offensive game. Drummond can't afford to be that lazy because he doesnt possess the same physical tools Shaq has
Perhaps you can say that. You can't say that he's as large. Draftexpress measurements show Shaq was 2.25" taller and about 20 lbs heavier. Shaq also had a 3.5" standing reach advantage, and a greater vertical leap. You can't compare agility measures as Shaq's seem to be unavailable. Perhaps they didn't do this in his day. Shaq was very agile. What you can't say about Drummond is that his physical tools are in any way anything but exceptional, or that they in any way limit his potential as a basketball player. He has some special qualities of his own that could lead to greatness. He is already rebounding at a superlative level, and demonstrates unique movement skills that are reminiscent of Rodman. I hate using compilations as part of an argument, and don't consider them decisive, but the top ten plays of last year show examples of his most remarkable qualities and point to some areas where, with more consistency, Drummond emerges as a true dominant force:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAEc5cT8r_0[/youtube]
I think he looks pretty much can't miss if he can stay healthy. The trend appears to be that he'll only get better for quite a while yet. Team needs to show him some success to keep him in the long run.
I also don't think you should dismiss Chamberlain from serious "most talented ever" consideration. I'm taking this to mean best combination of physical attributes and athletic talent to play the game? Don't forget that Chamberlain ran college track in addition to being the most dominant basketball player anyone had ever seen. However, we're splitting hairs among the true greats here.
That's just one up from his usual 1-2 post plays per game (which falls in line with his 2.03 FGA outside of hustle plays). Detroit doesn't even need to throw Drummond into the post if they don't want to. He's been used quite inefficiently in the P&R. Drummond sees 0.884 plays invoving him in the P&R per game. An area in which he scores a ridiculous 1.31 points per possession per game, at a 74% clip. 
