Lakers/Heat fans. (shaqtus)

[joshstmarie]

Of course this is also open for suns fans but I wanted to know the opinion on people that have been following shaq for the past few years.


Do you all think shaq has another gear for the playoffs or is this pretty much what we are to expect out of him.

 

[Covert Rain]

I think most good players have another gear.

 

[D-Dogg]

He has another gear for the playoffs, but I'm of the opinion that he's been playing in that gear since arriving in PHX. I don't think he throttles up from here.

 

[Covert Rain]

He has another gear for the playoffs, but I'm of the opinion that he's been playing in that gear since arriving in PHX. I don't think he throttles up from here.

I don't know about that. He has gotten fired up at times way beyond his normal player here when people have pissed him off. I think at least there is a half a notch left in the old fella.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

He has another gear for the playoffs, but I'm of the opinion that he's been playing in that gear since arriving in PHX. I don't think he throttles up from here.

 

[Cheesebeef]

i gotta agree with D-dog. At 36, there's just not much more to go up for a guy who's taken as much of a beating as Shaq has. Don't matter to me though. This notch he's at right now is perfect, especially considering Amare's game always turns up a notch come playoff time. We'll live and die by how hard Amare plays at both ends of the court. If he elevates his game, we're gonna be damn hard to stop.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

His performance vs SAS last night is just a fine gear to be in if he doesnt have another one. Although I wouldnt be surprised to see him reveal a few more tricks under his sleeve.

 

[hsandhu]

i gotta agree with D-dog. At 36, there's just not much more to go up for a guy who's taken as much of a beating as Shaq has. Don't matter to me though. This notch he's at right now is perfect, especially considering Amare's game always turns up a notch come playoff time. We'll live and die by how hard Amare plays at both ends of the court. If he elevates his game, we're gonna be damn hard to stop.

Barbosa and diaw, they're the keys. If they play like they did last night we're gonna be tough.

And they didn't even have huge numbers last night, but they brought it. Made key plays and timely baskets on offense.

And I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but diaw looked like a pretty damn good defender (he did against dirk sunday as well). He battled duncan as hard as he could considering the size and weight he was giving up and when getting switched onto a ginobili/parker/finley did a heck of a job staying in front of them and making them shoot over his long reach.

 

[nowagimp]

Watching him eat up Tim Duncan in the post last night in the second half is all the gears the suns need. If he can make that hook against a top a NBA defender, he's in top gear. The suns dont need shaq to score 25, his defense is more important, and he has looked good to me defending in the paint. Watching Tim Duncan throw up those ugly left handed "prayer hooks" was a treat for this suns fan. I think most opposing players driving th elane see shaq and he's so big, he looks closer than he actually is. It seems like alot of opponents are changing their shots or not trying to finish in the lane with shaq in there. When shaq sits, opponents do go to the rack right away, even oberto does. This is why shaqs personal stats dont tell the story. How valuable is +8 team rebounds a game over marion? How valuable is a rapid decline of opponents points in the paint? How valuable is a 4% drop in opponents FG%? How valuable is amare playing 4 more minutes a game because of less foul trouble? How valuable is putting a physical load on the opposition(instead of amare, diaw) for a change? How valuable is a late double on amare because of the fear of shaq down low? How valuable is getting into the penalty in almost every quarter? Fantasy stats would tell you that shaqs 16/9 was good, but not nearly as good as duncans 23/10. But duncan didnt stop the suns from scoring in the paint, did he(see highlight reel)? Duncan took 21 shots to get his 23 points. Shaq took 9 to get 16 and was a force in the paint defensively. I dont know how long the diesel can play at that level, but I never thought he was still this good.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Watching him eat up Tim Duncan in the post last night in the second half is all the gears the suns need. If he can make that hook against a top a NBA defender, he's in top gear. The suns dont need shaq to score 25, his defense is more important, and he has looked good to me defending in the paint.

Watching Tim Duncan throw up those ugly left handed "prayer hooks" was a treat for this suns fan. I think most opposing players driving the lane see shaq and he's so big, he looks closer than he actually is. It seems like alot of opponents are changing their shots or not trying to finish in the lane with shaq in there. When shaq sits, opponents do go to the rack right away, even oberto does. This is why shaqs personal stats dont tell the story.

How valuable is +8 team rebounds a game over marion?
How valuable is a rapid decline of opponents points in the paint?
How valuable is a 4% drop in opponents FG%?
How valuable is amare playing 4 more minutes a game because of less foul trouble?
How valuable is putting a physical load on the opposition(instead of amare, diaw) for a change?
How valuable is a late double on amare because of the fear of shaq down low?
How valuable is getting into the penalty in almost every quarter?

Fantasy stats would tell you that shaqs 16/9 was good, but not nearly as good as duncans 23/10. But duncan didnt stop the suns from scoring in the paint, did he(see highlight reel)? Duncan took 21 shots to get his 23 points. Shaq took 9 to get 16 and was a force in the paint defensively.

I dont know how long the diesel can play at that level, but I never thought he was still this good.

much better

 

[joshstmarie]

He has another gear for the playoffs, but I'm of the opinion that he's been playing in that gear since arriving in PHX. I don't think he throttles up from here.

This is more or less along the lines of what I was thinking. I think we will see spurts like he had last night where he kicks it up a notch but I don't think he can sustain that type of level for more than a few minutes at a time. Although like cheese said, that's good enough for me.

 

[nowagimp]

much better

thx, better arranged, happens when trying to do 3 things at once.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I agree with D-Dog too but is it crazy for me to think he throws up a couple 28 -12 games during our run?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I agree with D-Dog too but is it crazy for me to think he throws up a couple 28 -12 games during our run?

oh, i'd say 28 points is crazy nowadays, much less a couple of 'em.

i think his breakout games will be in the rebounding department. i think we'll see a few 14 - 18 games. and that's juuuuust fine with me.

 

[asudevil83]

i just bypassed all the comments here...so i'll chime in

we done really need shaq to pop in another gear. what he brings to the table right now is what we need....a lowpost defensive presence. any scoring beyond 10 points is added bonus.

his job is to neutralize the other team's offensive low post, and prevent easy baskets down low

 

[cobbler]

I have to agree with donald.... i think you are seeing the up gear as is from the trade hype, new team, proving himself thing. The suns need to hope he can sustain that over a 7 game series. Well see.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I have to agree with donald.... i think you are seeing the up gear as is from the trade hype, new team, proving himself thing. The suns need to hope he can sustain that over a 7 game series. Well see.

to be honest, if anything, I think playoff scheduling will actually help Shaq be able to maintain this pace, rather than be a hindrance. There'll be no back-to-backs, much less travel and while the competition will be up, we've played a murderous schedule down the stretch anyway so I don't think that'll be all that different.

 

[Covert Rain]

oh, i'd say 28 points is crazy nowadays, much less a couple of 'em.

i think his breakout games will be in the rebounding department. i think we'll see a few 14 - 18 games. and that's juuuuust fine with me.

If the offense still ran through Shaq I don't think 25-28 points would be completely out of the question. However it doesn't. He only has a couple plays to him and they are only run when Amare is off the floor.

However, if you can get 15-20 points of out Shaq with things not running through him, I would argue that is as good a night as Shaq scoring 25-28 points with the offense running through him.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

I have to agree with donald.... i think you are seeing the up gear as is from the trade hype, new team, proving himself thing. The suns need to hope he can sustain that over a 7 game series. Well see.

and I guess we'll see if gasol reverts to his normal playoff self. lakers better hope he doesn't. 0-12.

 

[D-Dogg]

to be honest, if anything, I think playoff scheduling will actually help Shaq be able to maintain this pace, rather than be a hindrance. There'll be no back-to-backs, much less travel and while the competition will be up, we've played a murderous schedule down the stretch anyway so I don't think that'll be all that different.

agreed, and I'd contend it has always helped him which is why he is so able to turn it on in the 'offs.

 

[Cheesebeef]

agreed, and I'd contend it has always helped him which is why he is so able to turn it on in the 'offs.

hmmm, I never thought of that, but that makes a lot of sense as far as how dominant Shaq used to be in the playoffs. It's what makes me believe we'll see this kind of play continued, rather than drop off, but I do think he's playing at whatever higher gear he's got left right now as well.

 

[cobbler]

and I guess we'll see if gasol reverts to his normal playoff self. lakers better hope he doesn't. 0-12.

And what relevence does that have on the thread topic?

 

[devilalum]

I don't know if Shaq has another gear but the playoffs were invented for the Shaqs of the world.

Two or three days between games and about a billion long tv timeouts for him to rest and stay fresh. Shaq may not have another gear but thanks to the glorious system that is the NBA playoffs it will look like he does.

 

[cobbler]

hmmm, I never thought of that, but that makes a lot of sense as far as how dominant Shaq used to be in the playoffs. It's what makes me believe we'll see this kind of play continued, rather than drop off, but I do think he's playing at whatever higher gear he's got left right now as well.

I completely see your point but have always felt its a bit like a double edge sword. Yes there are no back to backs and the schedule is a little more spread out, but the other side is your playing the same team, it gets more physical, they adjust etc.

Going to be a great playoffs! No gimmies in the west.

 

[SHAQFAN4EVER]

Whoever think Shaq is not able to put up 28 points again is out of their mind, Shaq took 9 shots yesterday, scored 16 points, I believe he shot 4 FTs and made 2. If he shoots 20 shots(lets says he makes 12 of them, 60%) that is 24 points plus a few freethows since he would have to be aggressive to put up 20 attemps, 8 freethorws, 50% made, so that is 28 points... The thing is Suns never call a play for Shaq, See what happend in 2nd Quarter last night against SA, we went to Shaq, he delivered, every single time.. When playoffs come, with the rest in between games, Shaq will be better than any other center in the NBA.
Extra motivation powered by Playoffs, rest and critics still doubting, I will put money on Shaq...