Here’s an appeal to Shaq: As Pat Riley would say, STFU when the topic of discussion is Dwight Howard.
Shaq’s ongoing, unrelenting and borderline ridiculous criticism of Howard is old and tired. He’s been at it for years, whether it’s Howard’s play in Orlando, Howard’s decision to leave the Lakers, Howard’s decision to sign with Houston or Howard’s play in the Rockets’ playoff series with Portland.
He’s ripped him on TV, in the newspapers and in his autobiography.
Shaq, whose dim-witted presence on the TNT set always led me to believe he was a mole by the rival network, started up again after the Rockets lost Game 1 of their series to Portland. Howard wasn’t aggressive enough. Howard should demand the ball more. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Finally, mercifully, Charles Barkley called him out, pointing out that Howard could not do it alone (it might help if James Harden, shooting 29 percent, decided to show up for the series) and that Shaq wouldn’t have won anything in Los Angeles without Kobe Bryant.
He then further slighted the Big Insipid by suggesting Rick Fox should be thanked as well.
Shaq, of course, never saw it that way because it was always, always, about him. This despite the fact that he irritated and annoyed every great player he ever played with, starting with Penny Hardaway and continuing on with Kobe, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Steve Nash, the last of which refused to re-sign with the Suns unless the team got rid of O’Neal. This despite the fact that he played for six teams – a silly number for the self-described most dominant man in the game. He was traded three times, forcing his exit from both Los Angeles and Miami.
Shaq was so big and so strong that he always figured his strength and power would be sufficient. He never bothered to ever get in shape. He never played a full season, wire to wire, and, in fact, played in more than 70 games only four times since he bolted Orlando in 1996. The Celtics would never have traded Kendrick Perkins in 2011 had they known O’Neal, on whom they were counting for the playoffs, could not get back on the floor.
Howard, by contrast, has gone wire-to-wire five times. For those of us who think “games played” is an important statistic, Howard is light years ahead of his chief tormentor.
Shaq unquestionably had the size and skill to be the most dominant player in NBA history. Instead he should go down as the most underachieving great player in NBA history, which makes his criticism of Howard so patently ludicrous.
Yes, we know, Shaq won four titles, but Barkley is 100 percent point-on about Kobe’s role (and Sir Charles could have added Phil Jackson as well.) He has four more than Howard, but he was in the league eight years before he won his first. And how could a team with the Big Omnipotent ever miss the playoffs? Shaq’s team did twice, his first year in Orlando and his only full season in Phoenix.
The supposedly unstoppable big man managed to play 19 seasons in the NBA and never once led the league in rebounding. That’s because rebounding is all about heart and desire. It requires work. That was too much for Shaq. How a 7-foot-1, 325-pound center could never lead the league in rebounding is astonishing. Dennis Rodman found a way and he was 6-foot-6. But Rodman wanted the ball. Shaq was content to let others fetch it for him.
Howard has led the NBA in total rebounds six times, including 2008-09, when he led the league in both offensive and defensive rebounds. Additionally, he is a three-time winner of the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. That’s three more than Shaq has. Howard also led the NBA in blocked shots twice. Shaq? What do you think?
But perhaps most damning is the fact that O’Neal anchored six teams which got swept in the playoffs. Five of those were 4-0 broom jobs. The other was 3-0 to Indiana in 1994, the first time Shaq played in the playoffs. A year later, the Magic were swept in the Finals by the Rockets, despite having the homecourt advantage. That has happened only one other time in NBA history – 1975. O’Neal’s teams were also swept in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2007.
The last broom job came while O’Neal was in Miami and the Heat were the defending champions. It marked the first time in 50 years that a defending champion had been swept in the first round. The Bulls took them out and O’Neal didn’t last another full season in Miami. He was traded for – gulp – Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. He later was traded for Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace.
Howard has been swept twice, his first playoff appearance with the upstart Magic and his one and only playoff appearance as a Laker (who did not have Kobe and were broomed by the Spurs.) His decision to leave the Lakers made total sense at the time (as I pointed out before he even signed) and still makes total sense. The Lakers are a mess.
It’s hard to fathom why Shaq is so persistent in his Howard-bashing.
But it has been going on for so long now that it has lost whatever validity it may have had.
He should follow the advice of his old coach, Pat Riley, and put a sock in it.
Peter May is the only writer who covered the final NBA games played by Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. He has covered the league for three decades for The Harttford Courant and The Boston Globe and has written three books on the Boston Celtics. His work also appears in The New York Times. You can follow him on Twitter.
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What a joke article. Sounds like a Kobe dick rider. Top ten greatest of all time. He dominated every Center since his fist year in the league. 4 rings. 3 finals MVPs. Get your facts straight before writing a biased article.
Point of the article wasn’t ‘I would take Dwight over Shaq.’ Point was Shaq should STFU with the same old tired ‘analysis’ of Dwight’s game.
…and he’s right. Shaq’s lack of vulnerability, his bully/tough guy persona on Inside the NBA really takes the wind out of their sails. Analysis of every center in the league has to be ‘THROW THAT 7-FOOTER THE BALL AND LET HIM HIJACK THE OFFENSE BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT I DID.’
It’s not just Dwight. It’s been Hibbert, too. Now let’s be clear, commenters: this is not me saying I would rather have Roy Hibbert over Shaq. Hibbert is playing terribly. I don’t want him. But for Shaq to call for Hibbert to ‘dominate’ in that Atlanta series just because he was big is simply proof that he’s not thinking about any of this analytically. The dude had rebound-less games. It’s not in his DNA nor his toolbox to just go to work like that; what Shaq should have demanded is something complementary, something to keep Hibbs on the floor…not to transform from an invisible center into F-ing Wilt. He’s looking through his own scope, his own experiences and then jumping on guys that can’t do what he did with lazy generalities.
Should Dwight hold up his hand and back dudes into the lane? Sure, if you want to completely suck the life out of Houston’s offense. Out of Houston’s spacing. Out of THE ONLY THING HOUSTON DOES WELL. The league is different now. I love Al Jefferson, but there’s a reason the Bobcats are the team that won that ‘lottery.’ Most teams aren’t willing to build around a back-to-the-basket big because the game is slanted more toward shooting and skills than it was in the ’90s and early 2000s. I agree that Dwight’s biggest issue (along with his mental approach) is his inability to turn himself into a good/smart passer over the years. Finding shooters is important, especially with the Rockets.
Dwight’s role should be to run the floor, to rebound and to protect the sh** out of the rim. Do that, and tell James Harden to defend and you’ve got yourself a team that might work. Shaq’s just harping on a grudge at this point, and it’s annoying. Put somebody on TV that’s going to watch the game and adapt his analysis based on what he sees, not the grudges he’s held.
Good column, Pete.
1 MVP, 4 rings, 3 NBA Finals MVP’s in addition to what Ethan wrote.
Peter May, Chris Sheridan. If you had to pick between shaq and Dwight who would it be? There’s your answer, shaq has the right to talk as much sh** as he wants to Dwight because Dwight came into the league TRYING TO BE THE MAN! Down to the nickname! This article is ludicrous, compare the stats and PLEASE don’t dismiss the fact that shaq won 4 championships like that anymore! 4 championships or 3 DPOYS? You tell me whose had the better carrier smh at you two.
I agree shaq was one of the greatest centers of all time Dwight Howard is a guy that came into the league at the right time when the greats had already left or were on the decline. Peter May is an idiot
well said. Dwight is the best NBA center in the league, he does some things better than Shaq ever did.
I’m sorry….Dwight’s a nice player, and maybe he tries “harder” than Shaq ever did, but to compare the two is a ludicrous. Look at their first 10 seasons; there’s no argument who was better, and I find it absurd anyone would rather have Dwight over Shaq.
PPG:
DH: 18.3
SO: 27.6
Are you kidding me? I love how you leave this out…or any reference to putting the ball through the net. This disparity is insane, and leads to my biggest criticism w/this column. Shaq was a SKILLED player. Howard is a bull in a china shop. It’s great he tries hard…there are tons of guys on the end of the bench that I’m sure also try hard. Shaq was just better at the game of basketball.
APG:
DH: 1.5
SO: 2.8
SEE ABOVE. Shaq saw angles and understands the game. SKILL. Dwight is an offensive black hole.
RPG:
DH: 12.9
SO: 12.3
There’s the crux of your effort argument. 1 extra rebound every two games. Please.
BPG:
DH: 2.2
SO: 2.5
I guess blocks aren’t effort plays.
I get the argument that Shaq is too critical to Howard, but leave it at that. If anything, the injustice is grading him on Shaq’s curve, because comparing the two at this point of Howard’s career is no comparison.
Gotta agree with Ethan here. The tenor of the analysis should have stopped at “Shaq should leave Dwight alone, and stop criticizing him”. We get it Shaq, he’ll never be as good as you. For you to discredit Shaq’s ability in his hay day, is absurd.
Shaq still still definitely STFU though. He was a great basketball player, but he’s an idiot on TV.