Shaq is a freak of nature. There has never been a player of his size, height and width, that has had the athleticism that Shaq did. Sabonis may have matched him in size, and while a great player, even in his prime could not do what Shaq did.
I had a conversation with a legendary Florida record dealer who is also a big sports fan the other day and he stated that he hated Shaq because he changed (and cheapened) the way the game is played.
I asked him what he thought about Dr. J and he said he was one of his all-time faves. I then reminded him that NO ONE has had a bigger impact on changing the game(and rules) of the NBA than Doc did.
And while I also am a big fan of Erving, I never liked the fact that the NBA has basically allowed "Travelling" since he joined the league.
It was very evident last night as DWade regularly took three steps on his way to the hoop....and Van Gundy kept saying he got to the hoop "with such ease".....ridiculous.
There is no one in sports who seems to have more fun than Shaq.......why he has more than his fair share of haters is beyond me.
he hated Shaq because he changed (and cheapened) the way the game is played.
In my youth i had seen Olujawon get 2 rings so i was thoroughly unimpressed with the Shaq/Duncan era of bigmen close to the basket. easy shot/putback..especially shaq backing in truck style
but i came to respect the center's game as more than that as I grew older
Shaq is a freak of nature. There has never been a player of his size, height and width, that has had the athleticism that Shaq did. Sabonis may have matched him in size, and while a great player, even in his prime could not do what Shaq did.
I had a conversation with a legendary Florida record dealer who is also a big sports fan the other day and he stated that he hated Shaq because he changed (and cheapened) the way the game is played.
I asked him what he thought about Dr. J and he said he was one of his all-time faves. I then reminded him that NO ONE has had a bigger impact on changing the game(and rules) of the NBA than Doc did.
And while I also am a big fan of Erving, I never liked the fact that the NBA has basically allowed "Travelling" since he joined the league.
It was very evident last night as DWade regularly took three steps on his way to the hoop....and Van Gundy kept saying he got to the hoop "with such ease".....ridiculous.
There is no one in sports who seems to have more fun than Shaq.......why he has more than his fair share of haters is beyond me.
I don't know about you but I like the post Doc game a lot more than before. I only see one dunk here that could be called travelling.
I don't know about you but I like the post Doc game a lot more than before. I only see one dunk here that could be called travelling.
Let me explain.....
The ONLY reason the NBA merged with the ABA was because the ABA was flashier and more exciting with the 3 Point Shot and Dr. J.....while Doc could make MOST of those dunks without travellin, very few others could. So in order to make the NBA more exciting, which by the way was dying by the early 70's, they allowed other players to take an extra half step....the refs were basically told to overlook an extra half step without actually changing the rule book. Today it's rare to see travelling called during a drive to the hoop.
While I like the Dr. J style of play, I don't like the fact that they allow a long standing rule to be broken in order to facilitate it.
I liked that late night show a few years back where they played hoops with trampolines built into the floor. And I like And 1 for what it is.
But I'd rather see players evolve to raise the level of the game rather than the game devolve to raise the level of it's players.
I don't know about you but I like the post Doc game a lot more than before. I only see one dunk here that could be called travelling.
Let me explain.....
The ONLY reason the NBA merged with the ABA was because the ABA was flashier and more exciting with the 3 Point Shot and Dr. J.....while Doc could make MOST of those dunks without travellin, very few others could. So in order to make the NBA more exciting, which by the way was dying by the early 70's, they allowed other players to take an extra half step....the refs were basically told to overlook an extra half step without actually changing the rule book. Today it's rare to see travelling called during a drive to the hoop.
While I like the Dr. J style of play, I don't like the fact that they allow a long standing rule to be broken in order to facilitate it.
I liked that late night show a few years back where they played hoops with trampolines built into the floor. And I like And 1 for what it is.
But I'd rather see players evolve to raise the level of the game rather than the game devolve to raise the level of it's players.
Hope that makes sense.
It's not just the traveling. The bigger problem was the refs favoring the superstars, which reached its peak with Jordan but remains a problem.
I don't know about you but I like the post Doc game a lot more than before. I only see one dunk here that could be called travelling.
Let me explain.....
The ONLY reason the NBA merged with the ABA was because the ABA was flashier and more exciting with the 3 Point Shot and Dr. J.....while Doc could make MOST of those dunks without travellin, very few others could. So in order to make the NBA more exciting, which by the way was dying by the early 70's, they allowed other players to take an extra half step....the refs were basically told to overlook an extra half step without actually changing the rule book. Today it's rare to see travelling called during a drive to the hoop.
While I like the Dr. J style of play, I don't like the fact that they allow a long standing rule to be broken in order to facilitate it.
I liked that late night show a few years back where they played hoops with trampolines built into the floor. And I like And 1 for what it is.
But I'd rather see players evolve to raise the level of the game rather than the game devolve to raise the level of it's players.
Hope that makes sense.
That trampoline basketball game was off the hook.
I don't see the traveling issue. Dudes finally took flight with big time athletic moves. Unless you provide definitive video evidence (at least 10,000 instances) then I am not buying. Dwayne Wade absolutely tore Dallas a new tonight and there weren't no traveling going on. Now if you want to talk about carrying the ball, that's another story entirely.
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I had a conversation with a legendary Florida record dealer who is also a big sports fan the other day and he stated that he hated Shaq because he changed (and cheapened) the way the game is played.
I asked him what he thought about Dr. J and he said he was one of his all-time faves. I then reminded him that NO ONE has had a bigger impact on changing the game(and rules) of the NBA than Doc did.
And while I also am a big fan of Erving, I never liked the fact that the NBA has basically allowed "Travelling" since he joined the league.
It was very evident last night as DWade regularly took three steps on his way to the hoop....and Van Gundy kept saying he got to the hoop "with such ease".....ridiculous.
There is no one in sports who seems to have more fun than Shaq.......why he has more than his fair share of haters is beyond me.
In my youth i had seen Olujawon get 2 rings so i was thoroughly unimpressed with the Shaq/Duncan era of bigmen close to the basket. easy shot/putback..especially shaq backing in truck style
but i came to respect the center's game as more than that as I grew older
This photo is
YOU SHOULDN'T HOLD YOUR RECORDS LIKE THAT!!!!
I don't know about you but I like the post Doc game a lot more than before. I only see one dunk here that could be called travelling.
Let me explain.....
The ONLY reason the NBA merged with the ABA was because the ABA was flashier and more exciting with the 3 Point Shot and Dr. J.....while Doc could make MOST of those dunks without travellin, very few others could. So in order to make the NBA more exciting, which by the way was dying by the early 70's, they allowed other players to take an extra half step....the refs were basically told to overlook an extra half step without actually changing the rule book. Today it's rare to see travelling called during a drive to the hoop.
While I like the Dr. J style of play, I don't like the fact that they allow a long standing rule to be broken in order to facilitate it.
I liked that late night show a few years back where they played hoops with trampolines built into the floor. And I like And 1 for what it is.
But I'd rather see players evolve to raise the level of the game rather than the game devolve to raise the level of it's players.
Hope that makes sense.
It's not just the traveling. The bigger problem was the refs favoring the superstars, which reached its peak with Jordan but remains a problem.
That trampoline basketball game was off the hook.
I don't see the traveling issue. Dudes finally took flight with big time athletic moves. Unless you provide definitive video evidence (at least 10,000 instances) then I am not buying. Dwayne Wade absolutely tore Dallas a new tonight and there weren't no traveling going on. Now if you want to talk about carrying the ball, that's another story entirely.
Wouldn't it be more interesting to determine the greatest Los Angeles Laker rapper of all time?
Candidates I know of: Shaq, Kobe, Cedric Ceballos, Brian Shaw