Shaq says he’ll be disappointed if Dwight Howard doesn’t win several championships. (Stephanie Kuzydym/Orlando Sentinel)
Shaquille O’Neal poked Dwight Howard again over the weekend, reiterating the same points he’s made in the past: Howard doesn’t have to compete with any other great centers, Shaq is the real and original Superman, and Howard better win several championships or ol’ Shaq will be disappointed.
O’Neal didn’t volunteer this critique — he was asked about Howard in an interview with the New Orleans Times Picayune. But, time and time again, O’Neal has shown he’s not afraid to dish openly and honestly on the NBA’s foremost big man.
O’Neal says he and Howard are still cool – their mothers are friends, for Pete’s sake! – but Howard has said O’Neal’s negative comments bother him. And while it might all just be marketing, let’s look at O’Neal’s main points and examine their validity.
Shaq: If Dwight doesn’t win two or three championships, I’m going to be disappointed. Who else is there? That’s it. He doesn’t have nobody.
Shaq’s right — for one reason or another, it’s simply a relatively listless time for NBA centers. There are many productive five men in the league besides Howard, but each of them seems to have an inherent flaw keeping them from elite status. Andrew Bynum can’t stay healthy. Joakim Noah can’t score. Greg Oden’s legs don’t work right. Guys like Andrew Bogut, Marc Gasol, Nene Hilario and Al Jefferson are nice but unspectacular players. Howard is clearly in a class of his own.
But there’s another point Shaq hasn’t addressed.
It’s not romantic to talk about – especially for Magic fans – but big men simply can’t affect the game the way they could during Shaq’s prime. In 2004, the NBA altered its rules to no longer allow hand-checking beyond the free-throw line, increasing the effectiveness of quick ball-handlers. The rule change made it almost impossible to stay in front of agile guys like Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo and LeBron James.
Howard’s defensive and rebounding presence is still prevalent, but he’d be even better if opponents’ quick guards weren’t coming into the paint almost untouched. Howard still affects – and often dominates – on both ends of the floor, but he would fit in better if he were 15 years older and playing in the golden age of centers with Shaq, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alonzo Mourning, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, etc.
Last season, Amar’e Stoudemire was the only post player to crack the top ten of the NBA’s leading scorers. Compare that to 2000, when Shaq led the league with 29.7 points per game and three other post players (Karl Malone, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett) rounded out the top ten.
And it’s no coincidence that point guard Jameer Nelson created 1,100 shots for the Magic this season, while Howard created almost 900. It’s a different game now, if only subtly.
All that said, Howard should win several championships if he wants to go down as one of the greatest big men ever. And that’s an expectation placed on Howard by himself, not by Shaq or the media.
Shaq: When I came in the league, I had to go through Alonzo Mourning, Arvydas Sabonis, Kevin Duckworth, Rik Smits. Now I can’t name any other centers besides Kendrick Perkins and Andrew Bynum.
Dude, Kevin Duckworth? He averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds for his career. Rik Smits was solid, but he was the Pacers’ sixth-best player when they went to the NBA Finals. While Shaq outplayed many of the greats throughout his career — and I really don’t intend to diminish Shaq’s incredible career — let’s face the truth: Shaq didn’t win his first NBA title until 2000. In that year, Hakeem Olajuwon was 37. David Robinson was 34. Patrick Ewing, 37. Arvydas Sabonis, 35. Even Smits was 33 that year. Let’s not pretend Shaq won titles while going head to head with Hall of Fame big men in their prime. And Shaq was 28 when he won his first NBA title; Howard is 25 and has been trounced in the playoffs by teams led by Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett, two premier big men. Shaq has a point, but he’s basing his logic off an extremely selective memory.
Shaq: I don’t envy him; he’s a great young player. But I’ve never seen him dog another center out. I tried to dog centers out.
Certainly, this is a reference to Howard being limited by Kendrick Perkins and the Boston Celtics in years’ past, and Howard never properly establishing his dominance and putting Perkins in his place. While partially a fair point –- Howard hasn’t consistently gone off against Perkins and the Celtics — the Magic did beat the Celtics in ‘09. And if by “dog out,” Shaq is referring to the times he fought Charles Barkley or threw a ball at Greg Ostertag, Howard doesn’t really have that in him.
The thing is, Howard doesn’t dog other centers because of Shaq’s other point: There aren’t a lot of great centers in the game. Instead, Howard gets up for games against the other big stars in the league. Howard would rather dog LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Howard wants to put up huge numbers and instill his dominance on national TV because he feels those other stars get more respect. And hopefully by dogging someone out, this isn’t what Shaq means.
Shaq: His mom and my mom are good friends. I don’t have a problem.
Is this really an acceptable reason to be friends with someone past the age of seven? I assume Mrs. Howard and Mrs. O’Neal meet in a cul-de-sac every few weeks and shoot the breeze about the weather, their sons’ mean coaches and how the economy has hit everyone. And that’s cool. But if their moms get into a squabble over a game of Bunco, does that mean Shaq is going to be really mean to Dwight in the press?
* And one other thing from Shaq’s interview: He didn’t take a swipe at Stan Van Gundy, but he certainly lent some credence to the notion that he forced Van Gundy out of Miami during the 2005-06 season. “All the coaches that I had that didn’t have the winning experience, I didn’t trust them,” Shaq said. Miami was Van Gundy’s first coaching job, and Van Gundy’s resignation made way for the legendary Pat Riley.
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