It's been 2 weeks. A very, very long 2 weeks. Some of us Suns fans have rejoiced, at getting our "big man" in the middle that the Suns have needed so so much. Other Suns fans, are idiots and think this is a stupid move. Getting rid of Marion (who won zero championships, complained in the locker room, and held anger towards Steve Nash for being the star of the team) and bringing in Shaq (a proven champion, someone that has been selected for the All Star Team every single year of his career in the NBA, except this year, due to injury.) Every year, the Suns are eliminated from the Playoffs. And every year, Suns fans say the same thing. "We need a big center." Well we got the big center, and people still aren't happy. As for me, I am very pleased with this. I have been wanting Shawn Marion gone for years, he was a huge part of this seasons flaws, which was the Suns chemistry going to shit. I stated about a month ago, and many Suns fans agreed, that if nothing was changed, if nothing was done, this was going to be just another typical year of an elimination from the Playoffs for the Suns. But we got a BIG change, the biggest change we could ever hope for.When asked about the decision to start Shaq at Center, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said "There's no easing into it, He's just going to dive into the pool."
O'Neal's expectations "Go out and have fun and get used to the guys and just win. I'm not looking to put up historical numbers. Whatever the guys ask, that's what I'm going to do."
All the guessing, all the talking, all the defending of Shaq, will come to a head tomorrow night. Sadly, tickets are a bit pricey for Shaqs big debut, so I will be tuning into HD tomorrow night for the big debut on ESPN at 6:00pm PST instead of being there in person, unless I magically snag a pair of tickets.
Shaq has been on the decline for years. He'll give the team a small boost but I think a lot of fans are expecting way more than they should.
ReplyDeleteYears? He just won a ring a year and a half ago. 2 years ago, he went into Miami, said he will win them a championship, and did. How is that a decline?
ReplyDeleteKareem Abdul Jabbar? Are you kidding me? Have you ever even watched basketball?
ReplyDeleteHis play was based on his height and athletic ability, not his pure size and strength like Shaq. Of course Kareem had a long career, he was a finesse player who weighed less than most forwards do today.
You also forget to mention those late championships had something to do with Magic Johnson.
Now if you want to make a real comparison, take a look at Hakeem Olajuwon's stats and how they slowly deteriorated as he got older. It's just common sense, bigger men put more wear and tear on their bodies and can't keep up as well when they're older.
Like I said, if the Suns did not do a major change, they were never going to make it to the finals. This is a major change. All the talking ends, in just a couple hours from now. Ill be back tomorrow with my thoughts on tonights game.
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