Shaq

[Todd Crane <tcrane@isis.unc.edu>]

Just a few more comments on Shaq.  Reasons why he'll never win an NBA
championship:

(1)  55% career free throw shooter.
(2)  13 rebounds a game?  So what, he's 7-2 center who plays 38+ minutes
a game.  He should have at least 13
(3)  He's currently 5th in blocked shots.  That's not 5th in the league,
he's fifth on the Lakers!  Do you believe that!  This guy does not,
cannot, and will not play the type of defense required to win
championships.
(4)  Attitude.  Every interview I have ever seen of him, he is
constantly putting the teams problems on everyone else.  He uses words
like, "get me a power forward," "get me a guy who is known outside
threat," "I hate it when I see guys shooting off balance jump shots when
I get double teamed."
(5)  Attitude.  This guy has been in the league for something like 6
years now and still does not understand what it takes to win on a
consistent basis.  If he doesn't understand now, he never will.
(6)  Attitude.  A friend of mine used to work in the PR department with
the Cleveland Cavs.  When I asked him who the biggest jerk in the NBA
was, he answered Shaq.  True story.  According to my friend, Shaq
refused to travel to an away game to Cleveland once because the team
plane would not be able to take them (mechanical problems) and so the
Lakers had to travel on a commercial airline.  The official story was
that Shaq had a pulled hamstring, but when the team plane was ready to
go the next day, Shaq made it to the next game of the Laker east coast
road trip.
(7)  Attitude.  Does anyone recall how Hakeem abused Shaq a few years
ago in the NBA finals.  Has Shaq made significant progress since then?
No.
(8)  Attitude.  Why this guy doesn't take the time to become a better
free throw shooter is beyond me.

Get the picture,
Todd