Dallas Mavericks

[EZRA]

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That also means Shaq's constant scoring too.. I mean, he's a hard guy to MAN and no one has ever been successful guarding him one-on-one (maybe except for Hakeem but Shaq was a noob then.. and 30+ lbs leaner) . If he gets that much opportunities to score, he will score.. and draw fouls on the process. He does 50%+ FG percentage right? I don't think AJ's gonna risk that... he does have people to throw in at Shaq though.. a lot of his big guys are expendable.. including VAN HORN.

it's gonna be interesting to see what AJ's got in store for Shaq.

[omad]

That also means Shaq's constant scoring too.. I mean, he's a hard guy to MAN and no one has ever been successful guarding him one-on-one (maybe except for Hakeem but Shaq was a noob then.. and 30+ lbs leaner) . If he gets that much opportunities to score, he will score.. and draw fouls on the process. He does 50%+ FG percentage right? I don't think AJ's gonna risk that... he does have people to throw in at Shaq though.. a lot of his big guys are expendable.. including VAN HORN.since you opened the door to discuss history then I'm very happy to oblige:

Shaquille O'Neal
05-06 highs career highs
Points 35 @ Charlotte 03/06/06 61 @ L.A. Clippers 03/06/00
Field Goals Made 16 @ Charlotte 03/06/06 24 @ L.A. Clippers 03/06/00
Field Goals Attempted 24 vs. Detroit 02/12/06 40 @ Washington 03/22/96
Free Throws Made 12 @ Houston 01/29/06 19 vs. Chicago 11/19/99
Free Throws Attempted 20 vs. Atlanta 03/04/06 31 vs. Chicago 11/19/99

based on the stats above, Shaq scored 35 against Charlotte's centers P. Brezec and J. Voskuhl in an overtime game recently. I think Dampier and Diop can do a decent job on him, make him work hard for his points and limit him below 25-28 ppg in this series. both actually fared well against Shaq, limiting him to 23 pts last Feb but had 3 and 4 fouls respectively. and do take note, Shaq's career highs took place when he was 30+ lbs leaner and when he was 6 - 7 years younger.

it's gonna be interesting to see what AJ's got in store for Shaq.
here's one thing fans should look for in their upcoming games, AJ is gonna run the hell out of Shaq and Mourning. look for strong drives to the hoop by Stackhouse, Howard, Daniels, Terry and Harris.

[**julliene**]

i don't know their stats but MAVS ko...hehehe...idol NOWITZKI, go for it!! yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!

[**julliene**]

i don't know their stats but MAVS ko...hehehe...idol NOWITZKI, go for it!! yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!! :mrgreen:

[jugs_06]

both teams are hungry for a championship.. so let's see what happens.. everything can change in the game of basketball.. the ball is round.. ya know.. hehe

[omad]

here's part of a story (Dallas Morning News/Dan Townsend) on Dirk's trainer and confidant:

Tapping a teen's talent

Mr. Geschwindner, captain of Germany's 1972 Olympic basketball team, met a 16-year-old Nowitzki after watching him in a summer club game near Würzburg.

Mr. Geschwindner spoke to Mr. Nowitzki's parents, Joerg and Helga, explaining that if Dirk wanted to become Germany's best basketball player, he must begin systematic training.

During the past dozen years, Mr. Geschwindner's training has included fencing, rowing, ballet, Rollerblading, guitar lessons and saxophone playing.

If Mr. Nowitzki is doing anything unorthodox to prepare for Miami and Shaquille O'Neal, Mr. Geschwindner isn't saying.

full story
it's kinda like Mr Miyagi of the movie "Karate Kid".. nice read..

[EZRA]

Neither DIOP nor DAMPIER can defend Shaq alone effectively... at least I don't think so. With their series against the Pistons.. Shaq was held on a series low at 14 points but with that, Walker and Payton also got some open looks on the basket. The rest of the Pistons series, Shaq was getting his 20+ ppg including game 6 where he was the go-to guy with Wade having the Flu. Also, Diop and Dampier are no Ben Wallace.

I wanna see how the older and slower Shaq can capitalize on this if AJ opts not to double team him.

[omad]

nobody in their right mind would say: somebody can defend Shaq one-on-one.. it's either that guy hasn't been born yet or maybe there will never be a guy, at least in our generation, who could stop the "big diesel". all Mavs fan are hoping is that the Damp-Diop tandem "could at least" make him work harder getting his points which undoubtedly he will. all I'm hoping is that the Mavs can defend their homecourt (1st 2 games) so this series will be longer. 'coz the longer it will get, the more it will be in favor of the Mavs given their deeper bench.

here's a quote from AJ when asked if he feels excited being in the Finals:

"It's not really exciting too much when you've got a 350-pound center [Shaquille O'Neal] who's going to be entering our city sometime soon". "Should that be exciting for me? I've been watching him on film for 16 hours a day, and the more I watch, the worse of a mood I get in.", Johnson said.

Neither DIOP nor DAMPIER can defend Shaq alone effectively... Also, Diop and Dampier are no Ben Wallace.you can throw whatever name you wish and it would just be the same against Shaq - a statistic - 6 fouls. Diop and Damp would be better 'coz they're about 12 fouls compared to Ben's 6. 6 more fouls is better..

I wanna see how the older and slower Shaq can capitalize on this if AJ opts not to double team him.seems like we're just running around in circles here as far as Shaq and Wade are concerned. I already stated my argument that Shaq will get his 20-25 ppg and Wade his 25-30 ppg this series eversince we started discussing the NBA finals match-up. all I wanted to know is that which of the Heat players, aside from Shaq and Wade, will contribute regularly if the Mavs decide to play Shaq one-on-one. let's say Shaq dominates and gets 35-40 every game, who will step up if they don't touch the ball?

[EZRA]

"all I wanted to know is that which of the Heat players, aside from Shaq and Wade, will contribute regularly if the Mavs decide to play Shaq one-on-one. let's say Shaq dominates and gets 35-40 every game, who will step up if they don't touch the ball? "

As an avid basketball fan following the playoffs very closely (assuming you are) , you shouldn't be asking that....

As shown on some of the games they played during the playoffs... there are some who has the ability to be very productive on both sides of the court.Â* Payton has showed up a few times so did Williams, Haslem, and Walker.Â* Agreed that they're no Howard, Terry, or Stackhouse but they still have the ability to score. In one of the Jersey games or was it Chicago, both Williams and Haslem scored 20. During their game 6 encounter with the Pistons, Wade didn't do that much but the rest were there to pick up and slack.Â*Game 1 against the pistons.. Shaq only had 14 but Walker went to score 17, Payton took 14 as well. During their playoff series against the Bulls and the Nets, Walker, Haslem, Williams, and Payton had some good contributions here and there. It just goes to show that if one divaÂ* don't get enough touches, the back-up dancers steps up to the challenge.Â*

[omad]

here's my follow-up question:

which game should either Shaq or Dirk play in order for their team to win?

Shaq (20 ppg) Dirk (28 ppg)

poor less than 20 poor less than 28
good 20 ppg good 28 ppg
very good 25 ppg very good 33 ppg
terrific 30+ terrific 38+

in my own opinion, Shaq has to play terrific every game (30 pts, 15 rebs) to make sure that Miami dominates each game while on the other hand, Dirk can play good to very good and I think the Mavs can still compete with the Heat. if the Mavs play the Heat's half-court game then I think the Mavs will have a really really hard time. but if they control the tempo, Riley would minimize Shaq's minutes. less minutes for Shaq, less chances to make points.