Shaq/LBJ/Kobe should wreck Hakeem/Jordan/Magic. There is nothing no one can do about prime Shaq. Kobe and Mike will be close to a wash. LBJ vs Magic??? Please - LBJ can guard Magic far more effectively than anything Magic can hope to do with LBJ
Shaq/LBJ/Kobe should wreck Hakeem/Jordan/Magic. There is nothing no one can do about prime Shaq. Kobe and Mike will be close to a wash. LBJ vs Magic??? Please - LBJ can guard Magic far more effectively than anything Magic can hope to do with LBJ
You know how they "hunt" for a mismatch? That would be Magic. Magic would not be able to guard either Kobe or James. Yet James, and to a lesser extent Kobe, could guard him.
Shaq would just keep dunking on Hakeem. The fun matchup would be Jordan against whichever one is guarding him and vice versa.
if this is a 3 vs 3 game, the leadership of Magic takes a significant discount. it comes down to the individual ability.
if you substitute Magic with KD, and this will be an awesome game. otherwise, LBJ/Kobe/Shaq is too much to handle.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:40 am Post subject:
governator wrote:
Should be Shaq/Magic/Kobe vs Hakeem/LBJ/MJ to even it out, prime Shaq has no equal
Is the gap between peak Shaq and Hakeem really that big? I often see people rank Hakeem over Shaq due to defense. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
Should be Shaq/Magic/Kobe vs Hakeem/LBJ/MJ to even it out, prime Shaq has no equal
Is the gap between peak Shaq and Hakeem really that big? I often see people rank Hakeem over Shaq due to defense.
The gap is not that large. I saw Hakeem from his days at Houston University all the way through his hof career. Just an incredibly special player. That said. Shaq's incredible power and footwork was an unstoppable combination.
Add prime Kobe & LeBron to that power, speed, and incredible athleticism we witnessed for the first time in preseason/96? Okkkkkkk let's get it!
Shaq and Kobe played with each other for years so that alone should give them an edge. Shaq also played with Lebron for a season in Cleveland. MJ
and Magic played in the Olympics together but that’s it.
Should be Shaq/Magic/Kobe vs Hakeem/LBJ/MJ to even it out, prime Shaq has no equal
Is the gap between peak Shaq and Hakeem really that big? I often see people rank Hakeem over Shaq due to defense.
Utah exploited his defensive weaknesses. Years later Sacramento in 2002 studied how the Jazz played against him and used it to their advantage.
Shaq in 2000 and 2001 however played in a system that utilized his strengths better and he was more motivated in those years (especially 2000, in 2001 he was much better in the playoffs).
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 3:48 pm Post subject: Re: Shaq/LBJ/Kobe vs. Hakeem/Jordan/Magic
activeverb wrote:
nomoreshaq wrote:
who you got? all players in their prime years.
They are both great trios.
Shaq/Hakeem and Kobe/MJ are pretty close. Lebron is better than Magic, especially on defense, so that group gets the edge.
That Shaq/Hakeem comp I dont think is close at all if they were to matchup at their best. Hakeem was not a thick bruiser that can stand up to the force of peak Shaq....not that anyone really is. Hakeem's greatest strengths on defense were lateral mobility, intelligent help-side defense and shot-blocking rim protection - none of which are of any use when you go up against peak Shaq. You need a supernaturally really strong base leverage - something Rodman, Oakley and Malone had which is why I think they would be better suited to guard peak Shaq (not that they would have much success either despite Rodman's success to early Shaq). Any version of Hakeem would be destroyed by Shaq similar to what happened to Mutombo in 2001 finals. This is also why David Robinson who is as good as Hakeem or as close to him defensively also would never have success against a peak Shaq - just not enough leverage to really contain Shaq and keep him away from the basket. Kareem for example, only struggled with the premier bruiser of his time - Moses Malone. Kareem in my opinion struggled more with bruisers than even Hakeem and David but Kareem had one thing neither of those other two did. A very reliable offense that can give as much as take. David and to an even greater extent Hakeem were not efficient enough to keep up with the bruising high TS% of O'Neal and thats even accounting for O'Neals terrible FT shooting. While Kareem for example cant do anything with Shaq, Kareem's offense was also extremely efficient and moreso than that of Robinson and Olajuwon.
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