CLEVELAND - Shaquille O'Neal is indisputably one of the greatest, most dominant players in the history of basketball.Now, he's teaming up with LeBron James, the best player in the world.
O'Neal was traded today to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 5th team of his storied pro career. His arrival, made possible by the Cavs giving up essentially nothing to O'Neal's former team the Phoenix Suns, will certainly fill a major hole for Cleveland after their stunning loss to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals last month.
But O'Neal will enter his 18th NBA season this autumn and will be a very ripe 38 years of age before the regular season ends. He is a far cry from the dominant force he was during his early years in Orlando and prime years with the L.A. Lakers due to his advanced pro hoops age. But there is no denying his skill and still formidable talent, not to mention his championship experience, and mental toughness.
He will fit well in Cleveland. Hopefully.
James, the resident superstar for the Cavs will greatly benefit from Shaq's presence as opposing defenses won't be able to swarm him as much as in the past. Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has never been an aggressive player will likely become more effective as he won't be the team's only offensive big man. Anderson Varejao may become better defensively and can now play his natural power forward position.
That is, if Shaq holds up physically.
Bottom line; if O'Neal can defy age and play with the same passion, skill and fire as he did during his resurgence in Phoenix last season, and if he can avoid major injuries and play in the majority of the games, then Cleveland will challenge the reigning champion Lakers for the '09-'10 NBA.
That's a lot of ifs.
No comments:
Post a Comment