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    Ball Don't Lie

    Dwight Howard would like Shaquille O’Neal to ‘get on with his life’

    Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal, fake hugging (Getty Images)

    Pointing out that Shaquille O'Neal needlessly prattles on about an endless array of perceived slights is pretty old at this point, but before this season we were only treated to that noise during the odd postgame interview. Now that Shaq is spending time in Atlanta, working on set for NBA TV and TNT, we're to be reminded of whatever's annoying Shaq that particular week. Sometimes, it's charming.

    In the case of his inability to cede a slight amount of credit to Orlando Magic All-Star big man Dwight Howard? It's more sad than anything. Howard's the best center in the NBA by a country mile (you thought I was going to make a joke about free-throw shooting, didn't you?), and yet O'Neal still strangely goes out of his way to declare Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum as the best big man in the NBA.

    Howard, as you'll see in this video from NBA.com (which we hope to have embedded here at BDL soon), is as tired of Shaq's needling as we are. In the clip, Howard echoes our thoughts about apparent protocol behind nickname "ownership," and kindly asks Shaq to "sit down and get on with his life."

    [ Related: Howard's big night carries Magic past Lakers ]

    Dwight's production has jumped over the last week or so, but it is fair to point out that the man was essentially sleepwalking through games to start what will probably be his last season with the Orlando Magic. But even with that dodgy beginning and Bynum's fantastic start to 2011-12, Andrew still wasn't in Dwight's rarefied air. Now that things have settled a bit, Howard's overall Player Efficiency Rating of 26 still outclasses Bynum's 21 mark; and even if Kobe Bryant begins spoon-feeding Bynum look after look in the low post he'd still have a ways to go even considering those improved statistics.

    Bynum is fantastic. He's the best center in the Western Conference, and his per-minute production has been stellar for five seasons now. He is, at times, an effortless scorer that can put Howard to shame with moves on either block, and the Lakers badly missed his defensive presence when Bynum sat out the first four games of the season due to an NBA suspension.

    But, but … Dwight Howard, man. The guy is the best center in the game. Even when he's skulking around.

    And Shaq, who chafed at Howard's supposed theft of his Superman persona years ago, just needs to get over it. The pampered, petulant athlete bit works when you're an actual athlete. But as a gabby wonk on a TV show? Silly biases and harbored grudges don't tend to go over as well. Especially when even fair weather NBA fans and viewers can see right through you.

    We're enjoying the heck out of O'Neal's turn on NBA TV and TNT this year. Like Howard, even at his worst O'Neal still has quite a lot to offer, and his presence on the set far outshines ESPN's milquetoast coverage. He's at his best as the goofball, though, and not the spurned giant in winter. Let it go, man.

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    Watch Full Count!
     
    • Donald S  •  Mililani Town, Hawaii  •  4 months ago
      Shaq is just blowing sour grapes. When Wilt Chamberlain suggested Shaq would be even better by adding more variety of shots and moves, Shaq insulted Wilt by saying, "Wilt? I'd run his #$%$ out of town." Truth is, Shaq didn't know Wilt was a champion mile runner at Kansas U. and also high jumped and shotput 60 feet. Wilt also ran the Honolulu Marathon. Wilt bench pressed 500 pounds. Shaq could never run even half a mile, high jump over 5 feet and didn't have the coordination to shotput the 16 pound ball. Once a blowhard, always a blowhard.
      • Slick Willie 4 months ago
        Wilt was the most dominating player ever and woulda ate Shaq's lunch.That said, there weren't many centers above Shaq on the alltime great center list.
      • drewww 4 months ago
        I agree, Wilt would have taken Shaq apart.
      • Joe 4 months ago
        i grew up in the philly burbs and watched wilt in person. he was to BB what babe ruth was to MLB in his time, a man among boys. and as donald has noted he was a tremendous athlete. people go wild when someone rarely scores 50 or grabs 25 boards (even rarer). well, wilt AVERAGED those totals in a season. one season he DECIDED he would lead the league in assists and did. it was funny watching games that year bec you could see wilt was #$%$ when he dished and someone missed an open shot. what they both had were tremendous egos.
    • Rurik  •  Los Angeles, California  •  4 months ago
      I Like Shaq and his Philanthropic spirit, but suggesting Bynum was the best center in the NBA was way off, and Howard went on to annihilate Bynum in thier most recent Matchup!
      • LeTrell 3 months ago
        skills wise bynum is better. what shaq was getting at is if dwight doesn't try to add any other moves in his arsenal by the time he's 32 he going to end up like vince carter
    • Wong Morgan  •  4 months ago
      Can't compare Howard to the centers of decades past like Olajuwon, Robinson, Ewing, or even Shaq. Rules in the NBA have changed and the officiating all favor wing players these days. Even Shaq in the twilight of his career complained he wasn't allowed to do things as he used to during the championship years with the Lakers.
      • David 4 months ago
        Well said. And we all remember Olajuwon schooling Shaq in the championship.
    • K NEL  •  Olathe, Kansas  •  4 months ago
      Shaq just has a grudge with Dwight..Just like Kareen and Wilt. Either way..Dwight Howard is a man beast. No other way to put it.
    • V  •  4 months ago
      I think the pretend MDE is trying to deal with the fact that Wilt was and always will be the true MDE.
      • Nichols Alton 4 months ago
        Nothing close to the Wilt Chamberlain/Bill Russel match ups exists today.This was truly the Golden Age for centers.
    • Joe  •  Camden, New Jersey  •  4 months ago
      this piggybacks on Donald comment below. i grew up in the philly burbs and watched wilt in person. he was to the NBA what babe ruth was to MLB in his time, a man among boys. people go wild when someone rarely scores 50 or grabs 25 boards (even rarer). well, wilt AVERAGED those totals in a season. he once grabbed 39 boards against bill russell in a playoff game. one season he DECIDED he would lead the league in assists and did. it was funny watching games that year bec you could see wilt was #$%$ when he dished and someone missed an open shot. what they both had were tremendous egos.
      • husky52358 4 months ago
        Have all the respect in the world for Wilt and Russell, but they would have put up nowhere near the numbers in today's NBA. They were sized ahead of their time but would have been only average in today's game!
      • Joe 4 months ago
        Husky, they were indeed sized ahead of their time but wilt would have been a star today, and russell as well. they did have 7 footers at that time, but not as many as today. my guess is you never saw them play.
    • Santiago B  •  4 months ago
      Shaq is getting paid to give his opinion and be "Shaq" the attention grabber. You think he was going to go on TNT and be told to be polite and not make waves? I guarantee the producers LOVE him doing this and even goad him on.

      And Shaq isn't incorrect about his assessment of Dwight Howard. Dwight has no post game. All he does is back you down and dunk off passes. He has no reliable post moves against GOOD defenders and he was awful to start the season.

      Bynum on the other hand gets fewer touches and is far more versed in his post moves. Maybe Dwight should learn to hit his free throws? Then he'd be scoring 40 points a game and be the MVP and his team might have actually won their Finals against the Lakers?
    • john  •  4 months ago
      Its kinda old now, shaq needs to get over it its not that serious
    • andrew t  •  Fort Lauderdale, Florida  •  4 months ago
      Dwight Howard is about as good as Nate Thurmond was, and Nate was about the 5th best center in the game during his era. Great defensive center. Mediocre offensively. Dwight is not a great offensive center. I like Dwight, but it really shows how bad the current crop of centers are. When I was a kid it was Russell, Chamberlain, Thurmond, Unseld, Reed, etc., then later Kareem, Moses Malone, Hakeem, Ewing. Name me 5 guys playing center now that match up with those oldtimers.
    • Nunya  •  4 months ago
      howard = dominating......shaq as commentator = clueless
    • confucius  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  4 months ago
      Shaq has always been petty and whiny. I remember an all-star game when Jordan and Shaq were teammates from his Orlando days. Mike dominated the first half and Shaq had a nice second half, but the MVP went to MJ, so Shaq asked fans not to vote him into anymore all-star games. Look it up if you don't believe me.
    • John  •  Syracuse, New York  •  4 months ago
      Please let it go, Shaq, if that really is your reason behind saying what you said. But Shaq doesn't have to agree with the masses. Just thought I'd make that point.
    • james t  •  Columbus, Ohio  •  4 months ago
      I can't tolerate O'Neal, he has proven himself to be a petty, vendictive and otherwise #$%$ of a man. Bynum is better than Howard offensively but Howard is a better defensive player right now. Bynum's footwork and post moves are considerably better than Howard's but Howards overall numbers are better because he gets more touches than Bynum. Kobe is shooting to #$%$ much and should get Bynum more involved in the offense. I truly believe if Bynum got the ball more his numbers would be the 20-20 range every night. And Kobe wants championship number 6, he had better hurry and figure it out. OH BY THE WAY, DID I SAY SHAQ IS AN #$%$
    • scott  •  Cordova, Tennessee  •  4 months ago
      Take Howard off the Magic and Bynum off the Lakers and Los Angeles has a much better team than Orlando... so how is it that Orlando is better than the Lakers right now?? Oh yeah, they've got a dominant center.

      1) Dwight Howard 2) Marc Gasol 3) Andrew Bynum.
    • robert  •  4 months ago
      Did the media find a leaf in the NBA, alright so coach don't know why Shaq? Coaches never know anything my beef where is the scores show me some of the valuable video to compare to the little leaf these Black African American pro basketball players having a small beef about put some of that commercial time that's costing major bucks$$$ on the & quite calling Shaq old.
    • Luke  •  Washington, District of Columbia  •  4 months ago
      Howard won't end his career by being the pariah that Shaq was in Boston. Athletes are supposed to be in condition to play, Shaq clearly was not. He treated his position in Boston like a hobby more than a career. Back off the KFC buckets Shaq. And thanks for the memories, a Boston fan!
    • Santiago B  •  4 months ago
      All you people upset at Shaq are pretty dense. He's getting paid to talk on TNT and make news. You think the producers of Inside The NBA said "Shaq we want you to join our studio cast but don't say anything provocative and don't rock the boat. Just fit in and don't offend anyone."

      Rofl okay.
    • Santiago B  •  4 months ago
      Dwight Howard's teammates would like him to make his free throws when they matter and learn more than 2 post moves. Maybe then they wouldn't have gotten embarrassed by the Lakers in the Finals nobody seems to remember.
    • HarryV  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  4 months ago
      SHAQ, is mad at Howard because people call him SuperMan. Shaq wake your #$%$ up you are done playing leave the young guys alone.
    • george  •  Nashville, Tennessee  •  4 months ago
      Shaq is immature and very selfish ,i would like him to shut up,i am not Dwight Howard.... fan but i see him playing much better than Bynum

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