Cleveland Cavaliers and Shaq: Just Shut Up and Stop Complaining

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Cleveland Cavaliers and Shaq: Just Shut Up and Stop Complaining

According to the law of numbers, there are simply more people who will root against the Cleveland Cavaliers, as opposed to those who will root for LeBron James and company.

Still, many people on B/R couldn't have made that fact anymore obvious. 

As if somehow bringing in Shaq would hurt the Cavaliers, time and time again people have been doing everything and anything to bash the biggest offseason trade thus far.

For all those nitpickers, Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic were the ones who were hurting the Cavaliers. Both combined for three PPG and three RPG, contributing nothing on the scoreboard while becoming a tremendous liability on the defensive end.

Wallace and Pavlovic needed to be dumped regardless, even if for nothing in return.

Nevertheless, exchanging two garbage players for the most physically dominating player of the past decade, is simply a win-win situation.


Once again, all the bandwagoners will reference how Shaquille O'Neal is not a championship caliber player that he once was.

How he's too old, he's too slow, bla bla bla.

O'Neal is still an All Star caliber player, something that 90 percent of teams don'thave at the center position. It doesn't even matter what he once was, Shaq as of now is better than nearly every other center in basketball.

As of today, Shaquille O'Neal is only surpassed by one other man at the center position.

During the 2009 playoffs, Superman Dwight Howard solidified himself as the best center in basketball. Howard played a large part in the destruction of King James, but that accomplishment will be very difficult to repeat with O'Neal's presence.

18 PPG and 8.5 RPG will give James the biggest help of his entire career.

Is there supposed to be something wrong with that?

Oh right, Shaquille O'Neal will somehow taint LeBron James' legacy?

Listen, it's very doubtful that anyone of LeBron's caliber really cares about what the general public thinks. Obviously LeBron doesn't want to be the next Isiah Thomas, but who is he to need validation from the media?

LeBron would easily love to win an NBA Title, even if it means that James "can't win an NBA Championship by himself".

In fact, does that concept really even matter?

Kobe Bryant couldn't have cared less about the negative connotations involving O'Neal, at least not as much as the general public/media make it out to be. Sure it was "annoying", but Bryant wasn't loosing any sleep because of what other people thought.

The bottom line is that winning is winning, and championships are championships. 

It's really simple as that.  

All the little story lines and talks of "who's legacy is bigger" are just things that excite the fans, things that don't carry any real weight with the actual superstars.

Shaquille O'Neal has undergone a renaissance this past season, reviving his career from what seemed like certain retirement.

Make no mistake, the Big Man has plenty of gas left in the tank.

He'll essentially share minutes with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, always leaving the Cavs with a fresh big man. O'Neal will constantly punish and wear down opposing defenses, oftentimes commanding double teams down low.

LeBron James will always draw double and triple teams on the perimeter, stretching any team's defense to the limit.

Mo Williams and Delonte West will have clear jumpers all day long, while always having a ton of room to penetrate to the rim.

The only missing piece last year was a dominant big man. Someone who could do constant damage down low, someone who could carry the team when James was off the court.

Every other position from the one through four were solid, while the bench was decent.

Are the Cavs the clear cut favorites to win it all?

No, but Cleveland has as good a chance as anyone else. At the end of the day, that's all any franchise can ask for.


(And who just happens to be that third guy in the picture? Hmmm, doesn't seem very happy about Bron and Shaq teaming up. For all those that love to create storylines...)














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