[HoulihansTX]

He looks more washed up than ever.

Cant hit his hook shots.

Is a liability on defense. Many times on pick & rolls he doesnt even try to hedge the screen, therefore leaving the guard wide open.

No longer gets any respect from the refs, so now his low post moves are offensive fouls.

I know Mike Brown notices this, but Ferry must be pressuring him to play Shaq. Shaq's huge contract makes it imperative that he is playing long minutes. Though all that is doing is handicapping the Cavs in the 1st Qtr.

Play JJ Hickson, and problem solved.

[stefan084]

He looks more washed up than ever.

Cant hit his hook shots.

Is a liability on defense. Many times on pick & rolls he doesnt even try to hedge the screen, therefore leaving the guard wide open.

No longer gets any respect from the refs, so now his low post moves are offensive fouls.

I know Mike Brown notices this, but Ferry must be pressuring him to play Shaq. Shaq's huge contract makes it imperative that he is playing long minutes. Though all that is doing is handicapping the Cavs in the 1st Qtr.

Play JJ Hickson, and problem solved.

totally agree, everytime i watch him lumber up and down the court i wonder what he is contributing to the team. at least side show bob gives them hustle and productivity

[Grind House]

He's there for Dwight Howard then the Lakers.........

[yunnusan]

it sounds silly

[jon13009]

Cavs will win despite Shaq. NBA (and Nike) needs (will pay for) James to win a championship, and within 3-4 years Cavs (or where ever James is playing) will be NBA champions.

[initialX]

Lebron needs the lane and Shaq is blocking it.

[michalis]

its not shaq, shaq is the champ

[MrSink]

like cavs again

[williams22]

Houli you are dead on. Shaq should be playing against Orlando and LA and that's it. He has no elevation on his hook shot and force feeding him takes everyone else out of their rhythm and the offense becomes stagnant. For the Celtics series the Forward rotation needs to be Jamison, JJ, and Varejao with Lebron at the 4 at times too. Bill Simmons has always said that the lineup of Hickson, Jamison, Lebron, Delonte, and Mo is "poop-in-your-pants" scary and I think he's right. Mike Brown needs to go to it early though, not just once they are down double digits.

[nitty48]

i agree shaq is definitely not what he used to be and it would benefit the cavs if he sat more until they face a powerful low post team.

[3PtShooter]

need to play ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[wrongturn]

he is still effective knocking down rondo, that is why it is 1-1 not 0-2

[PuckCoach]

Jalen Rose said it best yesterday. Nobody can win the Ring in this round. At this point it's about survival. Teams are probably going to have some bad games or maybe even a throwaway game. Not saying Cavs didn't want W but Shaq eats up tough playoff minutes. So he saves Hickson abuse and dishes it out to Rondo & co.
Cavs win this round in 6.

[JMUplayer]

You may want to look further.... MoWill and Jamison play zero defense. They are just horrible at one on one matchups.

[HCBoone]

No hes not. Yes hes offense isn't the same, but thats definitely something we all new. Yes his hook shot doesnt go so much anymore. They need to use him in better plays then just send it to him and he going solo. In the defensive perspective hes one of the best for sure. In this series it hasnt worked though. They need Shaq to play better defense, but they also need more from the likes of Antawn and Parker. They should use Powe some for defense and play Shaq and Verejao at the same time more.

[lakerboy]

Shaq is useless and has been for 2 years or more. Its only one game anyways but man did the cavs look terrible last night. Shaq wasnt brought in to be the hero anyways but houlis description of him was dead on. He is way too slow and even though he was brought in for the lakers and magic in this series with boston his presence might be a neagtive thing cause the celtic inside players are quicker than him and its hurting the cavs. The cavs inside out defence isnt the same as in the past.

[t-wizzle]

Does anyone remember the game back in February when shaq got hurt @ boston?

Shaq broke his thumb and had to leave late in the second quarter. Cleveland went on to outscore boston 60-32 in the second half

[bigsmitty]

Jalen Rose said it best yesterday. Nobody can win the Ring in this round. At this point it's about survival. Teams are probably going to have some bad games or maybe even a throwaway game. Not saying Cavs didn't want W but Shaq eats up tough playoff minutes. So he saves Hickson abuse and dishes it out to Rondo & co.
Cavs win this round in 6.

That sounds like a good call. Shaq is a lumbering oaf out there that doesn't have nearly the ability he used to, but he's got experience, smarts and playoff stamina. He's somewhat of a liability but for those reasons he's valuable as part of the Lakers picture. It is too bad he's gone downhill so much when he could still be a lot better...(it's called the diet order of ribs Shaq, check it out). Cheers.

[Goat Milk]

Shaq is just a golddiggin dick ridin fat ass

He rode Kobe's dick to 3 rings
Wade's for a year
Now he's hopped on Brons.
What a shocker, the 3 best players in the world.

[HoulihansTX]

Shaq is just a golddiggin dick ridin fat ass He rode Kobe's dick to 3 rings

That Lakers team was nothing without Shaq, and it would have been nothing without Kobe. They were equally needed for that run at 3 Champs.

[lakerboy]

Shaq is just a golddiggin dick ridin fat ass

He rode Kobe's dick to 3 rings
Wade's for a year
Now he's hopped on Brons.
What a shocker, the 3 best players in the world.

Like i have said before he is a groupie.

That Lakers team was nothing without Shaq, and it would have been nothing without Kobe. They were equally needed for that run at 3 Champs.

To say the lakers were nothing without either during the 3 year run is stretching it. They still had some very good players on those teams. Shaq was great but if he ever knew how to make some ft's the lakers wouldnt have had to sweat out so many games. But yes they were both needed.

[cyh10485]

No need to ever double shap at this point in his career

[THEGREAT30]

U guys kill me with all this a Ring for the King mess then blame it on everyone else when he losses, just like Nash. Nash has played with Shaq, Dirk, Amare, and Antwan Jamison and has not won anything. Lebron is halfway there to being just like Nash he has had Shaq and Antwan Jamison on same team and cant win, what a joke, good day

[HoulihansTX]

If Shaq plays more than 18 minutes today, the Cavs will lose.

Blame Mike brown for not noticing that Shaq is washed up, and the defense/offense looks putrid with him on the court.

[GoldRush7]

I don't think shaq is the problem. They simply live and die with lebron and when he plays as bad as he did the other night they have no chance... its going to be interesting tonight

[HoulihansTX]

I don't think shaq is the problem. They simply live and die with lebron and when he plays as bad as he did the other night they have no chance... its going to be interesting tonight

Well Shaq is not helping the situation. If Shaq spent 46 of the 48 minutes on the bench.

[SHADYLANKY]

I don't think shaq is the problem. They simply live and die with lebron and when he plays as bad as he did the other night they have no chance... its going to be interesting tonight

They do live and die with Lebron but I still think they are better when Shaq is on the bench or if he played reserve minutes. Mostly the 8-10 minutes LeBron is resting. But he gets paid too much to sit so it won't change.

[ngates815]

Play shaq the first 5 minutes of the game...try to get a couple fouls on Perkins...then bring in Varejao for the rest of the game. If they get Perkins outta the middle it should open everything up for Lebron. Big Baby posts no threats to stopping James down there, and if Garnett drops in to help, hit Jamison for a wide open shot(probably will miss though)

[HoulihansTX]

But he gets paid too much to sit so it won't change.

Thats what I was thinking, but the season is on the line. Contracts should not deter a coach from making a strategic decision.

[Ulyses]

shaksucks he has lost his killer instinct

[HoulihansTX]

Video game producers no more than Mike Brown.

Go to @38seconds. "Shaq will be a weakness" till 1:35. He pretty much breaks down the problems the Cavs are having.

This was all B4 the series started.

[KiDBaZkiT]

First off I want to say that Shaq still does get love from the refs, that guy travels religiously and never gets called for it and he still fouls people on the offensive end and its rarely called, called more nowadays than in years past but he gets away with a lot. Second you all are being way too hard on him, yea he is fat and is not even half the player he once was but is it really his fault that Mike Brown makes a conscious effort every 1sQ to get him the ball on the block to try to get him going offensively? NO! Mike Brown doesn't have a creative bone in his body and he doesnt know how to use Shaq. If he were smart he would start Z, it would spread the floor and allow everyone to get some shots up earlyand lets not forget Z can hit an outside J. If Z gets in trouble on the block with Perkins, just foul him and make him earn it at the line and when Z gets in foul trouble then you bring in Shaq. I would also bring Shaq off the bench so he could post up Rashit Wallace which would be much easier for him to do than to post up Kendrick "I look like somebody stole my luch money" Perkins. And I am tired of hearing he rode Kobe's dick for the 3 rings, who was the MVP of all 3 of those finals? Shaq was in his prime with LA and dropping HUGE numbers. All the Laker and Kobe fans just need to thank the Grizz for giving up Pau for nothing. Without a dominant big man Kobe has never even been out of the first round. Shaq took a weak Magic team to the NBA finals many of you forget, granted he got swept but he still was able to get his team outta the first round which Kobe couldnt do without Shaq or Gasol, I am not taking away from Kobes game he is in true form right now and has the most killer instinct in the game today, something Burger King lacks. And all of you need to realize that every member of that Miami team rode Wades dick for that ring, not just Shaq and also Miami had PLENTY of help from the Zebras that was the worst officiated series I have seen as a whole in my entire 20+ years watching ball. What was Shaq supposed to quit and reitre cause he "didnt want to ride Wades dick" He is a groupie cause he wants to play with the best players and compete for championships? Dont you all remember Kobe wanting a trade before they got Gasol, was he attempting to be a groupie? C'mon you guys anybody who was a member of that Phoenix team would of been more than willing to go to Cleveland after last season. Its easy to talk shit about a 37 year old guy who got drafted in 93, he has logged more minutes than any active player and Kobe will be in his shoes when he is at 37 looking like old worn and tired.

[williams22]

Shaq is the problem right now but the blame falls to Mike Brown. It doesn't take a genius to see that the most effective lineups against the Celtics all have Varejao at center. The Celtics struggle to put a body on Varejao. Shaq makes their lives easy but not moving much on offense. Rumor has it the Cavs will play with Lebron at PG and Jamison at SF a bunch tonight to try to cause matchup problems. We'll see how it works.

[KiDBaZkiT]

Willy, the Cavs Defense as a team is to blame plain and simple, Shaq is one of the culprits in the shit D but any time a team drops 120 and 40 in a Q no one guy is to blame.

[Rixsaw]

Cavs needed to do something during off season to show Lebron that they are doing something to bring the championship home. They wanted someone to match up with Dwight Howard, so you get superman vs. SUPERMAN. If you are going to blame someone, it should be M. Brown. Shaq can't help that he is old.