Originally Posted by
23ska909red02
They fed off each other's problems.
Shaq's attitude was fueled by his disgust with Frobe's arrogant flair; Frobe's "Dammit, y'all bammas better start recognizing me" was fueled by knowing he was putting in work while Shaq wasn't, but still got all the glory.
They were both right.
Be that as it may, THAT Shaq won 3 Finals MVPs, and THIS Kobe has 2 (could be 3 this year, or could have been 3 if we beat Boston in '0
. I'm saying, THIS calculated, more cerebral Kobe and THAT Shaq, just the way he was, would have been a terror.
You talking about a Shaq that worked harder, but that Shaq has never existed. He's big and smart, and he's going to ride that as long as he can. When he was younger, being big and smart was good enough to be a brute; now it's just good enough to still be in the league. Apparently that's ok with him. But imagining a Shaq that worked relentlessly is imagining something we've never seen.
Imagining a more team-oriented, cerebral, calculated Kobe is something we have have seen... err... are seeing.
So pairing Kobe now with Shaq then = problems