Have you actually WATCHED the Heat play this season? I have. I'm not looking at the numbers, Shaq is a shell of his former self, he has nowhere near the lift and explosion that he had just last year, I bet teams wouldn't gear their D to stop Shaq, they'd guard the 3 pt line, contain Nash, and make Shaq prove that he can produce, cause he's about 2 steps slower than in the Heat's championship season.
No one is saying that he is the MVP Shaq, or even the championship Heat Shaq...so it's pretty obvious that he's lost a step.
However, I don't know if it was you who said it but to say that most centers in the NBA can still guard him straight up is just
This is the NBA, it's hard to guard Boris Diaw straight up, almost every can score...
Even if Shaq was traded to the Heat, it would be idiotic of a coach to gear a defense around stopping him...
There's also no way in hell you're going to "contain Nash" and Amare wouldn't fall in love with the jumper.
I bet you that there's probably 0 head coaches in the NBA who have a strategy going into a game to "guard the 3pt line"...in fact, they'dprobably let a team take those shots all game long.
If you lose to a team that shoots 3's all day then just tip your hat and keep it moving....the law of probability says that you have a better chance whenGIVING UP such a low percentage shot
Oh and what about on the defensive end? The mismatches that most of the Western teams (Denver, GS, LA, Utah, and maybe NO) on the other end will I believe have a negative effect as well, the versatility of the PF position has always been a problem for Amare, so you think putting him in mismatches against Boozer, West, whoever the Warriors have at PF, or Gasol when Bynum comes back will help PHX, I just think it will get him in foul trouble quicker than he already gets in.
So you think he has more of an advantage at center?