Am I the only one who goes crazy everytime they hear this?

Question

Maybe this is at the heart of my hatred for Shaq, lol.... but it just drives me absolutely crazy when I hear on Sportscenter "Shaq was 8 of 12 from the floor tonight (Meanwhile they show him dunking 3 seperate times)" and than they'll follow it up with something like "Shaq has been shooting a League best 57% from the field this season" I'm like you morons! Dunking is NOT Shooting! They should take the dunk away from the Field Goals Attempted and Field Goals Made category because its ridiculous. You've got all of these guys leading the League in shooting percentage a bunch of overgrown gorillas that couldn't hit a 12 foot jump shot to save their life if their life depended on it.

Answer 1

hey i hate shaq to (at least on the basketball court) and i agree with you that the man has no talent, but i still respect his strength and ability to get all these dunks.... but i agree with you in the sense that just because he is 57% doesnt mean he has made even HALF of his jumpshots

Answer 2

I am not a Shaq fan myself, but dunking is not easy at that level or any level for that matter. What you obviously fail to realize that dunks cannot and should not be taken out of the FG category because people MISS DUNKS and it still COUNTS FOR TWO POINTS!!! You seem to have forgotten those things.

I agree with your assessment that many big men have not developed a game worthy of mention outside of the key, but there are some that have and that particular element of their game is what makes them great!!! The fact that they can shoot is what seperates them. Just so you know, great players are oftentimes established by the skills that they have......in relation to skills that others do not. You are implicitly suggesting that all players should have the same skills. That cannot be further from the truth. If everybody had the same skill and played the game the same, there would be no reason to make trades, everbody could be an all star, MVP and every team would be a championship contender. That would be monotonous and there would be no point in televising the games or selling tickets. I agree with your notion that at times the dunk is given too much attention but you just took it in left field somewhere with the assertion that it should not be figured in statistically. I think there should be a new figure in the win-loss columns for Duke or any other team that played Duke at any point during the season. Considering the blatant bias in officiating, how many teams have losses this season or have had losses in the past at the hands of the officials bailing them (Duke) out, ignoring their infractions or flat out cheating?

Dude, you just sound angry. And I have to say I am a little concerned about the language that you and Snidely used when referencing the players: You called them 'over-grown guerillas' and Snidely called them 'thugs'. 'Guerillas'? Do I really need to tell you how that sounds? "Any thug can dunk"? Excuse my frankness, but that is just @#$*in' stupid. 'Thug'? I think the choice of adjectives that both of you used has a lot more to do with who's in the NBA and may be representative of some of your ideas about a particular demographic, than what actually goes on in the NBA (hint hint)!!! You both need to check yourselves for bias and you know what I mean.

Answer 3

Do you actually believe that dunking on a 7 foot guy is EASIER than making an open 15 foot jumper? That is ridiculous. It is easy to say "well, he is just big", but you really don't understand how athletic Shaq is, especially in his prime, or how much work it takes to get position in the paint and use your body. Catching the ball within three feet of the basket is extremely difficult. If you don't believe me, then go find an athletic basketball player over 6-10 and see if you can catch a pass that close. I have done it man, and I promise you, it takes a LOT of work! That is a skill which one has to practice, just like dribbling or passing or anything else. Shaq has obvious advantages, but some of those advantages have come through a lot of practice, and anybody that thinks he doesn't have talent or skill just doesn't know basketball.

Answer 4

So, what are you saying? there should be a seperate stat for dunking?
A dunk counts 2 points just like a 15 foot jump shot does.
I suppose we should make a dunk only worth 1 point then since they are so easy to get, right?
With the quality of athletes in the NBA, with their sheer athetisism, size and skill, I doubt either one of us would be able to get a dunk in the NBA.
It's a testimony to not only Shaq, but other big men in the league that they are able to excel close to the basket when there are so many tall athletes trying to stop them.
Stop hatin man, a dunk is a shot, it's just a high percentage one.
Not much you can do about that.

Answer 5

That's how Shaq shoots. And a basketball through the hoop still equals 2 points if it is inside the 3 point arc, does it not? I don't care if a guy puts the ball between his buttcheeks and blows it through the hoop with a fart- if he scores (and by god, shaq can score) then it's fine with me.

Basically, if he's scoring consistently it is worth tracking, regardless of how he's doing it. Let the coaches who have to craft a defense to stop him worry about HOW he's getting his.

Answer 6

Hey Snidely...

You dunk the ball!

BTW I bet even though Shaq probably can't hit a 12-footer, plenty of big dunkers (Amare Stoudemire, Primoz Brezec, etc...) can

Answer 7

I never really thought about it but you are SO right. Why is it that they never call hanging on the rim anymore? Sometimes they bend it nearly to the floor. I think dunking has gotten way out of hand. Any thug can do it. I agree that it is NOT shooting. That's where the finesse is! The media loves Shaq. I do not.

Answer 8

Yep i think ur crazy. That doesn't bother me.