05 playoffs exposed SNAQ's real impact on the Heat

[Akhenaten]

Game 6 ECF http://www.basketball-reference.com/...506040DET.html

Heat were up on the Pistons 3-2

Shaq series #'s going in to game 6: 20/6/1 60% 1.2 BPG 2.5 TO

Wade #'s: 30/6/5 46% 1.5 BPG 2.8 TO

I excluded Wade's Gm 5 as he only played 27 minutes due to injury, to be fair I excluded Shaq's worst game (gm 4). Though Wade only played one half of basketball in Gm 5 he still had 15 points, 4 asts and 5 stls.

The Heat were plus 17 in the game at half, Wade was +24 for the GAME, Shaq +5.

Numbers aren't every thing I'm a huge proponent of that adage, however these numbers reflect the SEISMIC gap that existed between Wade and SNAQ in terms of impact on that team.

Even in the categories that SNAQ was supposed to dominate they were dead even or Wade was better. Wade even had more blocks per game than SNAQ and virtually equal TO's .


So Wade get's injured Game 5, sits Gm 6, what happens to the Heat led by their MVP centre? (supposedly robbed by Nash ), they get RAPED by 25 points.



I don't want to hear any further discussion on this...NONE

Wade was better/more IMPACTFUL in the regular season AND playoffs, SNAQ DID NOT DESERVE MVP that season. Wade made the game easier for SNAQ and inflated SNAQ's numbers NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

[mehyaM24]

dont forget that shaq drew all the double teams, was the teams best defender and rebounder. his impact goes well beyond his ppg output.

you remove shaq in 2005, and the heat probably dont even make the playoffs.

[Frozen1]

This double team excuse is bullshit.

[navy]

Only people that didnt watch the Heat think Shaq was the best player. It was pretty obvious in the 05 postseason that Wade was now the man of the team. Had he not gone down we may have be looking at a repeat.

[DJ Leon Smith]

So I guess in 2008 when Kobe gave up a 24 point first-half lead at home in the NBA Finals and lost a NBA Finals deciding game by 39 points, he's a bum forever.

And in 2011, LeBron sux forever because he was outscored by Jason Terry (among others) in the NBA Finals.

And also don't forget this...



So according to you, everyone sucks, for all-time. EXCELLENT THREAD.

Thank you mods.

[305Baller]

Shaq was decliining but was very good. Refs didnt allow him to move much. Wade was insanely great. Fast, unselfish and a sublime finisher.

[Akhenaten]

dont forget that shaq drew all the double teams, was the teams best defender and rebounder. his impact goes well beyond his ppg output.

you remove shaq in 2005, and the heat probably dont even make the playoffs.

ok bud, I'm a Heat fan (a REAL Heat fan), I have lived in Miami for 20 yrs of my life and I can tell you have never watch a regular season or playoff game from 05.

Stop parroting talking points you hear from "experts", Wade drew more doubles and created more shots for SNAQ and his teammates than the other way around.

Also if you know ANYTHING about the Larry Brown Pistons is that they made a point NOT to double SNAQ, Ben Wallace played him STRAIGHT UP.

and because of this SNAQ avg 1 AST in this series...ONE!
you have NO IDEA what you are talking about, I'll wait for one the adults here to set you straight about Detroit DOUBLING SNAQ

Also if you want an idea of what the 05 Heat looked without SNAQ look no further than the VERY SAME PLAYOFFS in 05.

vs the 5th seeded 05 Wizards with prime Arenas, Hughes and Jamison (again ask the grown-ups here they pretty good) SNAQ missed the last two games of the series.

What did Wade do?

Oh just avg 37/8/5 55% en route to sweeping the Wizards on the road, if only SNAQ were there to draw those double teams he probably would have played better .

Just to compare, in the two games of the series Shaq played, Wade avg 31/8/11 57% 2stls 2 blks

SNAQ avg 18/7/2 61% 1stl 1 blk such dominance

SNAQ's double team drawing ability were responsible for Wade avg 11 APG, and his 2stls and 2 blocks.

Again SON, GTFOH!

[DJ Leon Smith]

You do realize that by calling him "Snaq" you're essentially destroying any argument you try to make before you even make it, right?

Try to be impartial next time and people won't think you're legally retarded after your father punched your mother in the gut while she was pregnant with you.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

You do realize that by calling him "Snaq" you're essentially destroying any argument you try to make before you even make it, right?

Try to be impartial next time and people won't think you're legally retarded after your father punched your mother in the gut while she was pregnant with you.

ROFL.. cold blooded as mfcka

[Akhenaten]

You do realize that by calling him "Snaq" you're essentially destroying any argument you try to make before you even make it, right?

Try to be impartial next time and people won't think you're legally retarded after your father punched your mother in the gut while she was pregnant with you.

"DJ Leon Smith

Shutting down your thread with knowledge and intelligence"

So this is what qualifies for knowledge and intelligence huh?

The SNAQ moniker is just me adding a touch of humour to the mix, if someone is so sensitive as to ignore the very salient and organized argument that I put forth then F em.

If you're not going to debunk my thesis with actual facts and logic then

MOVE AROUND CLOWN

[LongLiveTheKing]

D-Wade didn't need Shaq to carry him like Kobe did. Fact.

[GrapeApe]

There's no denying that Shaq's presence elevated the Heat to being title contenders. It's foolish to suggest otherwise and this is coming from a huge Wade fan. However, by the '05 playoffs it was clear who the better player was. I knew when Wade got hurt in the ECF the Heat were in serious trouble. I was not confident at all that Shaq could dominate the way he used to, even for a game or two.

[Myth]

I still believe that Shaq was the real MVP of the 2004-05 "regular season," and it wasn't till the playoffs when Wade truly took over. But it is idiotic to diminish Shaq because of 1 game against the defending NBA champions who had a guy guarding Shaq who had just won his 3rd DPOY title while missing a franchise player.

Also for the record, that Pistons team would have also shredded the Nash led Suns.

[mehyaM24]

Also if you know ANYTHING about the Larry Brown Pistons is that they made a point NOT to double SNAQ, Ben Wallace played him STRAIGHT UP

"Look, Wade does a lot of good things for them," Bucks coach Terry Porter says. "But your focus is going to be on Shaq. I think most teams approach them that way. We're not going to take our eyes off the main thing in that lineup. If you have to opt for who you stop, I think most guys would opt for Shaq."

As Lakers great Magic Johnson says, "The thing he does is he makes every coach scared to death."

So, what's a coach to do? How do you handle a 7-1 behemoth with footwork, an accurate post shot and passing skill? That has been a predicament for opponents throughout O'Neal's 13-year career, one that has taken a different tack with a new team. Double-team him? Triple-team him? Focus on limiting his teammates? Foul him? Throw your hands to the heavens and hope for divine intervention? Well, we went inside the heads of three coaches over a one-week span to investigate their very different approaches to defending O'Neal and the Heat.

Heat at Pistons--
It's a battle between O'Neal and Pistons coach Larry Brown, who has a well-known aversion to double-teams. That makes Brown the coach O'Neal most enjoys playing against.

"Larry Brown is from the old school," O'Neal said before facing the Pistons. "So they usually play me like that, until I get going, and then they come (double-team) later."

O'Neal had it backward. Brown was more willing to send help in the first half. The Pistons double-teamed O'Neal eight times in 32 first half possessions, and it seemed to bother him

i know you're an angry individual, and will likely rage when reading this article. but try to tame yourself. nobody wants to see another poster displeased over basketball #facts

we're pulling for you, boss

[GrapeApe]

i know you're an angry individual, and will likely rage when reading this article. but try to tame yourself. nobody wants to see another poster displeased over basketball #facts

we're pulling for you, boss

The article simply states what we already knew. Even a declining Shaq was a force to be reckoned with and he had to be accounted for. Like I said, it's foolish to completely downplay his impact, but by the '05 playoffs the Heat were clearly a better team without Shaq than without Wade.