There was just no stopping prime Shaquille.
Comparing teams across different eras usually ends up in a stalemate. For somebody who’s been involved with different winning squads, Tyronn Lue has a unique perspective on the matter. The Los Angeles Clippers head coach led the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers to the Promised Land from the bench, lost twice to the Golden State Warriors with Kevin Durant, and was a reserve sparkplug for the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers. Who’s the best in Lue’s eyes?
“I just don’t see nobody beating the Lakers team,” said Lue on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis. “Understand that the biggest factor is Shaq. Shaq was just… you can’t stop him. You can’t guard him. You had a guy like Mutombo, who was Defensive Player of the Year, and Shaq averaged 30, 36, whatever, and 14 (rebounds) that series or something.”
“There was just no answer for Shaq. You double-team Kobe or Kobe had a rough night, there’s just no answer for Shaq,” added the former 11-year NBA veteran.
As Lue noted, one way to neutralize the “Big Diesel” was to put him on the line intentionally. After all, he was just a 53 percent free-throw shooter in his career. But that said, doing so puts so much pressure on the defense since the Hack-a-Shaq threw teams into early penalty situations. The big men get deep into foul trouble, and the defense eventually loses its aggressiveness.
Two-headed monster
The 2001 Lakers did not only win a title but dominated every step of the way. The only postseason loss took a historic performance from Allen Iverson in Game 1 of the Finals. Even that was a blip on the radar. They swept Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio before giving up one game against A.I.’s Sixers.
As Lue mentioned, it’s hard to put Shaq’s dominance into words that year. He averaged 33.0 points, 15.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 3.4 blocks against the reigning DPOY. But then beside him was a young Black Mamba, who tore through the West in that title run. Kobe Bryant averaged 33.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.5 steals against the Spurs in the WCF. He dropped 48 points and 16 rebounds to complete a sweep against the Kings in the West semis, averaging 35/9/4 in the series.
Judging by the result and the eye test, ’01 was the best Shaq-Kobe version, and there simply was no stopping them. Of course, the Warriors’ motion schemes could present an interesting puzzle for the Big Fella, but he was an offensive juggernaut that nobody could handle.
“With you down there, the game stops”
That question has been thrown around for years, and even Kobe touched on it during the Players Only sitdown with Shaq. The five-time NBA champion pointed out how people criticize and say the three-peat Lakers couldn’t catch up with the speed of the modern era and explained why they could still dominate today’s game.
“I don’t think you guys understand how much we control pace and tempo because with you down there, the game stops,” Kobe said, referring to O’Neal’s dominating presence inside. “You can’t go anywhere because the defense should come and get you. That stops them from running out. There’s nothing you can do. There were no long rebounds; none of that was going on. The game is always stopped up because you’re always drawing fouls a lot of times. And so, I’d love to see how they’d deal with that.”
Fans can debate endlessly about how the KD Warriors or the 2016 Cavs might match up against the 2001 Lakers, weighing the advantages each team could bring. Some strategies might work, but others might fall short. However, the one certainty in this hypothetical clash is Shaquille. When the 2000 NBA MVP was at his peak, stopping him was simply out of the question.