Shaq also seemed like he was damn near 400 pounds his last couple years in the NBA. He wasn’t exactly the quickest.
1992-2011 -- He credits the Sun's medical staff with fixing his bad toe -- they really seem to be the best in the business.
You realize Lebron is 36 now, only 3 years younger than Shaq when he retired? If it is past time for Shaq to retire at age 39 does that mean Lebron needs to retire next season? LOL! Tim Duncan retired at age 40 but he also had 4 years of college. Vince Carter was a high dunker but played till he was 43 and could've played a couple more seasons if he wanted to. Shaq's career was shortened cuz he could have played till he was 45, dude had a combination of size, length, power and coordination which was still in demand in the NBA. The problem is his injuries including his arthritic toe, it made moving quickly painful for him that's why he stopped getting in shape and working out during the summer, it made him totally ineffective and just relying on his name recognition during the last few years of his career.
Yeah, Zion isn't looking any lighter than he was before the pandemic. Seems like the Pelicans have decided to ride this version of Zion until he breaks.
Would have helped them win though if he played more minutes, they are not riding him exactly, strict minute control.
Not so sure about that, he led the team at -16 in 15 mins. As good as he on offense, he is still completely clueless in D. Anyway im not worried, he is a rookie and he only played like 20 nba games on a very weird year, im still confident he will only get better. He's got all the tools to be elite on the defensive side too, but right now, he gets lots really easily.
Not really talking about that one specific game (which was very suprising to me - I mean they came to the bubble to fight for that last playoff spot no? every game is crucial), but more about their likely approach. I would have expected that the first thing that Zion does in this 'covid offseason' is to drop 15-20 pounds. But that didn't happen. So it's either Zion hellbent on staying at 300 pounds, or it's the Pelicans thinking that they'd rather gamble and have this superpowered version of Zion hoping he can stay lucky and prove the science wrong.
LeBron is still 35. Duncan kept a finesse frame and was particular in the way he moved, very light on his feet most of the time and only planting his feet during close contact. Shaq had a slighter build coming into the league if you compare to naturally wider guys like Eddy Curry, Oliver Miller, and Bryant Reeves. This meant he could have had a longer career due to no serious foot, ankle or knee injuries. Like at his son Shareef, that's Shaw's natural body type.
Zion's condition is really disappointing -- the pimp limp looks bad and he appears a little heavy and a step slow... not good for long term prospects.
Apparently it's not a 'swag' thing. He really walks like that and it kinda shows even when he's running. This is why I just can't get excited watching him play, because every moment is a potential injury situation.