Shaq really wasn't a monster in Miami. He was actually starting his decline, and in retrospect a lot of people said Wade, not Shaq, was the main guy on their ring team.
That said, Riley couches his opinion in reasonable terms -- Shaq was the bigger acquisition because he was part of their first ring team and put the franchise on the map.
Fair enough, though I'd go with the Big Three (better at that point than Shaq, and more success).
But really the statement itself is kind of a shrug because of the terms it's couched in, except to those who want to read extra stuff into it that Riley didn't say.
Wouldn't be surprised if he realized that Lebron held all the power in building that superteam. So while he was a great pitchman his role in dictating the success of that team was diminished.
Shaq was in decline by the time he arrived in Miami, of course, but trust and believe ... if Dwyane Wade had been healthy (i.e., no severe chest / rib injury) in the 2005 ECF vs. the defending champion Pistons, the Heat probably would have won back-to-back titles in Shaq's first two years in Miami. The Heat were up 3 - 2 on Detroit before Wade missed Game 6 with the injury, which greatly affected him in the close Game 7 loss (Detroit was trailing heading into the fourth quarter). And Detroit took the Spurs to seven games in the NBA Finals that year ... anyway, IMO, Miami would have beaten San Antonio in 2005. And we already know what they did in 2006.
If that had happened, the legacies of the Heat, Shaq, Wade, the Spurs and Duncan would be very different right now.
And this community would have self-immolated, too. Shaq going to Miami and immediately going back-to-back? Holy (bleep), the drama that would have ensued here ...
Shaq was in decline by the time he arrived in Miami, of course, but trust and believe ... if Dwyane Wade had been healthy (i.e., no severe chest / rib injury) in the 2005 ECF vs. the defending champion Pistons, the Heat probably would have won back-to-back titles in Shaq's first two years in Miami. The Heat were up 3 - 2 on Detroit before Wade missed Game 6 with the injury, which greatly affected him in the close Game 7 loss (Detroit was trailing heading into the fourth quarter). And Detroit took the Spurs to seven games in the NBA Finals that year ... anyway, IMO, Miami would have beaten San Antonio in 2005. And we already know what they did in 2006.
If that had happened, the legacies of the Heat, Shaq, Wade, the Spurs and Duncan would be very different right now.
And this community would have self-immolated, too. Shaq going to Miami and immediately going back-to-back? Holy (bleep), the drama that would have ensued here ...
Wow you really think that? The Spurs would have been a clear favorite in that series right? And they would have had the hca which was always significant for them.
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if Dwyane Wade had been healthy (i.e., no severe chest / rib injury) in the 2005 ECF vs. the defending champion Pistons, the Heat probably would have won back-to-back titles in Shaq's first two years in Miami.
If the Heat won in 2005 then Shaq probably gets lazy and I seriously doubt they win in 2006. We saw what happened with Shaq and the Heat after they won in 06. Shaq lost motivation (in my opinion) and the team was swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Shaq was in decline by the time he arrived in Miami, of course, but trust and believe ... if Dwyane Wade had been healthy (i.e., no severe chest / rib injury) in the 2005 ECF vs. the defending champion Pistons, the Heat probably would have won back-to-back titles in Shaq's first two years in Miami. The Heat were up 3 - 2 on Detroit before Wade missed Game 6 with the injury, which greatly affected him in the close Game 7 loss (Detroit was trailing heading into the fourth quarter). And Detroit took the Spurs to seven games in the NBA Finals that year ... anyway, IMO, Miami would have beaten San Antonio in 2005. And we already know what they did in 2006.
If that had happened, the legacies of the Heat, Shaq, Wade, the Spurs and Duncan would be very different right now.
And this community would have self-immolated, too. Shaq going to Miami and immediately going back-to-back? Holy (bleep), the drama that would have ensued here ...
Woulda-coulda-shoulda rings are easy to win -- every great player has a few of them.
Wouldn't be surprised if he realized that Lebron held all the power in building that superteam. So while he was a great pitchman his role in dictating the success of that team was diminished.
There might be some of that. Certainly superstars have held the cards in the NBA for a while. But Lebron was something of a sea change in demonstrating that he saw himself as a corporate entity with no particular allegiance to a team, owner, or GM beyond a business partnership that was beneficial to his corporate entity.
I'm sure Riley hated that.But then like most team owners/GMs he's a hypocrite who wants to act in his own self-interest while players sacrifice their self-interest.
Since Lebron, he's seen Wade leave and Whiteside reject his pleas to take less money for the good of the team, so I'm sure Riley pines for the good old days when he ran the show and the players snapped into line.
Shaq being traded revitalized his career. If Shaq doesn't get traded I don't think he loses the weight he lost. I think he continues his trend of getting fatter. Getting traded hurt Shaq's ego and he wanted to show the world the Lakers were wrong to choose Kobe. Then he started to play well in the east, where the competition was weaker.
It was a good acquisition I think, for both sides, but signing Lebron is great. Who did they lose to get the undisputed best player in the game? No one.
Shaq was in decline by the time he arrived in Miami, of course, but trust and believe ... if Dwyane Wade had been healthy (i.e., no severe chest / rib injury) in the 2005 ECF vs. the defending champion Pistons, the Heat probably would have won back-to-back titles in Shaq's first two years in Miami. The Heat were up 3 - 2 on Detroit before Wade missed Game 6 with the injury, which greatly affected him in the close Game 7 loss (Detroit was trailing heading into the fourth quarter). And Detroit took the Spurs to seven games in the NBA Finals that year ... anyway, IMO, Miami would have beaten San Antonio in 2005. And we already know what they did in 2006.
If that had happened, the legacies of the Heat, Shaq, Wade, the Spurs and Duncan would be very different right now.
And this community would have self-immolated, too. Shaq going to Miami and immediately going back-to-back? Holy (bleep), the drama that would have ensued here ...
Woulda-coulda-shoulda rings are easy to win -- every great player has a few of them.
That mantra of yours is probably better directed at those who think we were an achilles injury away from winning the championship in 2013. When a team (who when healthy, goes on to win the championship the following year) is in a conference finals series with a 3 - 2 lead and HCA in Game 7 looming, before a painful injury derails one of the most impactful postseason performers of the mid-2000s timeframe, I think it's completely defensible to wonder, "What if?" ...
As far as the NBA Finals, I think that Heat organization would have felt REALLY good about neutralizing Duncan with the combination of Shaq and Mourning. And I think they would likewise have felt REALLY good about Wade running roughshod on Bowen, Parker, Manu, Brent Barry and anyone else Popovich might have tried to put in front of him. So no, I think this particular example is a lot more than a woulda, coulda, shoulda pipe dream ...
Shaq was in decline by the time he arrived in Miami, of course, but trust and believe ... if Dwyane Wade had been healthy (i.e., no severe chest / rib injury) in the 2005 ECF vs. the defending champion Pistons, the Heat probably would have won back-to-back titles in Shaq's first two years in Miami. The Heat were up 3 - 2 on Detroit before Wade missed Game 6 with the injury, which greatly affected him in the close Game 7 loss (Detroit was trailing heading into the fourth quarter). And Detroit took the Spurs to seven games in the NBA Finals that year ... anyway, IMO, Miami would have beaten San Antonio in 2005. And we already know what they did in 2006.
If that had happened, the legacies of the Heat, Shaq, Wade, the Spurs and Duncan would be very different right now.
And this community would have self-immolated, too. Shaq going to Miami and immediately going back-to-back? Holy (bleep), the drama that would have ensued here ...
Woulda-coulda-shoulda rings are easy to win -- every great player has a few of them.
That mantra of yours is probably better directed at those who think we were an achilles injury away from winning the championship in 2013. When a team (who when healthy, goes on to win the championship the following year) is in a conference finals series with a 3 - 2 lead and HCA in Game 7 looming, before a painful injury derails one of the most impactful postseason performers of the mid-2000s timeframe, I think it's completely defensible to wonder, "What if?" ...
As far as the NBA Finals, I think that Heat organization would have felt REALLY good about neutralizing Duncan with the combination of Shaq and Mourning. And I think they would likewise have felt REALLY good about Wade running roughshod on Bowen, Parker, Manu, Brent Barry and anyone else Popovich might have tried to put in front of him. So no, I think this particular example is a lot more than a woulda, coulda, shoulda pipe dream ...
But to each his/her own ...
that's her reaction for anything other than recorded historical fact. makes for good discussion, eh?
So no, I think this particular example is a lot more than a woulda, coulda, shoulda pipe dream ...
But to each his/her own ...
Oh, pretty much everyone who makes woulda-coulda-shoulda statements is extremely confident than their guess of would have happened in some hypothetical would have come true.
And that type of thing is fine for a debate over a beer if you're in the mood for it and have some idle minutes to kill. Ultimately, all that matters is what actually happened. Everything else is a guess that you can never prove or disprove.
Like I said, every superstar has a bunch of woulda-coulda-should rings.
back to work everyone!
only discussions that will greatly benefit society!
So no, I think this particular example is a lot more than a woulda, coulda, shoulda pipe dream ... ...
Of course you do -- everyone who makes the kind of woulda-coulda-shoulda guess that you made here is extremely confident their guess would have been right.
I tend to shrug at this type of thing because I've seen so many circumstances in real life where that seemed like a gimme on paper didn't actually happen on the court.
Woulda could shouldas are fun discussions if you're in the mood. I would never use them to evaluate a player in real life or evaluate the Shaq or Big Three question that Riley raised.
I can see where Riley is coming from. Shaq came in and changed the culture and helped the franchise win its first. That's a big step. LeBron came in and helped re-establish that culture. I can see how an old school competitor like Riley would value getting over that initial hump.
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