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Blogs Gambling on Defense (Sports) "How The Shaq Trade Created East vs. West Parity and Destroyed It" by Gabe Grossman
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Blogs Gambling on Defense (Sports) "How The Shaq Trade Created East vs. West Parity and Destroyed It" by Gabe Grossman | "How The Shaq Trade Created East vs. West Parity and Destroyed It" by Gabe Grossman |
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| Written by Gabe Grossman | |
| Friday, 29 June 2007 | |
  Following the 2003-04 season, everyone saw Shaq’s move to the Miami Heat as the creation of another contender for the NBA Championship in the East. There was no question that it helped create an increased balance between the Eastern and Western Conference. What couldn't be known at the time is how the trade would eventually create a greater imbalance in the conferences by the change in the style of play on each coast. The positive change in the East was clear immediately, the strengthening of Miami and the destruction of the Lakers left the Spurs and Mavs as favorites in the West, while the Nets and Pistons were joined by Miami at the top of the East. A number of young promising teams would develop that season with the Baby Bulls, the Wizards combo of Arenas, Butler and Jamison emerging, Carmelo's Nuggets improving in his second year, Yao and Tracy in Houston, and the explosion of the frenetic-paced Suns with a 62-win season. Though the Finals would feature the Pistons and the Spurs, there were plenty of interesting series throughout that year's playoffs. A Finals win for the East the following year was supposed to show that even though the majority of stars in their prime were out West, the East still had something to offer the NBA. Shaq had brought a dominant center to the Eastern Conference that any team had to immediately account for defensively. To even consider challenging for the title in the East you needed a big center to guard Shaq inside. This of course resulted in exorbitant contracts for now high commodity large centers who plod around the court like Ilgauskas for the Cavs, defensive specialists like Ben Wallace, and overrated big bodies like Jerome James and Eddy Curry. Teams needed someone, anyone who could play inside against the size of Shaq. The unfortunate side effect of this was that teams in the East who otherwise might have been more interesting, faster paced and creative were forced to devote a starting spot to someone designed purely to counter a Shaq-like center. The pace of basket ball in the east slowed to a standstill which led to the success of more defensive minded teams like the Cavs (under the tutelage of former Spurs Assistant Mike Brown) and Detroit, because even when you weren’t playing the Heat, teams still had the plodding center that often served as an offensively wasted roster spot. What's worse is that many of them were just as ineffective on defense, athletically unable to protect the lane against smaller players driving to the hoop. What GMs in the East didn’t expect, and in fairness would have been difficult to predict, was that it would lead to a revolution in the West as well. No longer burdened with facing Shaq in the playoffs to reach the finals, teams could go smaller and employ quicker, more guard centered strategies and still succeed. Though there are a few remnants from the old era such as Yao's Rockets, the majority of teams aren't as focused on filling the center position with an elite player. Instead, the power-forward is largely the defining position in the West (especially if you consider players like Stoudemire and Gasol as power-forwards, where they should really be classified rather than as centers). Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Gooden, and Brand all play the lead role on their teams, while other teams go even smaller focused on the play of their guards. The futility of the Rockets being bounced in the first round yet again highlights the change in the game. Instead teams that go small playing a 4 guard line-up like the Warriors can advance to the second round of the playoffs, which no team out West would have ever attempted when they knew they would have to go through Shaq. This is the source of the new Western dominance. When teams in the East waste a starting spot on players to defend Shaq, they become unable compete with teams in the West. Successful Western Conference teams adjusted to use more athletic big men who can keep up with the faster paced offenses that have become popular and are mobile enough to defend the lane and block shots from slashing guards. Even some formerly out of shape and slower centers have stepped up to adjust their game, as seen in the weight loss of Diop and Camby who their increased value to their respective teams.  The team out East (discounting the still developing, and soon to be very interesting Raptors) that followed the Western Conference trend of devaluing the emphasis on a true center was Detroit with their 5 power-forward rotation while Nazr Mohammed rode the bench. Coincidentally, they also were the team that dominated the East this past season and seen as the only hope for the East in the finals outside of a repeating Heat. Unfortunately, the Ben Wallace reinforced Bulls eliminated the Heat in this years playoffs meaning the Eastern Conference probably won't recognize that playing the game around Shaq is playing to lose. Of course, maybe teams will reevaluate the center position after watching what happened to the Cavs against the Spurs. Ilgauskas was great on the boards, but couldn't do anything in the lane to stop Tony Parker or Ginobili from coming inside and didn't provide enough offensively to be a difference-maker. Fortunately, Shaq will only be around for a couple more seasons, and though his personality and flair will be missed, his effects on how basketball is played won't be and we can look forward to seeing freakish athletes like Dwight Howard and Greg Oden show why the Center used to be a position of true value. Comments
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Once we get a dominant center like Shaq or one with immense skills like Hakeem, the cosmos will re-allign themselves and a center-centric NBA will be back. The reason WHY the Suns and Golden State did well is because there isnt a team with a dominating inside game. Duncan is very soft, but very talented. This is why Sacramento never got passed the lakers: if we all can recall, they ran with the best of them!
The reason the Kings never got passed the Lakers was that they didn't have a clutch shooter in crunch time. Towards the end, Bibby was the guy you wanted with his hands on the ball at the end of games, but before that nobody had that "F--k it, I'm winning this game" mentality. I vaguely remember watching one of those games with Weber winding up with the ball in his hands from the 3-point line and just thinking "he doesn't even want to take the shot, there's no way it's going in" and of course he missed. Mind you, they also had a poor mans Ilgauskas at center in Vlade Divac trying to guard Shaq which is like expecting an umbrella to protech you from a snow storm.
Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved.       |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 August 2007 ) |
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