Do Shaq and Jermaine look fatter than usual to you?

[TradeProposalDude]

Shaq has had conditioning problems for most of his career. He looked bigger than he should've been with Cleveland last year. Now he just looks like a big blob.

I'm sure he still has a lot of muscle, but underneath it there's a lot of fat too. I hope this doesn't become a problem as the season progresses. We need him to be in good shape, because that will set the tone for the rest of his output (production, PT, games played).

Jermaine O'Neal came into the league very skinny, has been thin over the course of his career, but has put on some extra pounds maybe since the end of his Indiana tenure. Now he's just fat to me. Sure he's gained muscle since 1996, but you can tell by looking at his face that he's got some extra weight on him. Maybe that's why Jermaine can't get much lift out there?

[Fafnir]

I think he looks better than he did in the playoffs against the C's. But that was after the whole season, during which he missed a lot of time with an injury.

[JSD]

Shaq has had conditioning problems for most of his career. He looked bigger than he should've been with Cleveland last year. Now he just looks like a big blob.

Yup, it's true. I was estimating an additional 15 lbs of fat since this picture was taken:





Imagine if Shaq got serious about his diet and cardio? It annoys the crap out of me. Hopefully he gets in better shape as the season progresses.

[Lucky17]

It's the white uniforms. White just isn't flattering at all.

Wait til they sport the road greens and alternate uniforms.

[blake]

Shaq has had conditioning problems for most of his career. He looked bigger than he should've been with Cleveland last year. Now he just looks like a big blob.

Yup, it's true. I was estimating an additional 15 lbs of fat since this picture was taken:





Imagine if Shaq got serious about his diet and cardio? It annoys the crap out of me. Hopefully he gets in better shape as the season progresses.

Dont forget the special St. Pattys day unis.  Very slimming.  He will look like Kevin Durant.

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

Both are overweight to a degree, the difference being Shaq's an effective fat guy, whereas JO just plain sucks when fat.  As such, I'm not concerned as much about Shaq as I am about JO.  

If I had to guess, JO came into camp probably 25-30 pounds overweight, and he's probably added another 10-15 since camp started.  The sad thing is, he should have been changing his diet and making himself more lean like 6 years ago when injuries started to rob him of his natural athleticism.  Guys like Antonio McDyess and Joe Smith come to mind as players who reshaped their bodies after they had knee injuries and got older, both probably putting 5 or more years on each of their careers.  Where's JO motivation?  Probably got ruined by being a MAX contract guy.  He's been handed his starting spot and minutes based on his contract and reputation for too long and he doesn't remember what it takes to earn a spot.  And it's made him LAZY.

It's too late for JO to get into shape now.  About the only thing that might motivate him would be to bench him for Semih--pride being the biggest motivator.  Even then, I'm already considering this a lost season for JO, and another EPIC FAIL for our full MLE dollars.

[JSD]

It's the Rasheed Wallace syndrome:

"Oh... This is all I'm getting this season for money? Well forget doing anything when I'm not playing then."

[Who]

No, I don't think so. Jermaine and Shaq have been around that size for several years now.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

Shaq has had conditioning problems for most of his career. He looked bigger than he should've been with Cleveland last year. Now he just looks like a big blob.

Yup, it's true. I was estimating an additional 15 lbs of fat since this picture was taken:





Imagine if Shaq got serious about his diet and cardio? It annoys the crap out of me. Hopefully he gets in better shape as the season progresses.

Dont forget the special St. Pattys day unis.  Very slimming.  He will look like Kevin Durant.

Haha! TP for you sir!

[vinnie]

Both are overweight to a degree, the difference being Shaq's an effective fat guy, whereas JO just plain sucks when fat.  As such, I'm not concerned as much about Shaq as I am about JO.  

If I had to guess, JO came into camp probably 25-30 pounds overweight, and he's probably added another 10-15 since camp started.  The sad thing is, he should have been changing his diet and making himself more lean like 6 years ago when injuries started to rob him of his natural athleticism.  Guys like Antonio McDyess and Joe Smith come to mind as players who reshaped their bodies after they had knee injuries and got older, both probably putting 5 or more years on each of their careers.  Where's JO motivation?  Probably got ruined by being a MAX contract guy.  He's been handed his starting spot and minutes based on his contract and reputation for too long and he doesn't remember what it takes to earn a spot.  And it's made him LAZY.

It's too late for JO to get into shape now.  About the only thing that might motivate him would be to bench him for Semih--pride being the biggest motivator.  Even then, I'm already considering this a lost season for JO, and another EPIC FAIL for our full MLE dollars.

I just don't think Jermaine O'Neal is 35-45 pounds overweight. He might not be playing well, but he saw limited time in the preseason. I also think it is a little early to call teh JO signing a failure. But I guess you are considering the Sheed signing last year a failure despite what he did in the playoffs.

[PosImpos]

Let's look at some visual evidence (though shaky w/ no dates):















Honestly, aside from the Pacers pictures I don't see a huge difference.  Yeah, Jermaine looks older on the C's, but not substantially larger, especially compared to how he looked at the end of last season.

[apc]

do you have a wide screen tv?

[KobeShesNotConsenting!]

typical. Let the pessimism begin!

[SalmonAndMashedPotatoes]

I just don't think Jermaine O'Neal is 35-45 pounds overweight. He might not be playing well, but he saw limited time in the preseason. I also think it is a little early to call teh JO signing a failure. But I guess you are considering the Sheed signing last year a failure despite what he did in the playoffs.

Depends on your definition of overweight.  Let's simply it by saying that it's all about having the body that fits your game.  JO's never been a banger, he's historically been called SOFT, he's more likely to shoot a fall-away jumper than create contact, and his athleticism has always been one of his best attributes.  Based on that, you'd think he'd want to remain svelte, trim, and around 3-4% body fat so as to keep mobile, quick, and explosive.  Instead, he's done the exact opposite, and he's basically a finesse player with the body of a banger which is the worst of both worlds.

Sheed was a failure regardless of how well he acquitted himself in the playoffs.  It's about opportunity lost.  Look at the other guys we *could* have signed with that MLE, guys like McDyess.  And then look at what we got from Sheed--ONE half-assed regular season and a valiant playoff effort that ultimately came up short because his body ultimately betrayed him.  And why did it betray him?  Because he didn't take care of it, that's why, just like JO is doing now. 

So, yeah, that signing was an EPIC fail.  We would have been better off with McDyess, not only because he still gives a crap, but because he's still playing.  Meanwhile, we had to use the full MLE again this summer to replace a retired Sheed, and it looks like we wasted it again.  JO is the failed response to a failed acquisition.  Just look at the guys going for full MLE dollars the last 2 years--and I'll bet 99% of them were better investments that our two.  The fact that one of them was necessitated by the failure of the first one makes it sting that much more.  I mean, I think Danny Ainge is a great GM, but his last 2 MLE signings have been EPIC FAILURES.  It's all about opportunity lost, not only about what we got, but what we didn't get.

[guava_wrench]

Shaq has had conditioning problems for most of his career. He looked bigger than he should've been with Cleveland last year. Now he just looks like a big blob.

Yup, it's true. I was estimating an additional 15 lbs of fat since this picture was taken:





Imagine if Shaq got serious about his diet and cardio? It annoys the crap out of me. Hopefully he gets in better shape as the season progresses.

The guy is 38. He is on a minimum contract. What do you expect?

And what would be the real difference anyway? He's still just going to bang down low and miss free throws.

I'm pretty sure Shaq would be quite different looking if he was really not serious about cardio.