Was it Shaq or was it Rondo? Can we find another 39 year old Shaq?

[bfrombleacher]

I keep coming back to this. Rondo made a 39 year old Shaq look good.

I'm not saying Shaq is a scrub though, certainly not. He knows how to use his body and it's hard to find anyone of his stature (even a few sizes smaller than he) who can use their weight like that. And he's not paint allergic (not allowed to be really)

But...39 years old. The man was slow, has no athleticism...

The dude did work though. We had the best offense with him.

So, was it Shaq or was it Rondo who made us so good? Was it both?

And, either way, could we find someone like Shaq? In the draft? In the free agency? In a trade?

[Roy H.]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

[2short]

Its both.  Shaq is an all time great, Rondo made his offense very easy for him at his age/weight.  Rondo does tend to make everyone around him look better, hollins, wilcox, bass list goes on

[Bombastic Jones]

Camby.  I am concerned that I am getting borderline obsessed with Camby, but I would love to see him in green.  He is 38, but could still give us 20 mins and 10 rebounds a game.

[snively]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

I still think Wilcox could have pulled a decent approximation of Shaq's 39-year-old offense with us if he got the starting nod.  Especially if he had been healthy for the latter half of the season when the pace sped up with Bradley in place of Ray.

Great hands, great speed, great finishing ability.  A great complement to Rondo.  A shame he spent most of his time playing in the 2nd unit sans Rondo.

[galvinx10]

It was a combination of Shaq's talent and guys like Rondo and KG making life a lot easier for him. Don't forget that KG (and Ray and Pierce) spacing out the floor allowed Shaq more room than he probably ever had with other teams to operate in the post.

[Who]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

I still think Wilcox could have pulled a decent approximation of Shaq's 39-year-old offense with us if he got the starting nod.  Especially if he had been healthy for the latter half of the season when the pace sped up with Bradley in place of Ray.

Great hands, great speed, great finishing ability.  A great complement to Rondo.  A shame he spent most of his time playing in the 2nd unit sans Rondo.

Me too

[Roy H.]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

I still think Wilcox could have pulled a decent approximation of Shaq's 39-year-old offense with us if he got the starting nod.  Especially if he had been healthy for the latter half of the season when the pace sped up with Bradley in place of Ray.

Great hands, great speed, great finishing ability.  A great complement to Rondo.  A shame he spent most of his time playing in the 2nd unit sans Rondo.

Me too

Wilcox has had plenty of opportunities over the years.  He doesn't have the size, skills, or talent of even a 38 year old Shaq.  Defensively, of course, he can't match Shaq's post D and doesn't take up as much space, although in theory he should be able to rotate quicker.

[Snakehead]

It's both.  Rondo can get guys the ball near the rim and he has never played with anyone like Shaq.  If you give him another target like that near the rim, he will produce the same results.

[tonyto3690]

It was Rondo.  Naturally Shaq had to finish, but it's easy to finish when everyone is a few inches shorter than you, 50 pounds lighter, and you have a green light dunk.

Shaq was the only player until KG this season who could command attention in the low block and open things up for others, or just finish lots of easy layups Rondo gives him.

[snively]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

I still think Wilcox could have pulled a decent approximation of Shaq's 39-year-old offense with us if he got the starting nod.  Especially if he had been healthy for the latter half of the season when the pace sped up with Bradley in place of Ray.

Great hands, great speed, great finishing ability.  A great complement to Rondo.  A shame he spent most of his time playing in the 2nd unit sans Rondo.

Me too

Wilcox has had plenty of opportunities over the years.  He doesn't have the size, skills, or talent of even a 38 year old Shaq.  Defensively, of course, he can't match Shaq's post D and doesn't take up as much space, although in theory he should be able to rotate quicker.

Shaq's greatest offensive assets in his bittersweet Celtics run were his fantastic hands and his great finishing ability.  In these attributes, he was not too different than Wilcox, who has carved out a career in this league almost solely on the virtue of his ability to catch and finish.

Defensively, Shaq was more useful (impossible to post up, hard fouls, space clogger, solid rebounder) but the only comparison brought up in this thread was offensive impact.

[Roy H.]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

I still think Wilcox could have pulled a decent approximation of Shaq's 39-year-old offense with us if he got the starting nod.  Especially if he had been healthy for the latter half of the season when the pace sped up with Bradley in place of Ray.

Great hands, great speed, great finishing ability.  A great complement to Rondo.  A shame he spent most of his time playing in the 2nd unit sans Rondo.

Me too

Wilcox has had plenty of opportunities over the years.  He doesn't have the size, skills, or talent of even a 38 year old Shaq.  Defensively, of course, he can't match Shaq's post D and doesn't take up as much space, although in theory he should be able to rotate quicker.

Shaq's greatest offensive assets in his bittersweet Celtics run were his fantastic hands and his great finishing ability.  In these attributes, he was not too different than Wilcox, who has carved out a career in this league almost solely on the virtue of his ability to catch and finish.

Defensively, Shaq was more useful (impossible to post up, hard fouls, space clogger, solid rebounder) but the only comparison brought up in this thread was offensive impact.

Playing in the same offense, though, Shaq was significantly more prolific.  Even after being hobbled by injuries, Shaq averaged roughly 50% more points per minute than Wilcox.  He shot at a higher percentage and drew fouls at a higher rate.  The team had a much better offensive rating with Shaq in the game, and Shaq contributed about triple the offensive win shares. 

Shaq was significantly better on offense than Wilcox, and our team offense was significantly better with Shaq, as well.

Size matters, and Shaq's size and skill brought a fairly unique aspect to our offense.

[Army_of_One_Nation]

Camby.  I am concerned that I am getting borderline obsessed with Camby, but I would love to see him in green.  He is 38, but could still give us 20 mins and 10 rebounds a game.

Don't forget those 2-3 blocks per game, too.

[snively]

It was a combo, but it was mostly Shaq's size and talent.  Keep in mind that Shaq had some pretty productive year in Cleveland and Phoenix, too.

Unfortunately, players with Shaq's size, talent, and instincts / experience are exceedingly rare.  I thought it was silly when some fans thought that Chris Wilcox could replicate Shaq's offense, and I'm equally skeptical that any draft pick in our pick range can bring what Shaq could.

I still think Wilcox could have pulled a decent approximation of Shaq's 39-year-old offense with us if he got the starting nod.  Especially if he had been healthy for the latter half of the season when the pace sped up with Bradley in place of Ray.

Great hands, great speed, great finishing ability.  A great complement to Rondo.  A shame he spent most of his time playing in the 2nd unit sans Rondo.

Me too

Wilcox has had plenty of opportunities over the years.  He doesn't have the size, skills, or talent of even a 38 year old Shaq.  Defensively, of course, he can't match Shaq's post D and doesn't take up as much space, although in theory he should be able to rotate quicker.

Shaq's greatest offensive assets in his bittersweet Celtics run were his fantastic hands and his great finishing ability.  In these attributes, he was not too different than Wilcox, who has carved out a career in this league almost solely on the virtue of his ability to catch and finish.

Defensively, Shaq was more useful (impossible to post up, hard fouls, space clogger, solid rebounder) but the only comparison brought up in this thread was offensive impact.

Playing in the same offense, though, Shaq was significantly more prolific.  Even after being hobbled by injuries, Shaq averaged roughly 50% more points per minute than Wilcox.  He shot at a higher percentage and drew fouls at a higher rate.  The team had a much better offensive rating with Shaq in the game, and Shaq contributed about triple the offensive win shares. 

Shaq was significantly better on offense than Wilcox, and our team offense was significantly better with Shaq, as well.

Size matters, and Shaq's size and skill brought a fairly unique aspect to our offense.

Again, you're comparing Shaq with the starting 5, whereas Wilcox got most of his minutes on the second unit (and let's not forget that Wilcox was pretty gimpy for much of the year as well).  He was never given extended run as the 5th wheel to allow for a solid concrete comparison with Shaq.

[lightspeed5]

it was a combination of rondo's saviness and shaq's natural ability and talent.