Shaq says Brook Lopez is better than Dwight

The Rock wrote:Seriously Shaq why cant you go rip the Celtics lol they're one of your former teams. He never says anything bad about them

Alleyhoops wrote:Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Shaq does whatever he can to drive Howard out of Los Angeles after this season so his own Laker legacy isn't challenged. I'm sure he's caught wind that Dwight is somewhat sensitive about following in Shaq's footsteps and O'Neal is working it. I really hope Dwight tunes him out and that Shaq shuts his freakin' mouth. It's ticking me off.

Alleyhoops wrote:Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Shaq does whatever he can to drive Howard out of Los Angeles after this season so his own Laker legacy isn't challenged. I'm sure he's caught wind that Dwight is somewhat sensitive about following in Shaq's footsteps and O'Neal is working it. I really hope Dwight tunes him out and that Shaq shuts his freakin' mouth. It's ticking me off.

puffyusaf#2 wrote:I think Shaq is inadvertantly helping Dwight. My knock on Dwight is that he doesn't have that "mean streak" in him to win it all. Prior to getting to the lime light of LA Dwight seemed afraid of the big shadows and shoes he would be walking into especially Shaq's since his path would be very similar. Now that he is here I think Shaq's sensitive ego will actually fuel Dwight to want to prove he is in fact better than Shaq. A hungry big man of Dwights caliber will destroy the teams.

So Thanks Shaq for being such a damn baby that you will help motivate the nice gentle giant we have to become a full on beast.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Dwight Howard slumped his shoulders inside Staples Center and responded sheepishly on the issue of Shaquille O'Neal trashing him over and over.
"I can't tell you why he's said a lot of discouraging things," Howard said to me. "I wish he wouldn't say it because he's one of the few guys that we all look up to."
As a 23-year-old reaching the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard was still an earnest young star searching out the blessing that never came from Shaq.
For all the preaching Shaq had done about paying respect to your elders, Howard never understood why his relentless praise of Shaq was reciprocated with ridicule and scorn. Howard never understood why Shaq didn't see it as flattering that an engaging, dynamic young center had grown up idolizing, even emulating, him.
Now, Howard's a Laker, Shaq's retired to television and his criticisms promise to get only sharper and sharper. And so when word was passed onto Howard that O'Neal had compared him unfavorably to Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez, Howard did something long overdue: He stood up for himself and fired back at O'Neal.
"Shaq played the game and he is done," Howard told reporters on Thursday. "It's time to move on. He hated the fact when he played that older guys were talking about him and how he played. Now he's doing the exact same thing. Just let it go. There's no sense for him to be talking trash to me. He did his thing in the league. Sit back and relax.
"Your time is up."

Howard doesn't need to respond to Shaq to win over Kobe Bryant, because Bryant's already a believer in him. Bryant knows that Howard will come to work every day, that he'll keep himself physically fit. Those are things that Bryant could never count upon with O'Neal. Howard doesn't need to stand up to Shaq for Kobe's sake, but his own.
Howard has come to the Lakers to win championships, the way that Shaq did all those years ago. He's an iconic talent, and Shaq's kidding himself to try to minimize Howard's dominance. The greatest Lakers center before Shaq believed that, too – long before Howard made his way to Los Angeles.
Outside the interview room that day during the June '09 NBA Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shook his head, and told me of Shaq, "Sometimes I wonder about his maturity. He doesn't need to do that. He's achieved so much. I don't know why he stoops to that."
Shaq is a forever star in the NBA, and gets paid to deliver his opinions on television now. Howard has earned criticism, absorbed it, and yet his talent is too immense for Shaq to believe for a moment that Lakers fans will be longing for him over Howard this season.
[Related: Blake Griffin not happy with flopping rule]
Howard was wise to finally let go of the self-guilt that came with pursuing the parallel path of O'Neal's, a ringless run in Orlando to the Lakers. For so long, Howard paid his respects to Shaq – overpaid them – and all that came back was the bitter insecurities of a 40-something legend who should be so much more secure with his standing in history.
There's a ceremony to retire Shaq's No. 34 with the Lakers in April, and rest assured that O'Neal will return to Staples full of praise for Howard. Between now and then, Howard will be his old self again, and the Lakers will be the franchise that once again owns the middle of the basketball floor. From Mikan to Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar to Shaq, the great centers always find their way to the Lakers.
Yes, the Lakers' new center is correct: It's over Shaq. It's Howard's time now. It's inevitable, happens to every great star, and there's no use fighting it anymore. Dwight Howard finally fired back at Shaquille O'Neal on Thursday, and it was long overdue. Shaq will come back at him again, but he has to realize soon that Howard has the ultimate trump card in sport: The cheers, the winning, belong to Howard now. It's his time, his Lakers now.

BadCoaching wrote:Why is Shaq so threatened and jealous of D12? You'd think he'd be honored the kid idolized him and wanted to be him.. I didn't think we'd still see him being a like this half a decade later. He's an embarrassment.. grow up Shaq sheesh.

Lets Go Lakers wrote:

BadCoaching wrote:Why is Shaq so threatened and jealous of D12? You'd think he'd be honored the kid idolized him and wanted to be him.. I didn't think we'd still see him being a like this half a decade later. He's an embarrassment.. grow up Shaq sheesh.

Because he loves the limelight and can't accept the fact that his time is over and there is a new sheriff in town in LA.

puffyusaf#2 wrote:Nice article by Worj (again).

Mark Medina ‏@MarkGMedina

Kobe Bryant on Shaq saying Brook Lopez/Andrew Bynum > than Dwight Howard: "He gets paid to make opinions so I can't tell him to shut up."