Shaq rips Dwight Howard for signing with the Rockets Dwight Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers for the Houston Rockets on Friday, and many people (including yours truly) felt he made the right decision. Shaquille O’Neal is not one of those people. At the Coke Zero 400, Shaq told reporters, including USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Ryan, that he isn’t impressed with Dwight: Shaq’s views here are not surprising at all. He has been ripping Howard for years, going back to his playing days when Howard was a member of the Orlando Magic. A large part of his distaste for Howard stemmed from Howard’s co-opting of the “Superman” nickname that Shaq used earlier in his career. The criticism didn’t stop when Shaq retired, either, as he has gone after Dwight regularly in his new role as a studio analyst on TNT’s Inside the NBA. Howard’s tenure with the Lakers was doomed from the start. He was rushed back too early from back surgery, resulting in diminished play. After Mike Brown was fired, new coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t click with the big man. And his jokey personality couldn’t have been more at odds with Kobe Bryant’s psychotic competitiveness. Whether or not Howard could “handle” the pressure of playing for the Lakers, it was a bad fit all around. It’s all but guaranteed that the first game Howard’s Rockets play at Staples Center will be broadcast on TNT, to give Shaq another opportunity to rip him.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 23:47:28 +0000
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