Nov
08
Shaquille O'Neal is still finding his voice as a commentator. He's getting better, but he's got a long way to go if he's going to be as good of a broadcaster as he was a player, though in his defense, that would be a tall task for anyone.
Love him or hate him, he does say things from time to time that makes you think, like when he says in the clip above (starting around the 6:30 mark) that Damian Lillard reminds him of "a right-handed Damon Stoudamire." Of course, Stoudamire grew up in Portland and played for the Trail Blazers, which might be seeping into Shaq's consciousness when he comes up with the comparison. Lillard is obviously the bigger of the two (Stoudamire was
listed at 5-10, and those measurements, as anyone who has ever stood next to a 6-3 NBA player, are generally embellished) and is probably more of a playmaker, though that might be too much of an assumption four games into a career. If nothing else, at least Shaq is coming up with some names outside of the more standard (and probably a bit premature) comparisons to Derek Rose and Chauncey Billups.
Then there's Kenny Smith, a pretty good point guard in his own right, saying this about Lillard:
"It looks like he's doing drills. Two dribble pullup, one dribble pullup, get to the rim, reverse layup. It's like he's doing drills that you do in practice."
That's high praise for anyone, let alone a rookie point guard.