Ok, I just want people to find either summarys of the nba finals, or recaps, or articles and even personal opinions on whether Shaq was double teammed a lot during the 2006 nba finals. From what I remember when Shaq was on the floor he was doubled a lot. Here is a quote from an article written by Michael Wilbon (Guy from Pardon the Interruption) <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The synopsis of Game 2 is this: The Mavericks decided to throw quick double-teams and sometimes triple-teams at Shaq to force him to pass the ball. Sometimes, Dallas used its best offensive player, Dirk Nowitzki, to double-team Shaq and since Dirk is every bit as tall as Shaq, the only smart thing for the Diesel to do was to throw the ball quickly to one of his open teammates. What Shaq did time after time was make the smart basketball play. At 7 feet 1, 325 pounds, Shaq isn't Jordan or Kobe Bryant or even teammate Dwyane Wade. Shaq isn't going to create his own shot; he can't. He's entirely dependent on teammates tossing him the ball, and if double-teamed, making open shots. In the second quarter, when Dallas outscored Miami 32-17, Dallas shot 71 percent while Miami missed 10 of 18 shots and 5 of 6 from three-point land. Shaq, swarmed, would toss the ball out to an unguarded Antoine Walker, who would throw up a brick. Shaq, harassed, would toss the ball out to a wide-open Jason Williams, who would miss. Shaq, entangled, would toss the ball out to Gary Payton, who would chuck up another brick.</div> Source <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">but he's still sufficiently Shaqian to draw double-team swarms and warrant aggressive fronting in the post. No matter how bad it gets for him, O'Neal remains the focus of the Mavs' game plan, such a worry that Dirk Nowitzki is suddenly part of Dallas' double-team schemes, adding another 7-foot variable to Shaq's decision-making.</div> Source by Marc Stein <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Daily Dime: Why did Shaq have so many problems on offense in Game 2? If he catches on the move he's in better position to score or pass before the double team arrives. Unfortunately Miami's execution was not top notch ... the entry pass to Shaq was not crisp and Dallas was able to steal the ball a couple of times.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Daily Dime: What about after Shaq caught the ball? It looked like he was struggling with the double teams. Salmi: He's being guarded by a 6-foot-11 guy in Erick Dampier or DeSagana Diop and he's being doubled by a 7-foot guy in Dirk Nowitzki. That's a very difficult double team to pass out of ... it's not like a guard is coming to double. </div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Also, his teammates didn't deliver. <u>Shaq was double-teamed 15 times in the first half and they only scored seven points.</u> There were missed layups, there were turnovers, there were travels. There were opportunities to score, but Miami didn't finish the play by putting the ball in the basket.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Salmi: The Dallas Mavericks have decided that it's not going to be Dwyane Wade and it's not going to be Shaquille O'Neal who beats them. When those guys touch the ball the Mavericks are converging on them, so Wade and O'Neal have to make plays for their teammates and those guys have not delivered so far in the NBA Finals.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Later, the clip shows you why the Mavs' double team on Shaq is so successful. The players that they're using to double Shaq are in the 6-foot-11, 7-foot range. The "giant" double makes it very difficult for Shaq to make a quality offensive move or even get off a shot. Finally, you see Shaq make good passes out of the double team, but his teammates can't score in the basket area. </div> By Chris Ramsay Source <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Shaq did rebound from his Game 2 nightmare with pretty passable production in the face of those double-teams -- 16 points, 11 boards and five assists</div> Source By Marc Stein <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There were three things that Shaquille O'Neal did that helped him against double-teams: (1) He turned away from the double-team before the double-team actually got to him. (2) The repost. Shaq saw the double-team and threw it back out. The Heat let the guy who doubled Shaq rotate out to the weakside and then threw it right back in. (3) He got the ball in transition before the defense had a chance to react and was fouled three times When you throw it in to Shaq, you force Dallas to make a decision, and it's not a single-coverage decision. Dallas has to double-team from somewhere on the floor. And when Dallas doubles Shaq, good things happen for other Heat players. The strategy to go in to Shaq is sound, and Wade gets some benefit from that strategy. The Mavs will probably stick with their game plan. They're going to continue to double-team Shaq so he can't go nuts. They're going to try to keep Wade out of the lane as best they can and make him earn his field goals. It's a good strategy. Dallas has to do a little better job on Thursday.</div> Source by Chris Ramsay <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Had Johnson showed Wade (who led his team in scoring for the second straight season) the same respect he showed Shaquille O'Neal, the Mavericks may have won this thing.</div> Source by Kelly Dwyer (SI) <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">By his past standards, Shaq didn't have a great Finals. The 7-1 behemoth averaged just 13.4 points, with a high game of just 18 in the series, while battling horrid free throw shooting. But he played unselfishly throughout, and his contributions on both ends of the court were enormous. Shaq's mere presence in the post forced the Mavs to double-team him from the start of the series. With so much attention on Shaq, that created openings for Wade and other Miami shooters.</div> Source by Marty Burns <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">While the Mavs have been able to limit Shaq's scoring, they have had no such luck with Wade. The Heat guard has scored 42 and 36 points, respectively, over the past two games while pretty much getting wherever he wants on the court. With Dallas placing a second defender in Shaq's lap so often, Wade has been able to find space in the lane. ... Mavs coach Avery Johnson has to decide whether to switch up his approach in Game 5 and throw more traps and double teams on Wade. If so, he runs the risk of letting Shaq get more one-on-one opportunities close to the basket.</div> Source by Marty Burns - SI From what I remember the Mavs were doubling Shaq a lot. I was really thinking I must have watched a different Finals than a lot of people.
