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Q&AK Rev. 3 Vol. 1: Introduction and Shaq vs. Kobe vs. Mike Mills
Welcome to Q&AK Rev. 3 Vol 1. As a little bit of background, I started a Q&A column in March of 1998 on a videogame site known as RPGamer. I really quite enjoyed doing this, despite my sporadic updates due a hectic schedule. When I left RPGamer to help found the Gaming Intelligence Agency (GIA), I was a sometimes-Q&A host (link to a mirror site).
At any rate, I’ve decided to bring back Q&AK (Q&A, but my initials are AK, clever, eh? Don’t answer that.) one more time, on my latest web home. Of course, for this to be a fun bit, you, the valued and extremely attractive reader have to help. Ask me questions. Anything at all. I won’t promise I’ll answer all of the questions, but I’ll answers ones I feel like answering. So fire away either via email or in the comments section of this or any future Q&AK post.
I asked for some questions in a post a couple of weeks ago, and got a couple of nice responses. So, without further ado, here’s the first topic brought up by Quinn, who I have known personally for something like 20 years. That’s longer than some of you have probably been alive, and it makes me feel old.
“Would you rather: (1) punch Shaq in the nose w/ no ramifications; or (2) have a quiet, intimate dinner w/ Mike Mills?”
Today, this question is a no-brainer. I’d go with the nice dinner with Mike Mills, bassist, keyboardist, and backup vocalist of my favorite band, R.E.M. I’d probably even try to schmooze him into giving me some bass pointers. Or maybe he can teach me how to sing without making people leave the room — that’d be a nice skill to have.
As far as Shaq, to be completely honest, I’ve grown kind of fond of the big oaf as he’s aged. Now that he’s left the Lakers and doesn’t torment my beloved Mavericks very often, I’ve been able to see his good side. He’s a pretty funny interview, really does have good hands for a big man (I can appreciate this more having watched Shawn Bradley and Erick Dampier wander the paint over the past few years), and doesn’t take himself as seriously as other NBA superstars. He’s even interested in law enforcement as a second career — I respect that.
Not only that, what would violence solve? I doubt Shaq would even notice if I punched him in the face. He’d probably thank me for clearing his sinuses.
Well, I take that back. I don’t really want to punch Shaq in the nose, but if you changed the question to ask about Kobe Bryant or Karl Malone (the dirtiest player in NBA history, for my mone), I’d have to really stop and think. I was really pissed off when I woke up this morning and read about Kobe scoring 81 points last night. Kobe’s a big baby that’s completely full of himself and is interested only in his own personal success rather than team success — and it just puts me in a bad mood to read about hi success and people bowing at his feet. I cling to the hope that he’ll never win an NBA championship without Shaq at his side — I bet that eats him up when people bring it up. I take solace in the Lakers’ poor record this year, even though Kobe is scoring a ton of points. But it definitely becomes easier to score a ton of points when you take all of your team’s shots.
Even though I hate to admit it, 81 points is impressive, if for no other reason than the physical conditioning it must take. And I’m sure Toronto’s defense was focusing on him — making it that much harder to get the ball into position to score. Toronto’s defense isn’t anything to write home about, but they’re still an NBA team playing defense.
That having been said, I wouldn’t consider putting a single dollar on the Lakers beating anyone, let alone going anywhere in the playoffs. He’s just too much of a ball hog. Steve Kerr and John Paxson took big shots on Jordan’s teams, and Scottie Pippen was a great sidekick. I don’t think Kobe wants a sidekick, and I doubt he’d let anyone else have the big shot. He wants it all for himself. And let him have it — he can enjoy his early off-season all he wants. I hope.
Mon January 23rd, 2006 4:55 pm
Filed under National, Q&AK, Sports, Web
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Sir, I am honored you chose my question to answer first. Has it really been 20 years? Dang, I think it has been.
Agree 100% w/ your Kobe sentiments. He’s a good basketball player but he’s not a superelite player like MJ. MJ elevated the play of everyone on his team; almost by definition, scoring 81 points in a game goes against this.
The one thing missing in Kobe’s game is originality. Had he come along 20yrs in the future, people may have praised him. But since he came along as “the greatest” was leaving the game, most of us can’t accept him. That brings up the “originality” problem for Kobe. Everything he does, every move he makes, all his mannerisms, even the way he walks and chews gum, came from MJ. The guy doesn’t have one original move in his bag or even in his step, it’s all about “if I could be like Mike.” We’ve all imitated our heroes on the court or tried a certain move, but it was at the “Y” or some kid’s backyard. No one cared if you tried to rip some guys moves off and whether it failed or not. We all were doing it. But for a guy like Kobe with all his talent, to completely rip off the greatest player ever, is a crime. Look around the league and in previous decades, most guys are original in their particular styles & moves. Vince Carter’s game isn’t a copycat, Tmac’s game is not a copycat, Dwade is all original, and so on. Magic Johnson said something once when he was growing up, “Everyone wanted to be Dr.J on the playgrounds.” Let’s look at Magic’s game, did he come into the NBA and remain a Dr.J wanta be, no! He wanted a little originality and that’s what made him great. Original players are great and remembered as such. If only Kobe could’ve come along in 2020. By then, most of us who had seen MJ play, would’ve been overjoyed to see Kobe. He would’ve reminded us another era in time. Much like Dr.J did for the Elgin Baylor fans. There’s still one problem though, who would he be copying in 2020 if he didn’t have an MJ to watch? So I guess we’ll never know if this kid could’ve been original in any era.
Quinn: 20 years flies, doesn’t it? if the Lakers were in the finals, do you think Kobe would let Lamar Odom take the game winning shot, even if he had the best look? Absolutely not. But Michael Jordan had no qualms about letting John Paxson or Steve Kerr take the last shot — he knew basketball is a team game, and he made everyone around him better. And he trusted them as teammates. Kobe has no interest in doing this. I don’t want to hear the excuse that he has no supporting cast — maybe it’s not a championship calibur supporting cast, but the supporting cast isn’t so bad that they deserve to never see the ball. Chris Mihm is a great up and coming player — a better player than Jordan ever had in the middle (Luc Longley, Bill Cartwright, etc.). Lamar Odom is a nice forward. He’s not alone out there, but he chooses to be.
Greg: You make a good point. Vince is original, Tmac is original, Dirk is original, etc. Kobe even has the same jump shot as Jordan — the mechanics look similar, and they even have that very almost-flat-but-not-quite look to them. Sorry Kobe, you’re no MJ. I mean, Mike Bibby just scored 44 points in a game. Mike Bibby! The rules changes help perimeter players in ways that Jordan never had. I bet Jordan could have scored 81 in today’s rules, and I bet there are even other players in today’s NBA that could score 81 if they took every shot. If tmac’s back ever gets healthy, I bet he could, if Jeff Van Gundy just told him “yo, Tmac, no passing today, mkay?”