Former Los Angeles Lakers Superstar center Shaquille O'Neal has always had some harsh criticism for Dwight Howard, but now that Howard has now gone to another former team of O'Neal's, the criticism just reached new heights.
According to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com, Shaq believes that the recently re-signed Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets is better than Howard:
"We as players, we always watch people before us. When I came in it was Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon, guys who played like true centers who played inside. What we have now are centers that are going to the European style, which is a lot of pick-and-roll. Dwight Howard, who's a pick-and-roll player, some people say he's the best center in the league, but me being an old-school center, I'm going to go with Robin Lopez and Andrew Bynum because they play with their back to the basket."
Shaq later corrected himself when asked about mistaking Robin for his twin brother Brook.
"Brook. Same thing. They're brothers."
This statement just adds to the uncomfortable relationship Shaq and Howard have.
Shaq has always been critical of Howard's game, just last season Shaq made his case that Bynum was the better all-around center in comparison to Howard. His main argument has been Bynum's traditional style of playing the center position, with his back to the basket like many dominant big men in the league from the past.
Lopez has a similar style in the sense that he's productive on the block and doesn't need to rely on a pick-and-roll offense.
With the season rapidly approaching, Howard's playing status remains uncertain as he continues to rehab from back surgery. So it'll be some time before there can be a fair comparison to how productive each center will be this season.
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