The participation of WNBA's Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker in the NBA panel on TNT alongside former NBA greats Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal turned into an embarrassing moment for Shaq. This as Parker lectured him about the pick-n-roll in modern basketball.
According to ClutchPoints, Parker showed her basketball wits about the schemes effective in today's NBA. The WNBA player illuminated Shaq's failure to understand modern basketball in another awkward segment of 'Inside the NBA' on Tuesday night.
While the basketball stars discussed another stellar performance from Nikola Jokic, who is currently displaying MVP-like numbers, Candace Parker explained to Shaq why there is no easy way to defend the Denver Nuggets Center. In his previous appearance, Shaq also referred to Jokic as 'Russian' when the Nuggets big man is Serbian.
Parker explained to Shaq during the show that everyone in the NBA today knows how to switch on defense since almost every individual who steps on the court can be a threat even from beyond the arc in modern basketball. And for some experts, Parker is right as it is very much apparent with the proliferation of even big men who can consistently knock down shots in the rainbow territory, which is rare back in Shaq's days in the league.
Shaq asked Candace Parker why the modern NBA players could not play straight-up defense and rotate instead. Dwayne Wade, who took the side of Parker in the discussion, claimed that the rotation on the floor would not be as effective as teams deploy up to four or even five shooters on the floor who are capable of draining triples if left wide open for a moment, The Sports Rush reported.
In defense of Shaq, he could not relate to the style of basketball which is being played today since players in the past, especially during his era, tend to go hard at the post and go for a drive in the basket instead of settling for outside jumpers just like the game being played in the early days of the league to mid-2000s.
Experts stated that Parker has been precise in her idea of the game, especially regarding the current schemes being used. She remains an active player for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, SBNation reported.
Analysts also added that Parker's 13 years of experience in the professional league is definitely proof that she has earned sufficient knowledge in addressing the subject matter as she also experienced the change in the tempo and type of the game.
On the other hand, Shaq jokingly rebutted that he successfully won a championship by playing straight-up defense instead of switching during his playing days. He added that Wade knows that, as he was his teammate when they won the NBA Finals in 2006 against the Dallas Mavericks. But for some experts, Shaq needs to watch the games today to be updated as he needs it.
