Is Shaq Killing the Cavs' Offense?

by Tom Ziller

Filed under: Cavaliers

Shaquille O'Neal, Cleveland's Big Acquisition, returned to the lineup Friday night as the Cavaliers faced Charlotte. And the Bobcats won 94-87, with the Cavs' offense coming out awful in the box score (94 points per 100 possessions), even when you account for Charlotte's league-leading (!) defense. A team with that much offensive talent (including, you know, The Chosen One) can't be limited to 87 points against anyone.

An early, pre-injury criticism of these new Cavaliers was that Shaq "clogged the lane" on offense, rendering LeBron James and Mo Williams less efficient by throwing the halfcourt off-balance. Is that real, or just a facile excuse that makes intuitive sense but isn't backed up by data?

Well, the numbers do say Shaq is doing something bad to Cleveland's offense.

Is Shaq Killing the Cavs' Offense? originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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