Ben Wallace's Defense on Shaq (Game 3 - 2004 Finals) 

Between the 10 starters they had 40 NBA All-Defensive seasons amongst them lol. Some of the best defenders of all time in that series.

Defense was fun to watch. Made points so much more important. Now scoring is wallpaper

​@@Travdust Exactly, and they didn't do all the switching that's done today.

Yeah I know...... defense is a hell of a thing😂

DEFENSE

​@369pendulum devolved. Get over it ma'am

@@369pendulum yeah become soft you mean no more battle in the paint

It was trash and unskilled lol. Players are significantly better today because they watched them and developed themselves

@@cheyheyway6244 Who trashed? Kobe, MJ or Shaq? dare you don't know basketball lmao you soft af. And develop themselves? develop my ass

@@cheyheyway6244 ”Watched stats & developed” that doesn’t even make sense. Just stop talking basketball. As a matter of fact just stop talking period🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭

I see Bryant and Shaq, who am I missing?

Oh wait, I see old ass Malone now. Forgot he was a bench dude for this Lakers team.

@@hisdudeness09 nah he started

​@@hisdudeness09 He tore his acl that year

Spacing is much improved with the 3 point line being a focus now. It's just harder to play defense because there's more ground to cover! Players can attack closeouts and get to the rim easier etc.

and all of them played defense.

I just read this and was wondering "what happened to Hamilton?"😂

Yeah all of them were multiple time all-stars that played great D (except Prince but he was still a great role player)

​@@DontWannaBeagainst popular belief and getting snubbed, Prince was never an all star I believe. 4x 2nd team all defense, (consecutive) which is more admirable in my opinion.

​@@DontWannaBeI know you said that obviously, just giving context for those that don't know.

Easy to defend when everyone is crowding the paint

Ben wasn’t even 6’10. Probably 6’8. Which makes this even more impressive.

@@nono-qe2yq you absolutely right

Ben was like 6"7 or 6"8 I believe. He played him like Rodman use to

you must have not watched Hakeem Olajuwon against Shaq

@@FEATHERMAN11485 different Shaq

crazy how strong Ben Wallace is that he doesn't get raped by prime Shaq like everybody else did

Shaq was about six inches taller and 200 pounds heavier than Ben. 😂

​@plantbased5673 ummmmmm no!! Lol Shaq wasn't that much Taller than Wallace and not that much heavier than he was neither. Ben Wallace was a Monster too I know you have to remember how Gigantic Ben Wallace was he was a BEAST!

@@nabryankeene2549he was a pipsqueek. Not impress. Todays alphas would smoke Him

@michaellopez2070 are you serious? Gtfoh come on you know that's not true

Because there was a system at play not low IQ players jacking up 3s that mostly dont go in

it was just shaq.... he wasnt the easiest to play with

Had to be. There was defense.

I loved it

It was actually real basketball then. Today it’s just dribble dribble dribble three.

Everyone says things like that. They lost coz Detroit was the better team. Their peak was 2000.

fr

Yup

You like 12 though. What are you talking about?

Absolutely he should have. He is also one of the top 75 players of all time. Way ahead of Westbrook, Lillard etc

Maybe the point was that Ben didn’t let Shaq feast like he did during the 3 peat era finales

So what. O'Neal's numbers are inflated due to getting an absurd amount of leniency from the officials.

Actually there game plan was to let Shaq score and run zone on Kobe.

@@robbereal1982 cause they knew hes gonna force his shot and were right.

@@sebastiancovac7879 that's not why. If you watched that season Kobe and Malone were the main reasons they went to the finals including their real finals that yr which was the spurs where Kobe dominated. Larry Brown literally said if Kobe and the other guys got off that would be bad for the pistons. They wanted Shaq to get his. Y'all just don't like Kobe. The one game the Lakers won was because of him. Malone gets hurt Kobe struggles they lose.

@@robbereal1982 youre in denial... kobe literally had 1 game where he shot over 38% which was his finals average. him shooting too much and not making them is why they lost and that was pistons strategy = make kobe shoot. now you mentioned "real finals" vs spurs, but that was 2nd round. in conference finals lakers faced wolves and again kobe shot 41%

I don't and I am from that era. Games were slow as hell and it was bumping and grinding all day. I want the offense to move fast and today's game makes it more exciting.

The game is unbearable now, dribble shoot. Dribble shoot. If it wasn't for china's support for the nba, we would see a different game. Nba has lost its heart.

​@@jerbsherb4391The NBA is boring today.

@@jerbsherb4391you are lying if you said you are from that era. Today’s NBA is so damn boring.

​@@jerbsherb4391so basically, you want an NBA game with no defense and just pure offense? 😆

Lol. True. They just raise a hand now and call it contesting a shot.

90’s and 80’s ball was faster paced than the early 2000’s…what are you talking about?😂😂😂😂

If it works, why fix it? And Shaq wasn’t always that way. He was more active in Orlando.

@@youlikeitiloveit3747 meanwhile, this dude probably idolizes steph curry and his many stepbacks hahaha

How many post moves do most players do lmaoo? Theres only one Hakeem Olajuwon. You’re either gonna drop step right or drop step left lol

Him and Lebron. All power dunks

​@@youlikeitiloveit3747he won nothing in Orlando

Would be easy to be interested if you actually liked watching Basketball played right.

@@BullyMaguire2311 the problem is most people don’t enjoy watching or appreciate defence in most sports. Adam Silver has openly acknowledged that the nba is going to have to become even more offensively oriented to grow in this day and age of constant stimulation and entertainment.

​@@motorsportfan1246which why we're not watching that horseshit on TV. I'll play NBA 2K but I'll be damned if I watch this garbage. Football headed down the same path too

Nice try ma'am. Ben beat Shaq in 2004 and 2005.

@@elbowgang9715 nah ms. The pistons beat the lakers

@@elbowgang9715 he averaged 27 and 12

@@shaquillecollins693and lost.

@@frankiethefrog1752 and so he did he still gave him the business why are we discussing this all of us know he can’t fk wit shaq

LOL😂. It's true Kobe was a great number two. He was top 10 in the league but Shaq was easily top 3 for those 5 years. Kobe would go on to be the best player in the league from '06 to 2010

Possibly Rudy could, but Ben Wallace was tank those days. One of the strongest players in the NBA. He also had bounce.

If you are talking about getting dominated by Ben Wallace he wasn't that much Smaller than Shaq though. Ben Wallace was a Giant Monster himself they didn't call him Big Ben for nothing. Js!

Try harder child

Most teams doubled Shaq at the time, often opening up opportunities for the rest of the Lakers’ offense. In the 2004 Finals, Pistons head coach Larry Brown took the somewhat unusual approach of sending single coverage at Shaq, gambling on the notion that allowing O’Neal to score his fair share of buckets would be better than giving his teammates copious amounts of open looks.

The Pistons felt single covering him with multiple defenders was the best option so he would eventually be worn down in the 4th. The reason it was so effective was because Shaq couldn't stretch the defense as he didn't move around much and clogged the middle so it was difficult for everyone else to move around and get involved in the offense.

wemby to skinny to guard shaq

Imagine a pickup truck running over a branch.

Cap 🧢 Shaq would’ve dominated Russell and Wilt. They were good for their time but they never had to guard Shaq diesel. They had the benefit of guarding plumbers 😂

@@pedrodepacas9690 Casuals will say casual things. What plumber have you ever seen walking out of the bathroom in uniform 6’11 barefoot with superior physical shape than anyone we see today named Nate Thurmond? What group of plumbers average out the same height of nba players in 2022? That’s how asinine your comment is lol

@@pedrodepacas9690 to make matters worse, how in the hell is shaq gunna dominate wilt when wilt is a far better rebounder, shot blocker, steal getter, in ball defender post face up or perimeter on switches, shot intimidator, forever of turnovers, stronger, jumps higher, far more stamina, far better defensive IQ, far better passer, better box out and timing of rebounds, better timing of blocking shots, and a better hook shooter, finger roller, standing jumper, fade shooter, reverse pivot fade shooter, behind the backboard layup, and better no look finger roller falling away from the basket etc….?? That’s how much more ludicrous it sounds to say shaq would dominate someone who dog walks him in literally almost everything lmao. You must rock your 🎓 every day huh?

​@@pedrodepacas9690not even close

@@beenizz5102you forget that Wilt is stronger and ONLY would’ve given up almost 30 pounds in weight. Wilt made Artis Gilmore look like a rag doll and Artis Gilmore is like the second strongest player after Wilt

Well Shaq averaged 35 and 15 in other series’. Clown. Ben slowed him down. He’s a hall of famer and you are a nobody

Payton won a ring with the Heat, and Malone, well...his name is tarnished for *other* reasons.