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Shaquille O'Neal has gone off on a limb that's much more thin than his belief that former Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum is superior to new Laker Dwight Howard. Last week, Shaq said on an NBA.com piece that Howard isn't even as good as Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez.
To get his point across, O'Neal first had to get Brook's name correct. Said O'Neal, via ESPN Los Angeles' transcript:
"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."
In the roundtable discussion, O'Neal was asked if he meant to say that Brook Lopez, Robin's twin, was better than Howard. O'Neal said:
"Brook. Same thing. They're brothers."
Are they the same thing? Brook Lopez was starting for the Nets and averaged 19.2 points per game last season. Robin was a backup for the Phoenix Suns and is now with the New Orleans Hornets. He produced 5.4 points a game last year.
O'Neal maintained that his argument was based on style. While Howard's offensive game is based off the pick-and-roll, Lopez does indeed score with less athleticism and more skill.