Route 66
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,511
- Reaction score
- 445
Boivin: Shaq sees big things ahead for Suns
Did you feel it? It started during Shaquille O'Neal's memorable JabbaWockeeZ dance and culminated with his death grip on the NBA All-Star Game MVP trophy he shared with Kobe Bryant.
The Suns center is positioning himself for one final run at greatness. Whether he accomplishes it is another matter, but he is re-energized after the league's midseason celebration thrust him back into the spotlight, and after Suns management made a coaching change better suited for his team.
"I've been dreaming about how this season's going to end," O'Neal said Tuesday after his second practice with interim coach Alvin Gentry. "This is how it's going to go down: We're going to finish 22-9. We're going to change the conversation about this team. We'll be a force in the playoffs, and if we win it all, I'll consider retirement."
Tuesday's convincing 140-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers was a step in the right direction. O'Neal scored 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and seemed at ease in Gentry's uptempo offense. Still, his words were bold considering the Suns entered the game as the ninth seed in an eight-team Western Conference playoff race.
How appropriate that O'Neal left practice Tuesday wearing his Superman pajama bottoms. There remains duplicity to his personality. He is at times a big kid who embraces his lot in life, at others a chest-thumping superhero with all the baggage that comes with it.
He was at his best during NBA All-Star Weekend, generous with his autographs and time, and put on a pregame show that proved to be one of the event's more memorable moments.
He was scheduled to introduce the game's players with Chris Brown, but when the singer withdrew after his arrest for an alleged assault, O'Neal decided to perform with the dance group JabbaWockeeZ.
"TNT didn't really know what I was doing," O'Neal said. "I just told 'em, 'Press the record button and give me 45 seconds.' "
The crowd loved it. They loved it, too, when O'Neal gave the game a much-needed shot in the arm in the third quarter with 11 points and four consecutive dunks.
If this is O'Neal's last gasp, it's a legitimate one.
He is wrestling with ego and Father Time. To his credit, he is in great shape, which hasn't always been the case with O'Neal, who turns 37 in March. He has scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, including 35 against Milwaukee on Dec. 9. He's averaging 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds and has made 61.9 percent of his free throws, second best in his career.
He can be frustrating for a coaching staff, too. His shortcomings defending the pick and roll and his gripes about wanting more touches don't sit well with a team that will survive only as a cohesive unit.
His optimism about the rest of the season doesn't jibe with the firing of Terry Porter, who rejected former coach Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo leanings for a more deliberate style that seemed better suited for O'Neal.
Gentry, whose offense will resemble D'Antoni's, disagrees.
"There's this thing going around that Shaq can't play fast," said Gentry, who was D'Antoni's lead assistant when the Suns averaged 58 victories in four fruitful seasons. "It's not true. He can't do it for 48 minutes but . . . we'll still throw the ball into Shaq because I still don't see anyone in the league who can guard him."
It will be up to Gentry to make the O'Neal/up-tempo combination work, as it has at times in the past. In the Suns' final 20 regular-season games in 2007-08, they were 15-5 and averaged 112.5 points. At their best this season, between mid-December and mid-January, they were often scoring between 110 and 120 points.
More important: This offense is better suited for point guard Steve Nash, and if it's better suited for Nash, it's better suited for everyone.
O'Neal is not ready to ride off into the sunset. He has more metaphorical chapters to write in his book, he said, and it didn't escape his notice that the All-Star Game's leading vote-getter, Orlando's Dwight Howard, has sported a Superman cape during the dunk contests.
"I found that interesting," said O'Neal, who has a Superman logo tattooed on his arm. "Where does that leave me?"
Clearly, O'Neal's not ready to hand over the cape just yet.
Did you feel it? It started during Shaquille O'Neal's memorable JabbaWockeeZ dance and culminated with his death grip on the NBA All-Star Game MVP trophy he shared with Kobe Bryant.
The Suns center is positioning himself for one final run at greatness. Whether he accomplishes it is another matter, but he is re-energized after the league's midseason celebration thrust him back into the spotlight, and after Suns management made a coaching change better suited for his team.
"I've been dreaming about how this season's going to end," O'Neal said Tuesday after his second practice with interim coach Alvin Gentry. "This is how it's going to go down: We're going to finish 22-9. We're going to change the conversation about this team. We'll be a force in the playoffs, and if we win it all, I'll consider retirement."
Tuesday's convincing 140-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers was a step in the right direction. O'Neal scored 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting and seemed at ease in Gentry's uptempo offense. Still, his words were bold considering the Suns entered the game as the ninth seed in an eight-team Western Conference playoff race.
How appropriate that O'Neal left practice Tuesday wearing his Superman pajama bottoms. There remains duplicity to his personality. He is at times a big kid who embraces his lot in life, at others a chest-thumping superhero with all the baggage that comes with it.
He was at his best during NBA All-Star Weekend, generous with his autographs and time, and put on a pregame show that proved to be one of the event's more memorable moments.
He was scheduled to introduce the game's players with Chris Brown, but when the singer withdrew after his arrest for an alleged assault, O'Neal decided to perform with the dance group JabbaWockeeZ.
"TNT didn't really know what I was doing," O'Neal said. "I just told 'em, 'Press the record button and give me 45 seconds.' "
The crowd loved it. They loved it, too, when O'Neal gave the game a much-needed shot in the arm in the third quarter with 11 points and four consecutive dunks.
If this is O'Neal's last gasp, it's a legitimate one.
He is wrestling with ego and Father Time. To his credit, he is in great shape, which hasn't always been the case with O'Neal, who turns 37 in March. He has scored 20 or more points 14 times this season, including 35 against Milwaukee on Dec. 9. He's averaging 17.3 points and 8.9 rebounds and has made 61.9 percent of his free throws, second best in his career.
He can be frustrating for a coaching staff, too. His shortcomings defending the pick and roll and his gripes about wanting more touches don't sit well with a team that will survive only as a cohesive unit.
His optimism about the rest of the season doesn't jibe with the firing of Terry Porter, who rejected former coach Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo leanings for a more deliberate style that seemed better suited for O'Neal.
Gentry, whose offense will resemble D'Antoni's, disagrees.
"There's this thing going around that Shaq can't play fast," said Gentry, who was D'Antoni's lead assistant when the Suns averaged 58 victories in four fruitful seasons. "It's not true. He can't do it for 48 minutes but . . . we'll still throw the ball into Shaq because I still don't see anyone in the league who can guard him."
It will be up to Gentry to make the O'Neal/up-tempo combination work, as it has at times in the past. In the Suns' final 20 regular-season games in 2007-08, they were 15-5 and averaged 112.5 points. At their best this season, between mid-December and mid-January, they were often scoring between 110 and 120 points.
More important: This offense is better suited for point guard Steve Nash, and if it's better suited for Nash, it's better suited for everyone.
O'Neal is not ready to ride off into the sunset. He has more metaphorical chapters to write in his book, he said, and it didn't escape his notice that the All-Star Game's leading vote-getter, Orlando's Dwight Howard, has sported a Superman cape during the dunk contests.
"I found that interesting," said O'Neal, who has a Superman logo tattooed on his arm. "Where does that leave me?"
Clearly, O'Neal's not ready to hand over the cape just yet.
: