| Sunday, October 24
By David Aldridge
Special to ESPN.com |
|
Shaquille O'Neal is a thief.
I have documented proof.
|  | | If Shaq could get his free throws right, he would be "perfect." |
Thursday, he helped himself to my pager while I had my back turned to
him, trying to get Ron Harper to say bad stuff about him.
"I was a thug earlier in my life," Shaq said, proudly holding the
pager. "And I've still got it."
But the Lakers need Shaq to get other things. Like helping on defense.
Like blocking shots. Like moving without the ball. Like hitting free throws
in the last four minutes. Thursday night, Phil Jackson all but dared Shaq to
hit a freebie, with the Lakers down one in the waning seconds of their
exhibition with the Warriors. When Shaq, who had gone 0-for-9 from the
line -- incredible, even for him -- missed the first of two with 1.6 seconds to
go, Jackson called time.
Icing his own guy.
But the Lakers know if they're going to get anywhere, Shaq has to do
more than dunk in the first three quarters. He hit the second free throw.
Bedlam in the Forum, a brief respite for the big fella.
"That's the only 'but' I have in my life," Shaq said in the locker room
afterward. "Everything else, I'm perfect at. Perfect albums. Perfect movies.
Perfect low-post game. Perfect life. But I'm not a good free throw shooter."
Even that will be acceptable if Shaq accepts what Jackson's trying to
teach him. It's not so much the triangle offense, because, to a man,
everyone expects O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to ultimately flourish in the
system. It's becoming a complete player. As one of his teammates said, "it's
not enough for Shaq to get 30 and not play any defense. And if he's not
sliding his feet, Phil will take him out."
"James Naismith said, 'Basketball is an easy game to learn and a
difficult one to master,' " Jackson said.
So is defense. Players have marveled at Jackson's approach to it.
"Del (Harris) and Kurt (Rambis) used to always say, 'No matter what you
do, stay with the shooter,' " another player said. "Phil is like, 'I don't
give a damn about that guy; if somebody comes down the lane, come off your
guy and help.' He's much more carefree about it."
No question, the Lakers are, as Jerry West says, a work in progress.
Realistically, they won't get up to speed for months, certainly not with
Bryant's hand in a cast for five more weeks. Bryant says he's picking up the
triangle quickly. But again, that's the least of the Angelenos' worries.
Defense. Taking practice seriously. Thinking team. Every drill involves two
players or four players.
"They're not intense here," Harper said. "MJ was the main man who came
every day. When he busted his ass, everybody else did the same thing. If
he's out there going hard (in practice), that means you had to go hard, too.
You have to learn that there's one ball and there's five guys out there.
It's a team now. It's not no more 'Throw it to Shaq and wait and see if he
scores.' "
The thing is, no one really expects Shaq to make speeches. They know
that neither he nor Bryant is that kind of talent. (You want a leader, try
Derek Fisher. The kid continues to remind me of a young Joe Dumars.) They just want him to buy into Jackson's total player philosophy.
"This year, I want to get my rebounds and my blocks up," Shaq said. "I
set that (goal) consciously. But as long as I hit most of my free throws,
and hit the ones where we really need them. 'Cause I know down the stretch,
everybody's going to put me on the line. I realize if we're going to go all
the way, it's going to be in my hands. I like that kind of pressure."
How long will it last?
The announcement came quietly this week.
Riles is lightening up.
Pat Riley told the Miami media that he's going to be "less personal"
when critiquing his players' shortcomings. I'll not be a cynic and point out
that Riles may have to do this because he can't fulfill his desire to trade
any of them (save P.J. Brown, whom he won't deal) and has to sink or swim
with this bunch.
"The game of basketball has a lot of universal truths," Riley elaborated
to me. "I have been taught them in over 40 years of being in the game. And
my players, coming from all different coaches and all different parts of the
country, and different programs, have been taught the same things. And
they're very simple and they're very basic. And sometimes, I think when
coaches try to apply the truths of the game, it may be their truth, and it
may not be the truth of that particular player. And sometimes, it does get a
little personal.
"I haven't changed how I coached, and I'll still put great demands on
players. I want to win, and they want to win. But sometimes, I think you get
carried away with trying to push somebody to the limit to get the best out
of them. Especially with guys that I have been with now for four, five
years. They've gone to the wall with me and for me for this time and they
want it as much as I do. It makes me feel better. It may change a little bit
in the season, but right now, I just feel better in my approach."
Riles, the tree hugger?
Informed of his coach's new approach, Alonzo Mourning actually, well,
snorted. "Let me tell you this," Mourning bellowed. "We get into the thick
of the season, and we start losing? (Bleep.) It'll all come back out."
Building to a climax
The Spurs are taking a wait-and-see attitude with Tim Duncan's decision
to play out this season and become a free agent at season's end.
"Tim is a marquee player," Mario Elie said. "I know a lot of people would like to see him in a bigger market, but I don't think Tim is that sort of guy, I mean, whether it's in San Antonio, Chicago, Orlando, wherever he's gonna be, he's still gonna be a big name ... but hopefully he'll stay here. He made a great name for himself down here. And, uh, playing along David (Robinson) is nota bad deal, also."
You know the deal: Neither Duncan nor the team likes the team's current
arena or practice facility. They'd both like a new one. But only the team
has threatened to move if they don't get new digs. A referendum on whether
to publicly finance a new arena is on the ballot for Nov. 2 -- which just
happens to be the Spurs' season opener and the night they get their
championship rings.
Duncan swears that a thumbs up or down on the new building won't affect
his decision.
"You don't have to go out and hunt for" information, Duncan said.
"Regardless of what happens with that, that's not gonna affect me one way or
another. I'd love for it to go, and we go ahead and get the arena and that'd
be a great situation for the Spurs to stay right here in San Antonio, but if
that doesn't happen that's not gonna change my decision one way or another.
At the end of the year, I'm gonna make a decision and that's the only time
I'm gonna think about it."
Elie says the King of the Virgin Islands looks even better this season than last.
"He's killing the corner jumper," Elie said. "He's learning right now
how to shoot before the double team. It reminds me of when I was playing
with Hakeem (Olajuwon), you know, knowing that the double team was coming, but spinning away from it and getting that shot off quick."
Around the league
The Bucks had at least a passing interest in Latrell Sprewell, but weren't
all that serious, and were turned off for good when they watched Sprewell's
demeanor and body language when the Knicks played the Jazz in Salt Lake City on Monday.
The Suns' game with the Lakers on Friday was the last at the
Great Western Forum, giving Phoenix the distinction of closing down four of
the league's arenas in the past seven years. Phoenix played the final game at
San Antonio's HemisFair Arena in 1992, the final game at Chicago Stadium
(the infamous "Save the City" fifth game of the 1993 Finals, when the Suns'
win prevented predicted looting in the downtown Chicago area) and the last
game at Portland's Memorial Coliseum (1996).
The Grizzlies are worried that Othella Harrington may have a stress fracture in his foot.
It doesn't look
good for high schooler Korleone Young, trying to stick with the Sixers. Not only does he have long-shot hopes of making the roster, but he was robbed at gunpoint last week after conspicuously leaving an ATM while counting money.
Pervis Ellison looks much improved in Boston after missing most of
the past two seasons with injuries. Yes, it's a contract year. But Ellison
could help the Celtics, particularly now that Danny Fortson's out for two
months. Ellison's already gotten some tips from Bill Russell, who'll visit
the Celtics periodically during the season. "He said to the guys, 'Listen, I
still make a million dollars a year,' " Ellison said. " 'You want to know why?
Because everybody still wants to know the secret of winning.' "
Quote of the week
"If that was his best punch, he's got some serious problems. I think he
feels he has privileges because he's Penny Hardaway and makes $85 million a year. That's why he got run out of Orlando. The guy's an idiot."
-- Miami Heat guard Rex Walters, thrown out of a preseason game with
Phoenix after getting in a first-quarter fight with Penny Hardaway, and who
has Hardaway making $595 million over the next seven years. |  |
Aldridge: Wilt's strength in numbers
