| Tuesday, January 11
By Mike Monroe
Special to ESPN.com |
|
My intent, as of Monday afternoon, was to write a column about how Shaquille
O'Neal had turned the MVP race into a shambles this season, with play so
dominant during the Lakers' run through December that no voter in his or her
right mind would consider voting for anyone else.
|  | | Shaq's attention to rebounding and shotblocking has made him an MVP. |
Then I went to Staples Center Monday night and watched Kobe Bryant score 27
against the Nuggets on 10-for-13 shooting that included a jump shot three-pointer
from just inside halfcourt at the end of the first quarter.
Oh ... that 27 points was in the first half.
Bryant wants to be the next Michael Jordan, recognized as the greatest player
in the game, and Jordan was in the house to see him Monday, added incentive for
the game's most inventive player.
But one half of one game can't sway me. While it is true the Lakers haven't
lost a game since Bryant returned to the lineup, if he were lost to injury for
the remainder of the season, the Lakers still would be one of three Western
teams capable of winning the title this season, along with the Blazers and
Spurs. And that is because of O'Neal, dominating games like never before.
O'Neal clearly is the NBA MVP as the season nears the midpoint.
But guess what?
O'Neal says he doesn't give a darn about being MVP.
"I'm 27," he said a few hours before taking the floor and helping Bryant
destroy the Nuggets (he eventually outscored him for the game). "I've done a
lot individually, but individual accolades have never meant a lot to me. It
would look nice on my resume, but if I don't get it I'm not going to drink a can
of rat poison and retire."
Here's what does matter to O'Neal, who is back to dominating the game as he
once did in Orlando: winning his first NBA title.
Guess what else?
If the Lakers do win the championship in June, O'Neal said he just might
retire.
"We all play to do something," O'Neal said, "then after we get it most
people's processes are different.
"Most guys are hungry, but for me, all I want is one. So if I get one this
year, I won't come back next year."
While O'Neal punctuated his vow with a hearty laugh, giving the impression he
wasn't serious, with him you never know.
And the rest of the NBA can only hope he is serious. For all the talk about
Tim Duncan being the NBA's best player, and Kevin Garnett its next charismatic
superstar, or Bryant being the best player on the same team for which O'Neal
plays, Shaq-Daddy remains the game's most dominant player, a 7-foot-1,
335-pound combination of athleticism and grace capable of turning any game into
a personal showcase of inside-the-paint force.
"He's been a dominant player," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "but the
reality is every defense has to prevent post-ups, because you're six to eight
feet away from the basket. That's why the Olajuwons and Mournings and Ewings,
when they were younger players, and Shaquille, are really the forces in this
game and why your general managers, at the end of the year, are drafting these
guys one, two, three or four ... because they know that is the important part of
the game."
|
“ |
(Phil Jackson) never said anything about the scoring. He said, 'I want you to be up there
in rebounding and I want you to be up there in blocks.' ” |
|
|
— O'Neal |
Jackson has to get some of the credit for getting O'Neal back on track. His
no-nonsense approach and in-your-face reality checks were just what O'Neal was
looking for. O'Neal respects Jackson and responds to his kind of tough love,
just the kind he got from his father, Sgt. Phillip Harrison, when he was
growing up.
The amazing thing is, the two began cementing their relationship when O'Neal
popped in on Jackson in Montana last summer. In Big Sky Country to perform at a
rap concert -- now there's an oxymoron for you: Montana rap concert -- O'Neal
looked up his new coach and spent some time at Jackson's spread in the back
country.
"Phil is a straightforward type of guy," O'Neal said. "He laid it down in
Montana when I was there and he laid it down when he was here."
O'Neal insists he responds best when dealt with harshly, as his father, the
man he calls "The Sarge," and Louisiana State coach Dale Brown always did.
"For those who don't know my family background," O'Neal said, "that's what
I'm used to. I'm not one of these bratty superstars you can't talk to. I grew
up like that and that's what made me successful, and the key to success is you
have to stick with what made you successful."
What Jackson laid down to O'Neal when they met in Montana was that he had
gotten away from the things that made him the future of the league during his
first two seasons in Orlando: the rebounding and defense that abetted his
unstoppable scoring.
"He said, 'I want you to rebound and I want you to block shots; when you were
in Orlando you used to do all that stuff, but you haven't been doing that stuff
the last couple of years, and I want you to do that.'
"He never said anything about the scoring. He said, 'I want you to be up there
in rebounding and I want you to be up there in blocks.' "
If you check the latest NBA statistics, you will see that O'Neal is not just
"up there" in rebounding. He is at the top of that list. And he is third in
blocked shots, something that brings a big smile to Jackson's face.
While O'Neal is quick to credit Jackson for rekindling his competitive fires,
he also points out the difference between this season and his previous three in
L.A.: his health.
"I'm the same Shaq," he said Monday, "minus my little nick-nack injuries.
If you look over my career I've had some messed-up injuries. I came down on my
knee messed-up and pulled my stomach muscles and messed up my other knee.
"I'm over that."
The real message delivered to O'Neal in Montana this summer was spoken not by
Jackson, but by some of his "furnishings."
"The first thing you see when you walk through the door were those six gold
balls," O'Neal said, referring to replicas of the Chicago Bulls' NBA championship trophies Jackson won as coach of six title teams in
the 1990s. "The sun was hitting them. They were sparkling. You could see right
through the crystal."
For now, O'Neal says just one replica trophy would be good enough for him. However, we suspect Jackson would really get in his face if O'Neal tried
to carry through on that threat to retire with one NBA title.
Mike Monroe, who covers the NBA for the Denver Post, writes a Western Conference column for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him at monroe128@go.com |  |
NBA West: Some Olympic-bound dirt
