Shaq's dominance has disappeared

Sporting News, The, May 17, 2004 by Sean Deveney

He's still enormous, probably 25 pounds more than his listed weight of 340. He still rebounds well, hits a dazzlingly high percentage of his shots from the field and a horribly low percentage of his shots from the free throw line. His assist numbers are solid for his position, and his turnover totals aren't bad for a top option. He still plays for the Lakers, still wears No. 34. The strange thing is this Shaquille O'Neal just does not seem like Shaquille O'Neal anymore.

The word "dominant" gets draped over O'Neal like wool on a mammoth. For the past five seasons, no player has dominated the NBA the way O'Neal has. In the opening round of the playoffs, Rockets center Yao Ming praised O'Neal as the league's "most dominant player." Two months ago, when Bucks coach Terry Porter was discussing the merits of Kevin Garnett, he said, "He is the MVP, but you know Shaq is still the most dominant." Just last week, O'Neal's stepfather, Phillip Harrison, noted to the San Antonio Express-News that O'Neal is, "the most dominant player to ever play the game."

For a player who is so dominant, though, O'Neal has not been doing much dominating lately. He has played well. He outplayed Yao in the first round and was the Lakers' best player in Game 2 of the Spurs series. But in the last few weeks, he has not played at a level to match Harrison's hyperbole. He hasn't looked like the most dominant player ever to play the game, and (take a deep breath, Lakers fans) he never will again.

O'Neal is 32 now, and he has given his body (especially his hips, knees, ankles and feet) a pounding in recent years by carrying 40 to 50 unnecessary pounds. He missed 15 games this year, for the third season in a row. He is a smarter player than ever, but the toll of advancing age and extra weight has robbed him of his quickness and athleticism.

That always was an underrated aspect of O'Neal's repertoire. True, he spent much of his career bulling through hapless defenders who could not handle his mass, but what separated him from, say, Oliver Miller or Shawn Kemp (the Orlando version) was that O'Neal was nimble and athletic. Because of his size, his move from the low block into the middle of the lane is almost unstoppable, even now. But what made it more dangerous during his dominant years was his countermove--a nasty spin to the baseline, which inevitably ended in the kind of rim-rattling dunk that made you want to hide the women and children.

Now, ask yourself: When was the last time you saw O'Neal hammer home one of those fleet-footed moves? In 2002, maybe? If you're hoping to see that Shaq again, you could be waiting a while. He is not going to get younger, and he has shown no inclination toward shedding weight, even though it would add new life (and a few extra years) to his career. Might as well ask him to--ack!--go back to his free throw shooting coach.

O'Neal still is the league's best center, and his legacy as one of the game's greats is sealed. But no longer does O'Neal require a separate category when comparing him with other players. No longer do Western Conference teams build their rosters with stopping Shaq in mind.

O'Neal's slide from Superman to plain-and-simple All-Star center leaves the Lakers in a bind. Kobe Bryant is planning to test the free-agent waters this summer, and the team had long hoped to bequeath the franchise to Bryant when O'Neal's dominance expired. But the backstage bickering between Bryant and O'Neal creates a twist--Bryant does not want to continue to wait it out behind O'Neal, who is signed through 2006 (at a cap-chewing $31 million per year, on average). Though O'Neal forcefully lobbied for an extension in the pre season, the team did not give it to him because it knew committing to O'Neal long term would ensure Bryant's departure. Even without the extension, Bryant will ball at being paired with O'Neal for another two years.

It's unfortunate. Though they managed three championships, we'll never know how good Bryant and O'Neal could have been if they had learned to play together, and we won't get to witness O'Neal going gracefully into his career's twilight, boosted by Bryant's excellence (much like David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the Spurs).

A Bryant-less future means the Lakers are likely looking at O'Neal, Karl Malone and Devean George as the returning starters, with a new backcourt of Kareem Rush and Derek Fisher (who also can be a free agent). Would that be a playoff team next season? There was a time when it seemed a general manager could paste any four yokels around O'Neal and win a championship. Orlando vice president Pat Williams once said, "Put Shaq on the floor, and you are guaranteed 50 wins."

Those days, it seems, are gone.

SPEED READS

* The league and TV networks are damaging themselves--again--with their playoff scheduling. The Nets and Pistons, for instance, played Game 1 of their second-round series May 3, then waited four days for Game 2. That makes it difficult for a series to build enough momentum to draw in casual viewers. The playoffs are the league's showcase; this is no way to showcase the game.