Western Conference

Sporting News, The, May 31, 1999

A collection of brooms

There is 25,000 square feet of living space in Shaquille O'Neal's mansion in Orlando, some of which presumably is devoted to a trophy case.

Or broom closet as his critics sarcastically refer to it.

O'Neal picked up another of his signature postseason trophies--a broom--after the Lakers were swept by the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs. O'Neal has been to the postseason six times and on five of those occasions, his team got swept aside. Shutout. Broomed, if you will.

How is that possible? How do you make a 7-1,330-pound man--the most powerful force in the NBA--disappear at playoff time?

Answer: By announcing the start of the fourth quarter.

O'Neal, who considers himself a movie star, is "The Titanic Of The Fourth Quarter." His coaches and teammates abandon him. They know he will get fouled and they know they are sunk when that happens.

During the four games against San Antonio, O'Neal took 15 foul shots in the fourth quarter and was successful seven times. Those who hoped O'Neal would make up for it at the defensive end were disappointed. His fourth-quarter totals during the Spurs series: two blocks, four rebounds--too little to matter.

To his credit, O'Neal does not run from responsibility. When he said after Game 3, "(We have to) get the ball to the right guys and take smart shots," he meant get it to him. He wants to be included in the offense at crunch time, but his team refuses. His shots usually come from offensive rebounds. O'Neal seldom touches the ball during the regular flow of the offense.

That's the way it was when he played in Orlando. It hasn't changed since O'Neal switched to Lakers gear. The only difference was he made it to the conference finals twice and NBA Finals once with the Magic.

O'Neal has the option to become a free agent and try again somewhere else--New York? New York?--but until he can be trusted to carry a team at crunch time, his postseason hardware will continue to consist of brooms.

That's hardly a sweeping endorsement.--Bill Fay

A winning situation

Coming off a breakthrough season in 1995 in which he averaged 25.7 points per game, Jim Jackson was the Mavericks' starting off-guard and an integral part of the Three J's foundation (Jamal Mashbum and Jason Kidd) that was poised to lead Dallas back to the playoffs.

This spring, Jackson has finally made it to the postseason--but without the highscoring average, a starting job or his original employers.

"It isn't exactly how I first envisioned it," says Jackson, now a key reserve for the Trail Blazers. "Like everybody else, I thought we'd grow together and make the playoffs in Dallas."

On the way to a would-be dynasty in Dallas, there was a gruesome ankle injury in '95 and an unceremonious dumping in '97 by new G.M. Don Nelson. Traded three times in a year, Jackson was suddenly a mediocre free agent looking for work last summer when Trail Blazers G.M. Bob Whitsitt signed Jackson to a three-year, $5.7 million contract.

Jackson had to reinvent himself. Instead of being a crunch-time shooter, Jackson has become a defensive stopper at small forward.

"He's (a) mature ... pro," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy says. "He can do a little bit of everything for us, from (bringing) the ball up ... to shutting down Bryon Russell." --Richie Whitt

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