Jan 12, 2001
NBA Fan
Editorial - SHAQ - - - - -
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Shaq
Needs to Grow Up
By JONATHAN MURPHY
I've
been a Laker fan all my life. I like Shaq as much as the next guy, but
there comes a time when somebody needs to get off Shaq's jock and tell
him to grow up. He was in the league when Kobe was a freshman in high school.
As impossible as it seems, Kobe has been the bigger man throughout this
"episode." He has had to handle all the criticisms of his play since day
1. With Shaq, people say, "He can't make his free throws, but, oh well,
that's Shaq. He does enough anyway." That's B.S.
Every
"expert" says it has to be Shaq's team. It can only be Shaq's team for
3 quarters, because of his free throws. Last year, Hack-A-Shaq started
at about the 4 minute mark. Now, teams go after the big guy half way into
the final quarter. If the Lakers are down, you can forget about winning
that game. I know, I know, the free throw argument is played out. However,
Shaq is shooting 38% from the line! If he doesn't make the shot when he's
fouled, it's essentially a turnover. The argument is not tired because
of the fans and media, it's tired because Shaq doesn't do anything about
it.
And
that is the next problem. The Lakers won the championship and what did
Shaq do during the offseason? Shaq didn't do Jack. He got on his Harley
and wasted another opportunity to improve. He also watched high school
game tape, liked the way he looked shooting free throws, and decided to
screw himself over by changing his free throw form - if you can call it
that - yet again. Kobe on the other hand, made 2,000 shots a day during
the offseason. How can anyone call Kobe selfish when he works and Shaq
doesn't? Kobe has career highs in scoring, field goal percentage, and free
throw percentage. Oh yeah, Kobe also leads the team in steals and assists.
If
anyone is being selfish, it's Shaq. Oh my God! What blasphemy! Hey, the
truth hurts. Kobe and the rest of the Lakers cannot depend on Shaq in close
games. Shaq then says he feels like a token big man and Kobe should get
him the ball. Kobe shuts down the top players in the league, such as Iverson,
Carter, Stoudamire, Payton, Kidd, do I need to go on? How many times does
Shaq play against a real center? Ewing and Olajuwon are old so I guess
Shaq plays Duncan four times a year. Four games out of 82! Wow! Hey, I
know Shaq gets literally assaulted on the court but if we're going to start
breaking things down, so does Kobe. Everyone has seen the scratches on
his arms and forehead.
Now,
Shaq says he needs more touches on offense or he won't play D. That's a
cop-out. How can anyone make demands when they aren't putting in 100% on
both ends of the floor? I don't care about injuries. Everybody has them.
These injuries don't seem to stop Shaq from averaging 12 rebounds and 3
blocks per game. They only surface when he doesn't feel he's getting the
ball enough. The injuries only affect team defense, which happens to be
the Lakers weakness. Just watch Shaq when the Lakers are on defense. He
is consistently late when doubling Horace Grant's man or helping out with
the 1-guard's man. If this is because of not getting the ball on O, then
that is selfishness.
So,
what is to be done? The Lakers of old were at there greatest when the best
scorer in the league, Wilt Chamberlain, became a dominant defensive presence
and rebounder and left the scoring to others. Wilt's scoring went into
the teens. Shaq's would only be at the mid-twenties. He'd be scoring 25
points and would be considered a defensive player. Shaq has won his scoring
titles, MVPs, and his ring as the centerpiece. It's time for Jerry West
to pay a visit to the two best players in the league. He needs to let both
players know that stats do not dictate whose team it is. West then needs
to convince Shaq that he should become a master defender and rebounder,
take his 25 a game, and prepare to build a dynasty.
