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A Shaquille O’Neal shovel pass is a delight to watch. So is the one-handed flick over the shoulder to a cutter, and the kick-out from the low post double team. Not just because a 7-footer masterfully displays a skill foreign to most big men but because he opts to pass, when lobbing the ball through the basket himself might be more direct. It’s an adjustment all the great players make – sharing the burden.

For Shaq however, sharing the responsibility of carrying a team has never been simple. First there was Anfernee Hardaway in Orlando, where the team was shared but a championship was not. Then came Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, where Shaq shared with more success but ultimately at a price. And now the affable giant must conquer and divide in Miami with Dwayne Wade. Thus far the union has been as rosey as a sunset off Miami Beach, with Shaq averaging 20.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game and Wade 23 points and 7.3 assists per game. The Heat are atop the Southeast Division and the big fella has never looked happier.

Each O’Neal club has enjoyed a sunny locale, talented players and the Daddy’s dominance, yet only Miami has been gifted a more mature and at-ease Shaq. Of course twelve years in the pros will mellow a man but there’s more to it. This season denotes the first time O’Neal the lone mountain, has found himself amongst a range. In Orlando he was playing near 40 minutes a game in his first three seasons, mostly because he could, but also because the team had no sufficient backup. The story was much the same in LA where at times Shaq played monstrous spells, though obviously could not maintain that output consistently over eight years. Certainly it deflated him.

Now in Miami, Shaq can park the Diesel and refuel.

“For the first time in my career, I can feel comfortable about sitting down,” O'Neal told the Associated Press recently. "These guys are my first true backups.”

The “guys” he is referring to are the journeyed Christian Laettner and veteran Michael Doleac, two shrewd signings for the Heat organization this season. The supplement of the Laettner and Doleac, both at 6’11, has not only provided Shaq with relief in the paint but has injected extra firepower off the Miami bench. Doleac has plugged the holes in Shaq-less units admirably and Laettner’s hustle down low is inspiring.

More encouraging for Heat fans is the unexpected on-court chemistry between Shaq and Laettner. In a recent home win against the Nuggets, the two played like old high school buddies, completely in sync. Shaq tossed it down low to Laettner for a lay-up. Laettner skipped it over to O’Neal for an easy score. They slapped five in the backcourt after a Shaq block. And this between fierce college rivals, Shaq once saying he used to “hate” Laettner.

O’Neal and Laettner entered the league together, as the 1st and 3rd overall picks in 1992 respectively, both legends of their universities. Shaq, the creature at the top of the LSU beanstalk, plucked alley-oop passes like apples in an orchard and Laettner lead his Duke army like a Southern general to two NCAA titles. Now more than a decade later they find themselves sharing “center” stage on the same team.

Bill Walton commented during the ESPN telecast of the Heat-Nuggets contest, that it was nice to finally see Laettner on a winning team. Maybe it’s just the Christmas season, but it’s also nice to see Shaq revel in the joy of sharing.