Off The Glass
Why isn't Shaq the most dominant O'Neal in the league?
By Paul Forrester, Special to SI.com
A few years back, OTG engaged in a vigorous debate with SI.com's own Jennifer Cooper about the talent of a certain NBA giant named Shaquille O'Neal. Having watched the Daddy plow over helplessly outsized opponents in her SEC stomping grounds, Jennifer was of the opinion that O'Neal was little more than a bully, using his tremendous size advantage to seemingly score at will and control the paint.
Hogwash, said a young(er) OTG; no matter the size, a person must have some level of talent to understand how to use his bulk effectively. The league is littered with the memories of Mark Eaton or Gheorge Muresan, giants who played nice complementary roles but never displayed the game-changing ability of Shaq.
On the debate raged, over the course of days, weeks, months, years, neither one of us giving into the other's argument.
Ms. Cooper, can I change my answer?
Maybe change is too strong a word. Amend might be more appropriate. As dominant as everyone tells us Shaq is, there is something missing, that sense of wow. I'm not looking for a skywalking dunk or a behind-the-back pass. I'm talking about putting up the kind of statistics that create headlines: 40 points for five games in a row or 23-rebound nights, triple doubles in points, rebounds and blocks, things that Shaq just doesn't do.
True, Shaq did do those sorts of things when he came into the league, but OTG has always had the sense that the Daddy didn't have the drive to excel in hoops to his full, monstrous potential.
As the years have added up, Shaq has increasingly picked his spots as to when he wants to dominate. Recall last year when Shaq didn't opt for toe surgery until late in the offseason, guaranteeing him a late start to the regular season.
Or look at his numbers this year: 22 ppg (a career low) and 10.8 rpg. Heck, this season, on a pound-for-pound basis, Shaq isn't even the best O'Neal in the NBA.
Indiana's Jermaine has averaged 20.6 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 2.6 bpg carrying 98 fewer pounds and measuring three inches shorter. Sure, Shaq is hitting nearly 60 percent of his shots, compared to Jermaine's 43 percent, but shouldn't the league's most dominant player, a two-time Finals MVP, own more than one statistical category?
Heck, yes, he should, especially in a season in which injuries to Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant have left the Daddy with no more offensive options than he has had in the past. I understand Shaq tries to preserve himself for the postseason, but he plays on cruise control far too often, a habit that will leave the Lakers without home court in the playoffs' later rounds.
While O'Neal has always been a sometimes indifferent defender, his lack of focus has drifted toward his offensive game lately. How does someone of Shaq's size fail to score 20 points or pull down more than five boards against Jahidi White of the Suns? Samuel Dalembert may show signs of being a solid center for Philly but should a rookie be able to restrain Shaq to 17 points, eight rebounds and a single block? Do you catch my drift? Seventeen, eight and one are fine numbers but the Daddy is capable of so much more, it's a pity he doesn't do more.
By all accounts he cannot be guarded when he wants to get to the hoop. Far too many times, though, he is, and guarded out of relevance for long stretches of games. That's the reason I can write a column like this and be reasonably certain that children will not throw eggs at stately OTG Manor. That's the reason the Lakers need a one-shouldered Kobe Bryant to bail them out in the fourth quarter. And, finally, it's the reason I suspect I may finally have lost that old debate.
link to story 
