duncan228
11-21-2008, 11:40 AM
Lakers make easy work of Shaq and Suns (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/neal-jackson-bryant-2235191-lakers-game)
And so it goes … and maybe it will go for two or three more years, which is Jackson's estimate for how much longer O'Neal can be a “force” in the NBA.
Kevin Ding
PHOENIX - Shaquille O'Neal hugged Phil Jackson close and spoke low-tenor whispers that he wanted no one but his former coach to hear. One word, however, was definitely audible as it passed from O'Neal's lips to Jackson's ear.
“Kobe.”
And so it goes … and maybe it will go for two or three more years, which is Jackson's estimate for how much longer O'Neal can be a “force” in the NBA. In the meantime Kobe Bryant is doing all he can to diminish the Kobe-Shaq rivalry, and the Lakers' relatively easy 105-92 victory over O'Neal's Phoenix Suns on Thursday night was the latest step.
O'Neal succeeded at getting an overeager Andrew Bynum into foul trouble, but even with such a strength advantage on Pau Gasol, O'Neal ceased attacking as the game wore on and fatigue set in.
O'Neal played hard and well, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds, although he had a 1-to-4 assist-to-turnover ratio. O'Neal exited for good with 2:19 left in the third quarter and the Lakers ahead, 76-62.
Vladimir Radmanovic had 15 points, Lamar Odom had 13 and one of the first things Sasha Vujacic did in the game was try to set up Trevor Ariza with a lob pass. (Seconds later, Ariza — who had gotten in Vujacic's face during the previous game — set up Vujacic for an open 15-foot jumper.) It didn't matter that Bryant didn't get foul calls he thought he earned in his 24-point game.
What O'Neal was telling Jackson before the game was that he never meant to criticize Jackson's handling of Bryant and O'Neal as Lakers teammates. O'Neal has just been having a little fun with the aspect of Jackson's philosophy that prefers a team to police itself by saying Jackson preferred to leave the tension a little high.
Yet this is how that brief exchange outside the Lakers' locker room before the game ended:
Jackson: “OK.”
O'Neal: “You know I wouldn't do that to you.”
Jackson: “Yup.”
O'Neal went through a stretch in 2006-07 where he called Jackson “Benedict Arnold” after Jackson brought up O'Neal's disinclination for hard work. O'Neal has mellowed as the end of his career nears, however.
That's evident in how easily O'Neal, 36, offers Bryant praise now and even in how eager O'Neal was to reach out and hug Bryant before the opening tipoff Thursday night.
Yet Jackson was pointed in saying before the game that it wasn't any issue O'Neal had with being secondary to Bryant that triggered the Lakers' trade of O'Neal to Miami.
“It was purely an economic situation with our owner,” Jackson said. “It wasn't anything about their personalities or one or the other guy.”
Jackson brought up O'Neal's demand that Lakers owner Jerry Buss pay him $30 million annually in a contract extension before eventually settling for $20 million from Miami.
“Shaq accepted that when he was in Miami and went forward,” Jackson said. “And I think if he would've done that in L.A., he would still be there — if he would've voiced that type of sentiment at that time. It wasn't about the personalities.”
The thing is, as Jackson confirmed in acknowledging “2004 got a little bit tense,” Bryant was all fired up to lead his own team and was mentally prepared to leave the Lakers to do that, most likely by signing as a free agent with the Clippers.
Bryant told me as much before the 2005 season, saying in response to a question about trying to keep everyone together: “That's assuming that I, myself, wanted to stay here all along.”
So the question was put to Jackson: If your scenario has Shaq staying, then probably Kobe is going, right?
“Well, that was a decision that might not have been made,” Jackson said. “You may say that, but it might not have been made for whatever reason.
“We anticipated that that would be something going forward, and I think the owner had every intention of revamping or restructuring Shaq's contract and keeping Kobe. It was a done deal (to trade O'Neal) before that could even be a possibility.”
Fresh off the bear hug and whispers from O'Neal, perhaps Jackson was knee-deep in nostalgia to suggest Bryant and O'Neal could have kept it going. But he's right about the money helping make the decision easy for Buss … and the Lakers are lucky for that.
And so it goes … and maybe it will go for two or three more years, which is Jackson's estimate for how much longer O'Neal can be a “force” in the NBA.
Kevin Ding
PHOENIX - Shaquille O'Neal hugged Phil Jackson close and spoke low-tenor whispers that he wanted no one but his former coach to hear. One word, however, was definitely audible as it passed from O'Neal's lips to Jackson's ear.
“Kobe.”
And so it goes … and maybe it will go for two or three more years, which is Jackson's estimate for how much longer O'Neal can be a “force” in the NBA. In the meantime Kobe Bryant is doing all he can to diminish the Kobe-Shaq rivalry, and the Lakers' relatively easy 105-92 victory over O'Neal's Phoenix Suns on Thursday night was the latest step.
O'Neal succeeded at getting an overeager Andrew Bynum into foul trouble, but even with such a strength advantage on Pau Gasol, O'Neal ceased attacking as the game wore on and fatigue set in.
O'Neal played hard and well, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds, although he had a 1-to-4 assist-to-turnover ratio. O'Neal exited for good with 2:19 left in the third quarter and the Lakers ahead, 76-62.
Vladimir Radmanovic had 15 points, Lamar Odom had 13 and one of the first things Sasha Vujacic did in the game was try to set up Trevor Ariza with a lob pass. (Seconds later, Ariza — who had gotten in Vujacic's face during the previous game — set up Vujacic for an open 15-foot jumper.) It didn't matter that Bryant didn't get foul calls he thought he earned in his 24-point game.
What O'Neal was telling Jackson before the game was that he never meant to criticize Jackson's handling of Bryant and O'Neal as Lakers teammates. O'Neal has just been having a little fun with the aspect of Jackson's philosophy that prefers a team to police itself by saying Jackson preferred to leave the tension a little high.
Yet this is how that brief exchange outside the Lakers' locker room before the game ended:
Jackson: “OK.”
O'Neal: “You know I wouldn't do that to you.”
Jackson: “Yup.”
O'Neal went through a stretch in 2006-07 where he called Jackson “Benedict Arnold” after Jackson brought up O'Neal's disinclination for hard work. O'Neal has mellowed as the end of his career nears, however.
That's evident in how easily O'Neal, 36, offers Bryant praise now and even in how eager O'Neal was to reach out and hug Bryant before the opening tipoff Thursday night.
Yet Jackson was pointed in saying before the game that it wasn't any issue O'Neal had with being secondary to Bryant that triggered the Lakers' trade of O'Neal to Miami.
“It was purely an economic situation with our owner,” Jackson said. “It wasn't anything about their personalities or one or the other guy.”
Jackson brought up O'Neal's demand that Lakers owner Jerry Buss pay him $30 million annually in a contract extension before eventually settling for $20 million from Miami.
“Shaq accepted that when he was in Miami and went forward,” Jackson said. “And I think if he would've done that in L.A., he would still be there — if he would've voiced that type of sentiment at that time. It wasn't about the personalities.”
The thing is, as Jackson confirmed in acknowledging “2004 got a little bit tense,” Bryant was all fired up to lead his own team and was mentally prepared to leave the Lakers to do that, most likely by signing as a free agent with the Clippers.
Bryant told me as much before the 2005 season, saying in response to a question about trying to keep everyone together: “That's assuming that I, myself, wanted to stay here all along.”
So the question was put to Jackson: If your scenario has Shaq staying, then probably Kobe is going, right?
“Well, that was a decision that might not have been made,” Jackson said. “You may say that, but it might not have been made for whatever reason.
“We anticipated that that would be something going forward, and I think the owner had every intention of revamping or restructuring Shaq's contract and keeping Kobe. It was a done deal (to trade O'Neal) before that could even be a possibility.”
Fresh off the bear hug and whispers from O'Neal, perhaps Jackson was knee-deep in nostalgia to suggest Bryant and O'Neal could have kept it going. But he's right about the money helping make the decision easy for Buss … and the Lakers are lucky for that.