ducks
05-24-2005, 07:09 PM
O'Neal was never the same after taking his first mandated rest
By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer
May 24, 2005
MIAMI (AP) -- Relief was the overwhelming sensation Ben Wallace felt when he saw Shaquille O'Neal sent to the bench for a rest just six minutes into the first quarter of Game 1.
``Four dunks,'' Wallace recalled. ``I don't think he looked like he was winded at all. To me, he looked like he was gaining strength.''
Coach Stan Van Gundy removed O'Neal at the behest of the Miami Heat's medical staff, which wanted O'Neal's playing time limited to stretches of 5-7 minutes. Van Gundy also was told to monitor O'Neal's rest time with equal vigor.
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That gave the coach one more problem to manage on a night when he already had his hands full trying to curtail the Detroit Pistons' matchup advantages, and the end result was a loss.
Van Gundy wasn't certain Tuesday whether the same restrictions would be put on O'Neal for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, though he didn't seem to be relishing the prospect of another night of time micromanagement -- especially with the series on the verge of tilting heavily in Detroit's favor.
``That's sort of a day-to-day thing. The idea last night was not to overly fatigue him in one stretch, and also not sit him out for too long where he tightened up,'' Van Gundy said.
O'Neal, playing with a bruised right thigh, scored only 12 more points the rest of the night, and Miami squandered every offensive opportunity it had over the final 5 minutes of a 90-81 loss -- the Heat's first of the postseason.
The Pistons will try to take a 2-0 lead when the series resumes Wednesday night.
``We talked about it in the locker room before the game, that this was the game we needed,'' Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. ``We felt they hadn't been tested in this postseason, they hadn't played against a team like us that plays defense, believes in itself and tries to control the tempo of the game. Yesterday was a good game to show them that.''
The Pistons also showed the Heat a few things they didn't fully expect, including Ben Wallace's improved outside shot, the proficiency of Tayshaun Prince's post-up moves and backup point guard Carlos Arroyo's ability to keep the offense moving during the brief stretches when Billups was on the bench.
The Heat did see one thing they were expecting -- single coverage against O'Neal.
Wallace was unable to stop O'Neal in the first six minutes of the game, but the Pistons later adjusted by stationing Wallace in front of O'Neal and daring the Heat to get the ball to their big man with lobs rather than bounce passes.
The strategy limited O'Neal's touches, and he attempted only three shots in the fourth quarter -- a statistic that seemed to irk O'Neal when it was brought up after practice Tuesday.
``They just need to come to me,'' O'Neal said. ``Tired or not, just send it to me.''
The Heat also got nothing offensively down the stretch from Dwyane Wade, who struggled through a 7-for-25 shooting performance and attempted only two free throws.
Wade said he relied too much on his jump shot and wasn't nearly as aggressive as he should have been driving the ball to the basket.
``Getting down there and trying to make a pass out, that's when you saw their length,'' Wade said. ``I really couldn't find anybody because they're so long.''
Van Gundy pointed to the disparity in rebounding among the big men as a key statistic, noting that Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess combined for almost as many offensive rebounds (eight) as his three big men -- O'Neal, Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning -- had on the defensive end (10).
Van Gundy said his team would make adjustments to create more space for Wade to operate, and answered ``absolutely'' when asked if he'd give Shandon Anderson, who did not play in Game 1, a chance to defend Prince.
Wade started Game 1 with that assignment but could not contain Prince on isolation plays.
Van Gundy later gave the job to Rasual Butler, hoping he'd also get some offense out of the third-year forward. Butler, however, missed all three of his shots.
``We'll see if we can make some adjustments, but we're certainly not going to panic,'' Van Gundy said.
Miami's biggest offensive contributor in Game 1 was Eddie Jones with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting, and the Heat held Detroit to just 16 fourth-quarter points.
The problem was Miami scoring just 14 points over the final 12 minutes and not getting a single field goal from Wade or O'Neal in the final 8 minutes.
If that problem isn't fixed, the Heat will have a serious case of the blues by the time this series hits Motown.
``We know what we have to do, offensively and defensively,'' O'Neal said. ``I told the guys that I've been in this situation many times before, I've been down before, and not to worry about it. We've just got to fight. It's not going to be easy, it was easy in the first two rounds, but it's not going to get any easier.
``We've just got to fight. And the team that fights the most is going to win it.''
By CHRIS SHERIDAN, AP Basketball Writer
May 24, 2005
MIAMI (AP) -- Relief was the overwhelming sensation Ben Wallace felt when he saw Shaquille O'Neal sent to the bench for a rest just six minutes into the first quarter of Game 1.
``Four dunks,'' Wallace recalled. ``I don't think he looked like he was winded at all. To me, he looked like he was gaining strength.''
Coach Stan Van Gundy removed O'Neal at the behest of the Miami Heat's medical staff, which wanted O'Neal's playing time limited to stretches of 5-7 minutes. Van Gundy also was told to monitor O'Neal's rest time with equal vigor.
ADVERTISEMENT
That gave the coach one more problem to manage on a night when he already had his hands full trying to curtail the Detroit Pistons' matchup advantages, and the end result was a loss.
Van Gundy wasn't certain Tuesday whether the same restrictions would be put on O'Neal for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, though he didn't seem to be relishing the prospect of another night of time micromanagement -- especially with the series on the verge of tilting heavily in Detroit's favor.
``That's sort of a day-to-day thing. The idea last night was not to overly fatigue him in one stretch, and also not sit him out for too long where he tightened up,'' Van Gundy said.
O'Neal, playing with a bruised right thigh, scored only 12 more points the rest of the night, and Miami squandered every offensive opportunity it had over the final 5 minutes of a 90-81 loss -- the Heat's first of the postseason.
The Pistons will try to take a 2-0 lead when the series resumes Wednesday night.
``We talked about it in the locker room before the game, that this was the game we needed,'' Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. ``We felt they hadn't been tested in this postseason, they hadn't played against a team like us that plays defense, believes in itself and tries to control the tempo of the game. Yesterday was a good game to show them that.''
The Pistons also showed the Heat a few things they didn't fully expect, including Ben Wallace's improved outside shot, the proficiency of Tayshaun Prince's post-up moves and backup point guard Carlos Arroyo's ability to keep the offense moving during the brief stretches when Billups was on the bench.
The Heat did see one thing they were expecting -- single coverage against O'Neal.
Wallace was unable to stop O'Neal in the first six minutes of the game, but the Pistons later adjusted by stationing Wallace in front of O'Neal and daring the Heat to get the ball to their big man with lobs rather than bounce passes.
The strategy limited O'Neal's touches, and he attempted only three shots in the fourth quarter -- a statistic that seemed to irk O'Neal when it was brought up after practice Tuesday.
``They just need to come to me,'' O'Neal said. ``Tired or not, just send it to me.''
The Heat also got nothing offensively down the stretch from Dwyane Wade, who struggled through a 7-for-25 shooting performance and attempted only two free throws.
Wade said he relied too much on his jump shot and wasn't nearly as aggressive as he should have been driving the ball to the basket.
``Getting down there and trying to make a pass out, that's when you saw their length,'' Wade said. ``I really couldn't find anybody because they're so long.''
Van Gundy pointed to the disparity in rebounding among the big men as a key statistic, noting that Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess combined for almost as many offensive rebounds (eight) as his three big men -- O'Neal, Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning -- had on the defensive end (10).
Van Gundy said his team would make adjustments to create more space for Wade to operate, and answered ``absolutely'' when asked if he'd give Shandon Anderson, who did not play in Game 1, a chance to defend Prince.
Wade started Game 1 with that assignment but could not contain Prince on isolation plays.
Van Gundy later gave the job to Rasual Butler, hoping he'd also get some offense out of the third-year forward. Butler, however, missed all three of his shots.
``We'll see if we can make some adjustments, but we're certainly not going to panic,'' Van Gundy said.
Miami's biggest offensive contributor in Game 1 was Eddie Jones with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting, and the Heat held Detroit to just 16 fourth-quarter points.
The problem was Miami scoring just 14 points over the final 12 minutes and not getting a single field goal from Wade or O'Neal in the final 8 minutes.
If that problem isn't fixed, the Heat will have a serious case of the blues by the time this series hits Motown.
``We know what we have to do, offensively and defensively,'' O'Neal said. ``I told the guys that I've been in this situation many times before, I've been down before, and not to worry about it. We've just got to fight. It's not going to be easy, it was easy in the first two rounds, but it's not going to get any easier.
``We've just got to fight. And the team that fights the most is going to win it.''