Q&A With Shaquille O'Neal

[duncan228]

Q&A with Shaquille O'Neal

A week into his 17th NBA training camp and Shaquille O'Neal still wants the ball, 15 shot attempts to be precise. Don't be surprised if he gets them, especially in new Suns head coach Terry Porter's deliberate, half-court style of offense. As the Suns prepare for three games in the next four days, including the outdoor game at Indian Wells in Palm Springs, Calif., against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday (TNT, 10 p.m. ET), Shaq spoke with NBA.com's John Hareas and weighed in on the differences between a Mike D'Antoni and Terry Porter practice, where he developed his love for the game, his all-time (and current) starting five and what it would mean to be inducted into his native New Jersey Hall of Fame, in which he is one of the 30 nominees this year.

NBA.com: What is the biggest difference between a Mike D'Antoni practice and Terry Porter practice?
Shaquille O'Neal: Mike's practice was 25-30 minutes. His concept was a good concept -- if you really love and care about the game, you'll be in shape. Practice is just a time to walk through and in the game you're going to go out and execute. A lot of other coaches really like to practice and practice hard. They say that practice makes perfect. So it's not different.

NBA.com: What is the biggest surprise in camp thus far?
Shaq: I've been playing 17 years so I've seen it all. I'm not really surprised at anything. I'd say all the guys are good, all the guys are in shape, and everybody is playing well.

NBA.com: The Suns are playing the Nuggets outdoors at Indian Wells in Palm Springs on Saturday. When was the last time you played outdoors?
Shaq: I've been playing outdoors all summer. The only difference is we're going to be playing on a real floor. I've been playing outside with the kids. I would go down to the park. Matter of fact, I was in Weequahic Park in Newark this summer. I just rolled by, had my shoes and shorts on, so I just went out there. My game was originated out there, over at the Hole.

NBA.com: Any challenges playing outside this Saturday?
Shaq: I'm not sure. The only challenge is, is it going to be hot or cool? It's not like playing in a vented air conditioned building.

NBA.com: You've been nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame along with Jack Nicholson and Jon Bon Jovi. What would it mean to you personally to be inducted?
Shaq: Man, it would be a great honor, born and raised in Jersey. There's been a lot of great people come from that state. Vince Lombardi. Yogi Berra. Senator Bill Bradley. So it would just be an honor for myself, especially a guy from the projects of Newark, New Jersey. It would be a big honor to my neighborhood and also a big honor to the children.

NBA.com: What did those years at Weequahic Park in Newark represent to your overall basketball success?
Shaq: It represented something because I was one of those guys even though I was big, I really couldn't play and nobody picked me. So every time I got in I had to fight and just keep fighting and develop my power. That's where my game originated from, from the projects of Newark. I used to go out there and act like I was playing against Dr. J, so it helped me develop my game. It also helped me develop the crazy imagination that I have.

NBA.com: Didn't you used to play with a raggedy ball?
Shaq: No, it was always a good ball. My father got some extra money because he always drove rent-a-trucks back from New York/New Jersey, so the first thing he bought me was a Dr. J ball, one of those rubber balls. It wasn't raggedy. I actually took care of the ball and I took it everywhere I went. I was instructed to dream with the ball, take it to school with you, keep it in your book bag. Dribble, dribble, dribble. That's what I did.

NBA.com: Throughout your career you've invested heavily in commercial real estate in Newark. What's your vision for the city?
Shaq: To help beautify Newark, to help beautify downtown and bring more business back there. New York is what it is, but Newark is the only place that's also on the water, has a beautiful downtown, beautiful skyline, so I want to help beautify that. We want to tear the projects down, get some condos, get everybody back on their feet, and just beautify Newark.

NBA.com: How often do you visit Newark during the offseason?
Shaq: I still have 90 percent of my family up there so I am there all the time.

NBA.com: Fans can vote you into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. What message do you have for them?
Shaq: If they vote me in, thank you. Born and raised in New Jersey, a true Jersey guy, I will always represent Jersey. Hopefully they love me enough to vote me in.

NBA.com: If you were to get inducted, who would you thank?
Shaq: I would probably thank everybody. I'd thank all the other greats who got in, my mom and dad.

NBA.com: How does Amare look to you in goggles?
Shaq: He looks all right. He reminds me of Horace Grant, but he looks all right.

NBA.com: With the Suns slowing down the game, how much of a role to you expect to have in the offense?
Shaq: Hopefully I'll have a lot. My thing is, if they still want me to put up Shaq numbers, hopefully I can get the Shaq attempts. Right now they're just asking me to lead and be there for Robin and just do what I do. But if I can get 15 shots, I've been shooting 50 percent, so if I'm involved in the offense we should go pretty far. I'm just going to do whatever I have to do.

NBA.com: Who is your all-time starting five?
Shaq: Hakeem Olajuwon at the center; Barkley at the small forward; Karl Malone at the power forward; Pistol Pete and Mike Jordan at guards.

NBA.com: And your starting five today?
Shaq: Kobe, D-Wade, LeBron, Amare and me at the five.

NBA.com: Finish this sentence. Playing with Steve Nash is...
Shaq: Incredible because if you're open half of a percentage of an inch he will find a way to get you the ball.

NBA.com: What kind of education are you providing rookie Robin Lopez in practice?
Shaq: All of the great big man education that was handed down to me.

NBA.com: The NBA All-Star Game this season is in Phoenix. Will you be on the West team?
Shaq: Hopefully. If the fans vote me in.

[lefty]

Q&A with Shaquille O'Neal

A week into his 17th NBA training camp and Shaquille O'Neal still wants the ball, 15 shot attempts to be precise. Don't be surprised if he gets them, especially in new Suns head coach Terry Porter's deliberate, half-court style of offense. As the Suns prepare for three games in the next four days, including the outdoor game at Indian Wells in Palm Springs, Calif., against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday (TNT, 10 p.m. ET), Shaq spoke with NBA.com's John Hareas and weighed in on the differences between a Mike D'Antoni and Terry Porter practice, where he developed his love for the game, his all-time (and current) starting five and what it would mean to be inducted into his native New Jersey Hall of Fame, in which he is one of the 30 nominees this year.

NBA.com: What is the biggest difference between a Mike D'Antoni practice and Terry Porter practice?
Shaquille O'Neal: What's a practice?

NBA.com: What is the biggest surprise in camp thus far?
Shaq: I still fit in my Suns uniform

NBA.com: The Suns are playing the Nuggets outdoors at Indian Wells in Palm Springs on Saturday. When was the last time you played outdoors?
Shaq: Right after the Spurs kicked us out the playoffs

NBA.com: Any challenges playing outside this Saturday?
Shaq: To resist the smell of BBQ's

NBA.com: You've been nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame along with Jack Nicholson and Jon Bon Jovi. What would it mean to you personally to be inducted?
Shaq: (thinking) mm,....donuts.... hum, I'm sorry, what did you say?
Oh yeah, it won't mean squat, I have to win more championships than Duncan

NBA.com: What did those years at Weequahic Park in Newark represent to your overall basketball success?
Shaq: Man,I put Newark on the map, because I'm the GOAT

NBA.com: Didn't you used to play with a raggedy ball?
Shaq: Yes, which explains my poor shooting technique; see? I have a good excuse

NBA.com: Throughout your career you've invested heavily in commercial real estate in Newark. What's your vision for the city?
Shaq: New..... oh, oh yeah, I mean, development, happiness, all that cr...

NBA.com: How often do you visit Newark during the offseason?
Shaq: Whenever there is a tailgate

NBA.com: Fans can vote you into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. What message do you have for them?
Shaq: Vote only for me

NBA.com: If you were to get inducted, who would you thank?
Shaq:Myself

NBA.com: How does Amare look to you in goggles?
Shaq: Who?

NBA.com: With the Suns slowing down the game, how much of a role to you expect to have in the offense?
Shaq: Stand and watch....are you kidding me? Nash will give me the ball everytime

NBA.com: Who is your all-time starting five?
Shaq: Me, not Duncan, me, not Kobe, me

NBA.com: And your starting five today?
Shaq: Same as above

NBA.com: Finish this sentence. Playing with Steve Nash is...
Shaq:.... damn.....that's a hard one...wait...(tic tac)....almost there (Shaq sweating)... (buzzer)

NBA.com: What kind of education are you providing rookie Robin Lopez in practice?
Shaq: All of the great big man education that was handed down to me.
(I didn't have to change that one)

NBA.com: The NBA All-Star Game this season is in Phoenix. Will you be on the West team?
Shaq: Duh

Fixed it for you

[BlackSwordsMan]

karl malone as power foward?

[TDMVPDPOY]

funni how he doesnt mention td...fukn puss

[Indazone]

NBA.com: Who is your all-time starting five?
Shaq: Hakeem Olajuwon at the center; Barkley at the small forward; Karl Malone at the power forward; Pistol Pete and Mike Jordan at guards.

lol he gives props to Hakeem and not to Duncan.

[BlackSwordsMan]

shaq is hating

[BlackSwordsMan]

It must have hurt to mention kobe's name

[duncan228]

Shaquille O'Neal resurrects sergeant role as Suns eye playoff run
Leighton Ginn • The Desert Sun •

TUCSON, Ariz. — Shaquille O'Neal is taking a note from Phoenix Suns fan Alice Cooper as he approaches the 2008-09 season: No more Mr. Nice Guy.

Last year, O'Neal joined Phoenix in February in a trade with the Miami Heat. O'Neal said he tried not to rock the boat with a team that had the best record in the NBA. He just tried to find his place in the Suns' frenetic running game while providing the rebounding and defense they needed.

Now that the Suns have revamped their team, O'Neal looks to establish himself as the drill sergeant he always has been.

“Last year, I had to play it nice. There was some bad verbiage that came from the other organization about me,” O'Neal said about his war of words with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley following the trade. “I was showing everyone I was a nice guy. But yeah, I'm going to step up and take over.

“As far as vocal leadership, and getting everyone ready and knocking people out when they (mess) around, yeah, I got that.”

With O'Neal around for the preseason, it will afford him more time to jell with his teammates and to find a rhythm with each other in a new system. The Suns hired a new staff, led by head coach Terry Porter, who will emphasize more defense for the fast-paced Suns.

“We'll have a defensive structure and foundation as a result of having a year-long focus with Shaq in the fold,” Suns general manager Steve Kerr said.

Adjusting after trade

Last year, Kerr was heavily criticized for making the trade for O'Neal. The Suns had the best record in the NBA at the time, but gave up All-Star Shawn Marion. The Suns believed a large presence in the post was missing in their championship runs the last few years.

O'Neal averaged 12.9 points and 10.6 rebounds for the Suns. However, the Suns lost in the first round to defending champion San Antonio.

The defining game of the series was Game 1, when the Suns lost 117-115 in double overtime, thanks in part to a rare 3-pointer by Tim Duncan. He was 0 for 4 during the season from behind the 3-point line. The Suns had led by 16 points during the game.

After the Suns lost the series in five games, coach Mike D'Antoni left to coach the New York Knicks.

“(O'Neal) is such a major presence, literally and figuratively, that it was tough to put him in there on the fly,” Kerr said. “With that said, he played really well. All people can remember is that we lost in the first round.

“I get a lot of ‘Shaq didn't work out,'” Kerr said. “Well, I think he did. We played pretty well. We were really hot going into the playoffs. If we don't blow Game 1, who knows what happens? But the fact is, we lost, everything happened, Mike left, we got a new coach and a new staff, and we have a chance to get better.”

Different days than L.A.

But O'Neal admits he won't be the same dominant force that he was with the Los Angeles Lakers. He said his days of 27 points and 10 rebounds per game, which he averaged during the Lakers' three le runs in 2000-2002, are a thing of the past.

O'Neal accepts his role of providing a large presence in the paint and being a crucial part of the new defensive approach.

“I actually love playing defense,” O'Neal said. “I stepped away from defense when they started calling knick-knack fouls. When I first came in, I used to go get them a lot. Now with the flopping and all that, you got to take it easy. I like playing defense and playing my guy one-on-one.

“We'll see how the game is called, and if they let you play. If they do, I'll go looking to block shots, but it's vital I stay in the game. But I don't want to be, every game, on the bench with knick-knack fouls.”

O'Neal also wants to use his 16 seasons in the NBA to help guide All-NBA forward Amare Stoudemire and mold rookie center Robin Lopez.

“John Wooden told me a long time ago, the true definition of a great player is how you make your teammates around you better. I did that since Penny, since everyone,” O'Neal said. “He's (Amare) going to be the next one, so I'm trying to put him in position to play 15, 16 years.”

There also might be a sense of urgency for O'Neal, too. He was quoted last month as saying he has 735 days remaining in his career, referring to his contract ending in 2010.

“We got Shaq at a good time because he knows this is it,” Kerr said. “He knows that this is his last chance here the next two seasons to go out with a bang. So he's motivated and he's in good shape.”

[Indazone]

At least he didn't say Kobe..."Tell me how my azz tastes"