Shaq Finishes Strong and Now the West Looks Ridiculously Tough
Shaquille O'Neal floundered around for a half, but when the Lakers-Suns game was over tonight he looked like a guy who could take the Suns to another level.
To the NBA Finals, that is.
Shaq scored 15 points, took nine rebounds and had three assists in nearly 29 minutes ... and didn't pass out from the exertion.
He was a force late in the game, and a big reason the Suns almost pulled out a game the Lakers led almost throughout.
His arrival seems to have energized the Suns and their fans. They had gone limp, even after winning 61 games last year and being significant contenders these past three seasons.
For starters: The Suns crushed the Lakers on the boards, which is not what the pre-Shaq Suns were likely to do, outrebounding them 46-33.
Said Lakers coach Phil Jackson: "We got beat on the boards. It's one of the features that the Suns have always been vulnerable at. Obviously, now with Shaq and (Amare) Stoudemire they are a much better rebounding team and they showed it tonight.."
The Lakers played very well in an extremely entertaining game that had the energy and intensity of a playoffs game.
Had the Lakers not played so well, they would have lost.
Kobe Bryant scored 41 points on 16-of-25 shooting, Pau Gasol had 29 points and Lamar Odom had 22. The Lakers shot 56.5 percent from the field and commited only nine turnovers.
And the Suns pushed them all the way.
I've written a column about Shaq, mostly, for the Thursday newspapers.
Kobe was impressed by the dive-on-the-floor, hard-charging Shaq. And how he almost took over the game at the end. "When the game was on the line, he went back to ground-and-pound," Kobe said of Shaq. "It was pretty awesome to see."
O'Neal was complimentary toward Kobe, as well.
"He’s the best player in the league," O'Neal said. "He really is. I’ve been saying that since I’ve been playing with him ... a fabulous player."
The thought for the Suns here is ... if they can play this well, with this much energy, with O'Neal not really integrated into their system, how good could they be a month from now?
The flip side? Can Shaq, who will be 36 in a few weeks, keep up the effort he gave tonight against the Lakers on national TV?
If he can, the West just went from tough to ridiculously tough. With 10 good-to-very good teams, two of which won't even make the playoffs, and about a half-dozen legitimate title contenders. Including the Lakers. And the Suns, now that they have what appears to be a revitalized Shaq.
Comments
As a Suns fan transplanted in the land of Lake(r)s, "encouraged," is the word I would use to describe my feelings about last night's game. I must say that when Shaq and the Suns communicate well enough to switch or play through the "pick and rolls" on the defensive side, the Suns may become unstoppable. They clearly clogged up the pick, unfortunately missed the rolling party on more than one occasion.
As a basketball fan, I am also pleasantly optimistic about the second half of the season with the trades that should make the west a fantastic division to watch. It should be exciting to see who gets the opportunity to play the Celtics in the finals this year.
The Lakers? If they do get the opportunity, I hope that Kobe will finally see that he needs more than himself and an inspirational back story about a pinky finger to make it to the finals.
Or perhaps my Suns? Only if the Diesel can get "the pedal to the metal and no smokies at the back door."
(Sorry... I couldn't resist)
My one hope is that the west is represented by a team other than a southern Texas team that methodically scores 60-80 points per game and rivals World Cup Soccer for the quantity of "flops" per game.
I like to watch real basketball...
Posted by: EricO | February 21, 2008 2:24 PM