[外電] Shaq's fun has just begun
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MIAMI — Shaquille O'Neal leading the break.
Shaquille O'Neal spinning and nailing a turnaround jumper to beat the shot
clock.
Shaquille O'Neal feeding Udonis Haslem for an easy layup.
Think Shaquille O'Neal is having fun again? The Miami Heat's Big Dominator
has picked the most opportune time to find the Fountain of Youth. O'Neal
appears to be getting younger as this Eastern Conference finals series goes
deeper, defying his 34 years and answering those who believed his body would
break down long before the championship trophy was awarded.
The Heat is one victory from its first trip to the NBA Finals following an
89-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons Monday at the raucous AmericanAirlines
Arena. The biggest reason for this 3-1 series lead has been the Pistons
inability to cope with Dwyane Wade on the perimeter and O'Neal on the block.
"I feel pretty young," O'Neal said. "This is the first time I haven't had any
knickknack injuries, so I feel pretty good. It's kind of a different role for
me playing with a great Dwyane Wade, but it's a role that I've accepted. My
numbers are going to be different but it's all about winning."
Perhaps the Pistons will be on the tee box when they finally realize that
covering O'Neal with one broken down defensive player of the year is about as
smart as hiring a coach whose previous team had a reputation of wilting in
the playoffs.
Oops. Never mind.
O'Neal once again dominated Ben Wallace, scoring 21 points on 8-of-12
shooting, going to the line 15 times (making five) and forcing the Pistons to
dig deep into their bench to find bodies with enough fouls remaining to hack
Shaq.
O'Neal is averaging 20.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and shooting 62 percent in the
series.
"You feed the big dog and he does whatever you tell him to do," O'Neal said.
The most stunning play, perhaps, of O'Neal's two-year tenure in South Florida
occurred late in the second quarter when he deflected a Richard Hamilton pass
on the perimeter, swooped up the loose ball and headed down court with the
agility and mobility of a point guard, faking out a confused Lindsey Hunter
at the basket and finishing the play with a soft underhanded flip.
"I have that in my game," O'Neal said. "It's just been a while. I used to do
that when I was younger. I've been holding back."
O'Neal called the play an, "opportunity to get the crowd going."
The Big Jokester was just beginning.
"I was born to do that," he said. "I'll be doing that when I'm 60."
O'Neal's teammates enjoyed the play as much as their center.
"He just got a chance to get it on the break and he took it all the way to
the hole," Udonis Haslem said. "He looked pretty good doing it."
This came after Shaq gave the Heat the early momentum with a pretty spin move
against Ben Wallace, a heady pass to Udonis Haslem with two seconds on the
shot clock that Haslem turned into a layup, and a turnaround jump shot from
15 feet to beat the shot clock.
"I'm much older but I'm much smarter," O'Neal said. "When teams don't double
me I'm going to take my high percentage shot. When they double me I'm going
to be looking for my teammates."
O'Neal was largely responsible for getting Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace in
foul trouble. By the third quarter, the Pistons started using Dale Davis and
Antonio McDyess to wrap up Shaq underneath.
The Pistons' four big men combined for 15 fouls with Rasheed Wallace fouling
out with 3:55 remaining and Ben Wallace finishing with four fouls in 30
minutes.
The Heat now has three shots to send O'Neal to his sixth NBA Final. Although
Miami led 3-2 a year ago, the team limped into Detroit. Wade sat out because
of injured ribs and O'Neal still was hobbled from a bruised thigh he received
at the end of the regular season.
Miami was blown out in Game 6 in Detroit and lost a close Game 7 at home to
end their season.
Now, the Heat is healthy and Shaq is having fun.
Again.
"We don't want to get too high and mighty," O'Neal said. "Our job is not done
yet. We have to play the perfect game on Wednesday."
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