DOMINANCE! SHAQ TAKES LAKERS FOR A ROMP.Byline: STEVE DILBECK And a man walked amongst them. A man in his element, in his moment. Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). , a man in command, wherever the room. Because of it, the Lakers have taken early, but very telling, commandof these NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. . Finals that have turned into something of an annual showcase for O'Neal's dominance, and it was seldom more obvious than in the Lakers' 106-83 victory Friday night. O'Neal flexed, and Nets tumbled. They'd feign feign v. feigned, feign·ing, feigns v.tr. 1. a. To give a false appearance of: feign sleep. b. a run, and O'Neal wouldexert his will. He wasn't toying with them, exactly, but it seemed like it. In his 41 minutes, O'Neal scored 40 points (14 of 23 from the field), had 12 rebounds and eight assists, and even hit 12 of 14 free throws. That's what he does at this time of the year. He's been the MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. of the past two Finals and is well on his way to a third. ``This is not a fluke,'' said Lakers forward Rick Fox. ``This is something he does at this time of the year. It's a big stage. The world is watching.'' It's O'Neal, again, the biggest player on his sport's biggest stage. Answering the call, and enjoying it. Lifting his teammates, carrying theLakers to a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven series that is looking like it could be over quickly. O'Neal has battled an arthritic big toe big toe n. The largest and innermost toe of the human foot. all season. He's played mostly well, but not at his dominating best. In the postseason he had a lot of moments. But since the Kings took a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals and very much threatened the Lakers' attempt at a three-peat, O'Neal has stepped it up. Raised his play to a level that has to be frightening the Nets. And the Kings were apparently still helping O'Neal elevate his game on Friday. In one of those only-if-you're-a-multimillionaire moments, O'Neal said he was angered early in the morning when he went into his bathroom totake care of business and turned on the room's big-screen TV. There he discovered Kings coach Rick Adelman Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16 1946 in Lynwood, California, United States) is a former basketball player, assistant coach and head coach in the National Basketball Association. complaining he crosses the line while shooting his free throws. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what it takes for me to get my props,'' O'Neal said. ``But the more you cry and the more you complain, the madder I get. And the madder I get, the more I dominate. So thank you, Mr. Adelman.'' There was no question who was dominating Friday. The Nets continue tomostly play him straight up, which has been nothing but trouble. New Jersey centers are trying different approaches, all with the samefrustrating results. Todd MacCullouch simply gets bounced about. Jason Collins Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California) is a professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake School and later attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000-01 and appeared on has tried a lot of grabbing. Aaron Williams This article is about the American basketball player. For the American cartoonist, see Aaron Williams (comics creator). For the boxer see, see Aaron Williams (boxer). tried riding O'Neal's back in the third quarter, which only served to make him look like a child getting a piggy-back ride. O'Neal is the one thing the Nets, or just about anyone else, can't answer. ``I don't know what to do against him now,'' said Nets coach Byron Scott Byron Scott may refer to:
Eastern Conference teams have had particular trouble against O'Neal in the Finals. They only see him twice in the regular season, and can't seem to adjust to actually having to go up against a 7-foot-1, 350-pound center who can move. O'Neal's numbers in the Finals always go up, as East teams go down. ``Can't do nothing with him,'' said the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. ``Can't do anything. ``He's just going to demoralize de·mor·al·ize tr.v. de·mor·al·ized, de·mor·al·iz·ing, de·mor·al·iz·es 1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten: an inconsistent policy that demoralized the staff. the team. Pretty much just going to have to deal with that.'' Evidence of O'Neal's importance was highlighted in the third quarter,when he went to the bench with the Lakers up 77-61. The Lakers upped itto an 18-point lead before the Nets went on an 11-0 run to pull within seven. Amazing how brave teams get with O'Neal on the bench. O'Neal returned and order was quickly restored. ``We're fortunate, the guys who play around him,'' Fox said. ``We do our job, but still, when you're anchored by Shaquille O'Neal, all you have to be is competent.'' Right now, O'Neal is the man amongst boys. His stage, and his moment. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Fending off Nets players, Lakers Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant battle for a rebound during the first half Friday. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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