SHAQ IS SATISFIED BUT NOT TOTALLY CONTENT.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer EL SEGUNDO El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and - Before he became the dominant player in the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= and a two-time champion with the Lakers, 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). wondered when - and if - he'd join the exclusive club of great players with championship rings. O'Neal was too proud to admit it back then. However, privately, he dreaded the thought of ending up like Charles Barkley This article is about the basketball player. For the politican, see Charles E. Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. - a great player without a title. The 7-foot center wanted to be like the Magics and Jordans and Birds, all of whom solidified their greatness by winning NBA titles. He endured some restless nights as he pondered his future. ``I was sitting back reflecting the other day when I didn't have any (titles) and saying to myself, 'Just try and get one,' '' O'Neal said. Now, as O'Neal and the Lakers go for the sweep against the Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise, based in Portland throughout its existence, entered the league in 1970 and has won the NBA Championship once, in 1977. in the Western Conference quarterfinals and set their sights on winning a third consecutive NBA championship, O'Neal is satisfied with his place in league history but not content with his current standing. The obsession to win one title has been replaced with a desire for a collection of championships. He says he feels no angst over his mission but rather approaches it as a challenge, which is why he's smiling more this postseason than in any other. That includes the last two, which ended with the Lakers sipping champagne and hoisting championship trophies. The Lakers can complete a sweep of the Trail Blazers in Game 3 on Sunday at the Rose Garden in Portland. ``Now that I have two, I'm just focused on getting number three, so there's really no pressure on us,'' O'Neal said. ``We're just trying to do something for the city and the organization. For Phil (Jackson) and myself.'' O'Neal, hampered all year by foot problems and conditioning issues, seems revitalized by the light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel tone of the playoffs. A long, painful regular season has given way to a more urgent postseason and no one has been energized by the challenge of stamping the Lakers place in history with a three-peat more than O'Neal. The space between playoff games has given him ample time to rest his ailing feet, enabling O'Neal to be as spry An application framework from Adobe for building rich Internet applications using HTML. Spry takes the tedium out of writing AJAX code and also includes routines for creating animation effects and building widgets. For more information, visit http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/spry. as he's been all year. His dominant performance in the Lakers' 103-96 Game 2 victory Thursday at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. was proof that he can still torment opponents physically. He pounded the Blazers with 31 points and 14 rebounds to help send them back to Portland in a 0-2 hole. Jackson has detected a more revitalized O'Neal than in the regular season; teammate Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. said O'Neal looked as healthy as ever in Game 2. That's good news for the Lakers, who need their big man to be as effective as possible to get through the torturous Western Conference, but bad news for the Blazers - and maybe everyone else. ``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. , we really can't stop Shaq,'' said Portland forward Bonzi Wells Gawen DeAngelo "Bonzi" Wells (born September 20, 1976 in Muncie, Indiana, U.S.) is an American pro basketball player. A 6' 5" shooting guard, he currently plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. . ``It's just tough. He's just too big. I mean, the whole league can't stop this guy. He's just so dominant right now. Then you have guys like Kobe, who play off him very well, and Rick Fox and Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9 1974 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was with the Utah Jazz but asked to be released from his contract to care for his 10-month-old daughter, who has cancer. . It's just tough to beat them. They're a good team.'' O'Neal was upbeat and playful before and during the first two games, perhaps a sign that his feet are feeling better and that the end of the season - and maybe another championship - are in sight. He even took a few moments to play up to TV cameras after sinking a pair of free throws in Game 2, first staring at the rim when the ball didn't fall through cleanly, than dabbing the side of his face after another make as if he were putting on after-shave lotion before a big date. ``It's all about marketing,'' O'Neal joked Friday after the Lakers practiced. ``I'm just out there having fun, just trying not to worry about all the other stuff.'' The only ones worrying these days are the Blazers, who were swept by the Lakers in the first round last year and fell in seven games two seasons ago. It's obvious they'll have to come up with another plan to guard O'Neal on Sunday, but it might not matter what they do if O'Neal is as active and energetic as he's been so far. ``Every time we had a little chance to get back in the game, they would post the ball to Shaq and he would spin, dunk and do whatever he wanted to do,'' Portland coach Maurice Cheeks Maurice "Mo" Edward Cheeks (born September 8 1956, in Chicago, Illinois) is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the 21st and current head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, having been hired on May 23, 2005. said. ``For pretty much the whole game - 3 to 3 1/2 quarters of the game - he was pretty dominant.'' Too dominant for the Blazers, it seems. Lakers at Portland Sunday 2:30 p.m., Ch. 4 CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal says having two championship rings is nice, but now he is focused on getting his third. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer Box: 2002 NBA PLAYOFFS The NBA Playoffs is a four-round best-of-seven elimination tournament between sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conferences (called Divisions, pre-1970) of the National Basketball Association, ultimately determining the league champion. |
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