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Slimmer Shaq adjusting to demanding Heat system
The big man isn't quite as big as before, and that should only help Shaquille O'Neal play the Heat's style of defense. O'Neal will be required to move away from the basket to chase dribblers off picks and set traps for the Heat. After three days of practice, including an intensive defensive session Thursday, O'Neal's teammates say he can do it. "It is not easy for any big guy to do, [especially] the biggest guy in the league," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "I give a lot of credit to him, coming in and wanting to do it and getting his weight down so he can do it." O'Neal put his weight at 330 pounds, which is at least 25 pounds lighter than last season. He said he's always been slim and he carried that much weight because of the poundings he took, particularly in the Western Conference with the Lakers. O'Neal said he's never been with a team that worked as hard on defense and that playing the Heat's style has more to do with wanting to do it than losing the weight. "I think it is more about heart than anything," he said. "He is doing it the way we do it," guard Eddie Jones said. "He is getting out and blitzing pick and rolls, rotating [back] to the rim. He is doing all the things asked of him." Brian Grant, one of the players the Heat sent to the Lakers for O'Neal, was a strong help defender away from the basket. Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said he wasn't sure if O'Neal could be as good at it because they are "different style guys," with O'Neal adding shot blocking and rebounding. But Van Gundy said he expects O'Neal to be effective playing the defense, and he was pleased with the team's and O'Neal's effort during the defensive period Thursday. "He was out trapping the heck out of pick and rolls, 30, 35 feet from the basket and rotating back," Van Gundy said. "He got through everything and did his job. Difference [from last season]? I don't know because he wasn't doing those things in L.A. "But he is doing them here, and I am happy particularly with his work ethic, and his conditioning is coming along great." O'Neal said he doesn't think losing the weight has any drawbacks. He said he still has plenty of beef to fight off opponents in the Eastern Conference, which has a reputation for more physical play than the West. "The more physical you get with me, the more tired you get," he said. "That is my game." Free-throw algebra The subject of O'Neal's free-throw shooting, the only perceived weakness in his game, came up Thursday, and Van Gundy and O'Neal each had a different take on it. Van Gundy, who said he has received about "50 or 60" letters from people offering to fix O'Neal's free-throw shooting, took the statistical approach. "If Shaq shoots 50 percent at the free throw line, we get one point for each possession he gets fouled on," Van Gundy said. "We get a point per possession, you are doing pretty well. I would like to think if we score a point per possession our defense is good enough that we can win a lot of games." O'Neal, meanwhile, said he is less concerned with his free-throw percentage (53.7 percent for his career) than making the ones that count. ... Forward Christian Laettner, who dropped out of the end of practice Wednesday
with back spasms, finished Thursday. He is day-to-day. |
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