New guys, new energy inspire Shaq
I like this team because there are guys that shoot. I've got two or three hard-nosed guys and I've got nine, 10, 11 unselfish guys."
Having spent many of his eight years in Los Angeles quarreling with teammate Kobe Bryant and Lakers management, O'Neal says South Florida has provided a refreshing perspective.
"[Power forward Udonis] Haslem came to me the first day and said, `Diesel, I ain't going to be in your way. The only thing I want to do is rebound and when you get doubled, I'm going to cut to the basket and just throw me a lob,'" O'Neal says with a smile as big as his massive legs that are soaking poolside.
"I haven't heard that since a young Horace Grant. Most guys on a team, they want to shoot, they want to score. Haslem said, `You don't ever have to call my play.' I told him in practice, `When I get the ball and your man comes, cut.' He told me the other day, `I didn't know you could pass like that.'"
"I want to help in making D-Wade become the best player in the world," he says. "I like his game, and when I say game, I say all-around game. Of course he can score. Of course he can penetrate and dunk. But he's given me passes just playing pickup ball that I haven't seen in six, seven years from certain people.
"I could look at his game and say he's an unselfish player, that his game has risen the right way. Most of these young guys now, they watch And-1, think it's about throwing it between their legs. They think it's about hitting the game-winning shot. They think about all that. He doesn't. I like his game."
"I would like the offense to run through me, because let's just talk common sense: When you've got a guy like Shaq that's shooting 60, 70 percent [actually 58.4 percent last season], you get the ball to him," he says, now a most unique sight, standing in full uniform in the pool, with the water barely to the bottom of his shorts. "If you've got a guy shooting 60, 70 percent, the other team's got to make a decision to stop him, and when they make a decision to stop him, Shaq's going to kick it out.
"Pat was straight up. He said, `I don't like you being big. I want you to get down to your old shape.' I said OK, so I didn't lift weights this summer. I just did all cardio, that's all I did."
I like this team because there are guys that shoot. I've got two or three hard-nosed guys and I've got nine, 10, 11 unselfish guys."
Having spent many of his eight years in Los Angeles quarreling with teammate Kobe Bryant and Lakers management, O'Neal says South Florida has provided a refreshing perspective.
"[Power forward Udonis] Haslem came to me the first day and said, `Diesel, I ain't going to be in your way. The only thing I want to do is rebound and when you get doubled, I'm going to cut to the basket and just throw me a lob,'" O'Neal says with a smile as big as his massive legs that are soaking poolside.
"I haven't heard that since a young Horace Grant. Most guys on a team, they want to shoot, they want to score. Haslem said, `You don't ever have to call my play.' I told him in practice, `When I get the ball and your man comes, cut.' He told me the other day, `I didn't know you could pass like that.'"
"I want to help in making D-Wade become the best player in the world," he says. "I like his game, and when I say game, I say all-around game. Of course he can score. Of course he can penetrate and dunk. But he's given me passes just playing pickup ball that I haven't seen in six, seven years from certain people.
"I could look at his game and say he's an unselfish player, that his game has risen the right way. Most of these young guys now, they watch And-1, think it's about throwing it between their legs. They think it's about hitting the game-winning shot. They think about all that. He doesn't. I like his game."
"I would like the offense to run through me, because let's just talk common sense: When you've got a guy like Shaq that's shooting 60, 70 percent [actually 58.4 percent last season], you get the ball to him," he says, now a most unique sight, standing in full uniform in the pool, with the water barely to the bottom of his shorts. "If you've got a guy shooting 60, 70 percent, the other team's got to make a decision to stop him, and when they make a decision to stop him, Shaq's going to kick it out.
"Pat was straight up. He said, `I don't like you being big. I want you to get down to your old shape.' I said OK, so I didn't lift weights this summer. I just did all cardio, that's all I did."
