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Shaq
smiles brightly in Miami in the midst of
Lakers' regret
Patrick
Hodgson
Superman and Flash, also known as Shaquille
O'Neal and Dwayne Wade, are taking the National
Basketball Association (NBA) by storm this
season, leading the Miami Heat to the best
start in franchise history with a 39-14
record. The team is at the top of the Eastern
Conference and is third overall in the league.
This
dynamic duo is the most productive tandem
the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan and
Scottie Pippen. Oh wait, maybe they are
the best tandem since Kobe and Shaq?
Isn't
it funny how the Los Angeles Lakers conceded
to all of the demands of Kobe Bryant this
off-season, which included Phil Jackson's
sayonara and the shipping of the most dominant
big man of our era, Shaq, to the East Coast?
Bryant
foolishly felt that he could win a championship
by himself and the Lakers organization abashedly
agreed with him. They felt that O'Neal was
aging and that his passion for the game
of basketball had deteriorated. In other
words, they felt that O'Neal had finally
met his kryptonite. They were wrong and
are now suffering greatly for their stupidity.
At
the half-way point of the season the Lakers
are scarcely holding on to the final playoff
spot in the Western Conference by a mere
game and a half, like a spider holding on
to its web for dear life. It gets worse
though. The team does not even have a permanent
coach, since Rudy Tomjanovich astonished
the organization by resigning as head coach
a few weeks ago. He cited health reasons
and dissatisfaction with the team for his
departure.
All
signs indicate that the struggling Lakers
will miss the playoffs for the first time
in over a decade and one has to believe
that O'Neal is somewhere in South Beach
smiling.
Not
only is he smiling because of the Lakers
kicking themselves in the you-know-what
for getting rid of him, but he is smiling
because the media criticized and scorned
him for his lack of conditioning and his
frequency for injuries. In fact, a majority
of the media sided with the Lakers about
O'Neal's consistency with injuries, and
also that Bryant rarely missed games. Well,
they were wrong too. O'Neal has played in
52 of the Heat's 53 games this season, and
would have played in all 53 games if the
Miami Heat had not decided to rest him for
a game. Kobe, on the other hand, has missed
14 games this season. Once again, posing
the question "What the ‘h-e-
double hockey stick' were the Lakers thinking?"
Common
sense would have told the Lakers to let
Bryant leave and keep O'Neal. Bryant would
have signed with the Los Angeles Clippers
and the Lakers could have gotten Tracy McGrady,
who attempted to get on the same team as
O'Neal during the off-season this past summer.
McGrady
would have done the same thing Bryant would
have done offensively and would have fed
the Big Man and made him happy like his
sidekick Wade is doing right now. The Lakers
would still be contenders and would probably
have the best record in the league.
The
Lakers were gauging interest in O'Neal from
the Dallas Mavericks and did not pull the
trigger on a blockbuster deal that would
have sent Superman to the Mavericks for
all-star forward Dirk Nowitzki and guard
Steve Nash.
Dallas'
owner Mark Cuban displayed serious interest
in the deal because he has always been in
love with O'Neal's abilities. Both Nash
and Nowitzki are having career seasons.
Nowitzki is second in the league in scoring,
averaging 27 points per game, and Nash is
leading the league in assists with 11.5
per game.
The
trade would have given the Lakers three
all-star players and would probably have
given them the best record in the league,
but unfortunately, Bryant objected to the
trade idea according to several basketball
analysts, including Stephen A. Smith and
Ric Bucher.
At
the end of the day, I believe that the Lakers
will miss the playoffs and Bryant will be
highly criticized for destroying a dynasty
that was supposed to reign for at least
a few more years.
Furthermore,
I feel that Bryant and the entire Lakers
organization have learned from their mistakes.
They will better appreciate the next superstar
that will play alongside Bryant in the near
future, possibly someone like Yao Ming two
years from now. Only time will tell.
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