Miami
Alonzo Mourning says he wants to attempt a comeback from his kidney ailment. If he does report, his first official NBA game will be the season opener against Shaquille O'Neal of the Miami Heat. Not only would he be going up against the most banging, bruising, dominating center in the world, he would be playing against his visiting former team.
This wouldn't be the first time Shaq played against a player recovering from focal glomerulosclerosis. In his bookShaq Talks Backthe big fella describes one play where Sean Elliott, coming back from a similar ailment, is driving down the lane. Shaq recalls thinking to himself that he could go for the block, and possibly foul Elliott hard in the process, or just let him go.
He let him go... because of the kidney problem. What's a couple of points, he essentially thought, relative to a potential rejection of the new kidney by the body, a rejection that can occur at any time?
So how will Shaq play Zo? He won't have as many chances to let Zo go. He has to body him up and defend him. Elliott may have been more of a finesse wing player but Zo is a bruiser: that's his whole game. He's a little undersized for center but he dominates the lane and he bangs with the best of them.
Supposedly, Zo's agent and doctor both have their reservations about Zo playing. Nets CEO Rod Thorn summarized it well: there are no assurances. Of course, from the point of view of the new Nets' ownership, Zo's comeback would have to be exceptionally good for it to be worth it to the team, because it means his salary would not come off the books as soon as if Zo were to remain retired.
We'll see how it goes.
TEAM NOTES
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Want to shake your booty in front of screaming fans? Or would you rather just tryout to be a professional dancer? Either way, remember this date: Sunday, September 12th. Also, remember this time: 1:30 pm. Oh, and you should probably memorize the location too, while you're at it: American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132. There's no cost to tryout so you don't have to remember that. You can forget about trying to squeeze any money into your tight outfit. Still eager for more details?
Roscoe Nance ofUSA Todaywrites: Baron Davis and his agent are demanding that the New Orleans Hornets trade the two-time All-Star guard to improve Davis' chances to win an NBA title. Davis didn't name a specific team he would like to play for but Ramasar said that his client would be a good fit with teams such as New York, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami.
Mitch Lawrence ofThe New York Daily Newswrites: When the Nets open their season, Alonzo Mourning would like nothing more than to be able to get out on the Meadowlands court and bang against the closest thing the NBA has to a brick wall. But with his new kidney, Mourning is not going to be taking any chances if he gets into a collision with Shaquille O'Neal."We're working on a protective device to prevent trauma to the kidney, if he's hit with an elbow," said Mourning's kidney specialist, Dr. Gerald Appel. "We will take the necessary precautions." With Shaq, that's always the best course.
Detroit Newswrites: Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal spoke to a group of about 500 Louisiana State student-athletes in the school’s academic center Wednesday night.He also danced, got people in the crowd to dance, clowned around, advised and told a secret or two as he made a stop for his second annual golf tournament that benefits LSU’s Life Skills program. “Somebody asked me what I was going to tell the football team,” said O’Neal, who played basketball at LSU from 1989-92 and returned to graduate in 2001. “I said, ‘Nothing. What am I going to tell them? They won the national championship.’”
Fred Kerber ofThe New York Postwrites: Mourning was forced to leave basketball last November because of focal glomerulosclerosis, the disease that twice before had threatened his life and career. He received a kidney transplant from a relative on Dec. 19, and eventually resumed workouts. Now he intends to report to Nets training camp with hopes of making a third comeback. Should Mourning prove able, he would face his old team, the Miami Heat, in the season opener on Nov. 3.