Miami
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Is Shaquille O'Neal pacing himself? If so, head coach Stan Van Gundy might be pissing himself. Van Gundy is a coach that demands the best from his players at all times and, in his own words, will "fight" the concept of pacing whenever he sees it. But Shaq puts it figuratively: "It ain't how you start the date. It's how you finish the date." Is the romance really over that fast?
In the end, Van Gundy won't really have any choice. How do you tell the most dominant player to play better? And be what, even more dominant? Shaq's going to play how he wants to play and that's it. Perhaps most of his teammates think he'll come away to Van Gundy's line of thinking, which is heavily influenced by Pat Riley, notorious for long, grueling practices. But at the end of the day, it is what it is. Shaq knows his body and his health and his talent better than anybody else and while he would never let a team down, he knows the games in the postseason are more important than the regular season.
It's in April, May, and June that titles get won. The rest of the months you're just jockeying for position at that new starting line.
Perhaps the best thing that will happen in such a romantic clash as a date is that the two sides will spur each other to be more like, well, the Spurs, who tend to start mediocre but finish the regular season strong, heading into the playoffs high on confidence.
The key thing, of course, is getting to the playoffs.
NEXT GAME
The Heat travel to Atlanta to rematch the Hawks, who they destroyed on Monday. Miami should look to play more like they did in the first half of Monday, when they built a more than 25 point lead, than like they did in the second half, when they lost most of it. The game starts at 8:00pm but is not expected to be broadcast on TV.
TEAM NOTES
The Miami Herald notes: On Nov. 14, Temple Samu-El Or Olom presents the Miami Heat Basketball Team. A chartered bus leaves the Temple at 5:15 p.m. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. Cost: $40 per person. Optional roundtrip chartered bus transportation is $7.50 per person. Tickets and bus seats are limited. Contact the synagogue to make reservations. Daily Minyan is at 7:30 p.m. Mondays. For further information call 305-271-5756. E-mail: tsoo spanish@earthlink.net. Website: www.tsoomiami.org.
Get in on the drama as the hottest show on television, "Making the Cut — Heat Dancers 2004", will air on select dates on Sunshine Network. This one hour docudrama takes you through a behind-the-scenes look at Heat Dancer auditions. Dates and times to be posted shortly.
INJURY UPDATE
No injury to report.
Rick Bonnell ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: Remember when Emeka Okafor told those school kids he'd dunk on Shaquille O'Neal in next week's exhibition against the Miami Heat? Bickerstaff suggested an alternative earlier in the week: "One thing on that Miami game, so we can get that all out of the way -- I'm going to impersonate Shaq, so Emeka can dunk on me."
The St. Petersburg Timeswrites: Eddie Jones entered training camp believing the primary objective was for the revamped Heat to develop around Shaquille O'Neal. But through Miami's first four preseason games, Jones is shooting just 27.3 percent from the field. And even though he's coming off last season's career-worst 40.9 percent shooting effort, Jones said his confidence remains high. "I don't have a problem with it. Honest," Jones said Wednesday, his 33rd birthday. "Half the shots I've taken have been in and out. That's the only thing I worry about. If my shot is on line, they'll start going down."
Marc Narducci ofThe Philadelphia Inquirerwrites: Malik Allen enjoys returning to the South Jersey area, but his job as power forward for the Miami Heat kind of limits his visits back home.This summer, he spent his longest time home since first entering the NBA in 2001, and while he enjoyed his visit, Allen wouldn't mind if his next extended stay doesn't happen until sometime in late-June, following the NBA championship series.
Chris Perkins ofThe Palm Beach Postwrites: Stan Van Gundy knows Shaquille O'Neal, but the second-year Heat coach doesn't really know his star center yet. For example, O'Neal admitted in recent years he preferred to pace himself through the season so he can have enough strength to be dominant at the end. And O'Neal, now in his 13th season, said in his own colorful way that might be the case again this year. "Put it this way," O'Neal began, "it ain't how you start the date, it's how you finish the date.A lot of guys start the date strong, then that's it. It's finished. A lot of guys start the date weak, but by the end of the date it's good. I mix it up."