The rebirth of Shaq?
Tex Winter never pays much attention to what Shaquille O’Neal has to say. “He’s colorful, isn’t he?” the 86-year-old hoops guru says with a chuckle.
On the other hand, Winter watches very closely what Mr. O’Neal, the Phoenix Suns center, does on the floor.
It takes a lot to impress Winter, Phil Jackson’s longtime mentor and now a consultant to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, Winter admits to being impressed with what he’s seen of Shaq this year. “I think he’s in pretty good shape,” Winter said. “He’s a little thinner, a little better conditioned, a little more mobile, moving a little better than he has the last few seasons.”
Winter has viewed with curiosity the Suns’ acquisition last season of the behemoth O’Neal. At the time, Winter said it didn’t make clear sense, adding the big, lumbering fella to a team that was built to run. But having watched them adjust, Winter has come to believe that the Suns probably need to embrace O’Neal a little more than they have, to go ahead and find their new identity. In Shaq’s parlance, that would translate to “give me the ball and let the big dog eat.” “There’s a certain way you have to play with Shaq,” Winter observed. “Get him the ball on the low post, and go from there.”
A guardian of the game who never hesitates to criticize a superstar, Winter had his conflicts with O’Neal when the big guy was with the Lakers. Winter, though, conceded that “Shaq’s probably not getting it enough at this point.”
Of course, it probably would work better for the Lakers if the Suns remain conflicted and caught at crossed purposes. The competition in the Western Conference is already tough enough. O’Neal had recently implied that Jackson was somehow to blame for O’Neal’s feuding with Kobe Bryant.
Winter has long been on the record that Jackson, as Lakers coach, bent over backward to coddle O’Neal to the detriment of Bryant. As for O’Neal’s allegation that Jackson was behind the conflicts with Bryant, longtime Laker observers know that O’Neal had an aggressive agenda against Bryant months before Jackson or Winter came to the team in 1999.
Winter also paid little mind to the recent dust-up between the Lakers Trevor Ariza and teammate Sasha Vujacic. Ariza got upset with Vujacic for taking a badly missed three-pointer instead of moving the ball. The two had to be separated by teammates. Winter himself was never shy about making his opinions known. Lakers assistant Brian Shaw chuckles about Tex getting upset with him when he was a Lakers guard.
So it’s not surprising that Winter didn’t see anything too wrong with Ariza getting ticked off.
“I don’t blame him,” Winter said. “Good for him. I’ve always tried to let people know they’ve gotta play the game right. I don’t like people to discredit the game of basketball.”
Winter also noted that Jackson moved quickly to talk to Ariza about losing his temper. “Phil won’t let things hang,” Winter said. Of course, assistants sometimes had to step in back in the day when Winter, then Jackson’s assistant with the Chicago Bulls, would get upset with Luc Longley or some other transgressor.
Then again, there’s much about Ariza that brings the days of yore to mind for Winter. “Ariza’s got tremendous reach. He’s active,” Winter said. “When he’s playing defense he’s a little bit like (Scottie) Pippen with those long arms and the way he anticipates the passing lanes and gets his hands on the ball. “I’m not saying he’s another Pippen,” Winter added quickly but acknowledged that Jackson and his Lakers coaching staff have mentioned Ariza and Pippen in the same breath.
Longtime observers will recall that the great Pippen at 6-7 offered tremendous defensive versatility. He was able to sink into the lane to help defend the post, then showed the quickness to recover to the perimeter. “Ariza plays a little differently than Pippen on the help defense,” Winter said.
But the 6-8 fourth year forward reminds Winter of Pippen, Michael Jordan and Ron Harper, the Bulls triumvirate that ruled the league as stealers from 1996 to 1998. “Pippen and Jordan and Harper were good at laying back there and then jumping in and playing the passing lanes,” Winter said. “That’s why we (the Bulls) were a very good defensive club with those three guys. Ariza does that too. We need more like him.”
Winter was quick to add that this 2008-09 version of the Lakers is showing much defensive promise. Kobe Bryant has offered encouraging flashes of inspired defensive play. “Kobe will overplay and gamble a lot,” Winter said, acknowledging that such a ploy was also a Jordan trait. “But Kobe doesn’t lay back and come up with the basketball.”
It seems Winter is suggesting that Bryant add such a wrinkle to his portfolio, so keep a lookout for that at some point this season. “They’re working hard on defense,” Winter said of the Lakers. “They’re not the old Bulls. They’ll have their own character.”
The Lakers, of course, will have to improve dramatically as a defensive unit if they want to erase the memories of the hurting that the Boston Celtics put on them in the championship series in June. The pain of that loss seems to have added purpose to Jackson’s approach as well. “It’s motivated him to the point that he wants to get with it,” Winter said of the Lakers coach. “And he is getting with it. He’s controlling things a lot more than he did in the past.”
Then again, Jackson has more to control this time around. The Lakers are a very deep team. “He likes it,” Winter said of Jackson’s attitude toward the depth.
Asked if he thought this Los Angeles club has even more depth than the great Bulls teams that won six championships, the coach replied, “We had some pretty good subs in Chicago. But I don’t know if we had a team where the subs can play as many minutes as these Lakers guys can.”
Winter also is pleased that Bryant “has settled in to a team role” despite transgressions here or there that have left Jackson complaining a bit to reporters. “Kobe’s gotta hit shots,” Winter said. “He’s gotta take those outside shots. They’re important to the team. He cant’ go to the basket all the time.”
It’s a question of balance for Bryant, Winter said. The All-Star guard has to keep a steady mix between shooting and driving. That sounds simple, but it’s never easy to measure balance over the course of a game. “Kobe just can’t rely on one thing or the other too much,” Winter said. “Kobe wants to involve everybody else, and that’s good. But sometimes it’s maybe too much so. With players like Kobe and Jordan, it’s always a question of balance.”
Winter is preparing to rejoin the team in Los Angeles after taking a couple of weeks away to deal with the painful shingles that have bothered him for three years. Seemingly concerned about his mentor, Jackson suggested Winter contact his “holistic” doctor in New York who helped Jackson deal with hip pain. Winter has made the contact and is hoping for results.
Meanwhile, he’s eager to get back to the team to take his mind off the pain. Winter was also mindful of the passing this week of Pete Newell. Winter recalled that his Kansas State team went to Berkeley in December of 1958 and beat Newell’s Cal team that went on to win the NCAA championship that spring of 1959. Winter’s K State team spent part of that reason ranked number one in the country. But his club lost to Cincinnati and Oscar Robertson in the Midwest Regional Final, 85-75.
Newell’s club went on to beat Robertson and Cincy in the national semifinals before nipping West Virginia and Jerry West for the NCAA title. “Pete Newell was a great coach and especially a great teacher,” Winter said.
Ron Said,
November 21, 2008 @ 3:47 pm
I don’t think will be making any all-NBA teams or be selected to any all-star games but one thing is certain, Shaq is still the biggest, strongest and intimidating force in the NBA. And until he retires, he will continue to demand the double and triple teams from opposing defenses because he’s simply got too much size and strength for any one player to handle. Not to mention that at 36 years old, he’s still better than 95% of the other centers in the league.
bon Said,
November 21, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
How could some people say kobe is better than mj when its so clear that kobe is just immitating all of his airness’ moves? as tex says, lets now wait if kobe will apply that style of defense mj does… MJ, the greatest! kobe, copycat!
Chris Said,
November 21, 2008 @ 7:41 pm
I am a fan of Tex Winter, but I thought this article was suppossed to be about Shaq? That’s what the title is suppossed to lead the reader to believe. Title should be something along the lines of “Winter on Shaq, Lakers, and History.”
Pinky Said,
November 21, 2008 @ 10:13 pm
Great work, Roland. I hope Tex gets all the recognition he deserves.
thebleeptruth Said,
November 22, 2008 @ 9:35 am
I agree with Chris. I was led to believe that the article was about Shaq. Editors, please change the title!!! Nine-tenths of the article was just about Tex Winters. DUH! And anyway about Shaq having a “rebirth” and performing better than he did during his last year in Miami, when we all thought it was all downhill for him, all I can say is that I feel sorry for Nash and STAT, but more so for STAT. Observing the Phoenix games this season, it bewilders me why Shaq demands the ball too much, and why so many plays are ran around him. I don’t even care if he puts up 18 and 10 a night. I don’t even care about his antics. This guy is NOT supposed to be the no.1 or even the no.2 option for the Suns. And by the way the Suns aren’t even my no.1 team, but more like no.3 favorite team. But it’s enough for me to see how Shaq and Terry Porter’s coaching has doomed not only the production of STAT and Nash, but the entire team. Now that you think about it, it’s so funny how D’Antoni’s style of play with Shaq during the latter stages of last season now appears to be much much better than with how Terry Porter is handling the team right now. Too bad for the Suns. With Terry Porter on board, all of sudden, the way Shaq plays, he seems to think the Suns are his team. This guy’s on a selfish mission right now. And for the record, I’m not a big fan of Kobe. All this stuff I’m talking about are just what I’ve been observing as of late with the Suns, and is no way secretly a Shaq-bashing tirade.
And I don’t even want to add anything more about the Kobe and Jordan comparison. Jordan is the greatest player to have played the game. PERIOD!
kurt Said,
November 23, 2008 @ 2:09 am
Interesting article on the ….Lakers!?!? It said it was a “Suns” article. What a slap in the face of PHX fans. Was that intentional?
K Chan Said,
November 23, 2008 @ 10:20 pm
Haha i know right. Shaq is looking good but i think the suns cannot win the west with teams who are younger and more defensive minded like the lakers, houstan, utah. we saw that last week when the lakers played in phx. the suns dont run anymore, still reliant on the 3’s even tho they dont take as much. My lakers are goin all the way thats all i know and kobe aint a copy cat, HES KOBE!!! i hate when ppl compare him to MJ, there’lll be no other like MJ, Lebron’s lebron, kobe’s kobe, just accept the fact that Kobe is great at what he does and live with it…by the way, the lakers dominated every west opponent so far!!
qtlaw Said,
November 24, 2008 @ 12:48 am
Thanks again Mr. Lazenby. Nice to get some insight into Tex Winters. I value his opinion and insights. Only wish he could come to Golden State. Who cares what the article is called? What’s more important is that someone like Mr. Winters is granting us a peek into his brain. Please keep up the unique insights.
gmoney Said,
November 24, 2008 @ 8:20 am
to be the best u have to imitate the best!!!! just like julius did from baylor and michael did from julius!!!! when we were teenagers we all stuck our tounges out just like jordan!!! if any of u would’ve made it to the nba……. fans wouldve say the same thing about u!!! so enjoy the game of basketball and enjoy watching a basketball genious that won 3 championships one mvp and scored 81 pts in one game!!! enough said!!!
pettweezy Said,
November 24, 2008 @ 12:18 pm
shaq is the best player ever there shouldve been more about him and phx.. they can take the west theres no doubt in my mind.
Stuckey Said,
November 24, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Imagine if the Lakers had not traded Shaq and they paid him what he was demanding.
The Lakers would be paying this guy over $20 million each season until the summer of 2011.
This would also be a team without Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.
Great move Jerry Buss. I guess in hindsight the Lakers played it really smart.
cttiger Said,
November 25, 2008 @ 10:20 pm
qtlaw.. a lot of ppl care what the title mean…. i dont want to read an article about wanna-be-bulls lakers when i thought i was reading about shaq
until they do something in June sometime in future laker are the 1st loosers..
didn’t u hear shaq saying “Kobe couldn’t do it without me”
this is years.. at least as of today.. if you go 1 to 15 east is better than west ( i know it will change as season progress)
Giovani Fereira Said,
November 28, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
He ain’t no Jordan….nobody was or I think will ever be….I think Vince Carter had a shot in the beginning and Tracy McGrady and Vince probably would have had at least one championship if not more especially with the team Toronto had when Tracy punked them but Kobe although he is amazing is not in Jordan’s catergory and this is coming from someone who grew up loving Magic and to me Jordan wasn’t up to the level Magic was. But especailly when Jordan came back after two years in baseball and then won another three in a row…I said you know what after the first few I was in denial but after that second three I believed he is truly the greatest NBA player ever and imagine he didn’t retire that would have potentially been 8 in a row…damn the way he played the last year for the Bulls they could have won 10 in a row I believe….without Jordan they were a .500 team and lost in the first round of the playoff….with Jordan they weren’t wvwn really challenged for that Championship…hey but I still love Magic and his my favourite….not the greatest but at least one of them cause he has that ring from his rookie year and he was the star. There was no other player that impacted his team that much like Magic did….Shaq impacted his team but they had a 41-41 record (no playoffs)…but maybe looking back they should have kept Webber….Scott Skiles even was willing to take a pay cut…no that’s a plyer..although not great saticscally but he was a true team player….like Duncan taking less from the Spurs and I’m sure there are a few others.
HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Roland Lazenby » Breaking the fun machine in Phoenix Said,
December 19, 2008 @ 9:05 am
[...] the Diesel. Last year he struggled, but this year O’Neal is showing signs of rounding into form (at least that’s what longtime Shaq critic Tex Winter thinks. Even so, it’s not so much about building around Shaq per se as it is building an organization [...]