When It Comes to Effort, Shaq Can't Cast The First Stone

Shaquille may be one of the greatest centers to play the game, but he's just as known for his regular season laziness. It's been even worse with the Heat; while some might say he's falling apart physically, I'm convinced that the ring has given him an even thicker sense of entitlement. He returned to the Heat on January 24th, having missed every game since November 12th. Last night, after his second game back, O'Neal was ripping his team(mates) after a loss to the Knicks:

"We have to take one game at a time and take care of business, and we haven't been doing that," O'Neal said. "We just have to step up and play. Everyone has to do their job and everybody has to want to be here and everybody has to want to play. I'm getting sick and tired of this. I've never been five games under .500 in my career. It's embarrassing."

In case you were wondering, Shaq barely cracked double digits in points or minutes. And yet he's telling others to step up and act like they know. It's also particularly hilarious that this is cast as him being under .500 when he's barely been around. He's basically saying "I should only be coming back to a winning team."

So what of Dwyane Wade, the silent partner who actually carries the Heat on the court, and has been doing all the lifting whe O'Neal immobilized? Frustrated, but taking the high road.

"I'm not a motivator. I've never been. Anybody looking for me to come in and make a speech, it's not going to happen," Wade said. "I just try to go out there and play and hopefully my play speaks for itself.

"Guys have to look at themselves in the mirror more than anything and come out and try to put their best foot forward. But I'm not a motivator, and that's not my job. My job is to go out there every night and prove and show my teammates what I'm going to bring to them. And that's why I try to do."

So maybe it's just not his role to get in people's faces like Shaq is. Wade's not like that, and O'Neal has the juice to do this even if he's been in street clothes all season. But at some point, isn't it a little strange if your MVP canidate defers to guy who never even suits up? You'd at least think that Shaq would start to carry himself like the distinguished veteran help, instead of making it a matter of him being five games under .500.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-27-2007 @ 12:42PM

Brett said...

EXACLTY. Nice to see some more attention brought to this.

1-27-2007 @ 1:25PM

kevin said...

screw shaq without wade or Kobe he would have 0 rings.....forget about being 5 games under 500 and focus on losing some fat off your lazy ass and make some free throws....he makes 30 million a yr to play half the season...the Heat are pure suckers

1-27-2007 @ 2:33PM

Bonnie said...

Shaq should be embarrassed, not because of how his team has struggled without him, but for how he has the audacity to judge them after having sat out for 35 games. Maybe Wade will finally start to understand why Kobe lost all respect for Shaq as a teammate.

1-27-2007 @ 3:34PM

Sola said...

If Wade can't talk,someone else like Shaq or Alonzo should be able to say something regardless of whether they are in street clothes or not.The point is that an urgent surge is needed as they lost a 20points lead the other day.I am sure they don't want to go the way of the steelers too.

1-27-2007 @ 3:40PM

Rebecca said...

Shaq is a veteran that has played on good, bad, and even great teams, and you ask why is he stepping in and confronting NBA players on something that they should be doing day in and day out on and off the court. He is only saying something that no one else is saying. The heat is a great team with or without shaq, they can win games without him so they need to start playing like it. For this team to win a championship they need to take shaq's advise and start playing every game like its their last and not preseason.

1-27-2007 @ 3:43PM

As for you Bonnie,Kobe is a bad teammate too.He is selfish,snitch and a moron.Kobe want to be the man and he has 'nada' ring since Shaq left LA. Wade should be lucky too bcos Shaq always give you a legitimate chance for a playoff/ring. Shaq is just relaying coach Reiley's message period.

1-27-2007 @ 4:24PM

Rita said...

Shaq is and always has been a lazy SOB. He looks for all the glory but doesn't want to put forth the effort. And then he whines when his team is not ".500" That's bullshit! Unless you are going to engage yourself with your team, you need to keep your mouth shut! And yes, he is too fat and too lazy to call himself "Superman". Those days are over. And he wouldn't have any of those rings if it weren't for Kobe when he was with the Lakers and Wade right now. He is not a one-man show. Maybe it's time for him to pursue his dream and sign up for the police force.He can push people around in that job!

1-27-2007 @ 4:34PM

Joe said...

I don't want to hear about Kobe.He embodies selfishness. He wanted to be the center of attention in LA and have no other players before him (as if he were God). Well he helped get rid of all the other super stars and now LA is stuck with kissing Kobe's butt. Shaq went to Miami and elevated everybody's game and they won a championship. There is no question he needs to step up his own game too before he start talking about what other guys are not doing. But he is a leader and somebody has to call the other guys to account. I just don't know if doing it in the media is the right thing at this moment. You call a team meeting for that and hash it out.

1-27-2007 @ 4:54PM

Scott said...

DO YOU SEE KOBE BEING SELFISH THIS YEAR? DO YOU SEE KOBE BLAMEING HIS TEAM MEMBER SINCE SHAQ DEPARTURE? DO YOU SEE KOBE UNABLE TO GET ALONG WITH LAMAR? HE IS A DAMMED SMART SUPER STAR, JUST LIKE SHAQ. AND AS SUPERSTARS, THEY ALL HAVE BIG EGO AND BIGGER PROSPECT FOR THEIR TEAMS. AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT FOR THESE BIG STARS. SHAQ WANTS HIS TEAM BE AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR IS JUSTIFIABLE BECAUSE HE PUT THEM THER LAST YEAR, AS MANY YEAR HE HAD DONE FOR LAKERS. SO LIVE WITH IT AND ENJOY THE GAMES. DON'T BE FOOLED!

1-27-2007 @ 5:36PM

Louis said...

Looking at the comments, I see there's a lot of advice from people who wouldn't even make "ball-boy/girl". We all love to criticize, especially when we don't possess a particular talent. (Sure makes us feel big and important, doesn't it?) Just RELAX folks, and let the players play. Enjoy the game and keep your hot air to yourselves because most of you don't know SQUAT - and the rest of you are pretending to be what you're not. All I have to say is: GO HEAT!

1-27-2007 @ 6:52PM

Sam said...

Lets not talk about Kobe the NBA's most selfish player.It takes Kobe 25-30 shots to make 30 points. That is not a good shooter or team player as far as I am concerned. He will never win another ring in his career!

1-27-2007 @ 7:02PM

DiamondJ said...

Shaq is far from one of the great centers of the NBA. Patt 3 feet he can't shoot, hasn't led the NBA in rebounding, should lead the NBA in offensive fouls if the refs would call his barreling/backing according to the rule book, FT are a joke & Shaq is a joke. He is a legend in his own mind which is very small. NBA is not a game, but a business and entertainment. If they would call the game according to the rule book, many of the players today couldn't take it.

1-27-2007 @ 8:03PM

raul said...

shaq didn't do a darn thing in the finals. look up his numbers , if it wasent for the ref's calling a foul 9 times out of 10 everytime wade drove the lanes. late in the games wade was triping over his own feet, and the ref's was calling fouls on any maverck player standing next to him
and shag takes the cradit, for the win just like in los angeles,

1-27-2007 @ 9:51PM

jay said...

heat have a world title it didnt happen until shaq got there ask any n b a player and they will tell youn that shaq still demands more attentions the any n b a player in the history of the game where did the hack a shaq come from i would rather have a 50% shaq then any other center in the game just ask avery johnson wait til the play offs you will see just like last year sit tight and get your pop corn

1-27-2007 @ 10:45PM

da man said...

i think louis said it best unless you play ball well let me rephrase that unless you are a talent ball player you wouldnt understand and it is easy to be a side line big mouth

1-27-2007 @ 11:24PM

mando said...

shaq was a good person and a good basketball player but when you start to make the money he makes he forgets that there is life after basketball and friend to keep couse with out the two you are what

2-10-2007 @ 7:06AM

AP said...

Say folks lighten up.... there is more in this world to ponder about whether than a 300 plus pound guy who's won 4 rings....has leadership ability - or if he says that his teammates are stinking up the place...when they are stinking up the place.

What about the other important stuff...like the war in IRAQ; the number of Black coaches in sports in general; the number of people crossing our borders in an unfretted way... the number of people slaughtered in Sudan....on and on... when we start to think about these issues then... whether some guy who has 4 championship rings have leadership ability or any other basketball player for that matter ...such issues becomes a joke.... and is just what it is meant to be entertainment.....

So let's all lighten up will ya!

2-10-2007 @ 2:37PM

Elizabeth Sturm said...

Screw both Wade and Shaq...neither one of them are true leaders and for Wade to say he wont be a motivator proves that he doesnt care about his team's success.

2-15-2007 @ 9:22AM

Steve said...

I love Wade's statement about how he's "not a motivator." Isn't this the same Dwayne Wade who just ripped Dirk Nowitzki for poor leadership skills? What a hypocrite.