So Pat Riley and Shaq are finally getting to that point in their relationship. What point is that? Well, the point that Shaq always reaches with his coaches. He tends to have only limited respect for authority figures (at least coaches, anyway), and once there's a line that's crossed, he tends to go his own way.
And that's exactly what he said after the Nets game, during which he got pulled in the opening minutes for struggling defensively, that he's going to do things his own way now, no matter who likes it.
Well, I'm not certain what that means, given that Shaq's way has appeared to be closest to "average" than it has at any point in his career. I'm wondering if there is another gear he has been holding back on, or if it's just a defensive strategy he plans on employing (taking on a defensive strategy might be a good start), or if he's going to start giving in to his aches and pains and actually ask out of games, if only to get across just how important he is to the team.
Whatever happens, you can bet there will be gestures or loud remarks after monster dunks, which is kind of what he used to do when he was unhappy in Los Angeles.
Personally, I think it'll die down because Riles won't let it get very far. But it will be fun to see if there is anything that plays out here in the immediate future.
According to a Chicago Tribune story, Ricky Davis has been heard (or maybe just seen) calling off Riley's plays at times and saying he's not going to run that stuff. I have a hard time believing that, if only because Ricky has been here all of one month and is in no position to be taking over offensive sets. Never mind that he just doesn't seem like that kind of person anymore, but who would listen to him? Jason Williams? Shaq? Zo? UD? None of those guys would really let Ricky wander off into this rebellious mode so soon.
As for Dwyane, it's amazing how much he has been able to do this early in his return. I think, though, that he'll eventually work guys in even more often. I mean, you saw plenty of stretches against the Sonics and Celtics where he was strictly looking for other guys, rather than trying to make the play himself. Once everyone else gets comfortable around him, and vice versa, it should be more of the same chemistry he found with Posey and Kapono, etc. I think Cook, Ricky and even Mark Blount will find that Dwyane will enhance their games, eventually.
So things aren't that bad. It may be time to reassess a projected win total (I'm looking at 46, 47 at this points, which could easily still translate into a No. 4 or 5 seed).
And if it does get worse, it'll never get as bad as it is with the Knicks. This from a New York Magazine story on Stephon Marbury:
“If I didn’t play the way how I played, I wouldn’t have gotten no max
contract,” Marbury said. “They can talk about whatever they wanna talk about
me, because I got maxed. I’m a max player. Don’t get mad at me, because
I’m telling you what’s real. One plus one is two, all day long, and
it’s never gonna change. And that’s factorial.”
We talked about the Bible. “I’m in Genesis,” he said. “I’m reading from the front of the book. Genesis is hot.”
“I think he’s lost his mind,” says Jeffrey “Slice” Morton, an old
friend who lived with Marbury during his rookie year in Minnesota until
the two had a falling-out and who now speaks with him only
intermittently. “He says he’s seen the light, but people that are saved
don’t act the way he acts. I think he’s confused.”
You think???
(Interesting, detailed comment, Taheati, but I think you might have taken my point a little differently than I intended. I never said Shaq drives a coach out, or makes life impossible for him. He just has a limit for how much he'll allow someone to tell him what to do, even if it is his coach. It happened with Van Gundy, it'll happen with Pat, if it hasn't already, and I'm sure it happened with Phil because Phil allowed for his players to work out a lot of their own problems. I believe Shaq's mind set is, 'If you can't do what I do, how can you tell me what to do?' That's not to say he doesn't respect Pat, I just believe that things aren't working out for him, he'll try things his own way. The problem with that is, unlike in his Lakers days, Shaq really can't play by his own rules and still dominate. So in this case, Riles might have the upper hand.
Relax with all the "fairy tale journalism" stuff. This is a blog, and I'm telling it like I've seen it in my experience the last four seasons.
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