Charley Rosen
Special to FOXSports.com, Updated 3 days ago
What Shaq can still do
Shoot his awkward turnaround jumper from the left box. He was 2-of-2 on this maneuver.
Swing a short, right-handed banker after turning baseline from the right box. He was also 2-of-2 on this maneuver. It should be noted, however, that Shaq received the ball on the right box only twice, and when he turned baseline he also turned away from the oncoming double-teams that he couldn't dodge on the left box. Why, then, did he have only those two catches here? And why did he get only seven shots? Only Pat Riley knows the answers to both of these puzzlers.
Show on the nether side of high screen/rolls.
Make simple out passes when he was doubled. He also made two passes to cutters, one being perfect, the other being too low to be smoothly handled.
Run passably well in straight lines. He trailed a fastbreak and wound up with a dunk. And he also beat Kendrick Perkins downcourt twice.
Play excellent defense when he is sufficiently challenged. When Boston went small in the fourth quarter, Shaq had to guard Kevin Garnett — and did an outstanding job! On one play, Garnett wanted to settle into the pivot, but Shaq pushed him far out on the wing — then crowded KG when he finally did receive a pass. With no room to maneuver, Garnett was forced to make a harmless pass to the top of the key. This was Shaq's best play of the game.
What Shaq can no longer do
Explode toward the basket after corralling an entry pass.
Where he once was the best pass-catcher in the league, his hands aren't nearly as sure as they used to be. He fumbled four balls that he should have caught.
Get off his feet with any degree of quickness. Indeed, on four occasions, smaller, more quick-footed opponents beat him to rebounds.
Attack the offensive boards. Only two of his 11 total rebounds were retrieves of his teammates' misses — and time after time, Shaq allowed himself to be immobilized when he was boxed out by smaller, lighter players. (Three of his rebounds literally fell into his hands, and only four were grabbed in the middle of a hostile crowd.)
Move laterally on defense in a timely fashion. Several times he was late in helping on the ball. During a third-quarter sequence he was caught in no-man's land — neither helping nor attending to his own man — and Perkins wound up with an easy put-back.
Avoid tripping over the foul line. Which appeared to be the case late in the game as he backpedaled from the high post and attempted to set up in the pivot.
It's obvious that Shaq can only approximate his former glory on special occasions. When he's matched up against Yao Ming, or Dwight Howard. Or when he's forced to cover KG.
Unfortunately, that's not enough for the Heat to play top-notch basketball on a consistent basis. Even more unfortunate is the sad news that the Big Diesel has become the Big Used-to-Be.
