FIBA Basketball
USA - Mavs and Heat make O'Neal disappear in Game One
DALLAS (NBA) - It's tough for a 7ft 1in, 335-pound man to disappear, especially on the NBA's most luminous stage. But Shaquille O'Neal managed to do just that.He had some help from his Miami Heat teammates, and from the Dallas Mavericks, who grabbed Game One of the NBA Finals, 90-80, on Thursday night. But the three-time Finals MVP was virtually nowhere to be found when he was needed most
Play-offs results
DALLAS (NBA) - It's tough for a 7ft 1in, 335-pound man to disappear, especially on the NBA's most luminous stage.
But Shaquille O'Neal managed to do just that.
He had some help from his Miami Heat teammates, and from the Dallas Mavericks, who grabbed Game One of the NBA Finals, 90-80, on Thursday night. But the three-time Finals MVP was virtually nowhere to be found when he was needed most.
"We know we have to get the ball down to Shaq more," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who took 25 shots.
"We've got to get him more touches," Heat point guard Gary Payton said.
O'Neal took just 11 shots, making eight and scoring 17 points. He became a forgotten man in Miami's offense, which sputtered to 49 points over the final three quarters.
"We need a few more guys stepping up and making timely shots, which is how we got here," Heat coach Pat Riley said.
"Eleven attempts isn't enough for him," said Heat forward Antoine Walker, who scored 17 points and was the only Miami player knocking down outside shots.
But it was more than that. The Mavericks rotated centers DeSagana Diop of Senegal and Erick Dampier on O'Neal, keeping their primary defenders fresh and out of serious foul trouble.
They also made a commitment to double-team O'Neal, using different looks.
"We tried to get them in and out, tried to save the fouls," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "As you saw tonight (Thursday), we pretty much had our whole team guarding Shaq. We've seen how he's really exploited single coverage."
"We played team defense," Diop said. "You can never play Shaq one-on-one. We kept the ball out deep and doubled. That's what we did. I think it worked out well."
For a while, O'Neal was exploiting double-teams, too. He was a willing passer and finished with five assists, a number that could have been twice as big had his team-mates found the range. Miami made just 5-of-20 3-pointers, three by Walker.
"I was getting the ball to my guys," O'Neal said. "We just have to mix it up. ... We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing - inside out."
When O'Neal did get the ball in prime position, the Mavericks also prevented O'Neal from finishing plays by fouling him. It proved to be an excellent strategy as O'Neal missed his first eight free throws before finally making one in the last minute.
"Throughout my career, I know that if I want my team to win a championship, I have to step up to the line and hit them, and I will," said O'Neal, who is shooting less than 40 percent from the line in the post-season.
"Probably just thinking about it a little too much."
Now the Heat are thinking about what they have to do to get Shaq untracked in Game Two on Sunday. It is a delicate balance between going to him every time and turning his teammates into spectators and not going to him enough and possibly facing an 0-2 deficit.
"It's not necessarily to try to force-feed it into him," Walker said. "It's the situations where times in the games where down the stretch, we had to get it back to a three- or two-point game, maybe get the ball to him."
"We're going to go back and make some adjustments, and usually after we go back and make adjustments, we usually play well," said O'Neal, whose club has not lost consecutive contests since Games Three and Four of the first round against Chicago. "We know we have to get one up here, and we're just going to try and get that one on Sunday."
By PA Sport
DALLAS (NBA) - It's tough for a 7ft 1in, 335-pound man to disappear, especially on the NBA's most luminous stage.
But Shaquille O'Neal managed to do just that.
He had some help from his Miami Heat teammates, and from the Dallas Mavericks, who grabbed Game One of the NBA Finals, 90-80, on Thursday night. But the three-time Finals MVP was virtually nowhere to be found when he was needed most.
"We know we have to get the ball down to Shaq more," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who took 25 shots.
"We've got to get him more touches," Heat point guard Gary Payton said.
O'Neal took just 11 shots, making eight and scoring 17 points. He became a forgotten man in Miami's offense, which sputtered to 49 points over the final three quarters.
"We need a few more guys stepping up and making timely shots, which is how we got here," Heat coach Pat Riley said.
"Eleven attempts isn't enough for him," said Heat forward Antoine Walker, who scored 17 points and was the only Miami player knocking down outside shots.
But it was more than that. The Mavericks rotated centers DeSagana Diop of Senegal and Erick Dampier on O'Neal, keeping their primary defenders fresh and out of serious foul trouble.
They also made a commitment to double-team O'Neal, using different looks.
"We tried to get them in and out, tried to save the fouls," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "As you saw tonight (Thursday), we pretty much had our whole team guarding Shaq. We've seen how he's really exploited single coverage."
"We played team defense," Diop said. "You can never play Shaq one-on-one. We kept the ball out deep and doubled. That's what we did. I think it worked out well."
For a while, O'Neal was exploiting double-teams, too. He was a willing passer and finished with five assists, a number that could have been twice as big had his team-mates found the range. Miami made just 5-of-20 3-pointers, three by Walker.
"I was getting the ball to my guys," O'Neal said. "We just have to mix it up. ... We've just got to keep doing what we've been doing - inside out."
When O'Neal did get the ball in prime position, the Mavericks also prevented O'Neal from finishing plays by fouling him. It proved to be an excellent strategy as O'Neal missed his first eight free throws before finally making one in the last minute.
"Throughout my career, I know that if I want my team to win a championship, I have to step up to the line and hit them, and I will," said O'Neal, who is shooting less than 40 percent from the line in the post-season.
"Probably just thinking about it a little too much."
Now the Heat are thinking about what they have to do to get Shaq untracked in Game Two on Sunday. It is a delicate balance between going to him every time and turning his teammates into spectators and not going to him enough and possibly facing an 0-2 deficit.
"It's not necessarily to try to force-feed it into him," Walker said. "It's the situations where times in the games where down the stretch, we had to get it back to a three- or two-point game, maybe get the ball to him."
"We're going to go back and make some adjustments, and usually after we go back and make adjustments, we usually play well," said O'Neal, whose club has not lost consecutive contests since Games Three and Four of the first round against Chicago. "We know we have to get one up here, and we're just going to try and get that one on Sunday."
By PA Sport