Almost Forgot

I thought I was done with the NBA Finals, but then I saw a column by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. Thanks to the continuing inanity of the late night start time, I didn't stick around to watch the trophy ceremonies after game 6. Even with California, the Pacific time zone only has about 15% of the population, but God forbid they be inconvenienced. So, I didn't see it happen, but apparently Shaq wouldn't let David Stern hand the MVP award to Dwyane Wade. He had to take it from him and be the presenter. I guess Shaq thinks of it as passing the torch. Except it's not. Wade was their best player last year too.

I think Simmons' point is dead on. Shaq may say all the right things, but it has to be killing him that Wade is getting all the credit. Little does he know that it could (and should) be worse. He's actually getting some credit for the win rather than it being honestly reported that Miami won in spite of Shaq having flaws so bad that he wasn't on the floor at crunch time. Most think that Miami wouldn't have won a title without Shaq to draw double teams. There may be some truth to that, although I thought the team actually played more fluidly (especially in game 6) when Shaq was off the floor. However, that's a debatable point. What isn't debatable is that the Heat probably wouldn't have made it out of the second round with Shaq, but not Wade. They certainly wouldn't have won the title.

I'll be perfectly honest. I don't really like Shaq. I got tired of his knocking people into the stands to go to the basket without a charge being called, and then whining that he gets hacked all the time. If a defensive player isn't allowed to position defend him, what else can they do besides foul him? Besides, if he'd learn to hit a free throw, they probably wouldn't do it as often. I've also had to listen to him give interviews where he thinks he's a comedic genius, but he's really not that funny (why does Ozzie Guillen get grief for calling someone a fag, but Shaq gets away with calling Sacramento the Queens?). Of course, he also thinks he's talented outside basketball, but that leads to Kazaam, Shaq Diesel and Shaq Fu. Half his interviews degenerate into "Look at how great I am", and then he ends up giving himself multiple nicknames like The Big Aristotle (can't wait for Shaq's philosophical treatise). Yet when Eric Dampier outplayed him in game 2, he hid from interviewers. Think of it this way - if I don't like Terrell Owens for being a "me,me,me" braggart, why would I like Shaq when he does the same thing?

I don't like Kobe Bryant either, but I think the problems that the Lakers had their last year together weren't just Bryant's fault. Neither of them liked sharing the spotlight, and unlike Wade, Bryant was not going to be subservient when he knew he was just as important to the team. I'm sure it had to be irritating to him that he was expected to carry the load while Shaq was "playing" himself into shape, but Shaq was bragging about how he would be the one carrying the team in the playoffs. Many observers thought the Lakers made a mistake when they traded Shaq, because they believed the Lakers wouldn't be able to sign Bryant if Shaq stayed. That's just stupid. Bryant is much younger, and Shaq is clearly on the downside of his career. Keeping Shaq over Bryant would have been a good idea if they could have gotten someone like Wade, but what's the likelihood they could have? Does anyone think the Lakers would have made the playoffs this year with Shaq, but not Bryant?

So, we're left with a new superstar in Wade, and an aging diva in Shaq who still wants to be relevant. Actually, it kind of reminds me of the director's commentary on the Big Trouble In Little China DVD. Their idea was to flip flop the leading man character and the sidekick, with a little subtlety. Apparently, they were so subtle that no one knew. Kurt Russell's Jack Burton was seen as the hero even though he was really a doofus, and Dennis Dun's Wang Chi was the sidekick even though he did most of the ass kicking. Shaq thinks he's still the hero, but he's now the sidekick.