Reading Shaq's quotes are always good for a laugh... http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...AQ?SITE=TXHOU&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Shaq hoping added strength will help heat By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal ranked among the NBA leaders in scoring and rebounding a year ago, helped carry the Miami Heat within one game of the finals and was a narrow runner-up to Steve Nash in the MVP voting. Impressive? Not in O'Neal's estimation. "I was normal. ... I was an earthling last season," a relaxed, smiling and confident O'Neal said Monday, when the Heat held their annual media day on the eve of training camp. "I had to go back to my alien roots." What that meant was a rededication to weight training, something O'Neal avoided a year ago in a regimen that helped him shed 30 pounds and get perhaps slimmer than he'd been in a decade. He's noticeably bigger than he was at the end of last season, particularly in the upper body, and believes he'll be tougher to guard. "I expect Shaq will be the most dominant force in the NBA," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I've got a little bit of history to back that up." O'Neal - who averaged 22.9 points and 10.4 rebounds during the regular season, his 13th straight with averages of 20-plus points and 10-plus boards - took pride in losing the weight, but his body betrayed him at the most critical time of last season. "I was kind of weak," said O'Neal, who played at 327 pounds. A thigh bruise suffered late in the regular season never fully went away, and still hampered him two months later when the Heat completed their playoff run with a Game 7 loss to Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals. "Last year, he just lost weight," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "And I think at the end of the year that kind of took a toll on him because he didn't have that strength that he used to, to fall back on. ... Shaq is motivated to do something better and help the team." O'Neal said he packed on at least 10 pounds of new muscle, increasing his self-admitted weight to 340. He endured two-a-day summertime sessions in the weight room with Jerome Crawford, his longtime bodyguard, hoping it'll be enough to get him through an injury-free season. "I like him the way he is now," new Heat guard Gary Payton said. "I think he just wanted to get in shape to show people he can do that. Shaq is Shaq when he's big and when he can muscle people around. I think people thought they could muscle him around. He didn't feel comfortable with that. ... It'll be a big difference." Not every teammate is thrilled with Shaq's new look. Alonzo Mourning is among those who have the unenviable task of guarding him in practice, a job that was never enjoyable and just got considerably less so. "He didn't have to do that," Mourning said, groaning a bit. "He's already heavy enough. Good gracious." His tone turning a bit more serious, Mourning said he believes O'Neal - who signed a $100 million, five-year deal in the offseason, turning down at least another $25 million so the Heat could have plenty of flexibility to sign other players - will be even more valuable during his second season with the Heat. "He's going to be extremely effective for this team," Mourning said. "All he has to do is show up on that block. His presence alone is enough for this team." O'Neal said he does not have a target weight, yet isn't likely to revert back to the pre-Miami Shaq, who often played at an estimated 360 pounds during the latter years of his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. A reporter asked O'Neal if he was already feeling stronger than he did a year ago, and the 12-time All-Star center didn't hesitate before offering another in his endless stream of comedic replies. "Why don't you bring your face up here and let me punch it?" O'Neal said, laughing. "Then you can tell me." © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
sure...."10 pounds of MUSCLE"......they said the same thing about him when he was 370 pounds in LA...he added MUSCLE. i'll believe it when i see it. shaq is at his best around 300 pounds, like when he was in orlando. too bad we'll never see him dedicated like he was back then to his conditioning because he could have been the best center ever if he stayed in shape and didn't miss a ton of games with minor injuries.
