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Contrary to his critics’ beliefs, Shaquille O’Neal’s first three appearances in a Phoenix Suns’ uniform have been quite impressive.
Yes, the Suns went 1-2 during those three games, but that is to be expected. Afterall, they did just lose one of their better players in the trade to get Shaq, and despite how impressive Shaq has looked, the fact of the matter is that he still has to make adjustments to completely fit in with this team by playoff time.
That said, the Diesel is pumping quite well. In his first three games as a Sun, his numbers do not register as being anything special. However, he is averaging 29.3 minutes per game. That in and of itself is remarkable. When you figure that he is just coming off an injury and that so many people thought that he would not be able to get up and down the floor, his 29 minutes a game are more than most people would have expected. I know there are some people down in Miami who are quite angry that Shaq can play ball of a sudden, but it is what it is.
In those three games, Shaq shot 10-22 from the field. Not terribly impressive at all. His worst shooting performance came in the win against Boston where he shot 1-5. There are really no excuses for a man of Shaq’s caliber to shoot below 50% from the field. Even if he is still recovering, he should be shooting better than that, even if it means taking fewer shots. I do understand that he is trying to fit in with the offense, and that he may be working on a few things since coming back from the hip injury, but he shot 6-9 in his first game with the Suns, so there is no reason to expect anything less than that going forward.
What is very impressive is that Shaq is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game in just 29 minutes. That is essentially 15 rebounds per 40 minutes, which shows just how much of a factor he is on the boards right now. This does not mean you should immediately go and pick him up for your fantasy basketball team because he does not get enough minutes to get all of the production you would like to see, but his 11 rebounds are very essential to a Suns team that scores more per possession than all but one other team in the NBA. Also of note, Shaq is averaging 2.3 offensive rebounds per game, and his presence in the paint has allowed Amare Stoudemire to grab three offensive rebounds per game as well.
While he is doing great in terms of minutes and rebounding, he does have some parts that he has to work on. His 8.7 points are nice, but if he could up those field goal and free throw percentages (45% and 27%, respectively), he could easily average 10 points, which would give him a double-double average with the Suns. His turnovers are also a huge problem. If Shaq is not going to be scoring 30 points a night as he used to, then he cannot cough of the ball 3.3 times a game like he is. And he is only averaging 1.7 assists per game. In his new role, Shaq needs to be starting the fast break with his passing and dropping dimes from the block. He needs to average at least 3 assists in order to keep this Suns offense fluid.
All and all, Shaq’s arrival to Phoenix has been great considering the facts and the limited number of games he has played with them thus far. All of his naysayers should be quiet for now and just appreciate that even the little bit that he has shown thus far has been more than what they thought he would produce in Phoenix. And that fact of the matter is, Shaq has only demonstrated that there is much more upside to come in the near future.
That said, the Diesel is pumping quite well. In his first three games as a Sun, his numbers do not register as being anything special. However, he is averaging 29.3 minutes per game. That in and of itself is remarkable. When you figure that he is just coming off an injury and that so many people thought that he would not be able to get up and down the floor, his 29 minutes a game are more than most people would have expected. I know there are some people down in Miami who are quite angry that Shaq can play ball of a sudden, but it is what it is.
In those three games, Shaq shot 10-22 from the field. Not terribly impressive at all. His worst shooting performance came in the win against Boston where he shot 1-5. There are really no excuses for a man of Shaq’s caliber to shoot below 50% from the field. Even if he is still recovering, he should be shooting better than that, even if it means taking fewer shots. I do understand that he is trying to fit in with the offense, and that he may be working on a few things since coming back from the hip injury, but he shot 6-9 in his first game with the Suns, so there is no reason to expect anything less than that going forward.
What is very impressive is that Shaq is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game in just 29 minutes. That is essentially 15 rebounds per 40 minutes, which shows just how much of a factor he is on the boards right now. This does not mean you should immediately go and pick him up for your fantasy basketball team because he does not get enough minutes to get all of the production you would like to see, but his 11 rebounds are very essential to a Suns team that scores more per possession than all but one other team in the NBA. Also of note, Shaq is averaging 2.3 offensive rebounds per game, and his presence in the paint has allowed Amare Stoudemire to grab three offensive rebounds per game as well.
While he is doing great in terms of minutes and rebounding, he does have some parts that he has to work on. His 8.7 points are nice, but if he could up those field goal and free throw percentages (45% and 27%, respectively), he could easily average 10 points, which would give him a double-double average with the Suns. His turnovers are also a huge problem. If Shaq is not going to be scoring 30 points a night as he used to, then he cannot cough of the ball 3.3 times a game like he is. And he is only averaging 1.7 assists per game. In his new role, Shaq needs to be starting the fast break with his passing and dropping dimes from the block. He needs to average at least 3 assists in order to keep this Suns offense fluid.
All and all, Shaq’s arrival to Phoenix has been great considering the facts and the limited number of games he has played with them thus far. All of his naysayers should be quiet for now and just appreciate that even the little bit that he has shown thus far has been more than what they thought he would produce in Phoenix. And that fact of the matter is, Shaq has only demonstrated that there is much more upside to come in the near future.
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