Be Careful What You Wish For

Shaquille O'Neal is doing his thing for the Phoenix Suns in a good NBA game on ESPN. He's altering shots and cleaning the glass.

And looking TERRIBLE at the free-throw line.

It's funny, because his biggest antagonist in the league, Kobe Bryant, seems to get a little better at something every single year. This year his long-range shooting has been great.

But Shaq doesn't even improve upon the simplest thing, which is to work on the muscle-memory skills needed to make free-throws, to solidify his game.

For that reason, I can't say that Shaq is one of the top-five centers of all time. I wonder how Suns fans feel right now, because they were so excited to get The Diesel and now they have to watch him stagger up the court, commit out-of-shape fouls and miss free-throws.

Uncomfortable.

I like Shaquille O'Neal as a sports personality. He's a good guy and an engaging interview. I just think he hasn't worked as hard as he could have to fully realize his athletic potential...