Here’s why Shaq nags Howard
Shaquille O’Neal has always prodded Dwight Howard, if not overtly criticized him.
Why? The Big Aristotle provided a Big Reveal before returning to Los Angeles to have his Lakers jersey retired Tuesday at halftime of a game against Dallas.
“I love Dwight and I see his potential. Hopefully when I say these things he gets mad,” O’Neal said in an interview. “Just think about it. At the dunk contest, he dunked on that thing when it was 15 feet.... OK, so why can’t you back people down [in the post]? Because if you think I didn’t play against great centers, he’s not playing against nobody, you know what I mean?
“So he should be able to back PCT GB L10 Rk. people down and jump-hook them 9-1 S1 to death.”
8-2 C1 Howard actually jammed on a 12-foot hoop while wearing a 8-2 A1
2 Superman cape in the 2009 dunk 5-5 A2 contest, but why stop O’Neal? He 6-4 S2 was on a roll. 5-5 C2
2 “Same thing Kareem [ Abdul4-6 A3
2 Jabbar] did to me, the same thing 4-6 C3 Wilt [ Chamberlain] did to me,” O’Neal said. “I can remember one time reading an article and I’m av- eraging 37 [points] in the playoffs and we lose and somebody asks Kareem, ‘Hey, what do you think about Shaq? He’s a great player.’ And Kareem says, ‘Yeah, he’s OK, but he hasn’t won any championships.’ I didn’t respond, I didn’t cry, I just stepped up and got to the next level. So I’m always going to stay on [Howard] because I actually see him being one of the best Lakers ever if he steps up.”
Howard has listened to O’Neal’s critiques — and has a rebuttal.
“I understand he thinks making me mad in that kind of way is going to push me, but I just feel like if he wants to do that the best way to go about it is to come talk to me personally,” Howard said. “Because when it gets out to the public, they just view it that we just have this big feud going on and that’s not fair to me or him.”
If Howard wants O’Neal to stop pestering him, there are some things he can do.
“Right now he’s averaging 16 points. From one big man to another, that’s not enough,” O’Neal said. “He should average 28. He should probably get like three shots a quarter. He should get four points a quarter, there goes 16 points right there. Now you need to get me four offensive rebounds and put them back, there goes another eight points. And when he gets to the free-throw line 10 times, I need you to make five. That’s [29] points right there.... My system was seven points a quarter. If I didn’t give people 28 and 10, I felt like a failure.”
Howard would like to remind O’Neal, however, that this is 2013.
“The rules are different,” Howard said. “When Shaq played, you could be more of a bulldozer down in the paint. Nowadays, you see it, if I hit somebody just a little bit, they call offensive foul. Plus, I’m 6 [feet] 9, 6-10. If I could play the way he played, it would be a lot of fun.”
Unlike O’Neal, Howard doesn’t always see the ball in crunch time. In six Lakers losses last month, he had five shots in the fourth quarter.
Maybe Howard’s stats will improve when Kobe Bryant retires. Bryant is under contract for one more season. Howard could resign with the Lakers this summer for five more seasons.
“You can’t do it by yourself,” O’Neal said. “You need that 1-2 punch or that 1-2-3 punch a la Miami and a la what Boston did. He’ll get his points, but it isn’t about points. It’s about seeing how many rings you can get.” Nash update
Steve Nash is doubtful for Tuesday’s game, Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni said Monday. Nash has left the last two games because of hamstring and hip injuries. ben.bolch@latimes.com mike.bresnahan@latimes.com