Sports Commentary
They are being exposed.
Two of the greatest players of their generation, Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd, coerced trades from NBA doormats to NBA contenders, and they promised to lead their new clubs over the proverbial hump.
Be careful what you wish for.
In all likelihood, the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks will be put out of their miseries tonight. The San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Hornets are just quicker, stronger, hungrier and even classier than the Suns and Mavs. In fact, the two series have been surprisingly one-sided, aside from Game 1 of the Spurs-Suns (a double overtime thriller Phoenix squandered away) and the sweep-dodging Game 4s.
And the enduring images of Shaq and Kidd are regrettable: the guard leveling Jannero Pargo clearly out of frustration and the center looking like a shell of his former self on the court but not at the free-throw line (23 of 44).
We should have all seen this coming.
O'Neal languished on the sideline with injuries and hauled in a career-low 4.8 rebounds a game for the Miami Heat, while Kidd refused to play in a game and converted a career-low .366 percent of his field goals.
Yet the Suns were setting, and the Mavs were falling into the pack, prompting upper management on both clubs to make desperate moves. The Suns complicated their salary cap by taking on O'Neal's remaining two seasons - at $20 million a pop - while giving up one of the key player's to their fast-paced style, versatile All-Star forward Shawn Marion. The Mavs, meanwhile, gave up even more: an up-and-coming point guard, Devin Harris, two first-round picks, solid backup center DeSagana Diop and $3 million in cash.
"If it's on me, I enjoy that," Kidd said before the series.
"I will not let you down," O'Neal reportedly told a couple of Suns teammates before the trade was official.
Given their greatness - O'Neal is one of the most dominant centers in league history and Kidd is one of the best passers ever - the two superstars figured they could coast in their NBA wastelands for most of the season then dial up the magic at will. Only one problem: they're both old (Kidd is 35 and O'Neal is 36).
They flash their brilliance (O'Neal had 23 points and 13 rebounds in a 122-113 win over Houston about a month ago and Kidd had a triple-double in the season finale), but they cannot consistently play at the level necessary to compete with the current crop of NBA A-listers.
Even factoring in an adjustment period, O'Neal and Kidd didn't help their respective clubs roll into the postseason. The Suns' 17-11 record with O'Neal earned them the sixth seed, while the Mavs' 16-13 record with Kidd merited them the seventh seed, just one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets. In fact, the Kidd-led Mavericks were a woeful 1-10 against teams with winning records.
Surely, though, the four-time NBA champion center and the consummate floor general would take their games and their teams to another level in the postseason, where "amazing happens."
But here's the rub: amazing happened, all right, only O'Neal and Kidd have been on the wrong end.
Kidd was so thoroughly embarrassed by Chris Paul in the first two games (67 points, 27 assists and seven steals) that Mavs coach Avery Johnson was forced to put Jason Terry on the Hornets All-Star point guard. The guard - he doesn't deserve the first part of his title since, in the last two games, he's hardly scored (11 points) or dished the ball (eight assists) - even struggled to guard Morris Peterson (eight first-quarter points).
After coasting to a 97-84 victory in Dallas, the Hornets weren't lobbying for Kidd to be suspended because of his takedown of Pargo.
"It was just a hard foul," Paul said, "but I don't think there's a reason for him to be suspended for the next game."
That's because Paul and his Hornet teammates want Kidd on the floor. Paul has reportedly been talking smack on the court, and he is smart enough to know that Kidd's lackluster defense and poor outside shooting help the Hornets, especially with the Mavs porous defense limiting his ability to push the pace of the game.
Truthfully, the NBA is punishing Kidd by making him play tonight.
And if the Mavs do win this game, they would probably do so in spite of Kidd, perhaps because of the reemergence of Josh Howard, a big game by Terry, or another monstrous effort by Dirk Nowitzki.
The matchups likely wouldn't be any different if Harris and Diop were still Mavs and Marion was still a Sun. But while the Heat and Nets watch the playoffs from the comforts of their homes, the owners of those clubs have unloaded aging stars with handcuffing contracts and replaced them with younger, cheaper players, providing them flexibility for the short-term future.
Besides, the Suns and Mavs will soon be joining them on the outside looking in.
Sean Jensen can be reached at nothinbutlovefor@aol.com.
2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
