It's Time to Prove Your Worth Shaq

It doesn't get any easier to swallow. Shaq is guranteed $20 million dollars for another three years. So, when you tell a Heat fan that Shaq is old and doesn't have any lift, be prepared to get at the very least an evil glance in return. Saying such things is akin to swearing, or kicking a man while he's down.

Yet, it is only half true.

Shaq, despite what some may believe, has been here before. Maybe not swept in the first round, but definetly sitting on his giant couch watching the rest of the basketball universe go on without him. The last time that happened? His rookie season in Orlando - and that was a best of five series. Three games lost and out. This time, against the Bulls, it was a four game dismissal.

It is a bit harsh to put it all on Shaq. After all, his team didn't show up as a whole, but when you get paid the megabucks Shaq does, it's hard to overlook his production, too.

The biggest thing that most are saying now is that this confirms that Shaq is too old, too slow and doesn't have the ability to finish around the hoop like he once did. In part, it was because of the Bulls stellar defense and the way Ben Wallace kept tricking Shaq that made him look the way he did.

To his credit, Shaq is the hardest specimen in the entire basketball pantheon to officiate. His opponents notoriously flop around to accentuate Shaq's brute force. Heck, most of these guys wouldn't have a career without Shaq. Just ask Scott Pollard. All Ben Wallace did was do the same - PJ Brown all but confirmed it in the press saying they were simply "better actors" than the Heat and could use their flopping, as thespians, to get the calls.

Shaq blew up on Ed Rush after Game 1. Score Bulls 1, Miami 0. And that was for the psychological boxscore.

This naturally leads to Shaq being more tentative in his game, as he gets in foul trouble and will get called for just about anything.

Now, this is not to make an excuse. Shaq has to adjust and refine his game more - but he has to work at it. Shaq has to develop a hook, some kind of midrange attack that will allow him to at least make his defenders hesitate. As it stands, it is either he will back in for the dunk or pass it out. Defenders take their chances on Shaq trying to dunk and let their teammates guard the potential outside targets.

This in turn limits Shaq and makes him one-dimensional. It just so happens that, well, this has always been what Shaq is.

The way the Heat lost this season has to send a message to Shaq. If he truly wants to be considered among the greats of all-time, if not the greatest, he has to work. Riley has said as much saying that this season has proven once and for all that a veteran team cannot just turn it on for the playoffs and win. He also admitted that players did not put in the work necessary to kick off the season the right way. The opening night loss to the Bulls ended up being a preview of the end of their championship reign, too.

And it was simply because the Heat just didn't show up. They didn't work and they didn't have the right attitude.

Shaq resembles all of what is wrong with the Heat especially now. It is his apathy towards the regular season that tends to characterize him to outside fans. The question is, does Shaq take this attitude to hide his diminishing skills or because he is spoiled by his own success?

For Shaq to be successful, he finds himself needing to get back to the basics and work again. He needs to work on his free throws - getting at least 60% consistently would greatly enhance his scoring and his effectiveness. Right now, he has no right whatsoever to be on the floor to close out games.

More importantly, for the Heat as a team to be successful, Shaq has to lead the way on the defensive end grabbing more rebounds than anyone and defending the paint properly so that teams won't just barrell down the lane to draw fouls on him. (Or course, the latter requires the Heat to get better defense on the perimeter...but let's stay on topic here.)

If Shaq is truly one of the greats, if he is trule worth the $20 million dollars he is penned for, he needs to prove it. And to do this, he needs to prove it not just on the court at game time, but before and after by practicing. Shaq needs to improve his free throw shooting. He needs to work on getting better positioning on defense, boxing out and grabbing more rebounds - around 13+ a game. He needs to work on a different look offensively that will enable him to be effective from 10-15 feet out.

Shaq has to totally transform himself just to prove he is still worth the investment. Can he do it? The desire is there as he demonstrated after the fallout season of 2003-2004. The question is, will Shaq yield to that desire of excellence and will he sacrifice for the benefit of the team.

To do so would truly erase the critics and prove himself to be among the greats.