To Rebound Shaq Must Rebound

All this talk about Shaq is kind of getting old. No, he isn't the 23 year old man-child he once was, tearing down goals in enemy arenas. But he isn't done, either.

Much has been made about Shaq's demise, and as they say it is much ado about nothing. Shaq's minutes have decreased but there is good reason for that, too. He isn't as productive as he once was, but that is not to say he can't be a force in every game he sets his giant foot on the court.

He must re-think his game, re-formulate his identity and what his goals are on the court.

I have said this before, Shaq is so large and massive there is no reason why he cannot be the best pure rebounder on the court. His size has not diminished, and you can't teach strength. What Shaq has never really had was heart - by that, I mean the kind of heart a guy like Udonis Haslem has.

For Shaq, the game has always come very easy. His combination of size and strength seem almost unnatural. In fact, that is the biggest difference between Shaq and any other player in the NBA - but that is obvious. Yet, this is the source of his greatest frustration, his biggest obstacle is the massive ego that blots out the sun in his mind. The recent comments which show Shaq is starting to acknowledge his decline are indicative of an important shift: Shaq must realize that he is not as quick as he once was and does not have the same lift. After this, he can start to formulate a change, he can start to adapt his game to suit his age and skill set.

The biggest breakthrough has yet to come. Riley has already started to limit Shaq's playing time - this isn't done for punishment, but rather because Shaq is clogging the lane and slowing the game down. Wade has admitted publicly that several of his turnovers are coming from him trying to force the ball into Shaq. Defenses are defending him differently - they are now fronting him whereas before he would just spin and catch an ally. Or he was more mobile and physical and would force teams to double down or foul. Now, he plants in the lane and waits.

Shaq has to move more.

More importantly, he needs to use his assets. He needs to use that giant frame to box out and fight for the ball. This is where the heart of Udonis Haslem would benefit Shaq - since the game is easy for him, he never really had to battle and scrape and fight. He just had to flick his switch and let his will be done. Haslem, one of the smaller power forwards in the game, always gets himself into position and has great anticipation. Shaq, on the other hand, seems to not be able (or want) to get into a good position. He allows himself to be taken out of the play all too often.

If Shaq can work on getting himself into position, and stop trying to set up the post so much, he could find a way to reinvent himself. He would also generate more shot attempts. ''More than 10, so I can get into my game,'' he said. ``My son can't even get into the game with seven shots.'' But your son isn't waiting in the post for a pass, either. In fact, how many set plays are run for Zo? About as many as Chris Quinn gets. Yet Zo finds ways to get involved in the game and be a factor.

Once Shaq understands that he can no longer rely on waiting for the ball to come to him, he will be on his way to mattering once again. The longer it takes, however, is the longer it takes for this team to turn things around. If Shaq can get his rebounds over 10 a game, a feat that he should do in his sleep, but has only done 6 times in 24 games this season. He used to do it all season long.