Sun-Senitel
To Yao, Shaq looms large
By Ira Winderman
Staff Writer
Posted October 11 2004
HOUSTON ?As the Rockets approached Sunday's exhibition against the Heat at
Toyota Center, Houston center Yao Ming was asked about yet another matchup
against Shaquille O'Neal.
"I like to use him as a ruler to measure myself against," the 7-foot-6, 310-
pound center said, "although he's a much larger ruler than me."
Actually, not as much as he used to be. Upward of 370 in recent seasons, O'Neal
is down to 335 pounds on his 7-1 frame.
That, Yao said, won't take the weight off opposing centers.
"Even if he loses 40 pounds, he still is the biggest one in this league," he
said. "If he really loses 40 pounds, that doesn't mean it's easier for us. It's
tougher for us.
"Now he can run faster, he can jump higher, play more minutes, let us feel more
pressure."
The veteran of the Chinese national team then smiled when asked if he would
miss having O'Neal as a Western Conference opponent, now reduced to two
regular-season meetings instead of four.
"Never, ever," he said with a hearty laugh.
FRESH START
Asked whether a year ago he could have envisioned wearing anything other than a
Lakers uniform to his '04 exhibition opener, O'Neal said, "You never know what
happens."
When O'Neal grew restless with the Lakers, he gave thought to joining Tracy
McGrady in Orlando, but the timing was off between the two, who instead met as
opponents Sunday.
"We talked and he was unhappy with his situation," O'Neal said. "He was so
unhappy that by the time I called Orlando it was too late."
FAMILY FIRST
Coach Stan Van Gundy put his passion for baseball aside upon the team's arrival
, spending Saturday night with his brother Jeff, the Rockets' coach, and seeing
his 6-month-old niece for the first time.
"She spit up on me. I'm initiated," he said of Grayson Van Gundy.
A baseball fanatic and a friend of Atlanta third-base coach and former Marlins
coach Fredi Gonzalez, Stan had been offered the opportunity to dine Saturday
with Braves manager Bobby Cox.
"I told my brother when I got here that I got invited to go to dinner with
Bobby Cox and if he didn't have my nieces I would have blown him off in a
heartbeat," Stan said. "But I wouldn't blow off my nieces. It was one's
birthday (8-year-old Matty), and the other one I hadn't seen. It was an easy
decision.
"But for him? I would have blown him off."
ALTERNATE CHOICES
Houston features two free agents who had narrowed their final offseason choices
to the Heat or Rockets.
Had he opted to join the Heat, defensive-minded forward Ryan Bowen had an
opportunity to emerge as a starter, something that is unlikely in Houston, with
McGrady and Jim Jackson in place.
"Part of the problem was there were a lot of people on the Heat roster already
who could play the position," Bowen said. "In my situation, looking to make
sure I was actually going to be on an opening-night roster, I knew here there
was a roster spot for me."
Point guard Charlie Ward also was in contact with the Heat, which would have
been a twist considering his role as an antagonist during the height of the
Heat-Knicks playoff rivalry in the '90s.
"It was good I was able to have friendships to leave a good impression," he
said.
Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@sun-sentinel.com.
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