Shaq vs. Kobe became Heat vs. Kobe

Prior to Kobe-Shaq I, there were as many expectations as to what would transpire as there were interested spectators.

Would the Corvette get mashed by the Brick Wall? Could Kobe possibly zip around, or even zoom over Shaq? Perhaps they'd never come within dancing distance. Maybe they'd simply ignore each other, or else kiss and make up. Instead of a bloody bolero, the game might be a polite minuet.

Nobody knew for sure — not even the participants. That's why all of Sports America anticipated the game with such glee.

In any case, here's precisely what DID happen.

SHAQ

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The Big Fella was in an attack mode for most of the game, yet Stan Van Gundy's game plan made double-teaming Shaq an easy task. That's because for most of the first half, Shaq was stationed on the left box, and, for most of the second half, he switched to the right box. A half-dozen times, Shaq also set a massive (and frequently moving) pick just above the foul line — after which he bullied his way down the lane and turned to the ball. This particular maneuver was never adequately defended.

The point here is that the defense always knew where Shaq was or where he was headed. Subsequently, the Lakers' double-teaming schemes could be executed exactly as Rudy T. had planned then. As a result, Shaq had only a single assist to a cutting teammate. The rest of his assists were kick-outs to open perimeter shooters.

Often, after Shaq was doubled on the catch, he merely returned the ball to the passer — whereupon the Lakers defense became somewhat confused. A return pass into Shaq routinely resulted in enough space for him to make a power one-on-one move.

Even though O'Neal captured 10 rebounds (and despite his much ballyhooed weight loss), he was still rather slow off his feet and was, at best, a two-space rebounder. (Meaning he can only grab those rebounds which fall within one-body width in any direction.) Chris Mihm beat him to several rebounds and loose balls.

Also, Shaq's limited lateral mobility, coupled with his lack of bounce, are the main reasons why he's spent so much time near the end of the game in foul trouble this season. Saturday, of course, was no exception.

On the other end, the Lakers had the right mindset in their attempt to neutralize Shaq. They ran dozens of high screen-and-rolls, pairing Kobe with whomever Shaq was defending. Since Shaq never — repeat never &$=#151 shows on the weak side of the screen, Kobe (and all other ball handlers who implement the same strategy) was consistently able to turn the corner and penetrate into the paint.

The other normal anti-Shaq ploy is to have his opposing center run hard and fast in all defense-to-offense transitions. The idea is to get Shaq moving faster than he wants to move, and thereby wear him out. Mihm, however, didn't consistently motor from end-to-end. Only once did he beat Shaq down court for an unobstructed layup.

And, hey! why doesn't Shaq resign from the Bricklayers Union and make a radical change in his free-throw shooting? Shoot them under-handed, big guy. This is an established, honorable, easily learned, and highly effective technique that was good enough for George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, and George Johnson (the last NBA player to release his free throws from below his waist). Too bad Shaq feels that shooting under-hand is embarrassing. Is it even more embarrassing than missing 64% of his shots from the charity stripe? More embarrassing than forcing the Heat to go elsewhere when a score is needed in the clutch? More embarrassing than being the hackee whenever a game becomes an exercise in Hack-A-Shaq?

KOBE

Same old, same old … Lots of shots, lots of spectacular scores, and lots of turnovers that all added up to a loss.

Kobe came out firing away. His first touch resulted in a simple reversal pass (one of only three such passes he made in the entire game) — his next six touches became shots.

Approximately 90 percent of LA's set plays were designed to get the ball into Kobe's hands. The rest were isolations for Lamar Odom. Sure, he eventually got interested in distributing the ball to his teammates, but every pass (except for the three reversals) was made while Kobe was walking on air. This is a self-defeating methodology because the passer only has a precious few seconds to decide where to go with the ball before delivering it with the proper pace. Should a defender (or the intended pass receiver) move a mere half-step while the airborne passer is aloft, then the resulting pass is always up for grabs. Most of Kobe's eight turnovers were the result of this risky maneuver.

Okay, Kobe scored 42 points, but his shooting percentage was an unacceptable 40 percent. (By my count, he forced a total of eight shots, missing five.) Moreover, he spent more time bouncing the ball than anybody since the heyday of Marcus Haynes, the old Harlem Globetrotters' master of the tricky dribble.

More significantly, in the last seven-plus minutes of the game, Kobe was transformed from a point-machine into a pointless wonder. Remember this: It's not how many points a player scores that's important. What really counts is when he scores them. True, Kobe has been an incredible clutch player throughout his career — but not today.

SHAQ-KOBE

For much of the game, Shaq and Kobe were like a pair of two-year-olds engaged in parallel play. In fact, they only encountered one another on nine different occasions:

On the Lakers' initial possession, Kobe drove to the middle and had his shot stuffed by Shaq. Shortly thereafter, Kobe once again carried the ball into the shadow of the basket — then managed to bury a sensational pull-up, fall-back jumper. Kobe's next venture into the lane resulted in a hard foul by Shaq. The Big Diesel winked to one and all to indicate that the foul could easily have been even harder. Next, when Kobe couldn't quite get around Shaq, he made a pass to nobody. Shaq stood his ground when Kobe approached him again late in the second quarter, flustering Kid Kobe, and compelling another turnover. In their subsequent get together, Kobe was most likely fouled by Shaq — but without a whistle, Bryant attempted a wild backhanded shot that missed both the rim and the backboard. When Shaq switched on a screen-and-role, Kobe danced in mid-air, switched the ball from his left to his right hand, and drew Shaq's fifth foul. Next, Shaq put enough pressure on another spinning drive that Kobe's shot went awry. And finally, with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter and the scored knotted at 91, Kobe's plunge into the paint resulted in Shaq's sixth foul. But if Shaq was finished for the game, so was Kobe. The final verdict was an exciting 104-102 victory for Miami — and more proof that teamwork will always overcome individual brilliance. Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the next one being A PIVOTAL SEASON — HOW THE 1971-72 LA LAKERS CHANGED THE NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.