Shaq

Thumbs Up
Shaquille Rashaun “Shaq” “Diesel” “The Big
Aristotle” “Big Cactus” O’Neal
Born: 1972
Cleveland Cavaliers:
2009
Position: Center
Jersey Number: 33
LeBron James and
Shaquille O’Neal on
the floor together,
2009 (Courtesy Akron
Beacon Journal)
Symptoms
By the age of thirty-seven, Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal had quite literally done it all in the NBA. He had been the Rookie of the Year, won
four championship rings, won three consecutive finals MVP awards,
was the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2000, and was named to
the NBA All-Star team fifteen times. He was called “Diesel,” “The
Big Aristotle,” and “Big Cactus.” And standing over seven foot tall
and weighing 325 pounds, why not. In 2009, the Cavaliers hoped
Shaq’s broad shoulders, along with LeBron James’s scoring prowess,
would lead to a championship parade down Euclid Avenue.
At the age of fourteen, O’Neal was six foot eight. He was spotted
by LSU coach Dale Brown, who was on a speaking tour in Germany
(where O’Neal’s stepfather was stationed). After moving to San
Antonio, O’Neal starred at Cole High School. In his senior year, his
team went 36–0 and won the 1989 Texas 3A Championship. O’Neal
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averaged over 32 points and 22 rebounds a game and was named a
McDonald’s and Parade magazine All-American.
The meeting with Brown prompted O’Neal to attend LSU, where
he was a major force on the hardwood. Among his numerous accomplishments, he became the first player to lead the Southeastern Conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocked
shots in the same season, and he was chosen as the Associated Press
National Player of the Year and the SEC Athlete of the Year in 1991.
He became the first overall pick of the Orlando Magic in the 1992
NBA draft. O’Neal also won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games
in Atlanta.
In the summer of 2009, the Cavaliers acquired Shaq from the
Phoenix Suns for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and cash. Early in
the season, O’Neal missed several games with a shoulder injury. By
the end of the season, the Cavaliers had finished with a 61–21 record,
good enough for first place in the Central Division. However, O’Neal
suffered a significant thumb injury in a February 25, 2010, game
against Boston and was forced to sit out the rest of the season after
undergoing surgery.
Shaq returned for the Cavaliers’ playoff run. In the first round,
the Cavaliers easily beat the Bulls, 4–1. Next up were the Boston
Celtics. During the season, the Cavaliers had lost twice to the Celtics
and won only once. A path to the conference final looked open when
the Cavaliers took a 2–1 series lead, even though they lost game two
and the home court advantage. Then the team collapsed, losing three
straight games and chance at an NBA ring. O’Neal had subpar performances in games one and two, shooting a combined 8 for 22 and
grabbing only 8 rebounds. In game three, he scored 12 points and
pulled down 9 rebounds. He had 17 points in game four, 21 points in
game five, but only 11 points in game six. He was not a presence on
the boards in the final three games, averaging less than 5 rebounds
per game.
The loss to Boston ended the first LeBron James era in Cleveland.
The $20-million investment for Shaq didn’t turn out as expected.
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The Cavs had hoped to hitchhike a ride to an NBA crown, but Shaq’s
thumb injury sent them down a different highway.
Patient History
“He is a force. He always has been. Still is. On the defensive end,
just around the basket, he’s a wall. Offensively he’s a force in
that he’s going to get double teams.”
—Danny Ferry, Cavaliers general manager
“He changed the game, just like Wilt Chamberlain did, by being
so overpowering. Shaq was quick, strong, and unbelievably
athletic. He was almost impossible to guard.”
—Alvin Gentry, Phoenix Suns coach
“We got used to playing without Shaq, and it’s great that we
proved we can do that. But it’s a little bit like when you’re reading
and you think the light’s fine, and then somebody comes along
and turns on a big, bright lamp. You say to yourself, ‘Wow, that’s
much better, isn’t it?’ ”
—Horace Grant, Orlando power forward
Diagnosis
The Cleveland Cavaliers found their back against the wall in the
summer of 2009. LeBron James, Cleveland’s superstar and reigning
NBA Most Valuable Player, was in the final year of his contract. With
free agency looming, the Cavaliers decided to go all out to win the
NBA Championship. During the previous season, the Orlando Magic
knocked out the Cavaliers in the conference semifinals, even after
Cleveland compiled the best regular season record. Orlando center
Dwight Howard overpowered the Cavaliers, and the team needed a
big body to match up with him. Shaq, one of the all-time strongest
NBA players, was clearly the man for the job. He came to Cleveland
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motivated to win a fifth championship ring. He quickly proclaimed
that Cleveland no longer needed to double-team Howard. His motto
was simple: “Win a ring for the King.”
At times the strategy seemed to work, as the Cavaliers played
much better during the regular season against the Los Angeles
Lakers and the Orlando Magic. At other times, the team’s chemistry
appeared to be a major problem and the offense slowed down to the
lumbering pace of the aging center. On February 25, 2010, O’Neal
suffered a severe right thumb injury while attempting a shot against
Boston Celtics center Glen “Big Baby” Davis. O’Neal had surgery on
the thumb on March 1, and did not return until the first round of
the playoffs against the Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers struggled to
find their rhythm with the big center in the game. On May 13, the
Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs, losing to the Boston
Celtics 4–2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Injuries may have
had an effect on his season, but Shaq averaged career lows in almost
every major statistical category.
To use the word “implosion” would understate the Cavaliers’
disaster in the 2010 playoffs. The role of Shaq’s injury, presence in
the lineup, and lack of production will be debated by Cleveland fans
for decades. He spoke highly of his time in Cleveland and he endeared
himself to most of the basketball fans in the city. No matter how
admired Shaq was off the court, his year in Cleveland will go down
as one of the most disappointing seasons in Cleveland sports history.
Second Opinion
Cleveland’s loss to the Celtics can’t be solely attributed to Shaq.
The Cavaliers (50 total offensive rebounds/180 total defensive
rebounds) matched Boston (56 total offensive rebounds/183 total
defensive rebounds) on the boards. Boston shot better from the field
(.470 to .450), and in several games Boston was superb from beyond
the three-point arc. The Cavs couldn’t match the Celtics’ three-point
output.
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The real problem for the 2010 Cavs was that they turned the ball
over 17 more times in the series than the Celtics and the Celtics had
43 more field goal attempts than Cleveland, which amounted to seven
more opportunities per game. These factors affected the outcome
prominently, especially in the game four and game six losses.
It should also be remembered that the O’Neal injury cost the team
cohesiveness on the offensive side of the ball. Antawn Jamison
arrived in a February trade just before Shaq injured his thumb. Mo
Williams and Delonte West suffered injuries in January. On top of
these factors, Mike Brown’s coaching tactics during the Boston series
were questioned not only by the media, but by his own players. A
“ring for the king” turned into “gone for LeBron.”
Treatment
The thumb has a strong, triangular-shaped ligament (ulnar collateral) near the base and it allows an athlete to grip objects (a baseball
bat, basketball, ski pole, etc.). When the thumb is bent backward
awkwardly, the ligament can stretch or tear (see medical illustration,
page 306). In 1955, the term gamekeeper’s thumb was used to describe
this injury. As downhill skiing began to become more popular in
the 1960s, injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament increased and
were attributed to skiers breaking their falls with their poles, which
stretched the thumb’s ligaments. Medical professional began to call
the injury skier’s thumb.
In sports medicine, the thumb injury is seen frequently in ballhandling sports such as basketball. Severity of the injury is determined by a grading system.
• Grade 1 Sprain: a minor sprain with the ligament stretched
but not torn. A grade 1 sprain can cause some range of
motion (ROM) loss, swelling, and tenderness over the
ligament.
• Grade 2 Sprain: a mild sprain with some ligament tearing.
A grade 2 sprain can cause loss of ROM and grip strength.
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• Grade 3 Sprain: A severe sprain with the ligament torn
completely or a small piece of bone pulled off as the
ligament separates from the bone. A grade 3 sprain can
cause a total loss of function.
Treatment depends on several factors, including the extent of the
injury and the physical demands of the patient. If the tear is partial,
and the thumb is not too loose, the patient is usually placed in a cast
or a modified wrist splint (spica splint) for up to six weeks. If the tear
is complete, then surgery becomes more likely. Postoperatively,
patients should wear a splint. In most cases, at three months after
surgery, full activities can be resumed.
Incidental Findings
Thumb injuries are not new. Materials for bandaging have been
upgraded by technological advancements. However, techniques to
immobilize a digit or limb were developed at the dawn of modern
medicine.
Spica of Thumb.
Spica of the Thumb
Description—This bandage should be two
yards in length by three-quarters of an inch
in width.
Application—If it be the right you wish
to bandage, place the hand midway
between pronation and supination.
Unroll four or five inches of the bandage,
and thus place it, 1, upon the back of the
wrist [see image], and confine by two
circular turns, 2 and 3; continue in the
same course till you come to the ulnar
border of the hand, when you descend
obliquely across the back of the hand to
the radial side of the thumb, at the
phalangeal articulation, thus finishing
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course 4. Pass under the thumb, and then up over it, and
diagonally upwards to the radial side of the wrist, finishing
course 5. Courses 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14, etc., respectively follow
the course of turn 4; while those of 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15, those of
course 5. At last exhaust the bandage by circular turns about
the wrist, and confine by tying. (Henri Leonard, Manual of
Bandaging, 6th ed., Detroit: Illustrated Medical Journal Co.,
1884)