Shaq Gets Early Leadership Test

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking.

Sort of.

Shaquille O’Neal, the man who declared on the first day of training camp that he would be a leader, faces his first crisis that can’t be fixed with stomach crunches. His team has just fallen to the Philadelphia 76ers--for the second time--and also has gone down to the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics, been pushed to overtime by the Clippers and looked apathetic against several others of the same stature.

“We can always have a team meeting,” O’Neal said when asked for a solution to the problem that dates to last season. “But guys individually need to step up.”

What he would do at a meeting? What would he say?

“I’m not sure,” O’Neal said. “Yell at them? I don’t know. Beat ‘em up.”

In other words, he’s out of answers, like most of his teammates.

There are other more frightening thoughts for Laker players. Their next three games are against the Vancouver Grizzlies, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Clippers, teams that are a combined 33-64. And, after the Charlotte Hornets come to call, the Denver Nuggets are in Inglewood.

TONIGHT

at Vancouver

* 5

* Channel 9, TNT

Site--General Motors Place.

Radio--KLAC 570, KWKW 1330.

Records--Lakers 24-8, Grizzlies 10-23.

Record vs. Grizzlies--1-0.

Update--The Grizzlies have lost six in a row and eight of nine, but are still off to the best start in team history. They didn’t record win No. 10 last season until Feb. 10. Shareef Abdur-Rahim is a rising star, averaging 22.8 points and 7.8 rebounds.