Missed Games Cost Shaq in MVP Voting

The fourth-place finish might have been lower than he expected, but Shaquille O’Neal had long ago accepted he would not be a serious challenger for MVP this season because of the strained abdominal muscle that cost him 22 games, and maybe simply because he figures it’s always something.

“I never think about it,” he said. “I just come out and do a job. I like being consistent. I like trying to dominate. I never worry about the awards.

“With me, there’s always something they’re going to say. Two years ago, when I dominated, it was, ‘Oh, he’s too young, he’s not going to get it.’ Now, it’s, ‘If he didn’t miss the 20 games, he would have gotten it.’

“It’s not important to me. It’s not important.”

O’Neal got one first-place vote and two for second place, but the bulk for third, fourth and fifth in voting by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to end up at No. 4 overall after leading the league in shooting, finishing second in scoring and eighth in blocks. The 11.4 rebounds would have been good for fourth in rebounding, but he did not meet the qualifying minimum because of the injury.

That put him behind Michael Jordan and Karl Malone, as expected, and also Gary Payton. No other Laker got a vote.

“He missed 22 games, that’s what cost him,” Coach Del Harris said. “Because of that, I didn’t expect him to win it. Had he played 78, 76 games and played the same level he had played, I figured he would have won it or certainly finished second.”

It would have helped if the Lakers had ended with the best record in the league. They finished one game behind the Jazz and Bulls for that honor, so O’Neal making the 76 appearances instead of 60 would likely have made the difference.

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Robert Horry was forced to the locker room early in the second quarter Monday because of a bruised right hip, but returned after a few minutes. He didn’t return in great condition, especially after he cooled off during intermission and had a hard time getting loose in the second half.

“If it was the regular season, I probably would have sat the rest of the game out,” he said. “But it’s the playoffs. I think I hurt the team more than I helped in the fourth quarter. I should have pulled myself out.”

Horry played only 21 minutes, finishing with one free throw, two missed field goals and five rebounds.