O’Neal Gets Familiar Analysis

Laker center Shaquille O’Neal, who had scored 44 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in Game 1, was the Sacramento Kings’ main topic of conversation after their practice Monday at Staples Center.

But the King who probably best analyzed O’Neal’s dominating performance was someone who hasn’t played a minute in the playoffs this season. His name is Nick Anderson, a former teammate of O’Neal’s with the Orlando Magic in the early 1990s.

“Early in the year, [O’Neal] wasn’t in as good of shape that he’s in now,” said Anderson, who has become the forgotten man for the Kings over the last two seasons because of injuries and the emergence of Peja Stojakovic and last year’s pick-up of Doug Christie.

“He’s filled his tank up with diesel. You can see a lot of determination in his face. He’s got it in his head that he can’t be stopped. That’s the way he’s playing.”

Anderson said the Kings can’t afford to play soft against O’Neal, which is exactly what centers Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard did in Game 1.

“If you’re going to foul him, you’re going to have to foul him,” Anderson said. “There’s no ticky-tack fouls with Shaq. He’ll break your arm.

“I played with Shaq for five years and I know what the big fella likes to do. He always used to tell me that he’s going to shoot it, knowing that all of them are not going to go in. So, he’s going to follow every shot. He does it every time. He’ll just throw it up and then go get it. He did it when I played with him and he’s doing it now. That’s how he plays.”

Laker shooting guard Kobe Bryant also gave the Kings fits in Game 1, scoring 21 of his 29 points in the second half.

Christie did a solid defensive job in the first half, holding Bryant to eight points on three-of-11 shooting, but the third quarter was a different story. Bryant made seven of 10 shots and had 17 points.

“He came out and hit two jump shots at the beginning of the third quarter and my hand was in his face,” Christie said. “When you hit shots like that, you have to give him credit.

“Kobe also got a lot of free throws in the second half. He is a great player, so he is going to get his shots and he’s going to hit some shots. I have to do a better job of slowing him down. He got in there and got a couple of offensive rebounds, and once scored on a put-back and it turned into a three-point play. Those little things are what I have to look for.”

For a team that lost the opening game of the seven-game series, the Kings are confident heading into tonight’s game.

“I think we are a lot more confident today than we were going into the first game,” Christie said. “For both teams, [Game 1] was kind of a feeler game. Now that we know, we have to put together a performance good enough to win.”