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Shaq Should Give Dwight Howard All-Star Spot
A Magic center of the past has a chance to recognize a Magic center of the future. All Shaquille O’Neal has to do is step aside and allow Dwight Howard the start in the Feb. 18 NBA All-Star Game.
Shaq has played only four games this season for the Miami Heat after undergoing knee surgery. He likely won’t be back now until mid-January or later, meaning he might play just 15-20 games before the big exhibition in Las Vegas. (A healthy Dwight Howard will have played 53).
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Despite being virtually invisible, Shaq leads the fan voting for Eastern Conference centers. With the first precincts reporting, he has 522,815 votes to Dwight Howard’s 415,708 and Ben Wallace’s 216,443. Dwight Howard and Wallace likely will be added as reserves by the coaches.
I’m not about to rail on fans for voting for a player who’s MIA. It’s a popularity contest, and they should vote for whom they want --- even if Shaq is getting in on lifetime achievement.
But Shaq can show a lot of class (at a time the NBA could use some) if he defers to Dwight Howard as a starter. (If Wallace ends up as the runner-up, Shaq also should defer.)
Shaq has conceded that, in his youth, he let his ego undermine his relationships with sidekicks Penny Hardaway and Kobe Bryant. With this all-star gesture, he could win enormous respect. He could be the elder statesman coming off the bench to replace --- cue the irony --- the first dazzling young big the Magic have had since Shaq himself.
There is precedent. Just before the 2003 all-star game tip-off, Vince Carter gave up his starting spot to Michael Jordan, earning huge props. Carter had played in just 10 games because of an injury, but was still voted in as a starter.
"This is a storybook ending for Michael," Carter said. "I’m sure I’ll have another opportunity to be in the all-star game, and this is how it’s supposed to be."
Obviously, it was a different situation, Jordan’s final all-star appearance.
But the spirit of Carter’s classy decision was saluted. Shaq should think about making such a gesture. Who knows? Maybe in a few years, when O’Neal is eyeing retirement, Dwight Howard will be in a position to return the all-star favor and step aside to honor Shaq.
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