By Michael Wilbon
Miami: The rap on the Miami Heat coming into the playoffs was that it's a
two-man team. Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade -- and Shaq is hurting, a
Diesel reduced for the moment to an SUV by a deep thigh bruise. Ten minutes
before tip-off, while he was bouncing up and down in the lay-up line trying
to get loose and figure out just what he'd be able to do in Game 2, I asked
him if he felt okay. "Not really" were his exact words.
Yet, with Shaq nowhere near peak form through two games, Miami has been
able to persevere against the playoff neophyte Wizards. If Miami was just
Shaq, Wade and a bunch of stiffs, as some folks would have you believe, this
would have been the perfect opportunity for the Wizards to take a road game,
climb into the series and put the Heat on notice that the remaining games
would be terribly difficult. But on a night when the Wizards played very,
very hard and reasonably well, Miami got limited production from Shaq yet
rode contributions from Eddie Jones, Damon Jones, Udonis Haslem and, of
course, Wade to victory.
Wade had the kind of game -- 31 points, 15 assists and 7 rebounds -- that
makes you reach back to Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson for comparisons.
Every time the Wizards worked their way into something promising, Wade
answered with a pass, a basket, a rebound or a blocked shot. Eddie Jones
scored 21 points, Haslem grabbed 13 rebounds, and a reasonable person would
have to conclude Miami looked like a complete and balanced team in Game 2.
And the Wizards might be forced to look to a surprising source for help.
Etan Thomas was off to a fabulous start. He'd hit all three of his shots and
mixed it up pretty good with Miami's big men when he suffered an abdominal
injury and had to leave the game after only six minutes of playing time. You
know where this is going, don't you? As the series moves back to Washington
for Games 3 and 4, Thursday and Saturday, respectively, one can't help but
wonder: if Thomas cannot play, do the Wizards lift their suspension of (drum
roll) Kwame Brown?
It might be the most practical thing to do, considering playoff rosters are
set in stone. You can't go to the pen and wave in 7-foot-3 Peter John Ramos
or call Charles Oakley and ask him to come in and hack at Shaq for the rest
of the series.
Kwame is 7 feet tall, 265 pounds or so of granite. The Wizards drafted him
four years ago for just these occasions. This is how he was supposed to earn
his keep: Battle Shaq. Notice, I didn't say stop Shaq. Nobody's done that in
about six years. Just battle him. Use all six fouls. Dunk with two hands and
growl in his face. Get in there and compete with another guy who was chosen
No. 1 overall.
"I'd be all for it," said Antawn Jamison, who scored 32 points on a bum
knee in need of surgery. "I know that's up to management, not us. But we
might have to bring him back. We definitely need him right now. I know it's
something that would have to be handled in-house. And Kwame would have to
come back and demonstrate to them that he'll do what is necessary. But I'd
love to entertain the idea. I might suggest it myself. He has the size and
strength and toughness we need right now."
Gilbert Arenas had pretty much the same opinion, especially after seeing a
reduced Shaq go for 16 points, seven rebounds and a couple of blocked shots.
"A hurt Shaq is still the number one center in this league, still the
dominant player," he said.
So what about the notion of bringing back Kwame? "He's probably getting in
shape, I hope, just in case."
It was topic number one in the locker room afterward because the Wizards
think they're close to breaking through. They're going home to MCI Center,
where they are 3-0 in the playoffs. They feel they need a little boost, a
little bit of help -- okay, a big body of help to get them past Shaq, even
Shaq at 60 or 70 percent.
Brendan Haywood said on the subject of Kwame: "I think if he could look
into a crystal ball and see the future, he'd probably realize he made a big
mistake, because he could've made a name for himself and changed the way
this whole league views him, just off this series alone. He has a great
15-foot jump shot and he's highly skilled. This could have been the series
that changed his game around because, like it or not, he was going to play."
Michael Ruffin, a 6-8 reserve, said of a reduced Shaq: "He's still a
dominating presence, still as big and as hard to drive on as ever. But on
offense, he's not as explosive right now with his moves or his dunks. He's
not as powerful as he usually is."
And before Shaq returns to full strength, which means doom, the Wizards
would like to get in a few licks, see if they can hang a loss on
undefeated-in-the-playoffs Miami and find out what develops. And that,
several Wizards say, might require bringing back Kwame.
This is risky stuff. Kwame deserved his suspension, not just for missing
one practice and shoot-around during the playoffs. Those were the last
straws. He deserved his suspension for being a slacker while his teammates
worked and fought and studied with every ounce of energy they could summon.
I'm old school enough to believe that such a suspension should stick, and
then Kwame should be shipped out of town.
But perhaps a little compassion is in order. If Arenas and Jamison, two of
the guys Kwame quit on, are ready to argue for him to have another chance,
maybe Eddie Jordan and Ernie Grunfeld owe it to the players to listen. This
is my attempt to explain my gutless U-turn on this whole Kwame affair, since
only a week ago I was squarely in the get-him-out-of-here camp.
Philosophy is nice, but trying to hold off a 325-pound Shaq takes some
practical application, a couple of games at home, some dramatically improved
jump shooting, and maybe a hand from a guy desperately in need of a
lifeline.


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