shaq puts on 15

[Amphatoast]

MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal has a warning for the NBA: The alien is back.

As if the league's other 29 teams didn't have enough to worry about with Miami's offseason acquisitions of Jason Williams, Antoine Walker, James Posey and Gary Payton, now there's this: O'Neal has showed up to training camp with even more muscle on his already hulking frame.

Shaq says he's been working out twice a day in the offseason and currently weighs 340 pounds, about 15 pounds more than his playing weight of a year ago. And all that new weight is muscle.

"I was an earthling last season," Shaq said in reference to his strength level. "I had to go back to my alien roots."

He decided after Miami's loss to Detroit in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals that he had focused too much on conditioning and didn't feel his usual dominant self down the stretch. Shaq had spent the 2004 offseason trying to keep his weight down, hoping to ease the strain on his joints and keep him fresh for the playoffs.

But in spite of finishing second in the MVP voting, O'Neal was a bit disappointed in the results -- especially his relative lack of effectiveness against Detroit in the conference finals. This year, he wants to go back to being the self-proclaimed Most Dominant Ever.

"Last summer I did all cardio, didn't do any weights, and was kind of weak," he said. "This year it was all weights, two times a day."

O'Neal's change of focus from conditioning to strength is a bit of a gamble, however, especially since he could easily overpower opponents even at his previous size.

As teammate Alonzo Mourning noted, "He didn't have to lift any weights. All he has to do is show up on the block."

The 33-year-old center has an arthritic toe and has been periodically sidelined by other leg problems over the past few seasons. He's missed 54 games all told in the past four years, or an average of 13.5 per. (Last season was actually his best of the batch, with only nine absences.)

By putting additional strain on limbs and digits that are already taking a pounding from his lumbering mass every night, it's not clear that he's lessened his injury risk. For proof, look no further than last season's failure against Detroit, when Shaq's leg problems were a major factor.

But fortunately for O'Neal, the Heat have plenty of solid players backing him up. Mourning has signed up for a full season after giving the Miami frontcourt a spark down the stretch last season. Behind him, Michael Doleac and newly signed Earl Barron are true centers who also can hit the outside jumper.

"We have the deepest frontcourt in the league," said Mourning, "which should help, especially down the stretch."

With three quality backups, that should be allow Shaq to get more rest during the regular season and save his energy for the playoffs. The hope in Miami is that those reduced regular-season minutes will offset the additional pounding his lower body takes from carrying the extra muscle, allowing him to dominate when the game mean the most.

He also may have to carry less of an offensive load in Miami's revamped lineup. In spite of Shaq's summer bulk-up program, Miami figures to be a more uptempo team this season. That could result in his being left behind while the other Heat players are running the break. Miami added Williams and Posey to the lineup, both of whom excel in the open court, and the Williams addition also allows Wade to run out ahead and use his outstanding transition skills.

"We will try to run more," noted Heat coach Stan Van Gundy. "But I don't think it has to be mutually exclusive. We can take advantage of Shaq's rebounding to start the break. But do we want to run and up down like Phoenix and leave Shaq at halfcourt? No."

And O'Neal is content to be starting the breaks rather than finishing off half-court sets.

"If I'm the guy getting the rebound and getting it to J-Will for the fast break, then that's two points. I don't worry about [Miami running]," he said. Besides, "You know and I know in the playoffs it's all going to slow down."

That's when he hopes his more muscular frame can dominate against the Pistons' smaller Ben Wallace -- something he failed to do in his past two postseasons.

If so, he can credit his offseason of pumping iron as the reason why.

And if not?

It will be just one more offseason move for Heat fans to second guess in June.

[J@3]

I don't think we'll ever go through a pre-season without Shaq's weight being mentioned in one way or another.

[Fenix]

"Muscles"?

[Isaiah]

doesnt matter if he weighs 340, 325, 380, 367, 461, 14713737176 lbs...
hes still getting old

[Matt]

oooh, everyone is scared now, look out! too bad he wont get the ball enough to make a difference

[Andrew]

"Muscles"?

It wouldn't be unprecedented though it's a change from recent times. I remember Shaq added something like 25 pounds of muscle back in 1995, when he was already one of the strongest players in the league. He was a bit leaner in other areas back then, though.

[The GOAT]

"I was an earthling last season," Shaq said in reference to his strength level. "I had to go back to my alien roots."

I love this guy!

[Kemp]

Shaq is already strong enough, it is not necessary for him to put another 15 pounds. He will surely loses his speed and quickness again.

[Cloudy]

And he'll get more fragile.. His legs aren't as big, I wonder how they support that much weight.

[cyanide]

"I was an earthling last season," Shaq said in reference to his strength level. "I had to go back to my alien roots."

I was thinking about Sam Cassell this whole time. "Wtf, what does he have to do with Sam Cassell?"

It's surprising to see him bulk up on muscle at this age. I didn't expect it, but I wouldn't be surprised to see his dunks and offensive fouls go up this season.

[Fenix]

"Muscles"?

It wouldn't be unprecedented though it's a change from recent times. I remember Shaq added something like 25 pounds of muscle back in 1995, when he was already one of the strongest players in the league. He was a bit leaner in other areas back then, though.

It is quite impossible for a 320 pounder to gain 15 pounds of lean mass in such short time (that is without using illegal substances). If he gained that much muscles, he would also realistically gain 20-30 pounds of fat. I read it somewhere that Shaq's biggest (or smallest) achievement regarding body fat % was around 8% (I stay at around 7% for most of the year. Of course I'm skinny by nature, but I also am not a professional athlete.). He had 15-20% BF for most of his career and that's just sad. He used like two thirds of his psychical talents. Imagine if he had Karl Malone-like work ethic. 7 foot, 300 pounds with 5% BF? He could be dominant for another 10 years.

[cyanide]

VanK's right, it's not realistically possible to gain 15 lbs of muscle in 5 months, but it's realistic for someone his stature to gain 10 pounds of muscle in that time period. 5 pounds or so of that would probably be fat, but the muscle gains are more noticable, hence "all that 15 lbs of pure muscle."

[Abctest123]

"I was an earthling last season," Shaq said in reference to his strength level. "I had to go back to my alien roots."

I love this guy!

[fgrep15]

oooh, everyone is scared now, look out! too bad he wont get the ball enough to make a difference

Mmmmm....

[Andrew]

I stand corrected.

[Chris.]

And he'll get more fragile.. His legs aren't as big, I wonder how they support that much weight.

building leg muscle

[Wormy10]

I would be scared of him if I was in the NBA

[cyanide]

Not me. If I was a highflyer, my goal would be to try to dunk on him. Jaesus Christ, didn't think I'd bring Live 06 terminology into here.

[Wormy10]

Hehe
Oh I remember when Jae's name was Jaesus H. Christ, back when I first joined

[Strike Freedom]

does building up strength make him faster? or slower?

[Its_asdf]

does building up strength make him faster? or slower?

Well technically if you gain muscle, then you're basically bigger and it can take a toll on your quickness. But I think you need to gain a ton of muscle in order for this to happen.

[cyanide]

In some cases, that's a misconception. It could mean, more muscle = more strength = more burst = more quickness. For example, sprinters.

[Led Zeppelin]

i still think he's fat

[Scotty]

He still has alot of fat on him!