"Shaq, cool it down!" Roger didn't know what Jordan had said to Shaq, but ever since they had talked, O'Neal had been acting strangely.
He was distracted on defense and very impatient at the free throw line.
O'Neal ignored Roger, his mind full of Jordan's words.
Earlier, Anderson from "SportsCenter" had said, "Now Shaq can win games without being the best player on the team."
Just now, Jordan had said something similar.
This made O'Neal wonder, "Does the outside world really think so?"
Bullshit, all bullshit!
Roger and I are equals, we are both the bosses!
Bullshit lieutenant!
I can't be a supporting role!
I'm not just the guy pushing Roger from behind, he and I are comrades in the same trench, equals!
A play later, O'Neal continued to receive the ball in the low post. Rodman's fierce double team arrived immediately, the offensive pressure O'Neal faced with and without him was a completely different story.