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NBA FINALS: HEAT v MAVERICKSJune 10, 2006Shaquille O'NealDALLAS, TEXAS: Practice Day Q. It's come to my attention that you understand some German words in Dirk's native language. Could you give us a taste of that a little bit? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: (Speaking in German). That means see you later. Q. Is there anything that would describe your free throw shooting in German? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: No. No. Q. Does the name Joe Prunty mean anything to you? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Who? Q. Joe Prunty? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: No. Q. He's a Mavs assistant. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: No. Q. I know you seek advice from a lot of different people, have you spoken to either your dad or your mother? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: No. Just go up there and just shoot them. That's not something that we're worried about. You know, we still have, you know, many opportunities to win a game and we're still here. So, you know, I'm seeing people that shoot 89 percent and don't make the ones that they are supposed to make. I've just got to basically make the ones that I'm supposed to make, and I will. It's not a problem. Q. Coach just talked about how you're getting better with age than what you were even a couple of years ago. How would you rate your game and how are you getting better? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: You know, it's a little bit different for me but I just try to stay consistent with whatever it is I'm going to be doing. You know, this year, you know, we've had a great team effort and everybody's been playing well on my team. You know, we're just trying to get something done here. Q. Is it more brains than brawn? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Yeah, I think it is more brains than brawn. Every now and then when I try to go to my brawn, I get held back a little bit, so I just try to play smart, just try to keep everybody involved. Q. Kind of following up on that, can you assess where you were as a player now or how you're different than you were maybe two years ago in The Finals, and are you asked to do a few different things on this team, is your role a little different than it was a couple years ago? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: My role is a lot different, but, you know, I still can be the point center, especially when we know what the defense is going to do, I would still like to touch it to keep everybody involved. But like I said, I just try to be consistent in whatever it is I'm going to do. Q. Pat was talking earlier, too, about I think you said you referred to it as the cute, finesse games that the rules kind of force you into now. Can you just talk about that a little bit, how you've had to adjust to that? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: You know, it's something that I'm able to do, but you know, I just like to -- whoever I'm playing against, I just like to punish them and you really can't punish people with finesse. I like to use my brute strength, but usually when they can't handle that, they flop and they fall and the earth doesn't feel sorry for the other earthlings, don't try to control them. I just try to mix it up. Q. Pat Riley said you could play at least three more years at an outstanding level. Do you see it that way? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's all up to me. When I'm done playing it will be because I want to be done. You know, it's not something I really think about now. Whatever age I am, I'll be the bad-ass at that age and the bad-ass at that position. Q. A couple of questions about your weight. At what weight did you start the season, what do you weigh now and why do you think there's such a mystery about how big you are? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Because I'm a freak of nature. You've never seen anyone this big, this sexy, move this way. (Laughter). And it's just, you know -- you've got to understand that, you know, being that I'm in the fitness business now, I've got a lot of people that understand that muscle weighs more than fat and if you look at the frame, there's a lot of muscle on this frame. My numbers, sometimes it's going to be a higher number and you earthlings when you hear a high number because of your level of thinking, you're automatically going to think it's fat. But, no, I've been 11, 12 percent body fat my whole career. But when you've got a big, sexy, beautiful man that's up in the 340s, 350s, the way you guys were taught on this planet, you're going to automatically think it's fat. Q. At what weight did you start the season and what is your weight now? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: I never checked, but, you know, the last time I checked it was 320-something. Q. Alonzo Morning just said out on the floor that unless the Mavericks made adjustments unseen or unheard of, he expects you to have a very big game tomorrow. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Yeah, we're going to do things different to respond and comeback. We're going to be ready. Q. But what about you particularly, how do you feel you're going to come out tomorrow? I know after Game 6 you came out particularly in that game? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: I'll be ready to play. Q. Is it like Game 6 though? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: I'll be ready to play. Q. Coach Riley mentioned that you needed to be more active in Game 2. How can you be more active in Game 2 that you weren't in Game 1? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Just have to be -- basically not be as nice as I was in Game 1. So just get in and keep my guys involved and just look to get a couple more shots. I like your World Cup outfit. It looks like, soccer outfit. Q. It's a tennis outfit. SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: Tennis, okay, I'm sorry. Wrong sport. (Laughter). Q. Pat mentioned that when Dwyane gets 50 touches or more that the numbers are kind of skewed and the team loses more often than not. How does Dwyane handle the balance of not trying to do too much and do you ever have to tell him anything? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: You know, we've just got to, you know, mix it up. He's a fabulous player and we've just got to mix it up. You know, especially when we know how the defenses are coming. We've just got to mix it up and mix it up the right way. Q. As a guy who went to high school in San Antonio, do you consider yourself a Texan, and what planet are you originally from? SHAQUILLE O'NEAL: I don't know the name of the planet. The files were destroyed. So, actually, my mother originally told me I wasn't born; that I was found on the train. (Laughter). But I have a lot of heritage in Texas, but I consider myself a New Jersian, I was found on the Amtraks in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Laughter).
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