Lakers coach Phil Jackson was wary of predicting a knockout victory for O'Neal this time - even though O'Neal is clearly in better physical shape than before - because "Yao's playing better, too." "His improvement has come defensively ... a lot," Jackson said. O'Neal acknowledged the game tonight is "going to be a pumped-up event." However, he maintained facing Yao wasn't a big deal to him. "My thing is, if you have to tell me it's a rivalry, then obviously it's not a rivalry," O'Neal said. "For me, it's just another game." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another mindset talk by Shaq, obviousely, he's looking forward to it, so is phil Jackson. But, after tonight, everything will change, Phil and Shaq will definitely change what's on their mind.
I actually expected more trash talk from Shaq. He has toned it down for this matchup. Maybe he lost interest.
