What does an aerial view reveal about the landscape?
Standing as tall and straight as a periscope, Yao Ming witnessed a crowd gathered at his hipbones Friday, eager for his 2.29m thoughts about Shaquille O'Neal's thick elbows and ample mouth.
PHOTO: AP
Was Yao afraid of being sideswiped by O'Neal's bulk-rate frame?
Had Yao braced for another Chinese slur from the Big Prankster?
Did Yao believe Friday night's fee-fi-fo-fum buildup was unfair?
"That's life," said Yao, who was circled like a bonfire by cameras and recorders before his Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime, 108-104. "That's the way the world is."
On this shrinking earth, size creates attention, first-time offers are hot and conflict is a drawing card. So this was a natural trifecta: Yao vs. Shaq. Rarely has big had such magnitude.
"I think a lot of the focus is due to the controversy because some people took umbrage to Shaq's remarks," said the Lakers' deep thinker, Phil Jackson. "I can't remember a matchup with Shaq that is comparable."
The Lakers' player-actor, Rick Fox, said, "If you ask me, I think Shaq has been looking for someone to bring a challenge to him. Shaq has always proven he can rise to the occasion."
Shaq asserted himself in overtime -- for better and worse. After two bruising dunks over Yao, he whacked the omnipresent Steve Francis (44 points) on a flagrant foul that ended up costing the Lakers.
While O'Neal was a force (31 points and 13 rebounds), Yao had the final word, punctuating the final seconds with a two-handed dunk to help seal the victory. Yao didn't have the offense (10 points), but grabbed 10 rebounds and swatted six blocks.
Beneath the numbers, Shaq was the one who needed to learn from this moment. The education of Shaq wasn't part of the pre-bout hype. It was vice versa.
This would be Yao's great test, the rookie's first chance to measure the force of Shaq's grape-stomping paint presence, to detail the post moves of a superstar center who promised to greet the league's top draft pick with elbows.
Instead, Yao owned the introduction. In the first three minutes, O'Neal posted up Yao with his 150kg, 2.16m body built by Caterpillar. But as he turned, Yao stood sturdy, ready to smack the shot. Not once, but three times. Off one block, Yao beat O'Neal downcourt for a fast-break layup.
Just part of the Yao buffet. Eventually, Shaq would come on, but Yao proved he was a capable foil for O'Neal.
"All I can say is I helped my team, but as everyone can see, Shaq is very strong," Yao said.
Surprise, a true big-man rivalry was born. It's up to O'Neal to accept that reality. If O'Neal could just step back from the bravado, view the game from Yao's perch of perspective, he might pick up some valuable pointers on composure, open-mindedness and leadership.
A cultural exchange might do wonders for an ex-Army brat like O'Neal who seems in need of a refresher course on global conduct.
O'Neal has diluted some of his lovability by blaming his teammates for the Lakers' funk, by degrading the Sacramento Kings when he labeled them the Queens and by joining a basketball brawl in an arena tunnel.
Shaq is a 30-year-old married father of two, but he can't match the 22-year-old sage from China.
While O'Neal loses his poise like car keys, Yao has shown remarkable composure. From day one, he has been a self-effacing, punch-line wiz who craves acceptance but shares his wisdom.
This week, Yao grabbed a clipboard and began choreographing footwork for a teammate. So the learning goes both ways in Houston, but Yao has been a curve buster, winning over critics who felt he was more delicate than an onion peel.
As it turns out, he has shown a thick skin on his bones.
Teams have tested his tolerance by burrowing beneath his ribs and turning his lean body into a scratching post.
"Yao just accepts it as a part of the game," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "He may get mad at himself, but I've seen situations where veteran guys get physical, and all of the sudden, they're blowing a gasket. He has a very even temperament."
Not that Yao is on automatic emotion. Earlier this season, he received a technical foul, nabbed for an outburst of joy after a big play. The ref saw it as taunting; Yao was mortified.
O'Neal could use some humility in his shtick. Often, his comedic instincts go awry, as they did in his remark that surfaced recently: "Tell Yao, `Ching-chong, yang, wah-ah-so,"' Shaq said, later excusing himself as an idiot prankster.
Friday night, O'Neal tried to defuse the controversy by saying: "I already apologized. Yao is my brother. Asian people are my brothers. People tried to make it a war between blacks and Asians. That was disappointing."
Yao refused to trade barbs. Instead, he urged cultural awareness and global togetherness, in his remarks to the press.
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