How I’ll (again) help Shaq at the stripe

That’s the title of my latest essay on Shaq’s ongoing free-throw woes, posted March 12 at hoopshype.com.

As I’ve told the Miami Heat repeatedly for the past two seasons, Shaq cannot “repetition” his way out of his trouble at the stripe, for his current delivery is the problem rather than the solution. He entered the NBA in 1993 with a fairly conventional grip and stroke that produced a nice arc and ball rotation. But he abandoned or lost the hang of that delivery within a year or so. Eight years later he had some success with a completely different and decidedly unconventional — but compact and pressure-proof — delivery. He lost that, too.

There are a variety of ways he can get back on track, and I propose one such path in the essay. Feel free to pass it along to Shaq or his coach, Pat Riley. As I explain, things worked out pretty well two years ago when Shaq’s coach in L.A. paid heed to my advice and passed it on to Shaq. Alas, that Laker team blew up before I could be of even greater help.