He’s Ready to Lower Boom, and Broom

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —  The Lakers did not appear to be particularly anxious on the eve of Game 4.

By the time the curious were allowed into the Lakers’ practice Tuesday afternoon, a half-court four-on-four game populated one end of the Continental Airlines Arena court, and Rick Fox was doing the commentary from a nearby lectern.

As usual, the pick-up game--seven soon-to-be or potential free agents and Mark Madsen played--was as heated as anything besides a Game 7.

Meanwhile, Shaquille O’Neal played the interview room.

First, Commissioner David Stern’s state-of-the-game address got a few people thinking again about the talent imbalance in the Western and Eastern conferences, which led to a question for O’Neal about the lack of quality post players in the East.

“I think the last time the East had a dominant center was when I played with Orlando,” he said.

By then, O’Neal was on a roll.

On his game: “I have a boom-boom-boom game. I always go to the first boom. If you take that away, I hit you with the other boom. By that time, I put the big booty on you and you’ll be under the basket and it’s a dunk. Not too many people can withstand my boom-boom.”

On living with criticism: “I’ve been getting criticized ever since I was a newborn. ‘He’s not going to fit those Pampers, his boom-boom is too big. You need some bigger Pampers.’ ”

On his origin: “I was looking at my mother’s book, trying to find baby pictures. I didn’t see any baby pictures. Then I saw a certificate that said I was found on a train.”

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There were two noteworthy topics in the Stern address.

The league probably will use instant replay on shots near the quarter-ending buzzers next season. And NBA Finals games will be played at approximately 8 p.m. on the East Coast, rather than after 9, as the schedule has dictated this season.

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The last team to be swept in the NBA Finals was the Orlando Magic, of O’Neal and Brian Shaw, in 1995.

The sweeper: the Houston Rockets, of Robert Horry.

All three stand on the verge of another sweep.

“It would help redeem that situation a little bit,” Shaw said.

O’Neal often has said he wept on the team bus after Game 4 of that series. “It took us two hours to get to the hotel,” O’Neal said. “They were hitting the buses with the brooms and throwing bricks and rioting. I was just sitting there crying, looking out. They were laughing at me.”

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Magic Johnson told the Tacoma News Tribune he may relinquish his ownership stake in the Lakers to help build another team, possibly the Seattle SuperSonics.

Johnson, interviewed in New York, and Howard Schultz, Seattle’s principal owner, told the newspaper they had had some “what-if” conversations but no substantive discussions.

“If I ever left the Lakers, it would have to be with somebody like Howard ... he wants to win so bad,” Johnson said. “I’m on top now [with the Lakers], and we are going to be on the top, but I would love to help Seattle come up and get to the top.”