CAPE FEAR

Shaquille O’Neal left Saturday’s practice precisely as he had played Friday’s game.

Through a side door, away from the crowd, no emotion, no answers.

Inside, his teammates were wading through the media masses, handling the heat.

Outside, O’Neal was sliding into his car after giving a television interview that lasted 54 seconds.

The biggest man on the planet disappeared again, and now it’s time for a search party.

Somebody needs to find that mortal once bold enough to believe he was able to leap tall buildings in a single rebound.

Somebody needs to bring back that giant once filled with enough joyous energy to break rims and break dance.

Somebody needs to uncover those broad shoulders once capable of carrying an entire city down the middle of Figueroa in the middle of June.

And somebody needs to lose that fool from Friday night.

You remember. He opened his mouth and the game was over.

Before the Lakers’ 103-90 loss to the Sacramento Kings in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, O’Neal asked not to be thrown the ball early because he wanted to get comfortable and read the referees.

“He said, ‘Go away’” Phil Jackson recounted after the game.

Go away? O’Neal said that?

Could Jackson have heard it wrong?

The Shaquille O’Neal from the previous two springs never would have asked his teammates to ignore him during a first quarter that was so critical to the Lakers’ championship hopes.

That O’Neal wouldn’t have said, “Go away.”

He would have said, “Come here.”

He would have said, “Climb aboard.”

That O’Neal would have taken more than four shots during a first quarter in which his team was outscored, 32-15. He wouldn’t have let Vlade Divac and Scot Pollard push him around like a Burger King cutout. He wouldn’t have had five times as many turnovers as blocked shots.

It is assumed that, facing today’s even more critical Game 4 at Staples Center, the Lakers are trailing two games to one because the former pushover Kings are a different team.

But they are trailing because O’Neal is a different player.

For the first time in the Jackson era, Superman is no longer guaranteed to come when called.

Earlier in the playoffs, Jackson addressed the issue by having what the coach termed a “heated discussion” with his star.

On Friday, he obviously decided to send the message in a different manner, revealing O’Neal’s request in the same fashion that he once revealed Scottie Pippen’s request to be taken out of a playoff game.

This is obviously not the same thing. O’Neal has never quit on his team, and will retire as the most dominant big man in history.

But something is clearly wrong.

“It would be great if we could see Shaq running around again, being Superman, pulling his antics,” Rick Fox said. “It would be great to see Shaq being Shaq.”

Injuries are part of what has made him different, but even O’Neal says that injuries are no excuse. Eighty percent of him is better than 100% of any other center in the league.

It is more about attitude. The guy renowned for his productive passion has become more like the guy renowned for taking a swing at the back of Brad Miller’s head. The guy known for his happiness is now recognized by his anger.

He is angry with opponents for what he perceives are increasingly cheap shots. He is angry with the league for failing to protect him. He is angry with the media for not writing about it.

“Sometimes I feel you guys insult me by not writing what you see,” O’Neal said last week. “If the league continues in this state, I’ll be ashamed to play in the league.”

Teammates are guessing that it is this anger that has affected O’Neal like no two-bit punk opposing center could. It is this anger, they say, that has changed his game.

“Because he’s worried about officiating, sometimes you can see him go for his jump hook more than his power game,” Robert Horry said. “Sometimes, you just have to forget that. Sometimes, you need to just go do it. The referees are not going to let those flops go on all the time.”

Teammates would like to see O’Neal get the ball lower, move stronger, worry less.

“Shaq is concerned that by making his moves and being aggressive, he’s not going to the basket like he’s gone for the last 10 years,” Rick Fox said. “You can’t play that way. We just have to do the things we do, and let it all sort itself out.”

Two years ago, in the deciding first-round Game 5 here against the Kings, everyone in the standing and screaming crowd knew that the first pass of the game was going to O’Neal.

Everyone knew he would take it on the low left block.

Everyone knew he would spin over Divac and score.

O’Neal did, and the Lakers never trailed while taking the first step toward their first championship of this era.

Another such difficult step awaits today. For all the talk about Kobe Bryant’s health, Derek Fisher’s quickness and Fox and Horry’s shooting, that step can only be taken by one pair of size-22 shoes.

The Lakers can win with them. The Lakers can drown in them.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected].