SHAQUILLE O'NEAL.."..SO I THINK THE CENTERS ARE GETTING A LITTLE MORE PAU GASOLLISH.."..GRANDE SHAMROCK..!

"I think I killed off all the centers and now all the centers want to play the European-style basketball," O'Neal said before watching the Celtics beat the Knicks 104-101 in Stoudemire's Garden debut. "There's only 1.5 or 2 real centers left, Dwight Howard and Yao Ming. Every now and then Yao Ming steps outside and wants to shoot jumpers, but it's gone more toward the European style. The days of Patrick Ewing and Rik Smits and Kevin Duckworth and Robert Parish, those days are over, thanks to me."

"Yeah, guys like Dwight Howard and Yao Ming, guys that have youth behind them," O'Neal said. "I've never lost a series to a guy shooting jumpers -- besides Pau [Gasol], but Pau has a couple of extra weapons with him. There hasn't been a center that has won shooting jumpers. Pau is 60-40 -- 60 inside and 40 shooting jumpers. So I think the centers are getting a little more Pau Gasolish."

"I wasn't critical," O'Neal said. "It's just that I know how to add fuel to the fire. But he does play like a true big man. I can't say that he doesn't play like a true big man. I was just saying last year that when I was his age, I didn't have the luxury of calling a double to help me on Patrick Ewing. I would've loved to have help on Pat Ewing and Rik Smits and all those guys, but I played them straight up. So, you want my respect, play straight up. That's all I said."

"If I did have an individual goal, it probably would be to pass Wilt Chamberlain in scoring," O'Neal said. " ... Then I could feel comfortable with myself saying that I was the most dominant player if I had more championships and more points than him. But I don't have any individual goals that I'm going for. I'm just trying to get No. 5 this year."

...good luck and good basket!!!