The question has been asked so much, the Wall Street Journal finally got some psychologists to try and sort out if the "marriage" makes sense. But first, how do LeBron and Shaq see their respective roles on the team?
But the new teammates also revealed that they have slightly different expectations of how they'll achieve their shared vision. They agree, for example, that Mr. James will be "the leader" which, Mr. O'Neal says, makes this the first time in his 17 seasons in the NBA that he has accepted a supporting role. Still, Mr. O'Neal indicated last week that he did not expect to be taking any orders or criticism from his younger counterpart.
"It won't happen," said Mr. O'Neal when asked how he would react to Mr. James criticizing him or calling him out in a game. "No one ever gets frustrated with me."
Mr. James, on the other hand, said he's not intimidated by the prospect of leading someone he calls the "most dominant player the game has ever seen" and won't be afraid to confront him.
"Hopefully I can try and make him learn some things," said Mr. James, noting that Mr. O'Neal "doesn't have the athleticism or quickness he had as a kid." In response, Mr. O'Neal said "it happens to the best of us."Hmmm, seems like we could have a rough marriage.
As for the psychiatrists, well, here you go.
Dr. Virginia Rutter, a sociologist, psychologist and co-author of "The Love Test," likens the Shaq-LeBron union to an arranged marriage, where "the well-being of the group depends on a good union, and the necessity of [the group's] well-being also helps the relationship." In other words, the pair's obligation to the team, she says, makes it more likely they'll get along than if they were friends independently.
Anyway, I can see a lot of ways this goes wrong, and I'm still of the opinion that Orlando is the team to beat in the East - provided Dwight Howard can occasionally hit some free throws.
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