Shaq Inspires Fear Once More...

...in his own teammates, that is.

Apparently, the Bulky Aristotle can still throw down a little bit.

Actually, according to the East Valley Tribune, well more than a little bit:

After watching a few of Shaq’s thunderous dunks during a personal workout Sunday and in practice Monday, some of his new teammates have strongly requested that the team reinforce the apparatus currently supporting the two baskets at the team’s practice court.

Basically, they’ve [Brian Skinner and Sean Marks, assigned to guard Shaq] said they don’t have the confidence to be under those baskets right now," one Suns official said. "And I can’t say I blame them."

Is there even any precedent for this?

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For my part, I can't remember the last time an individual player caused enough of a safety hazard that his team needed to have additional maintenance done on its playing court.

If nothing else, this certainly can't be a bad sign for the Suns.  If Shaq is threatening to bring down baskets, chances are that he's actually working hard enough to break a sweat in practice.  Perhaps he really is interested in kicking another gear while in the Valley of the Sun.

Much has been made over the issue of whether or not Shaq's motivation really means anything at this point in his career, with nearly equal factions saying yes and no.  For now, we'll firmly sit the fence: Shaq has a lot more left in the tank than many seem to think, but just how much that is and just how long he'll have to use it both remain to be seen.