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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

O’Neal Jokes That He’s Ready To Take On New Role

From Wire Reports

A broken thumb and seven weeks of rehabilitation didn’t dampen Shaquille O’Neal’s sense of humor.

The NBA’s defending scoring champion returned to the Orlando Magic lineup Friday night, intent on - in the three-time All-Star’s words - winning the league’s Sixth Man award.

“I don’t want to mess up the chemistry. I want to come off the bench,” the 7-foot-1 center said. “I’m a role player, not some prima donna who has to start.”

Either way, it seems, O’Neal won’t be held back. Coming off the bench against the Utah Jazz, he had 26 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes in Orlando’s 111-99 win.

The Magic won 17 of 22 games without O’Neal.

“On the one hand, you figure let’s just throw him in there and see how it goes,” Magic coach Brian Hill said. “But the flip side of that is why not start the way we have, get a rhythm going, then put him in.”

Rodman suffers another strain

Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman, who recently returned to action after missing 12 games with a strained left calf, has strained the other one. The team said the right calf strain was moderate, and Rodman was listed as day-to-day.